NOVICH GARNERS TOP-5 DEBUT WITH COMPASS360 RACING

Daytona, FL -- The season started off for Andrew Novich and his Compass360 team in a manner that every driver could wish for in their first full season of the Grand Am Continental Tire series. A great drive by a rookie driver and a great 4th place result.

Going into the weekend Andrew, like all of the drivers, had dreams of being on the podium but after the practice sessions he and the team realized that getting there was going to be no easy task this year. The competition was stiff with more than 40 cars in the ST Class, all vying for the top spot on the charts.
 

Andrew qualified the car and started the race and his teammate Donald Theetge from Quebec, Canada closed the race. Andrew qualified the car in the 15th position, five tenths from the Top 10.

For his stint of the race Andrew drove cleanly and did a great job of saving his Honda's brakes for Donald to finish with. When he turned the car over to him after over an hour in the car Andrew had moved up to the 7th position. A quick pit stop and driver change by the Compass360 crew and the race was on Donald's shoulders. Through some help of attrition and some great driving on the last lap the number 77 car crossed the finish line in the 4th position and a great result for the young rookie from Novato, California.

“Andrew did everything that was expected of him this weekend and more” quoted his Speed Secrets coach Gord Bentley. “He was disciplined and fast and handled the traffic like a seasoned pro. It was nice to see him in a car that we knew was equal to everyone else and to watch him build confidence as the race weekend went on”.

Novich commented on the weekend after the race, “ I really can't say enough about this Compass360 squad. It's not how fast the car is, or how well it handles that impresses me, its the sense of team spirit shared among the drivers and crew. Its an awesome feeling to be with a team that is one hundred percent behind you, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Andrew’s next race is at the Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida on March 4-5, 2011. It will air on SPEED March 12th at 1PM EST.