Rolex 24 At Daytona teammates have fun with NFC Championship game

Teammates usually have some minor obstacles to overcome at the beginning of the season, but this Sunday, Derhaag Motorsports teammates Chris Bingham and Randy Ruhlman will have something more immediate to deal with -- NFL football.  Chris Bingham is from Seattle and Randy Ruhlman is from Greensboro, North Carolina; and Sunday, when the Panthers play the Seahawks for the NFC Championship and a place in Super Bowl XL, there will be more than a little pride around the #40 Preformed Line Products Daytona Prototype camp at stake.

The joking began last Sunday; right after the Panthers beat the Bears.  Ruhlman emailed Bingham a fake "ALERT: Revised #40 Graphics Package" for the car.  The Daytona Prototype had become "The Panthers-mobile", complete with a full set of Panthers football graphics.  Chris countered immediately with some barbs of his own, along with stats from Las Vegas showing the betting line favoring Seattle by 5 1/2 points.  Ruhlman quipped back, "The Vegas line doesn't have to play the Panthers' front line!"  Chris laughed, "Just wait and watch!!"

The friendly rivalry in the Derhaag Motorsports camp has continued all week with bragging rights on the line, and maybe a surprise or two at the upcoming Rolex 24 At Daytona, were next weekend, the fervor of football will be exchanged for the intensity of 24 hour endurance racing.  Ruhlman and Bingham will be joined by Canadian Ron Fellows and British-born Justin Bell, as they campaign the #40 Preformed Line Products Daytona Prototype at the Rolex 24 At Daytona race. 

This Sunday though, one thing is for certain; these two full-time Derhaag Motorsports drivers will be sitting on opposite ends of the couch for the NFC Championship game.  And regardless of the outcome of the game, these two Grand American Rolex Cup drivers intend to have fun with it  and each root for his hometown favorite along with millions of other Panthers and Seahawk fans.