Jim Pace (racing Driver)
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James Russell Pace (February 1, 1961 – November 13, 2020) was an American racing driver.


Racing career

Pace began his career in the Barber Saab Pro Series in 1988. He soon moved to
sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...
and won the GTU class at the 1990
24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...
. Pace, along with co-drivers
Scott Sharp Scott Sharp (born February 14, 1968) is an American professional racing driver in the United SportsCar Championship. He is the son of six-time SCCA champion Bob Sharp. Sharp is best known for his years as a competitor in the Indy Racing Leagu ...
and
Wayne Taylor Wayne Taylor (born 15 July 1956) is a South African sports car racing driver and team owner. He won the 1996 and 2005 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 2005 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype drivers' championship. He drove for Su ...
, drove the
Riley & Scott Mk III The Riley & Scott Mark III (Mk III) was a sports prototype auto racing car developed by Bob Riley, Bill Riley and Mark Scott of Riley & Scott, Riley & Scott Cars Inc. Initially designed in 1993, the car was created for the World Sports Car (WSC) c ...
to the overall victory in the
1996 24 Hours of Daytona The 1996 Rolex 24 at Daytona was a 24-hour endurance sports car race held on February 3–4, 1996 at the Daytona International Speedway road course. The race served as the opening round of the 1996 IMSA GT Championship. Victory overall and i ...
, then weeks later also won the
12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race for Sports car racing, sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in S ...
. Later in 1996, Pace was a race driver for the same team in the
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...
. After years of only driving at Daytona, Pace returned to regular drives in the
Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...
GT class in 2007. In 2008, he drove a
Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 model series (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in ) is a family of German two-door, high performance Rear-engine design, rear-engine sports cars, introduced in September 1964 by Porsche, Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. Now in it ...
for
The Racer's Group The Racer's Group, or TRG, is a WeatherTech SportsCar Championship racing team located in Petaluma, California, owned by Kevin Buckler and his wife Debra. TRG has competed professionally in road racing since 1995. The team formerly competed in NA ...
, and in 2009 drove for Farnbacher Loles Racing. In later years, he participated in vintage racing events.


Personal life

Jim Pace was born on February 1, 1961, in Monticello, Mississippi. He attended
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...
. Pace resided in
Ridgeland, Mississippi Ridgeland is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,340 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Jackson metropolitan area. History In 1805, the Choctaw Indian Agency, headed by Silas Dinsmoor, was located ...
. He died from
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 13, 2020, at the age of 59.Jim Pace, 1996 Rolex 24 at Daytona overall winner, dies after contracting COVID-19
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Racing record


24 Hours of Le Mans


WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)


References


External links


Jim Pace bio
at Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series 1961 births 2020 deaths 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Mississippi State University alumni People from Monticello, Mississippi People from Ridgeland, Mississippi Sportspeople from Madison County, Mississippi Racing drivers from Mississippi Barber Pro Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee {{US-autoracing-bio-stub