"Just to be running at the finish was an accomplishment," he added. "Our car owner crashed hard on pit lane at one point and our total off-track time was a little over four hours, so to finish was an exceptional effort. Being one of the few Chevys running at the end was a great testament to the Chevrolet powerplant and to the engine builder, David Krume, too." Only 49 of the 79 starters finished the race, which was won by a French-based Dodge Viper driven by Olivier Beretta, Karl Wendlinger and Dominique Dupuy. There were 21 cars in the class Stiver competed in, Sports Racer.

    "Overall, it was an enlightening experience that I won't forget," he said. "The race and the pre-race festivities were more than I expected; it was a bigger deal than I thought it would be."

    Stiver would like to run more Grand American Road Racing events in the future, and he's working hard to put together a limited Northern Light Indy Racing League (IRL) program which would include the Indianapolis 500, the world's largest single-day sporting event.

    "Although this was the 38th annual Rolex 24, it was the first race sanctioned by the new Grand American Road Racing Association, and I was impressed with it," he said. "With NASCAR and the France family behind Grand Am, I think it's going to be great. But our ultimate goal still is what it's always been, the Indianapolis 500. Once we find our marketing partners, there'll be no stopping us."