The paddock is a peculiar place - filled with teams as different as the paint scheme sketched on the cars themselves. Some race teams have to deal with newcomers getting to know each other. Many aiming to use testing as a time to get comfortable in the car, figure out driving style, etc. Other teams enjoy having spent a few seasons together, returning a dual team of regular drivers and introducing a new driver or two that comes on board for the Rolex 24.

Team Sahlen, however, has set itself apart from the rest of the field. Not only has the lineup stayed consistent for many years, but it's become a "real family affair".

"Every team has their own atmosphere and personality, just like any pro sports team. Our team is all about family." says Team Sahlen driver Will Nonnamaker. The lineup for Rolex 24 at Daytona will be consist of Joe Nonnamaker, father of co-drivers Will and Wayne Nonnamaker and Joe Sahlen, owner of Buffalo's famous meatpacking company bearing his last name. Father-Son driving combinations are not rare in Grand-Am. In 2008, Justin Bell drove the Blue and Orange No. 12 RVO Motorsports Daytona Prototype alongside his father, former F1 great Derek Bell. Later this month, Ricky Taylor will join his father, Wayne, in the No. 10 Suntrust Ford Dallara as they compete for a spot on the overall podium at Daytona.

The father and sons are not the only Nonnamaker's that you'll bump into in the garage. "You'll see my mom up on the time scoring stand (along with Anita Sahlen). My wife and my brother's wife both help with the cooking, which is a lot when you're talking about 50 people to cook for, (laughs) so it's not just a couple of sandwiches....it's become a family reunion. But it's also very professional, we're serious about this (season)".  Even the crew members have a history of hanging around the garage for a few years. Will remarks, " We've got a lot of team members, in fact, we've just had a gentleman who's been with us for 10 years, another member that's been with us for 16 (years) and a lot of part-timers that have been here for 20 years. Even the people that aren't related to us- it's all about family."

When asked about the goals for this season, Will did not hesitate in making known Team Sahlen's intentions for the 2010 Rolex Series,   "Even if you talk to SpeedSource and Sylvan Tremblay,  his goal is not to win the driver championship, it's not to win the team championship, their goal is to win the manufacturers (championship). Dempsey Racing's goal is to win the manufacturers, Racers Edge and our goal is to do it. Hopefully, we're just that next catalyst to it. But that's Mazda's goal".

Team Sahlen is not new to Mazda, having ran the manufacturer back in the 1990's and most recently in the Koni Challenge with an RX-8. With the new branding of the series to Continental Tire Challenge, Mazda has equipped the team with a new MazdaSpeed3 for the 2010 campaign. Regarding the switch , Will seemed optimistic, "It was nice to have that opportunity. That's part of (Mazda's) marketing program, to promote that car in that (Continental) series." Freedom Autosport will join Team Sahlen in competing with the new MazdaSpeed3 in 2010, starting with the Fresh From Florida 200 on January 29th.

Team Sahlen's RX-8 consistently ran close to the top 10 in GT class during the Roar Before the Rolex 24 last weekend at Daytona. The North Canton, Ohio team fared better in the CTSCC testing, spending most of the time running towards the top 5 in the ST class.

While the chill that swept through the garage on the final test weekend caused some to wonder if temperatures will be similar come January 30th, Will Nonnamaker calmly dismissed the theory," This morning, people were throwing snowballs. It's hasn't been this cold in 32 years. I terribly don't believe that we're going to have this weather again, and that's the only thing you can gain from saying, 'It's cold and I'm going to learn something from this' . Even at night, in the middle of the 24 hours, it doesn't get this cold."A few cars did end up getting off track while trying to brave the elements in the early morning sessions last weekend. Will reminded me, " You can't win test days, you can only lose them".  Wise words from the savvy veteran.

Look for Team Sahlen's No. 43 Mazda RX-8 on the track Jan 30-31st at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. For more information and tickets to the race, click here. Check out Team Sahlen for more information on their quest for the 2010 Rolex Series GT Manufacturer's Championship

The 2010 Team Sahlen ROLEX & CONTINENTAL Challenge Series Campaigns will be supported by Mazda, MAZDASPEED, HRPWorld.com, HAWK Performance, Cool Shirt, Racetech Steats, BBS, Alcon, Mothers Polish, EMCO, TheRaceSite.com, Grassroots Motorsports, Holiday Canopies, Alcon, CM Racing, Genesis Technologies, Endurance Karting and SpeedSource Engineering.