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Dalziel Back to Grand-Am for Finale with Michael Shank Racing

Orlando, Florida September 05, 2008 – Scotland’s Ryan Dalziel will make a welcome return to the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16 driving for Michael Shank Racing in the season-ending ‘SunRichGourmet.com 1000’ at Miller Motorsports Park just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, Friday 19th – Sunday 21st September.

The 26-year-old scored his maiden Daytona Prototype victory earlier in the season in Round 5 at California’s Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, his second podium of the year, but has been absent from the series since July’s eighth round at Daytona International Speedway due to circumstances beyond his control.

“I’m really excited to be returning to Michael Shank Racing,” said Dalziel. “Mike gave me my first opportunity to come race in the United States and we’ve maintained a great relationship since then. We’d discussed working together again on plenty of occasions but the timing was never quite right so I’m pleased we’ve now been able to change that and go racing again. I’m obviously pretty happy to be heading back to Miller after last year’s podium there. It’s one of my favorite circuits here in the U.S. so I’m looking for a strong result in a couple of weeks time!”

Dalziel and Michael Shank Racing have enjoyed a long-standing relationship dating back to Ryan’s entry to the North American racing scene in 2002. The Scot signed up to compete in that season’s Toyota Atlantic Championship with the Columbus, Ohio-based squad and duly delivered a debut podium racing his way to second place at the opening round of the series in Monterrey, Mexico behind fellow Grand-Am racer Jon Fogarty.

Both team and driver have subsequently gone on to forge successful sports car reputations with Miller Motorsports Park finally seeing the two combine their efforts. The Utah track has proved to be a happy hunting ground for both parties with Michael Shank Racing winning the debut Rolex Sports Car Series event there in 2006 while Dalziel steered his way to a second-place runner-up podium at Miller in last season’s finale.

Michael Shank Racing, a two-car team in the Daytona Prototype class, heads into the final round of a grueling 14-race season off the back of a victory last time out in the ‘Supercar Life 250’ at New Jersey Motorsports Park in August. Team regulars, Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson scored the win piloting the #60 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype. The team will confirm its final driver line-up shortly before the ‘SunRichGourmet.com 1000’.