Special Motorsports Event - CGRFS Cars Finish P4/P6 At The Rolex

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Take Fourth and Sixth in 50th Rolex 24 At Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, January 30, 2012: The Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) No.02 Target/TELMEX and No.01 TELMEX/Target Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley Daytona Prototype (DP) entries finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway.

The No. 02 DP driven by 2006 Race Winner Scott Dixon and co-drivers Dario Franchitti (2008 Winner), Juan Pablo Montoya (2007, 2008 Winner) and NASCAR star Jamie McMurray had trouble in the overnight portion of the race when the team had to repair a broken shifter. The car headed to the garage area at 2:44 a.m. ET and returned to the track in ninth position and four laps down to the leader after a five-minute repair. The team was able to gain three laps back in the final two hours of the event to finish fourth with Montoya behind the wheel in the final stint.

After contending in the top three overall for most of the 24-hour race, four-time and defending Rolex 24 At Daytona Winner Scott Pruett and co-drivers Memo Rojas (2008, 2011 Winner), Graham Rahal (2011 Winner) and Joey Hand (2011 Winner) were running in second with just over an hour to go in the race when the No.01 DP encountered gear box issues and were forced to come pit road. The team lost ground after having to replace the gear box and rejoined the race in sixth and four laps down with just under 50 minutes until the checkered flag. With little time remaining to make up the time lost, the No.01 crossed the finish line sixth with Pruett behind the wheel in the final stint.

SCOTT PRUETT – (No.01 TELMEX/Target Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley)

“What a race. You really never know what is going to happen here. This is the big one that we all love to win in sports car racing in America. We had a great car and even with the fact we had to overcome a gearbox issue near the end, I’m just not sure we had anything for the two Fords up front. It was a total team effort like always from the Ganassi team, and Memo and I are looking forward to Barber in March.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA – (No.02 Target/TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley)

"We gave it all we had. For the second year in a row we just couldn't make it happen. It's disappointing what happened in the middle of the night. I really enjoy running this race with this group of guys (Dixon, Franchitti and McMurray). One of these days we'll get this right and win it again."