Rocketsports Racing Notes and Quotes
ROCKETSPORTS RACING SCOTT PRUETT DRIVER NOTES AND QUOTES TRANS-AM SERIES FOR THE BFGOODRICH TIRES CUP SATURDAY, AUGUST 2ND POST-RACE SCOTT PRUETT, DRIVER OF THE NO. 7 JAGUAR R PERFORMANCE XKR, SCORED THE FLAG-TO-FLAG WIN IN TODAY¹S TRANS-AM RACE AFTER STARTING ON THE POLEŠHAS FIVE WINS IN SEVEN STARTSŠHAS SIX POLESŠHAS 19 CAREER TRANS-AM VICTORIESŠEXTENDED HIS LEAD IN THE POINTS STANDINGS. NOTE 1 Pruett won both the BFGoodrich Tires ³Take Control² award as well as the Flowmaster ³American Thunder Challenge² award today. Pruett¹s win was Jaguar¹s first victory at Trois-Rivieres. NOTE 2 TROIS-RIVIERES STATSŠPruett has only one previous start hereŠSingle start was in 1994 when he qualified second and finished 10th. NOTE 3 BACKGROUND STATSŠRanks first in the points standingsŠIn 2003, has five winsŠRaced in the NASCAR Winston Cup race at Infineon Raceway in June finishing 24th due to contact while running sixthŠHas two Trans-Am Drivers¹ Championships (1987, 1994)ŠIn 2002, did not compete in the Trans-Am SeriesŠCompeted in Winston Cup in 2000ŠCompeted several seasons in CART Champ Car Series, scoring two winsŠHas two IMSA GTO Drivers¹ Championships (1986, 1988). On his race todayŠWe¹ve won a lot of races, but I was telling Calvin Fish (SPEED pit reporter) that I was pretty nervous coming into this race at Trois-Rivieres. Johnny (Miller) was tough all day long. He really turned the heat on and picked the pace up. He¹s got a lot of experience in these cars and was able to run us hard. ³One of the things we¹ve learned is you can¹t run the cars too hard because you¹ve got to have a good enough car at the end. But the Rocketsports team did a really good job to have three cars up here today. ³This was a tough day. It was a really tough day. The car is pretty worn out. We¹re out of car, tires, brakesŠand driver. This is the toughest race track of the whole season.² ROCKETSPORTS RACING DRIVER NOTES AND QUOTES TRANS-AM SERIES FOR THE BFGOODRICH TIRES CUP SATURDAY, AUGUST 2ND POST-RACE JOHNNY MILLER, DRIVER OF THE NO. 64 EATON CUTLER-HAMMER JAGUAR XKR, FINISHED SECOND AFTER QUALIFYING SECOND IN TODAY¹S TRANS-AM RACEŠFIFTH PODIUM FINISH THIS SEASON...24TH FOURTH PODIUM FINISH OF HIS CAREER. NOTE 1 TROIS-RIVIERES STATSŠMiller has five previous starts hereŠIn 2002, he qualified sixth, was running second near the end of the race when his engine expired and finished 12thŠBest finish third in 1999 after qualifying fourth and leading Lap 37. NOTE 2 BACKGROUND STATSŠRemains second in the points standingsŠIn 2003, has one win (Lime Rock) and four additional top-three finishesŠMade his NASCAR Winston Cup debut at Infineon Raceway in June, finishing 24th on the lead lapŠIn 2002, finished fourth in the points standings with three top-three, three top-five and four top-ten finishesŠIn 2000, scored his first career Trans-Am win at San DiegoŠVoted ³Most Improved Driver² for 1998ŠWon the ³Rookie of the Year² title in 1996. On his race todayŠ ³It was a good race today. We wanted to run a good pace. Claude (Bourbonnais) was right there behind us so I didn¹t want to make a mistake or do something foolish. So we had to pace ourselves. ³About the half way point, we picked up the pace a bit and ran what we wanted to run. We got a little frisky. The caution came out on lap 50 (of 65 laps). After that, the car was pretty tapped out and we¹d pretty much run it into the ground. But turns out we still had more left. With about seven laps to go, both Scott and I ran laps near qualifying times so that¹s pretty good for the tires and brakes at that point in the race. ³Scott (Pruett) and I knew were each other were good from looking at the data. Overall, we were pretty even. We started about a tenth of a second apart and ended up about the same way. We conserved the car and the tires enough to make it to the end, and we did our job today.² ROCKETSPORTS RACING CLAUDE BOURBONNAIS DRIVER NOTES AND QUOTES TRANS-AM SERIES FOR THE BFGOODRICH TIRES CUP SATURDAY, AUGUST 2ND POST-RACE CLAUDE BOURBONNAIS, DRIVER OF THE NO. 3 ROCKETSPORTS JAGUAR XKR, FINISHED SIXTH AFTER QUALIFYING THIRD IN HIS TRANS-AM SERIES DEBUT RACE. NOTE 1 TROIS-RIVIERES STATSŠHas competed regularly at Trois-Rivieres since 1985Š Most recently, competed here in 2000 in the Player¹s Grand Prix Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series finishing fourth in a Ford Lola B2K10 Sports Racer Prototype NOTE 2 BACKGROUND STATSŠHas 28 career wins and multiple track recordsŠTwo-time Pro F-2000 Canadian National Champion (1989, 1988)...Competed in CART, Indy Lights, Player¹s Toyota Atlantic Series, and Toyota Formula Atlantic Series. On his race todayŠ ³I wish the race had been 20 laps shorter! I ran my tires off. Then I couldn¹t put the power down. Compared to my experience in open wheel cars, these cars are tougher to manage for race, as I found out. There¹s not as much g-Force, but a lot more heat inside the car. We had a good car and I think we showed that as we ran with the leaders for most of the race.² On if he¹ll compete in future Trans-Am racesŠ ³Well, I don¹t know (smiles), but I hope so!² ROCKETSPORTS RACING DRIVER NOTES AND QUOTES TRANS-AM SERIES FOR THE BFGOODRICH TIRES CUP SATURDAY, AUGUST 2ND POST-RACE TOMY DRISSI, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 STUCK ON YOU, THE MOVIE JAGUAR XKR, FINISHED THIRD AFTER STARTING TODAY¹S TRANS-AM RACE AT THE BACK OF THE GRID AFTER MISSING THE QUALIFYING SESSION DUE TO DAMAGED SUSPENSION AS A RESULT OF CONTACT IN THE PREVIOUS PRACTICE SESSIONŠHIS FIRST PODIUM FINISH THIS SEASONŠBEST FINISH OF THE SEASONŠ NOTE 1 TROIS-RIVIERES STATSŠDrissi has only two previous starts hereŠIn 2002, he qualified ninth and finished third, his best finish of his 2002 season. NOTE 2 BACKGROUND STATSŠRanks 10th in the points standingsŠIn 2003, has two top-ten finishes at Lime Rock and Cleveland and today¹s third place finish in Trois-RivieresŠVoted ³Most Improved Driver² for 2000ŠScored his first and only Trans-Am win at Long Beach in 2000ŠWon the ³Rookie of the Year² title in 1999. On his race todayŠ ³I really enjoy this track and the Trois-Rivieres fans. They bring out the best in me. I finished third here last year, my best finish last season, and now I finish third again, my best this year. Next year, I want the top spot. ³I¹ve got to say thank you to my Rocketsports crew. We¹ve been really frustrated this year, we¹ve had some bad luck, and this was just the boost we needed. We missed a few podiums this year that should have probably been ours and it¹s good to be back. On his decision to pit and change all four tiresŠ ³It was part of our strategy. We talked about if we got a caution and we were eighth to tenth on the lead lap that we¹d come in and change tires. My tires weren¹t used up, but taking on the new rubber made a difference. We gave up two positions on the track and it bought us a podium finish. It was a good move by the teamŠand I¹ll take a little credit for it, too. ³Coming from the back, well, to be humbled is one thing. But a little insight about me, it makes me think I¹m more of a professional driver that I didn¹t loose my cool, I was patient, and took my time. Today made me a little bit better as a driver.² POST-RACE FINAL NOTE: The No. 5 Jaguar XKR failed post-race inspection, violating rule 2.10: ³Ground Clearance.² Drissi received the following penalty: forfeiture of all driver and team owner points earned at this event; loss of all prize money earned at this event; and a $2,000 fine, of which $1,000 is suspended. ###