Rocketsports Racing Notes and Quotes
ROCKETSPORTS RACING DRIVER NOTES AND QUOTES TRANS-AM SERIES FOR THE BFGOODRICH TIRES CUP SUNDAY, AUGUST 24TH POST-RACE SCOTT PRUETT, DRIVER OF THE NO. 7 JAGUAR R PERFORMANCE XKR, WON TODAYıS TRANS-AM RACE AFTER STARTING SECONDTOOK THE LEAD IN TURN 1 ON LAP 1 AND LEAD UNTIL THE CHECKERED FLAGSECOND TRANS-AM WIN AT ROAD AMERICASIXTH WIN IN EIGHT STARTS THIS SEASON. NOTE 1 PRUETTıS WIN TODAY CLINCHED THE MANUFACTURERSı CHAMPIONSHIP FOR JAGUARJAGUAR PREVIOUSLY WON THE TITLE IN 2001. NOTE 2 PRUETT ALSO WON THE BFGOODRICH TIRES ³TAKE CONTROL² AWARD, HIS SEVENTH THIS SEASON. On his race ³I hate for the fans that the race had to end under yellow, but we know thatıs a part of racing. But they did the right thing to go yellow because the track was a mess. ³Choosing to run the hard compound on the left rear, was it the right choice? (Laughs) I donıt know, I have to look at Johnnyıs tires and then I let you know. I do know I had to drive a lot harder than Johnny; I was sliding out there. I had to work the car significantly harder. But it was a choice we made; we knew if it went green the whole way with no cautions, weıd be in great shape. But it worked out in the end for us. I had a great race going with Johnny. He was better in some places and I was faster in some spots. I was able to make my pass in Turn 1. You can tiptoe around there side by side, and in turn 3, tooif you trust the guy next to you. You just need to be a little ahead of the guy. Weıve done it successfully in CART and we did it today, too. On his run for a third Trans-Am Championship ³Itıs been awesome. Iıve come full circle. When I raced in the Series before, I was using it as a stepping stone. Now, Iım here because I love to drive and itıs where I want to be. Itıs been a lot of fun and Iım with a great program at Rocketsports. JOHNNY MILLER, DRIVER OF THE NO. 64 EATON CUTLER-HAMMER JAGUAR XKR, FINISHED SECOND AFTER STARTING ON THE POLE IN TODAYıS TRANS-AM RACETHIRD CONSECUTIVE PODIUM FINISH AT ROAD AMERICASIXTH PODIUM FINISH THIS SEASON. On his race today³We opted to run on the medium compound tires, so I was a little cautious with my tires at the start. All those cautions hurt our racing strategy. Taking care of the left rear tire doesnıt work if you run out of race. ³Itıs too bad we ended under yellow. I think weıd have had something left for Scott with a couple more green laps. We had both picked it up before that last caution. I was really boogying; there was barely a car length between us. You have to be careful and decisive. You got one shot and you want to make the best of it. But we had a good race between us. We each knew where the other guy was better. I was better in Turn 1, but Scott was really fast in the Carousel. That last restart we were running identical times. ³You need to be looking past the car in front of you. The scenery stays the same, but Iım always looking at the track. We just ran out of time today. Is it frustrating? Yes, but finishing second isnıt a bad thing. We donıt want to take chances because weıre still in the championship hunt. PAUL MENARD, DRIVER OF THE NO. 3 JOHNS MANVILLE/MENARDS JAGUAR XKR, TENTATIVELY FINISHED 11TH AFTER RUNN ING AS HIGH AS FORUTH IN TODAYıS TRANS-AM RACESTARTED NINTH. NOTE 1 ROAD AMERICA STATSMenard has only one Trans-Am start here, in 2002 when he finished seventhWon the 2001 NASCAR RE/MAX Series race hereA Wisconsin native, Menard considers this to be his home track. NOTE 2 BACKGROUND STATSHas six career Trans-Am starts and has five top-ten finishesHas one Trans-Am start this season at St. Petersburg, finishing 10thIn 2003, has joined Andy Petree Racing and will compete in an 18-race schedule including NASCAR Truck, Busch, ARCA, and Winston Cup SeriesFinished 29th at the Winston Cup race at Watkins GlenFinished 21st in this weekıs Truck Series at Bristol Motor Speedway. On his race³The car was performing really well, just as I had expected. We were making our way forward after picking our way through traffic. I was trying to protect my tires for a run at the end. I was racing with the 59 car for position and then I got blasted by him in Turn 12 and had all four wheels of course. We were able to get back on track, but our hopes of podium finish were over.² CONTACT: Harry Warren, 517-281-5053 (cell)