Rocketsports Racing Post-Qualifying Notes and Quotes from Puerto Rico
ROCKETSPORTS RACING SCOTT PRUETT DRIVER NOTES AND QUOTES MOTOROCK TRANS-AM TOUR FOR THE BFGOODRICH TIRES CUP SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH POST-QUALIFYING SCOTT PRUETT, DRIVER OF THE NO. 7 MOTOROCK/JAGUAR R PERFORMANCE XKR, QUALIFIED ON THE POLE WITH A TIME OF 1:05:471 FOR TOMORROW¹S TRANS-AM TOUR RACEŠTOOK THE POLE IN THE RACING DEBUT FOR THE NEW JAGUAR AJ-V8 FOUR-VALVE, OVERHEAD-CAM, FUEL-INJECTED ENGINEŠNINTH POLE THIS SEASONŠ29TH POLE OF HIS TRANS-AM CAREERŠRANKS SECOND ON THE ALL-TIME POLE WINNER¹S LIST, MOVING AHEAD OF TEAM OWNER AND THREE-TIME TRANS-AM CHAMPION PAUL GENTILOZZI. NOTE 1 BACKGROUND STATSŠClinched his third Trans-Am Drivers¹ Championship with his win in MiamiŠIn 2003, has eight wins (St. Petersburg, Mosport, Infineon Raceway, Cleveland, Trois-Rivieres, Road America, Denver, and Miami) in ten startsŠStarted on the pole nine timesŠIn August, raced in the Winston Cup event at Watkins Glen, scoring a career-best second placeŠIn June, competed in the Winston Cup race at Infineon Raceway finishing 24th due to contact while running sixthŠTwo previous Trans-Am Drivers¹ Championships in 1987 and 1994ŠIn 2002, did not compete in the Trans-Am TourŠCompeted in Winston Cup Series in 2000Š Competed several seasons in CART Champ Car Series, scoring two winsŠHas two IMSA GTO Drivers¹ Championships (1986, 1988). On winning the pole positionŠ ³It¹s been a challenge for us this weekend. Like any new program, there can be little gremlins that crop up. Yesterday, we had a hairline crack in the oil pan that was hand fabricated, so we changed the engine which meant we missed the afternoon practice session. In qualifying, we had our work cut out for us. We had a throttle linkage problem and it was sticking. The throttle stuck in Turn 9. I was glad to have the forethought to get my foot under the pedal to get it stopped. But the engine was just fine. ³I only had two flyer laps and we did better than I expected. My hat¹s off to the Rocketsports guys and Jaguar. This is very special for me to be able to give the Jaguar AJ-V8 its first pole, especially during its first appearance, and to do it here in Puerto Rico. On the trackŠ³The track has picked up grip and speed. We¹re 21Ž2 seconds quicker than our first session. It¹ll be a heck of a race. Any new track has no grip and a lot of grime the first day; that¹s typical. But here, the Puerto Rican race fans will get to see all the racing; that¹s not typical. They usually just get to see a small part of the track. Jorge has done a great job here. The racing is just part of a tremendous event with a lot of color and glitz. And the television broadcast will show that Puerto Rico is a great place to go. The people here are tremendous, not just at the track, but everywhere. On his futureŠ ³This new engine is the future of the Trans-Am Tour. We have taken our first step into the future. To grow the series to be like the heydays, this is the direction we need to go. I applaud Jaguar for taking the first step. We¹ve got a huge project in front of us. Unless you¹re involved, you can¹t appreciate all the hard work, dedication, sweat, and tears that go into this. Now we start the tedious part, all the little things to refine it. I enjoy that part. I¹ll continue with Rocketsports and Jaguar, as well as with Ganassi in Winston Cup. I¹m like a bad penny I can show up anywhere. ROCKETSPORTS RACING WALLY CASTRO DRIVER NOTES AND QUOTES MOTOROCK TRANS-AM TOUR FOR THE BFGOODRICH TIRES CUP SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH POST-QUALIFYING WALLY CASTRO, DRIVER OF THE NO. 3 PUERTO RICO LOTTERY JAGUAR XKR, QUALIFIED SIXTH WITH A TIME OF 1:06:703 FOR TOMORROW¹S TRANS-AM TOUR RACE. NOTE 1 This is Castro¹s second career Trans-Am startŠHis previous start was in 1996 at St. Petersburg in 1996 where he qualified 10th and was running fifth when a broken axle relegated him to a 11th place finish. NOTE 2 BACKGROUND STATSŠIn 2003, leads the Puerto Rico National Championship GTS class point standings with four wins and one second-place finish, with one race remainingŠset pole position records at Salinas Speedway and Ponce Race Track. On his qualifying effortŠ ³The track is in beautiful shape now. The car was a bit loose and it was tough to put the power down. We¹ve made more adjustments to the car and we¹re moving in the right direction. We¹ll make some shock adjustments before tomorrow¹s warm-up session. ³The tires worked well for me. I¹m learning more about them each time out. I expect to be a top-five contender for the whole race tomorrow.² CONTACT: Harry Warren, 517-281-5053 (cell)