Pruett Puts Lexus on Pole in Prototype Debut at Rolex 24
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 30, 2004 -- Scott Pruett put his CompUSA-sponsored Lexus on the pole in the manufacturer's first-ever start at the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona in preparation for Saturday's twice-around-the-clock spectacular.
Pruett will be joined by Max Papis and Jimmy Morales as Lexus attempts to win its debut race in the Daytona Prototype class on Saturday. In shooting for the victory, Pruett will be looking for his fourth Rolex 24 victory.
"I can't say enough about the job the entire Chip Ganassi Racing team did," said Pruett. "It's great to be able to give Lexus the pole for their first race in the series. I was fortunate enough to be able to give Toyota its first pole in CART racing at Fontana in 1999 and now we're able to give Lexus their first prototype pole today."
In addition to Pruett's effort, the Michael Shank Racing (MSR) team made it two Lexus-powered entries in the top-six today with a sixth-place showing in preparation for the team's first Rolex Series race. Kelly Collins turned in an impressive showing and will join Thomas Erdos, Cort Wagner, Brent Martini and Mike Newton in Saturday's race. MSR will get another chance to improve their starting position in Friday's second qualifying session with only the pole locked in today.
Doran-Lista Racing's run for the pole was over before it ever really began. The team wasn't allowed to compete in today's pole qualifying session after a snafu in the qualifying paperwork.
The green flag is scheduled to fall for this year's Rolex 24 at 1 p.m. on Saturday with SPEED Channel providing 15.5 hours of live coverage.
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