GRAND AM (MID-OHIO) - GANASSI/SABATES RACE PREVIEW

TEAMS: Back-to-back Rolex 24 At Daytona Champions TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in the No.01 TELMEX Lexus-Riley, Rob Finlay and Michael Valiante in the No.19 Z-Line Designs/Mission Residential/Make-A-Wish Foundation Lexus-Riley.

VENUE: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this Saturday, June 23rd (5:45pm ET), on the 2.258-mile permanent road course in Lexington, Ohio. Round 7 of 14 on the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series season.

AIR DATE: June 23rd, 8 pm ET (TAPE DELAY) on SPEED Channel.

LAST RACE: Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y. No. 01, St. 2 Fn. 2, No. 19, St. 10 Fn. 7.

NEXT RACE: July 5th, Brumos Porsche 250, Daytona, Fla. (2006, No. 01, St. 1 Fn. 3, No. 19, St. 7 Fn. 5).

TEAM POINTS: No.01 TELMEX Lexus-Riley, 180 points (1st, +12); No. 19 CGRFS Lexus-Riley, 51 points (20th, -129)

DRIVER POINTS: Scott Pruett, 180 points (Leader, +7); Memo Rojas, 155 points (3rd, -25); Rob Finlay, 111 points (16th, -69); Michael Valiante, 99 points (21st , -81).

EXHAUST NOTES: A second consecutive podium finish June 9th at Watkins Glen International extended the lead of Pruett and the TELMEX team in the Rolex points standings…Memo Rojas overtook two positions in the Rolex series driver points and is now 3rd after a second place finish at Watkins Glen International June 9th. This is the sixth race out of seven this season the TELMEX team will start their engine in the points lead…

MID-OHIO HISTORY AND MORE: Both the No. 01 and No. 19 DP’s look forward to their return to the Buckeye state’s 2.258-mile permanent road course to collect some highly sought-after points in Rolex Series competition. In 2006, the No. 19 posted a solid top-10 finish in their first time pairing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and hopes to combine that experience, along with three races under their belt in their new engine/chassis combo, to run in the front of the pack this year. The No. 01 car of Pruett and Rojas will be all business as well following last year’s fiasco in Turn 9 that put the No. 01 car (running in sixth at the time of the collision) out of the race just 15 laps before the checkered flag. In 2004 and 2005, the No. 01 car captured a win and a podium, respectively, and will look for a return to the days of ‘ole at this highly competitive track nestled in the surroundings of Ohio’s historic Amish country.

MID-OHIO REWIND: In 2006, The No. 01 car of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates clawed their way back from the 26th starting position after a post-qualifying engine change, but Scott Pruett was taken out of competition on Lap 85 after making contact in Turn 9, ending the team’s night 14 laps shy of the checkered flag in the 99-lap sprint race. Meanwhile, No. 19 was posting some of the top lap speeds of the race, but they could not overcome the elements and managed to notch their sixth top 10 finish of 2006.

CGRFS continues to be the most successful team in Daytona Prototype history– holding records in wins (14), poles (19) and podium finishes (33).