Krohn Racing Preview for Daytona Brumos Grand-Am Race
Krohn Racing Preview for the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona The Krohn Racing team heads to Daytona Beach, Florida to defend its 2006 victory in the Brumos Porsche 250 race at the world-renowned Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, July 5th. Defending winner Colin Braun pairs up with 2004 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype champ Max Papis in the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley for the 250-mile race at the 3.56-mile, 12-turn super speedway circuit. Team owner/driver Tracy Krohn drives with Nic Jönsson in the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley for Round 8 of 14 in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Braun and co-driver Jörg Bergmeister won the Brumos Porsche 250 last year before Jörg went on to become the 2006 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Driver’s Champion. The victory put Colin in the history books as the youngest driver in North America to win a major league car race at 17 years, nine months and seven days old. Tracy W. Krohn, team owner/driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley: Krohn Racing has had good results at Daytona traditionally. Why do you think that is and do you feel confident about this upcoming race? “I think we do a pretty good job of setting the car up for a race and qualifying. I think we do a good job of managing our tires. We work very hard on race set-up and don’t worry too much about qualifying. That’s part of the key to it. This team is looking for a podium result here. We’ve done some testing and we think we’re going to be competitive. This is one of our more favorite formats at this track. We’re running with the GT cars as well so that ads a little bit more dimension to the race.�?? How do you like the one-day format with practice, qualifying and the race all in one day? “I’m actually good with it, particularly at Daytona. We have a lot of knowledge of the track, having been there many times and pretty well understand the set-up on the cars. I think for us it’s a pretty good format. It makes for a long day, but that’s racing.�?? Do you think races like this one at Daytona are a good way to introduce NASCAR fans to sports car racing? “I think when people see the format where the racing is very close and you get a lot of passing coming into turns, I think it’s good for NASCAR fans to see people turning right, on purpose. Fans will get to see two different classes and a lot of passing. They will get to see a lot of pretty good maneuvers -- going into turn one where you may be passing a slower GT car, passing on the left or the right, depending on where they are. It’s a night race, so I think that gives it a little more added dimension as well. And who knows, it might even rain! NASCAR fans are not used to seeing cars race in the rain. We could get to show them that too.�?? What do you like best about the Daytona road course circuit? “I really like coming into turn one, because you go really fast…probably as fast as on any track we run our entire schedule. You’re doing about 185 mph and you turn left, you go to braking so you are trail braking going in. You are going down through the gearbox, for us maybe from fifth to first or second. So you’re slowing down very quickly, you’re turning left, you’re balancing the car because there’s a few bumps in there. It’s a pretty challenging turn and a lot of fun.�?? Nic Jönsson, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley: Krohn Racing has had good cars and results at Daytona traditionally. Tell us about your experiences. “Yes, I think we have good cars and I hope that everything will work well the race. We had good cars last year but Tracy and I had bad luck in this race – Tracy got hit on the first lap and we had to go behind the wall, so we lost 4-5-6 laps from the very beginning. The No. 75 car did well; Colin & Jörg won that race last year. Historically, we have a good race car at Daytona and I think we have a good set-up. I am very hopeful about this race.�?? Are you confident going in to the race this week at Daytona? “I think the team should be very confident going in there. We had a good test last week at Barber. I think everybody is very excited to go into Daytona and have the second half of the season, move on and do even better than we did the first part of the season.�?? Do you think races like Daytona are a good way to introduce NASCAR fans to sports car racing? “I think it’s a great idea because they have always had a problem to attract enough fans on our own. With the NASCAR fans, I think they really enjoy our racing and love our racing.But without more advertising and marketing for our series, they don’t know we are there racing. Obviously NASCAR does a lot of advertising and people come out for those races and if we’re there as well, they get to see us. They love our type of racing. They think it’s very close and very tough wheel-to-wheel racing. I think we could even have more to be able to get the recognition of the series. It really is fantastic racing.�?? Max Papis, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley: Krohn Racing has had good results at Daytona traditionally. Why do you think that is and do you feel confident about this upcoming race? “I’m always confident when we show up at the race track with the maximum focus and ability to achieve our success. Recently the team has been testing and it looks like we made some improvement on the set-up. I’m looking forward to trying those improvements in Daytona. It might be the key for our success there.�?? How do you like the one-day format with practice, qualifying and the race all in one day? “I actually do like it. I think sometimes when we’re at the racetrack we waste a lot of time to do a promoter’s test day and do two half-hour sessions in one day. Personally, I think that’s kind of a waste of time. I think a 2-day format is the best. Concentrating everything in one day is going to enhance the preparation. It is definitely going to show the teams that are better prepared. I know my guys at Krohn Racing are going to show up with everything, and more, in place. I’m very confident that this is going to play to our advantage.�?? Colin Braun, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley: How will it be going back to Daytona as the defending race winner? “Going back to Daytona for me is something I always look forward to. I really enjoy racing at that race track. Obviously with the previous win we had there it makes it that little bit extra special to me. I’m definitely looking forward to going back there. I think we have a pretty darn good car at Daytona. We always seem to be pretty quick there. I expect that it shouldn’t be any different this weekend.�?? How do you like the one-day format with practice, qualifying and the race all in one day? “For me, I think it is better. I like to show up, have practice in the morning, get the qualifying done in the afternoon and get through the race, then it will be the end of your day. I really enjoy the single-day format. I think it pays to have a car that you know is going to be good when you show up and to have an idea of a few things to try for potential changes. It pays to be a team that is ready and set with everything in order and ready to go at the very start. I think Krohn Racing is good at that. We have a lot of experience and a lot to draw off of. I think we can get the car right in a 30-min. practice session and be really quick. I think that is something we should be great at for Daytona.�?? You had an exciting run last race at Mid-Ohio, sandwiched between veterans Scott Pruett and Max Angelelli – any predictions on a repeat? “Mid-Ohio was a lot of fun for me because I got to race with good drivers like Scott, and Max was right there too. It was fun to be in an actually race showdown. Mid-Ohio was a great opportunity for me to race against some good guys in the Rolex Series. It is such tight, close racing that it makes it incredibly hard to pass. You almost get into a stalemate where everybody brakes at the same spot, turns at the same spot and it’s so hard to pass. I think that makes it very difficult but it also makes it very challenging as a driver.�?? Jeff Hazell, Krohn Racing Team Manager: The Krohn Racing team does well at Daytona traditionally – what do you have planned for this week? “We had a reasonable car there for 24 hour and we’ve improved the car since then so we certainly should be competitive. We’ve got the GT cars racing with us so that should make the race a little more interesting, especially as the Prototype field is shrinking.�?? You have spoken about the dominance lately of the No. 99 car. Has the Krohn Racing team been making adjustments to be able to overcome their recent dominance? “We’ve been reviewing our set-ups, testing at Barber Motorsports Park and working on that. We’ll see more when we get to Daytona and try a few things out.�?? The Krohn Racing team continues in fourth place in the Prototype team points chase with the No. 75 entry and 13th with the No. 76 entry at the halfway point. Papis and Braun have three podium finishes, a second-place at both VIR and Mexico City and a third at Mid-Ohio. Braun also captured two poles. Krohn and Jönsson have one Top Five and two Top Ten finishes so far this year. As the Rolex Series reaches the midway point of the season, with seven races completed and seven to go, they face a daunting five races ahead in six weeks. This Thursday at 8 p.m., the Roles Series returns visit to the historic Daytona International Speedway for the 70-lap, 250-mile night sprint race, the Brumos Porsche 250. The following Friday night, July 13, the Daytona Prototypes make their inaugural visit to Iowa Speedway for the Iowa 400k. On July 22, they return to the South for the Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. After a well deserved week off, the Series heads north of the border to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, for the debut at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Aug. 3. That race is followed on August 10th with the Crown Royal 200 on the short course at Watkins Glen.After getting a weekend off, they travel west to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. for the penultimate round on Aug. 25. The 2007 Grand-Am season will wrap up at Miller Motorsports Park, outside Salt Lake City, on Sept. 15 with a 1000km endurance race. Krohn Racing won the 2006 Daytona Prototype Driver’s Championship with driver Jörg Bergmeister and finished second in the DP Team Championship. The team collected three victories, six podiums, eight Top Five finishes, 13 Top Ten finishes and two pole positions. The Brumos Porsche 250 is a one-day event, which includes practice, qualifying and the race all taking place on Thursday, July 5th. The show culminates with the 250-mile night sprint race, which will be televised live on SPEED TV at 8:00 p.m. EDT. For more information, please see www.grand-am.com and www.krohnracing.net. # # # 7.03.07 If you wish to be removed from the list, please reply to this release and type “REMOVE�?? in all caps in the subject heading. Thank you. + + + Barbara J. Burns for Krohn RacingBurns Group Unlimited 833 Piedmont Avenue Suite B Atlanta, GA 30308 Ph: 404.873.0772 Fax: 404.873.0661 Cell: 770.329.7134 burnsgroup@aol.com