GRAND AM (DAYTONA) - Four Points Separate Top Four in Grand-Am Rolex Series
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With just two rounds remaining for the Daytona Prototype class in Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve competition, the driver’s championship remains the closest in series history. Four drivers, representing three different Rolex Series efforts, need strong performances this weekend in the Armed Forces Grand-Am 250 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. to claim the championship.
Two former champions remain tied atop the Daytona Prototype Championship with 354 points. Scott Pruett, the 2004 champion, in the No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Racing Lexus Riley, and 2005 champion Max Angelelli, piloting the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley, lead No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley teammates Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty by just four points.
Ironically enough entering the Northern California round, each of the championship-contending machines has a local connection. Pruett hails from Auburn – near Sacramento – while Fogarty calls Portola Valley in the South Bay his hometown. Angelelli’s co-driver in the No. 10, Memo Gidley, hails from nearby Novato. Each driver’s hometown is less than 100 miles from the track, adding the additional pressure of a hometown race to a tense championship battle.
The championship contenders have reached this point in very different fashions. Pruett has teamed with Memo Rojas in each race of the season – with the exception of Pruett’s win during the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona – and remained consistent on the track. The No. 01 added a second win at Iowa Speedway and has finished outside of the top five only twice – a sixth-place effort at the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona and an eighth-place finish at Virginia International Raceway. Pruett survived a late race splash-and-go fuel stop to capture a wildly popular victory in front of his hometown fans one year ago in California’s wine country.
Angelelli’s season hasn’t had the same clean look as Pruett’s, but the results have been nearly identical. Angelelli’s co-drivers in the No. 10 have included team owner Wayne Taylor, Jeff Gordon, Jan Magnussen, Jonathon Cochet, and Gidley. Despite the variety, Angelelli has earned two wins – at Virginia International Speedway and at the Rolex Series’ debut in Montreal – and made the podium all but three times this season. Angelelli finished fourth last season at Infineon, then teamed with Magnussen.
After some early season struggles, the No. 99 GAINSCO team has plowed its way into championship contention the old-fashioned way – winning. The team has captured a Grand-Am record-tying six wins this season, including five in the last seven races. Fogarty and Gurney now sit just four points behind the lead, the closest the duo has been all season. Last year in Sonoma, Fogarty climbed into the lead before contact with another car damaged the suspension and forced the team out of the race, leaving a very fast machine with a sour 25th-place finish. The No. 99 is looking for redemption this weekend, which could include leaving with a championship lead and the Grand-Am record for wins in a season.
One car with an eye on that single-season record this week is the No. 23 Alex Job Racing Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche Crawford, piloted this week by regular driver Patrick Long and Terry Borcheller. Borcheller, making his first Daytona Prototype appearance since the Rolex 24 At Daytona, set the single-season wins mark in 2003 on his way to the championship. Long also co-piloted the car to its only victory this season – at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Krohn Racing returns to Infineon Raceway this weekend with its usual two-car effort, fielding the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley with team owner Tracy Krohn and Max Papis, and Nic Jönsson scheduled to be the lead driver in the No. 75 Pontiac Riley. Colin Braun – currently sixth in the championship – will not drive this weekend, as he is serving a one-race suspension handed down by Grand-Am officials for a series of on-track incidents.
Michael Shank Racing will bring its two-car campaign to Infineon in search of the team’s first victory after experiencing success in recent races. The No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Lexus Riley, driven by Mark Patterson and Oswaldo Negri, finished a season-best third at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May, while No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Playboy Lexus Riley drivers Ian James and John Pew own a pair of fourth-place finishes.
Brumos Porsche will also bring two cars, with David Donohue and Darren Law in the No. 58 Red Bull/Brumos Porsche Riley and Hurley Haywood and JC France in the No. 59 Brumos Porsche/Kendall Porsche Riley. Donohue and Law have finished in the top 10 in every race since the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona.
The only California-based team, Luggage Express Team Sigalsport Dinan with its No. 05 BMW Riley, will be on hand with Southern California natives Bill Auberlen and Matthew Alhadeff. The pair combined to win in March the Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
After sitting out the last race, Patrick Carpentier returns to the No. 11 SAMAX/CITGO Pontiac Riley team with Kris Szekeres. The team ran in the top three in this month’s Montreal 400k at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve before finishing 10th. Carpentier and the SAMAX crew finished seventh in last year’s race.
Several other teams have recorded top five finishes in recent races. No. 19 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Z-Line Designs/Mission Residential Lexus Riley co-drivers Rob Finlay and Michael Valiante were second at Iowa Speedway, while Jim Matthews and Marc Goossens took the No. 91 Riley-Matthews Motorsports Pontiac Riley to second at Montreal.
No. 39 Cheever Racing/Pontiac Crown Royal Special Reserve Pontiac Fabcar co-drivers Christian Fittipaldi and Antonio Garcia were fourth at Montreal, while the No. 61 AIM Autosport Exchange Traded Gold/Barrick Gold/RBC Financial Lexus Riley, this weekend entered with Brian Frisselle and Mark Wilkins, took fifth two weeks ago at Watkins Glen International.
No. 3 Southard Motorsports Preformed Line Products/TrueChoice Motorsports Lexus Riley co-drivers Shane Lewis and Randy Ruhlman and No. 8 Synergy Racing EMC Mechanical/Gamewell Mechanical Porsche Doran co-drivers Rick Knoop and David Murry will also be looking for their first top-five finishes this weekend at Infineon.
Armed Forces Grand-Am 250 Storylines
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 21, 2007) – Heading into Saturday’s 250-mile race at Infineon Raceway, Round 13 of 14 on the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve Daytona Prototype schedule (SPEED, Same Day at 7 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 25), here are some pre-race notes, story angles and interesting trends to follow:
POINT LEADERS HAVE NOR-CAL CONNECTIONS: The top four drivers in the Daytona Prototype championship series point standings all have connections to Northern California. Championship leader Scott Pruett hails from Auburn, near Sacramento. Driving this weekend with co-leader Max Angelelli is Memo Gidley, whose hometown of Novato is just a stones throw from the raceway. Four points behind Angelelli and Pruett are co-drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty. Fogarty was born and raised in the South Bay, calling Portola Valley home. Pruett will drive the No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates Racing Lexus Riley with Memo Rojas, Gidley and Angelelli will pilot the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley, and Gurney and Fogarty will team in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley this weekend.
THE MEMO GIDLEY STORY: Novato native Memo Gidley doesn’t have the traditional racer’s background. Gidley was born in Mexico and essentially raised on a fishing boat, where his parents were commercial fishers. As a child, Gidley first raced BMX bicycles before racing motocross. After watching his first auto race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, a dream was born. At the age of 21, Gidley enrolled in a mechanic-training course at the Jim Russell School, which also allowed him to race. The Russell School is now located at Infineon Raceway, where Gidley returns this weekend in front of friends and family as a successful professional racer.
OTHER GOLDEN STATE DRIVERS: Aside from the aforementioned drivers and championship series point leaders, several other Daytona Prototype drivers call California home. No. 05 Luggage Express Team Sigalsport Dinan BMW Riley drivers Bill Auberlen (Redondo Beach) and Matthew Alhadeff (Los Angeles) won this season’s Linder Industrial Komatsu Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Rick Knoop (Laguna Beach) will co-pilot the No. 8 Synergy Racing EMC Mechanical/Gamewell Mechanical Porsche Doran with David Murry.
STREAKS: Scott Pruett has top-10 finishes in 17 consecutive Daytona Prototype races, including the final five races of 2006, and has won two Daytona Prototype races in each season since 2004… GAINSCO has led at least one lap in nine straight Daytona Prototype races.
OTHER CALIFORNIA RACES: This is the second Rolex Series race of the season in California; Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long won the U.S. Sports Car Invitational delivered by Luggage Express at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca earlier this season. This also marks the second appearance by the Rolex Series at Infineon Raceway; Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz won last year’s race. California Speedway in Fontana has also hosted the Rolex Series in the past.
MILESTONES: Darren Law is quickly approaching the century mark in overall Rolex Series starts. He owns 13 starts so far this season heading into Infineon, bringing his record Rolex Series total to 95… With its sweep of pole positions at Barber and the last two Daytona Prototype races, Pontiac now holds the overall pole position mark with 26. Pontiac also moved into second ahead of Chevrolet in class engine manufacturer victories with 41, now seven behind Porsche… A pole for either Jon Fogarty or Alex Gurney this weekend will give the duo their 13th straight front row starting position and the GAINSCO team’s ninth straight pole. GAINSCO is also tied for the single season overall team victory mark, which is shared by the Dyson Racing Team, Bell Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates… Pruett earlier this season scored his record 14th overall Rolex Series driver win, while Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates posted its record 15th overall Rolex Series team victory.
Armed Forces Grand-Am 250 Fast Facts
What: Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve
Who: Daytona Prototype cars, featuring several top American and international sports car driving stars
Where: Infineon Raceway – Sonoma, California
When: Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007 – 2:45 p.m. local time
TV: SPEED, Same Day, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007 – 7 p.m. ET
Schedule of Events (All times local, Pacific Time):
Thursday, Aug. 23
7:00 AM Grand-Am Paddock Opens
10:00 AM - 1:45 PM Indy Experience
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Practice – Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes
3:30 PM - 4:45 PM Practice – Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes
Friday, Aug. 24
7:00 AM Grand-Am Paddock Opens
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM Historic GP Practice
9:15 AM - 9:45 AM Practice – Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM IndyCar Practice
12:15 PM - 1:00 PM Indy Pro Qualifying
1:15 PM – 1:45 PM Historic GP Practice
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM IndyCar Practice (Group 1)
2:35 PM - 3:05 PM IndyCar Practice (Group 2)
3:20 PM - 4:05 PM Indy Pro Qualifying
4:20 PM - 4:35 PM Qualifying – Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes
Saturday, Aug. 25
7:00 AM Grand-Am Paddock Opens
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM Final Practice – Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes
9:15 AM - 9:35 AM IndyCar Warm-Up
9:50 AM - 10:20 AM IndyCar Practice (Group 1)
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Rolex Series Drivers Autograph Session
10:25 AM - 10:55 AM IndyCar Practice (Group 2)
11:10 AM - 11:40 AM Historic GP Qualifying
11:55 AM - 1:10 PM IndyCar Qualifying
1:15 PM Indy Pro Series Pre Race
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Indy Pro Race 1
2:45 PM START – Armed Forces Grand-Am 250
(250 miles/99 laps/2 ½-hour time limit)
TIME CERTAIN SCHEDULE – All sessions to start and finish as shown
EVENT WEBSITES
Live Timing & Scoring is available for all Rolex Series practices, qualifying sessions and races on the official Grand-Am website – www.grand-am.com. A live audio webcast in English and Spanish is available at www.grand-am.com.