Krohn Racing on Podium at Brumos Porsche 250

The Krohn Racing team showed that their hard work and persistence with the development of the new Proto-Auto Lola is paying off, as the team celebrated a podium finish in the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Round eighth of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series was the second podium finish for the Krohn team, both third-place finishes.

Nic Jönsson and Ricardo Zonta drove their No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley from the 13th starting position to third place. Team owner/driver Tracy Krohn and Eric van de Poele started 17th and finished 14th after a 60-second penalty for running over their sister car’s air hose cost them time which they could never recover during the 70-lap, two-hour and 25 minute race.

Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, in the No. 01 Telmex Chip Ganassi Lexus Riley, scored their fifth victory of the season. Thursday’s race was the closest margin of victory in the history of the Grand-Am Rolex Series, 0.081 seconds over second place finishers Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney in the Gainsco Bob Stallings/Riley Matthews Pontiac Riley.

Tracy W. Krohn, team owner/driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola: “This is an amazing turnaround today because it was so miserable earlier in the day for both cars. We were both searching. We made some very, very last minute, I mean just before the race last minute, changes on the No. 76 car that made a huge difference. I applaud (Krohn Racing Team Manager) David Brown and our drivers. They did a really good job pulling it back together. Several laps they were actually the quickest car in the field. It was a huge turnaround. Getting on the podium here was very big for us. We really struggled the last couple of weeks, and particularly today, but they pulled it through and made it work.

My stint was actually pretty uneventful. The track was a little bit slick. There was a little bit of a wet/dry line when we first started. I overshot the “bus stop” a little bit, but other than that it was totally uneventful. Unfortunately, the car just never quite came together for us this week. But I think we learned something with the No. 76 car. Of course, that’s the advantage of having more than one car.”

Eric van de Poele, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola: “The car didn’t quite have the performance we were looking for this week, but we did find a little more speed before the start of the race. We had an unfortunate incident of receiving a penalty for running over the other car’s (No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola) air hose when we both pitted at the same time. After the 60-second penalty, we were finished. It was too long of a penalty to be able to recover.”

Nic Jönsson, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola: “It was a fantastic result for us. Obviously we were struggling all day a little bit with the set-up on the car. We basically turned the car upside down in practice and qualifying. Finally we sat down after qualifying and decided to go with the traditional set-up for this car that we learned so far this year. That’s what we did, even though we lost a little bit on straight line. The engineering crew – Simon, Jeff and David – pulled it off again for us. We were able to stay out of trouble out there and just plug away. It just gets better. It’s nice to be on the podium again with the Proto-Auto Lola. There’s more to come.”

Ricardo Zonta, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola: “I’m very happy. With everything we had this week; I think this is perfect results for us – for the maturation of the car, for everything. I think this is the best time for the results also. I am just very happy for the team, for everybody and for myself also. We worked very hard to finish on the podium. It is very positive for us.

I enjoyed my stint, especially when we stopped for the last pit stop. I knew I had to find a lot to be in the top three positions. I think everything went so well for the race. Of course, practice and qualifying was very difficult for us. We had so many small problems to balance the car, but I had a lot of fun in the race.

We have to continue to work hard and have everything in the right place at the right moment. I think we are getting close to stepping up higher on the podium.”

David Brown, Team Manager, Krohn Racing: “I was very pleased with our results. I think it’s a just reward for a great deal of work by the whole team, including the drivers, all of whom have adopted the theory of ‘just keep plugging away even when things look bad’. That fortitude has paid off. So we look forward to the next race at Barber Motorsports Park.”

The next Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race, Round 9 of 14 will be the Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday, July 19-20. For more information, please see www.grand-am.com and www.krohnracing.net.