Krohn Racing Preview for the Miller Motorsports Park Grand-Am Finale

Salt Lake, UT., Sept. 18, 2008 - The Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series will end its 2008 season this weekend at Miller Motorsports Park in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah, with the Sunrichgourmet.com 1000 K race on Saturday, September 20th.

The Grand-Am finale driver line-up is expected to feature Krohn Racing team owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn paired with veteran sports car driver Eric van de Poele in the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola. Due to extensive hurricane damage in the Houston area and the Gulf, Boris Said has been enlisted as a standby driver for Tracy Krohn. Krohn, a Houston native, also operates a major business based in Houston. Said is a former Krohn Racing winner who paired with Jörg Bergmeister in 2006 to win the Six Hours of the Glen. He has also driven with Krohn Racing at Miller Motorsports Park, Daytona and Sonoma between 2006 and 2007. The No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola features drivers Nic Jönsson and Ricardo Zonta.

The Krohn Racing team continues to seek their first victory of the season, as they develop the exciting new Proto-Auto Lola.

Tracy W. Krohn, team owner/driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:

Tell us about the circuit at Miller and what you like about it. “The Miller Motorsports facility is exceptionally versatile and well laid out. With 24 turns every four miles it is not easy for a driver because there are so many turns per lap.”

We’re going into the finale of the 2008 season at Miller. Two years ago you celebrated the GA Team championship and last year you celebrated the Jim Trueman Award there. This year was a developmental season for Krohn Racing with the new Proto-Auto Lola. Tell us about the progress the team has made this year. “This has definitely been a developmental season for us with the new Proto-Auto Lola. Although you always want to come out of the box and win races immediately, you also have to be practical that there is a lot of data to acquire and build upon, plenty of adjustments to make and steady progress achieved. It doesn’t happen overnight. We are pleased with the continued progress the team has made. Every race the car has gotten better. That’s what you want when you are developing a new car. Sure, we wish we could have a couple of victories under our belt now but we have had a couple of podium finishes. This weekend is another race and another opportunity to be on the podium.”

Eric van de Poele, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola: This will be your first time racing at Miller Motorsports Park. What have you heard about it or seen? “It looks like a very difficult track to learn. So, the concentration during the first free practice will be learning the track and determining the competitiveness of my driving. I like long tracks in general. I am also looking forward to add this one on my list.”

You have nearly completed your first full year with Krohn Racing in the Grand-Am Series. How has it been for you? What have you enjoyed most? “Of course, I had to learn the Grand-Am championship and the new car. So if the results are a little bit disappointing, I am very happy to see that we have progressed a lot during the year. I am hoping that the team will collect the fruits of this hard work for 2009. Next to this, I am very lucky to have been part of a fantastic team, both technically and so friendly in general. Of course the results are very important, but I give a priority to the atmosphere and the capability of the team you are working for. I have to say that the Krohn Racing team is an example and I am just sad that we'll reach already the end of the season. So, I cannot wait to be at Miller with my second family!”

Nic Jönsson, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:

Tell us about the circuit at Miller and what you like about it. “The Miller track is probably the longest road course in the country, has many challenging corners with both high speed and low speed, along with hard braking zones. The wind and dust is always a challenge because the sand is blowing onto the track and changing the grip level from one lap to another. What I like about the track is the more technical part of it, where you really need to hit your marks right.”

Now that we are about to end the 2008 GA season, what did you enjoy most about this year? “I have really enjoyed being a part of the development of the new Proto-Auto Lola that we have been running at Krohn this year. It has been very fun and exciting to be driving and working with such a talented driver as Ricardo Zonta and working with the very talented Engineering staff and crew at Krohn. Of course I have been enjoying the podium finishes we have had but also a little bitter taste in my mouth because we haven’t won a race, yet still been in contention and in position to do so but we have had silly things like punctures, head gaskets, etc. break on us. That has been a little frustrating.”

Ricardo Zonta, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:

This will be your first time racing at Miller Motorsports Park. What have you heard about it? “I have not raced at Miller before and have heard it is a very long circuit with many turns. Nic has driven it before and we will share information. Also I have seen video. It does not look difficult.”

You have nearly completed your first full year with Krohn Racing in the Grand-Am Series. How has it been for you? What have you enjoyed most? “I have enjoyed racing with the Krohn team and Nic this year. It has been very good. I like the (Grand-Am) championship because you can have competitive races with many drivers. That has been fun. Also we have been developing the new Lola car and it has been good to see the car get better every race.”

David Brown, Team Manager, Krohn Racing:

We’re going into the finale of the 2008 season at Miller. This year was a developmental season for Krohn Racing with the new Proto-Auto Lola. Tell us about the progress the team has made and goals achieved this year. “We took on the challenge with our eyes open. We knew we would have to work hard to achieve success but to a certain extent we are disappointed not to have achieved better results. Several times this year we have been in a really strong position but we have not capitalized on it. We have been fast in the races but to no avail. We have developed the performance and the reliability of the car in many areas but there have been some basic issues which we have been unable to improve on. We still have one more event left this year and as with all the previous events we will do all we can to overcome all obstacles to gain the results the team has worked so hard for all year. Whatever happens, we will have done our best in all areas and we will be that much stronger, knowledgeable and more motivated for the future. We have been like the duck crossing the pond, making progress while paddling furiously below the surface.”

The Krohn Racing team, now in its third year of Grand-Am competition, is currently tied for 6th (No. 76) and 15th (No. 75) in the Daytona Prototype points chase after 13 of 14 races this season. Jönsson and Zonta have two podium finishes, a third-place at Mexico City and Daytona 250, a fourth-place finish in the season opening Rolex 24 At Daytona and two fifth place finishes. Krohn and van de Poele have four Top 10 finishes so far this year, including a seventh-place finish at the Rolex 24, eighth at New Jersey and 10th at Mexico City and Montreal.

In 2007, the Krohn Racing team collected six podium finishes, three 2nd-places and three 3rd-place finishes, as well as two pole positions by former Krohn driver Colin Braun. Between the two cars, they had nine Top 5 finishes and 14 Top 10’s. Krohn cars finished fourth (No. 75) and 13th (No. 76) in the Daytona Prototype series championship standings. Tracy Krohn was awarded the Jim Trueman Award for Sportsman drivers. Additionally, Krohn, Jönsson and Braun finished second in the GT2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Sunrichgourmet.com 1000K race from Tooele, Utah will be televised live on Saturday, September 20th, at 1:00 p.m. ET on SPEED TV.