DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 30, 2012) – The Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) No.02 Target/TELMEX and No.01 TELMEX/Target Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley Daytona Prototype (DP) entries finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway.
TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
The No. 02 DP driven by 2006 Race Winner Scott Dixon and co-drivers Dario Franchitti (2008 Winner), Juan Pablo Montoya (2007, 2008 Winner) and NASCAR star Jamie McMurray had trouble in the overnight portion of the race when the team had to repair a broken shifter. The car headed to the garage area at 2:44 a.m. ET and returned to the track in ninth position and four laps down to the leader after a five-minute repair. The team was able to gain three laps back in the final two hours of the event to finish fourth with Montoya behind the wheel in the final stint.
After contending in the top three overall for most of the 24-hour race, four-time and defending Rolex 24 At Daytona Winner Scott Pruett and co-drivers Memo Rojas (2008, 2011 Winner), Graham Rahal (2011 Winner) and Joey Hand (2011 Winner) were running in second with just over an hour to go in the race when the No.01 DP encountered gear box issues and were forced to come pit road. The team lost ground after having to replace the gear box and rejoined the race in sixth and four laps down with just under 50 minutes until the checkered flag. With little time remaining to make up the time lost, the No.01 crossed the finish line sixth with Pruett behind the wheel in the final stint.
NOTES OF INTEREST:
- The 50th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona had a total of 14 caution flags for 58 laps
- There were 10 total leaders over the course of the 24 hours
- The No. 01 TELMEX/Target Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley led a total of 96 out of 761 laps
- The No. 02 Target/TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley led a total of 52 out of 761 laps
- Pruett led the most laps for CGRFS with a total of 79
- CGRFS has earned 10 top-five finishes in each Rolex 24 At Daytona since first competing in the race in 2004
- The race marked the first Rolex 24 At Daytona since 2005 that CGRFS finished off of the podium
- Pruett still holds the all-time class victory mark at the Rolex 24 At Daytona with nine (1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2011).
- Pruett has a record 37 overall GRAND-AM Rolex Series wins in addition to four overall wins at the Rolex 24 (1994, 2007, 2008, 2011)
- CGRFS still holds the greatest six-race stretch in Rolex 24 At Daytona history with four wins (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011) and two second-place finishes (2009, 2010) dating back to 2006
- CGRFS has five championships (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011) and 37 race wins since their introduction to the circuit in 2004– all GRAND-AM records
- Pruett and Rojas continue to be the most successful driving duo in series history with 23 GRAND-AM race wins
CGRFS QUOTEBOARD
SCOTT PRUETT – (No.01 TELMEX/Target Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley)
“What a race. You really never know what is going to happen here. This is the big one that we all love to win in sports car racing in America. We had a great car and even with the fact we had to overcome a gearbox issue near the end, I’m just not sure we had anything for the two Fords up front. It was a total team effort like always from the Ganassi team, and Memo and I are looking forward to Barber in March.”
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA – (No.02 Target/TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley)
“We gave it all we had. For the second year in a row we just couldn’t make it happen. It’s disappointing what happened in the middle of the night. I really enjoy running this race with this group of guys (Dixon, Franchitti and McMurray). One of these days we’ll get this right and win it again.”
The next GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race for the CGRFS season-long effort in the No.01 TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley with Pruett and Rojas will be at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Al on March 31. The Porsche 250 will air on SPEED at 4:00 pm ET.
About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four in the IZOD IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Daytona Prototype in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. Overall his teams have 14 championships and 145 victories, including three Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and four Rolex 24 At Daytonas. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.
For more information log onto www.chipganassiracing.com
Source: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Press Release
