Nascar Race News!» Rolex 24 at Daytona

Chip Ganassi Makes More History With Victory in Rolex 24 at Daytona

Holly Cain — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:14:00 +0000

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Sure, Chip Ganassi's driver lineup looked unbeatable: three Indy 500 champions, a Daytona 500 winner and the reigning sports car season champs. But in the always grueling, unpredictable and increasingly wild and woolly Rolex 24 at Daytona, it takes more than talent. It takes luck, preparation and in Sunday's case, great tenacity to win.

Reigning Grand-Am Series champ Scott Pruett took the lead from his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, 2008 Indy 500 champ Scott Dixon, with 45 minutes left in the twice-around-the-clock race on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course, then held him off on a re-start with one lap to go to give Ganassi his fourth Rolex 24 win in the last six years.

Ganassi is the first owner in racing history to simultaneously own the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and Rolex 24 trophies -- something people are already affectionately calling the "Chip Slam.''

"I don't drive the cars, I don't change the tires and I don't work on the engines,'' Ganassi said, modestly acknowledging the accomplishment. "I'm just the guy that gets to stand up here and talk about it. It's a lot of other guys that do the hard work.

"A win here does not reward you at the next race. We had a great day today and tomorrow we're on to the next race.''

The first four finishers were separated by less than four seconds after 24 hours of what was one of the most competitive races in the event's 49-year history. It was the fourth overall and ninth class win for Pruett, who co-drove with Memo Rojas, second-generation IndyCar driver Graham Rahal and sports car veteran Joey Hand.

"We were very optimistic, but did we know we'd win? No,'' Pruett said about his last stint in the car after chasing his teammates for much of the race. "But Joey (Hand) did a great job making up time. We knew we had a strong car and were just looking at our options.''

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Chip Ganassi Racing Leading the Way in Wild Rolex 24 at Daytona

Holly Cain — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 22:46:00 +0000

Filed under: A.J. Allmendinger, Jimmie Johnson, Daytona Int'l Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Nineteen hours into the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Juan Pablo Montoya held a meager five-second lead over his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Memo Rojas and the Michael Shank Racing Ford driven by Max Papis.

As the sun came up over the famous Daytona International Speedway high banks Sunday morning, six of the marquee Grand-Am Series Daytona Prototypes were on the lead lap -- the top five separated by only 15 seconds with five hours remaining in the twice-around-the-clock race through the 3.56-mile road course.

Wolf Henzler has the No. 67 TRG Motorsports Porsche in front of the GT production class -- an inspired drive, considering the car started at the rear of the 50-car field after its pole-winning qualifying effort was disqualified for a technical violation.

Ganassi, who became the first owner to win three consecutive Rolex 24 races from 2006-2008, saw his teams have some minor problems in the opening hours of the race, but they emerged from a fog-induced early morning caution period to prove themselves as he class of the field again. Some of the closest calls came between the Ganassi team cars -- both featuring a Who's Who list of racing stars.

Montoya is co-driving with Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray, two-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti and two-time IndyCar champ Scott Dixon. They are competing against Ganassi's full-time Grand-Am Series entry driven by reigning series champs Scott Pruett and Rojas, along with IndyCar driver Graham Rahal and sports car driver Joey Hand.

Without exception, drivers characterized the early laps of the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona as wild and adventurous and it has proven to be one of the most action-packed offerings in the race's 49-year history.

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Star-Studded Lineup For Rolex 24 at Daytona; Porsche Leads the Way

Holly Cain — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:03:00 +0000

Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Other Racing Series, NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The reigning NASCAR and IZOD IndyCar Series champions highlight a star-studded field for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Grand-Am Series' season-opener at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.

But it's one of sports car's more traditional names, Porsche, that both five-time NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson and two-time IndyCar champ Dario Franchitti will be chasing when the green flag drops at 3:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday.

German Jorg Bergmeister will start the No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche from the pole Saturday in the twice-around-the clock event that has again attracted a Who's Who list of auto racing greats.

Three Indy 500 winners, defending Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray (above left) and a potent mix of current and former NASCAR, IndyCar and Formula One drivers are giving it a go against the best sports car drivers in the world on the 3.56-mile Daytona road course.

Johnson and McMurray are trying to join Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt as the only drivers to win a Daytona 500 and Rolex 24 crown. Johnson will co-drive with former series champs Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty in the No. 99 GAINSCO Chevrolet and will start 10th in the marquee Daytona Prototype class. They were fastest in Friday's final practice.

McMurray is part of an two-car wonder lineup for three-time Rolex winner Chip Ganassi Racing. He'll co-drive the No. 02 BMW with three IndyCar Series champs, Scott Dixon, Franchitti and open-wheel-to-NASCAR convert Juan Pablo Montoya (above, center, chatting with Memo Rojas). They will start fifth among the 18 prototypes .

The other Ganassi car features defending Grand-Am Series champs Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas along with Ganassi's newest IndyCar driver Graham Rahal and sports car veteran Joey Hand. It will roll off third.

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Indy 500, Daytona 500 Champs Headline Ganassi’s Rolex 24 Lineup

Holly Cain — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Other Racing Series, IRL

For the first time in the history of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the reigning Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500 winners will team up to campaign in the twice-around-the-clock sports car endurance race that kicks off 2011 Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.

Indy winner Dario Franchitti and Daytona winner Jamie McMurray headline one of the most impressive driver lineups in all of motorsports, sharing driving duties in Chip Ganassi's No. 02 TELMEX-Target BMW with two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champ Scott Dixon and Formula One-turned-NASCAR star Juan Pablo Montoya for the Jan. 29-30 Grand-Am Series season opener.

Ganassi's No. 01 BMW will be driven by reigning Grand-Am Series Daytona Prototype co-champs Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, the team's newly-signed Indycar driver Graham Rahal and sports car veteran Joey Hand, giving Ganassi a formidable lineup in his quest to win a fourth Rolex 24 at Daytona title. His team became the first in history to win three consecutive times (2006-08) and has finished runner-up the last two years.

Ganassi's eight drivers have won a combined 12 series championships, eight Rolex 24 at Daytona titles, one Daytona 500 and four Indianapolis 500s victories.

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First-Year Porsche Team Bests Ganassi BMWs in Rolex 24

Holly Cain — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:40:00 +0000

Filed under: Daytona Int'l Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It wasn't the team with the biggest budget, most famous driver lineup or highest pre-race expectations.

But after 24 hours of steady, careful, pedal-to-the-metal effort, the first-year, first-race Action Express Racing team led the mighty TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing team across the finish line by less than a minute to claim the Rolex 24 at Daytona trophy on Sunday afternoon.

Action Express driver Mike Rockenfeller took the lead in the No. 9 Porsche-V8 Riley when Ganassi driver Justin Wilson pitted unexpectedly with less than three hours remaining, convinced there was a problem with the team's No. 01 BMW Riley. After a five-minute once-over in the Daytona International Speedway garage, the team couldn't find anything obviously wrong and sent the car back on track -- two laps down and forced to try to play catch-up.

It's the second consecutive runner-up effort in the Grand Am Series sportscar season-opener for the Ganassi team, which won three straight from 2006-2008. Including the 52-second differential on Sunday, the team has lost the last two Rolex 24-hour races by less than a minute.

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Ganassi BMW Leads Porsche Early in Rolex 24 at Daytona

Holly Cain — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:30:00 +0000

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Daytona Int'l Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The leaderboard at Daytona International Speedway looked very familiar in the early hours of this weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car season-opener.

While Fords dominated the qualifying session and led the 44-car field to the green flag, a couple of of former winning teams quickly found their way through the steady rain and puddled 3.56-mile road course to establish the early pace of the race.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, which won an unprecedented three consecutive Rolex 24s from 2006-2008, held the point at the six-hour mark.

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Jamie McMurray is Feeling at Home Back With EGR

Travis — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:15:55 +0000

After coming off last year where Jamie McMurray won the Sprint Cup Series’ 2009 Amp Energy 500, the 34-year-old driver has moved back to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and is preparing for the 2010 season. The driver of the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevorolet Impala SS has been quite busy this off season testing race cars, competeing in go-karting, and [...]