Chip Ganassi Racing Claims 3rd Straight Rolex 24 Victory

[PressRoom-GFN]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2008) – Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates claimed a record third consecutive overall victory Sunday in the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.

Scott Pruett drove the No. 01 TELMEX/Target Lexus Riley under the checkered flag, giving him his second overall win in the 24-hour race that began at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Pruett's co-drivers were Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti.

“This is awesome!” a happy Pruett exclaimed after climbing from his car. “This is over the top! To come here and win this thing overall and now to do it back-to-back, three in a row for Chip. Wow! This is unbelievable!

“This is a good way to start the year; the same way we did last year. We just have to keep doing it. As long as we keep coming here and winning like we do, it's just a true test of man and machine. All the guys back at the shop, in North Carolina and up in Indianapolis, all the Ganassi guys, this is a team effort, and it's unbelievable.”

Rojas described the victory as a “dream come true.”

Franchitti's position on the winning team made him the third Indianapolis 500 champion to travel to Daytona and win the Rolex 24 the following year.

“It's been a hell of a year,” Franchitti said. “With Sebring, Indy, the (IRL) championship and now the Daytona 24 (hours), it's bloody amazing. These guys, the preparation they put into this car is the reason we are here. We just tried to stay out of trouble and here we are. Bloody brilliant!”

The Ganassi team led 252 of the 695 laps, including the final 100.

Finishing second, two laps off the pace, were defending Rolex Series champions Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty. They were joined by two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and 1996 Champ Car World Series champion Jimmy Vasser in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Lowe's Pontiac Riley.

Grabbing the final step on the podium was the No. 9 Toshiba Penske-Taylor Racing Pontiac Riley, six laps down. Roger Penske's entry was piloted by two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, 2004 NASCAR Cup champion Kurt Busch, and IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe. It was the first time Penske had fielded an entry in the nation's premier sports car race in more than three decades.

“It is awesome to be racing again!” an excited Castroneves said. “Twenty-four hours of Daytona is the perfect race after the vacation, the holiday. It's a perfect race because it's long, everybody can share the car. I'm extremely happy with a third place, with all the problems that we had, it just proves this team never gives up.”

Busch said he felt “OK” after the race, but a “little woozy.”

“I had a great time,” Busch continued. “We ran our pace, we had a couple of overheating issues, and we had a guy go down in the pits, so our hearts, our prayers are with him. Everything is OK at the hospital.

“We're thanking Toshiba and SunTrust for this effort. I had a blast.”

All of the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who competed in the Rolex 24 had to leave immediately for the West Coast. Testing was scheduled at Las Vegas Monday and Tuesday, and at California Speedway on Thursday and Friday.

In the GT class, Sylvain Tremblay, David Haskell, Nick Ham and Raphael Matos emerged victorious in the No. 70 SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8, shutting Porsche out of victory lane in any class in the Rolex 24 for the first time since 1993.

Two TRG Porsches finished second and third. Andy Lally, Bryce Miller, Ted Ballou, and Richard Westbrook in the No. 66 Mitchell Rubber/Marquis Jet Porsche GT3 earned the runner-up spot, five laps in arrears to the class leader. The No. 67 TRG Monster Cable/Need For Speed Porsche GT3 driven by Tim George Jr., Spencer Pumpelly, Bryan Sellers, Romain Dumas and Emanuel Collard scored the third position.

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