PRUETT, DIXON, ROJAS EARN ECOBOOST'S SEVENTH PODIUM OF 2014
October 6, 2014 by Ford
BRASELTON, Ga. – Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Scott Dixon earned Ford's seventh podium of the year on Saturday at the 10-hour TUDOR United SportsCar Championship finale – Petit Le Mans.
The trio finished p3 in the No. 01 Telcel/Telmex Ford EcoBoost Riley prototype, one lap off the pace, in a race that was littered with cautions. Ozz Negri and John Pew, the only two-man team in Prototype, finished p6 in class but 22nd overall when an electrical issue forced the No. 60 Aero Ford EcoBoost Riley behind the wall after running as high as p3 early in the race.
Scott Dixon, a three-time IndyCar champion for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, took the last stint for the 01 Telcel team.
'Well, we were on our own lap, so (my goal) was really just to get the car home in one piece,' Dixon said. 'We struggled on the last two stints, it seemed like. At some point we must have knocked the dive planes off, so it had a lot of understeer. Especially through the high-speed corners. So the car was a bit challenging. But the team did a good job. Once we got out of sequence that one lap, we just didn't have the speed to get it back, but it's always fun to finish on the podium.'
Pro driver Scott Pruett, who made his fourth appearance on the podium at Road Atlanta, was happy with the day overall, considering contact with another car sent Rojas spinning on lap 287 during his second stint of the day.
'We were running strong and actually chasing down the 10 car, or at least pacing them at that point in time,' said Pruett, who handed the reins to Rojas in p2. 'It was unfortunate Memo got ran into. The result may not have been different, but it would've been a lot more exciting. We would've been on the lead lap. We would've been fighting the fight. We had good pace. It seemed like when it cooled down we were actually picking up speed, which was a good thing. Overall, three wins (in the season) is great. Unfortunately we had more DNF's than we would have liked.
'It's been a real up-and-down season, but I can't be more proud of all the Ganassi guys and all the Ford guys and the continued support from Telcel. These are the years that really bring you together, as a team and a group. It makes you dig harder and work together closer and try and find any extra speed you can. I couldn't be more proud of my guys. Last year we won the championship with winning two races. We won three races this year. So things look good for 2015.'
Michael Shank Racing had the chance to be the feel-good story of the day as the only team to attempt the race with only two drivers in prototype. And they made the most of that, staying just off pace with the leaders, until the mechanical failure.
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'It's just one of those things,' said Negri, who started the race with a triple stint. 'The start, I played it in my head and it happened exactly how I wanted it to. It's racing. We broke fourth gear (Negri was eventually forced behind the wall on lap 173 for a fix). We had a car to fight for the podium. We ran as high as p3. We were definitely on pace to keep up with the top teams. 'It's just such a hard effort put into this, doing it with two drivers. The guys have always worked really hard. I felt we had a really good car. I really did. It's one of those things. We worked very hard for it today and I'm leaving here happy with our effort. I want to thank Ford for all the hard work they put into this program all year.' Pew brought the No. 60 to the finish line. 'It was a long day,' Pew said. 'I needed a few more minutes in the car to meet the requirements so I got the last stint. Of course it makes you a little nervous. It's pitch black out there and you've got to bring it home in one piece. There was a lot of stuff going on but we were separated from seventh place by at least a lap so we didn't have to do anything crazy.' Like most drivers and team owners, Michael Shank is already looking ahead to 2015. 'We've made tons of progress (this year),' Shank said. 'I'm really proud of what our team has done with Ford Racing and the progress we've made from Daytona until now. I'm looking forward to what comes next. I think the progress we've made is a sign of what we can still do, and that's great.'
posted on conceptcarz.com
