2009 Riley Mk XX Chip Ganassi Racing Prototype

Pruett, Rojas Win Second Straight Rolex Race at Mid-Ohio

Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas needed five races into the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 to win their first race of the season. They didn't have to wait long to post victory number two, driving to victory in Saturday's EMCO Gears Classic presented by KeyBank at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The defending Daytona Prototype champions dominated the latter half of Round 6, leading the final 35 laps in the No. 01 TELMEX Lexus Riley before Pruett held off Ricardo Zonta in a fight to the finish to win by .491 seconds.

'My hat's off to Ricardo Zonta,' Pruett said after scoring his 22nd Rolex Series victory, following up the team's triumph in the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen. 'We were both driving like it was qualifying. It was an unbelievable event. It was crazy, because we were trying to race as fast as we can, carving our way through traffic and trying not to hit anyone. It's a good thing we had a fast car that ran well all day long. But it was a real nail-biter at the end.'

The winners had to come from a lap down. Rojas was penalized for improper fueling following a pit stop on the first lap, and then had to pit after contact with another car.

'We had a really quick car,' Rojas said after his ninth career victory. 'Fortunately, some good calls by the crew and some luck with cautions put us back on the lead lap, and Scott did a great job turning fast laps in traffic to get the win.'

A turning point came when Pruett anticipated a full course caution when he saw the No. 2 Childress Howard Motorsports Pontiac Crawford stranded near pit entrance, and quickly pitted before the third of four full course cautions. Pruett then inherited the lead when leaders Max Angelelli and Burt Frisselle pitted, and held it the rest of the way.

Zonta took second in the No. 76 Krohn Aviation Ford Lola started by Nic Jönsson, giving the team its second podium finish of the season. The team won last month's race at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, seeking their third consecutive Mid-Ohio victory in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley, placed third. Pruett and Rojas took sole possession of the Daytona Prototype point lead, 11 points ahead of Gurney and Fogarty (175-164). No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara drivers Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle entered the event with a share of the lead, but are now third, 12 points behind.

While the race was accident-free, it was slowed four times for 17 laps under caution.

Source - www.grand-am.com

Ganassi Racing Looks to Make History in Rolex 24

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will be looking to make history in the Rolex 24 At Daytona from Jan. 24-25, seeking to win America's premier sports car race for the fourth consecutive time.

Ganassi Racing has a pair of Lexus-powered Rileys entered in the 47th running of the classic, which takes the green flag at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24. The race will be covered live on FOX starting at 3 p.m. ET, with coverage continuing on SPEED from 4:30-10 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

Last year, Ganassi Racing became the first team to win the Rolex 24 in three consecutive years. For 2009, Scott Pruett and Juan Pablo Montoya return in the No. 01 TELMEX/Target entry, seeking to win the event for the third straight time. They will be joined by Memo Rojas, who joined Pruett in winning six races last year - including the Rolex 24 -- en route to sharing the Daytona Prototype championship in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

Pruett is the leading class winner in the history of the Rolex 24. He's won his category eight times, including three overall victories.

'Last year was huge for Ganassi Racing, winning our third in a row,' Pruett §äid. 'Now, we're going for four, and that says a lot about the team and the commitment Ganassi has made. Even though we didn't test in October and November, we were fastest in the opening session at Daytona In January. To come here fast right out of the box is a great way to start the year.'

Dario Franchitti also shared in the 2008 Rolex 24 victory. This year, he moves to the No. 02 Target/TELMEX entry, joining 2006 Rolex 24 winner Scott Dixon and Alex Lloyd. The potent combination pairs the two most recent Indianapolis 500 winners and IndyCar Series champions with the 2007 Indy Pro Series champ.

'Chip's going for four in a row, so it should be pretty exciting,' said Franchitti, who joins the Target Chip Ganassi Racing IndyCar Series team in 2009. 'That's an amazing statistic, and it speaks volumes for the job that this team does. It's good to be in the same car with Scott. We are teammates this year, and it gives us the chance to work together after racing against each other for many years. My new engineer, Chris Simmons, is engineering the No. 02 car, so that will also help get us ready for the IndyCar season.'

Franchitti won the Indy 500 and IndyCar Series titles in 2007, driving for Andretti Green Racing. He joined Ganassi Racing last year, competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Dixon, who lost the 2007 crown to Franchitti on the final lap of the season, won titles in 2003 and 2008 for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Ganassi Racing made its Rolex 24 debut in 2004, when championship-bound Pruett and Max Papis combined with Dixon and Jimmy Morales. The team placed all three of its cars in the top seven in the 2005 event, with a Dixon-led team finishing sixth while Pruett took seventh.

After a tight battle throughout the opening 20 hours of last year's race, Ganassi Racing won by four laps, with Montoya and Pruett leading the final three hours and 19 minutes. Overall, the team led 252 of the 695 circuits, including 128 by Montoya and 118 by Pruett.

Source - Ganassi Racing

No.01 Team Starts on Pole, Finishes 12th at VIR

Scott Pruett, driver of the No. 01 TELMEX Lexus Riley was involved in a late race incident and finished 12th after co-driver Memo Rojas put the team on pole position.

Alex Gurney took the lead on a four-wide pass on lap 65, and then held off Michael Valiante in a sprint to the finish to capture the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia, Round 2 of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

Valiante and Pruett - in the No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley - pressured Gurney throughout the closing laps, although all three cars were unsure of having enough fuel to compete the two hour, 45 minute distance on the challenging 3.27-mile circuit. With 12 minutes remaining, Andy Wallace went off course in the No. 2 Gentleman Jack's Childress-Howard Motorsports Pontiac Crawford to bring out the fourth caution of the event.

That resulted in a three-lap sprint to the finish, with Gurney trying to hold off Valiante, Pruett, Donohue and Max Angelelli, who was driving the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Ford Dallara. Donohue, Pruett and Angelelli made contact, with Angelelli going off course. Gurney then held off Valiante over the final two laps to take the victory.
Pruett was driving in relief of pole-winner Memo Rojas, who led a race-high 27 circuits before handing over to Pruett.

The race was slowed four times for 17 laps. The top eight finishers completed 81 laps, averaging 96.074 mph.
TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is now in fourth place in the standings, nine points behind the leaders, heading into the next event, the May 3 Verizon Wireless 250 presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Source - Chip Ganassi Racing