TRACY W. KROHN, the owner of Krohn Racing, also drives the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola with teammate Eric van de Poele. Won 'Jim Trueman Award' for Grand-Am Sportsman drivers in 2007. Been competing in Grand-Am Series since 2004, climbing from Grand-Am Cup to Prototype. Finished third in GT2 class in Ferrari 430 GT at March 2008 12 Hours of Sebring and second at 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2007. Created Proto-Auto, a partnership between Lola Cars LLC and Krohn Racing in 2007 to build new Prototype chassis for Grand-Am competition for 2008.

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Nic Jönsson co-drives with Ricardo Zonta in the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola. Been competing in Rolex Grand-Am Series since 2001. Former IRL and Indy Lights driver. Third at Sebring in 2008 and second in GT2 class at 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2007 in Ferrari 430 GT. Also competed in NASCAR in 2007.

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About Krohn Racing

The Krohn Racing team was formed in late 2005 to campaign the 2006 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

The team's inaugural race was the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January 2006 with a single car, which finished in the Top Five. Krohn Racing competed the remainder of the season as a two-car team, collecting three victories, six podium finishes, one pole position, and 14 Top Ten finishes on their way to winning the Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Drivers' Championship. They also finished second in the Daytona Prototype Team Championship.

In 2007, Krohn Racing team fielded two Pontiac Rileys and finished fourth in the Grand-Am Prototype Team Championship after collecting six podiums, nine Top Five, and 15 Top Ten finishes, as well as two pole positions.

For 2008, Krohn Racing has two new Pontiac Lolas in which to contest the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

Krohn Racing is an independent racing team owned by Tracy W. Krohn of Houston, Texas.

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Krohn Racing Post Race Report from EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio

The EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, round seven of 14 in Grand-Am Rolex Spots Car Series competition, was won by defending Grand-Am DP champions Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty in the No. 99 Gainsco/Bob Stallings Pontiac Riley. Eight cautions for 37 laps were caused primarily by rain, which fell for the majority of the race.

Nic Jönsson, starting driver of the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola, led the Mid-Ohio race for three laps (lap 34-36), all under rainy conditions. It was the first time the new Proto-Auto Lolas have seen rain this season, so all the Krohn drivers had to learn how the car handled under wet conditions and with rain tires. In addition to leading the race, Jönsson also had the team's best qualifying position of the season, a fifth place start. He and teammate Ricardo Zonta finished ninth overall.

The No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola of owner/driver Tracy Krohn and Eric van de Poele qualified 13th and got as high as third place early in the race before and penalty and brief off-road excursion relegated them to a 14th (DP class) finish. Everyone was challenged by the rain and the two and three-quarters hour Grand-Am race finished under yellow flag conditions following a multi-car wreck on the front straight.

Tracy W. Krohn, team owner/driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:

'I got in for my stint with brand new wet tires. It was very slippery. What I thought was a bad call turned out to be a mistake on our part. We pitted under the wrong set of conditions. We thought we had pitted after the window but we didn't get that timing right and it cost us a drive-thru penalty plus 20 seconds. Eric did a great job the first part of the race. We tried a little different strategy with the car at first and we put some rain tires on just prior to the start of the race. We were hoping it was going to rain a little quicker than it did. It didn't rain quite quick enough. It took about four laps instead of two or three. As it was, the strategy worked out okay and we actually moved up a couple of position, but we had thought we would end up being first. Eric got hung up by some GT cars. He ran a really solid, solid race. He had one little mishap but no big deal. He came back and turned car over to me. I went out with that set up and pushed hard and ran the thing off the track. At that point in time I was just hanging on. It was very treacherous. I took the drive-through penalty. It was unfortunate for me because I was right up there with the pack and just trying to learn the track rain line. I started to push immediately and just made a mistake and went off track.

The bottom line is we learned a lot about the car. This is the first time we've run in the rain. We learned some of the strengths and weaknesses of the car and some things we need to work on. All in all, it was not a horrible day, but not the day we expected. Nic and Ricardo ran up front for a good while. They also had a little strategy issue but it wasn't because of what they were doing. They did a great job and car was good and it just continues to get better. It really does continue to get better but the performance doesn't show it yet. With the rain, Mid-Ohio is a different kind of track, very treacherous. It's really very technical anyway. You add a little rain and it just gets exciting. The fans got a show today!'

Eric van de Poele, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:

'It was interesting in the rain for the first time. We did not have the best set-up and it was really tough, quite difficult. However, I really like the rain conditions. I got the car up to third. Even if I spun a few times, like everybody, I had a lot of fun. But, unfortunately we did not have the finish position we wanted. It's a bit disappointing, but in another way, we are there. We were third at one point, so it means we can compete. We still a need a better car for any conditions, but we closed the gap. We definitely closed the gap.'

Nic Jönsson, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:

'Qualifying was the best qualifying so far this year, so we're very pleased with that. We had a threat of rain all day but it didn't start to rain until several laps into the race. But beforehand, we had to sort out what we were going to do with tires and all that. We knew the rain was coming, so basically we decided to go with high down force for the race. We started the race with a huge push in the car. It started raining pretty bad and this is the first time we had to drive it in the rain, so we didn't know what to expect. It was extremely difficult to drive in the rain. You had to be very careful with throttle application. I found out the hard way when I spun in Turn 1 a few laps in. Fortunately I was able to get those lost positions back.

We were pretty much running second most of the stint. Unfortunately, we decided to pit too late. We went from second down to 16th. Ricardo got in and, obviously, also had never driven the car in rain before. Once he got dialed in and got going, he started gaining on people. Then the track started to dry out. We then picked up a huge push and, unfortunately, could not keep the pace. The race ended three laps early when there was a big wreck on the front straightaway. I think if that had not happened we could have gotten a few more positions, maybe in the Top 7. We are still having a little struggle to get the car the way we want. We just have to keep our head down and keep plugging away and sooner or later things will turn around for us. We have all the ingredients - a good crew, good engineering experience, a very good package overall. We just need to put all those cards in the right place to make it work as one unit. We are all experienced enough and been there before so we have to keep working hard. We will keep working on trying to get it right and we will. We will.'

Ricardo Zonta, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola:

'I think the only race we could talk is about Nic's race because it was very good. He did a very good job. We lost the race in the pits. As soon as we pitted late, we lost the race. There's not much to say. I had to learn the car in the rain like everyone. This point doesn't matter because we were the same speed in the rain. After we got behind we could not do anything. We lost the race there.'

by Krohn Racing

by Lola

Proto-Auto Commences Lola Testing for 2008 Season

Proto-Auto completed the first Lola Daytona Prototype chassis test for the customer Krohn Racing this week. Representatives from Proto-Auto, Lola Cars and Krohn Racing conducted initial testing with a brief and successful shakedown at Road Atlanta. The operation then moved to Savannah for testing.

Proto-Auto, a partnership of Krohn Racing and Lola Cars, is the official constructor of the Lola chassis. The newly designed chassis, with a CRD-prepared Pontiac engine, performed well at the Savannah test, completing over 100 laps with one hundred percent reliability during the first day of testing.

TRACY W. KROHN, Krohn Racing Team Owner/No. 75 Driver:

'In Miami, Martin Birrane and I proudly announced this program. Since then, our groups have worked together, with our suppliers, to produce an excellent vehicle. Martin and I are very grateful to everybody for the hard work that has gone into this program. Track testing is just another step in the process of producing a winning car and meeting the expectations of our potential customers.'

MARTIN BIRRANE, Executive Chairman, Lola Group:

'I've kept in touch with the progress at the track and am delighted with the updates I've been receiving. I'm sure the Lola will be a fine reward for the outstanding effort that has been made in producing the car. I'm looking forward to working closely with Tracy Krohn and his team in 2008 and beyond. I anticipate an exciting start for our new partnership at Daytona next month.'

NIC JONSSON, 2008 Krohn Racing No. 76 Driver:

'We shook the car down yesterday for four laps to make sure everything fired up while we were in Atlanta. Then we loaded her up and came to Savannah and started off this morning. Actually we haven't had any problems. We've been collecting data and doing laps. I think we have done 109 laps today, over 200 miles, I believe. That's pretty good for the very first time a new car hits the track. We haven't had any real mechanical issues. We've just made small adjustments -- things like driver comfort.

We've been validating the car's systems successfully. We're going to try to get some more data tomorrow and try some things aerodynamically, springs, stuff like that, and see how the car reacts to different changes.'

RICARDO ZONTA, 2008 Krohn Racing No. 76 Driver:

'It was very nice to drive the new car. Everything went very well today at the test. I think the team felt very positive. The car is very sensitive and anything we change you can feel. It is a lot easier to work on the car like this, when you change something and feel the difference.'

DAVID BROWN, Krohn Racing Team Manager and Engineer:

'I think we have made a solid start with the test program. It's obviously the beginning of our experience with the car. Between now and the first race we have a lot of work to do, but we're enjoying the challenge. We feel we're up to the task of making a good car.'

ANDREW BURSTON, Lola Lead Design Engineer of the Lola Daytona Prototype:

'The testing has surpassed expectations. Although we have many small things to do, we have not met with any unexpected items. I am encouraged by the performance of the car and the feedback from the drivers. The group's expertise and enthusiasm, I believe, will ensure the success of the program.'

by Krohn Racing

by Lola

Krohn Racing Team Prepares for Daytona Test

Krohn Racing's two-car team arrives in Daytona this week for the first official Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series on-track activities of the 2008 season for the Daytona Test Days, January 4-6.

Team owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn will share the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola with new teammate and veteran endurance sports car driver Eric van de Poele. Corvette GT1 champion Oliver Gavin will test in preparation for his inaugural Rolex 24 At Daytona as the third driver with Krohn and van de Poele.

The No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola will be piloted this weekend by Krohn Racing regular driver Nic Jönsson. Paired with Jönsson for the season is new co-driver and former Formula One hotshoe Ricardo Zonta. Briton Darren Turner will serve as the third driver in the No. 76 Krohn entry with Jönsson and Zonta for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Tracy Krohn's Krohn Racing combined with Lola Cars LLC in March 2007 to form Proto-Auto LLC to produce a new Lola Prototype chassis for Grand-Am competition in 2008. The Krohn Racing team, now in its third year, recently tested the new Proto-Auto Lolas with cautious optimism. This weekend will be the first 'official' outing for the new Lola Prototypes.

Tracy Krohn, who only began racing six years ago at age 48, got his start in the Panoz Racing series. In 2007, he won the prestigious 'Jim Trueman Award' for Sportsman drivers in Grand-Am. Tracy and Nic drove to an impressive second-place finish in the GT2 class at the 2007 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving the Risi-Krohn Ferrari 430 GT, along with Colin Braun. Tracy collected his first Grand-Am Prototype victory at Watkins Glen in 2005, as well as a Grand-Am Cup victory in a Porsche 966 that season.

Nic Jönsson, a native of Sweden now living in Georgia, first paired with Krohn in 2004 and got his first Grand-Am victory in 2005 at the Six Hours at The Glen. Nic was a Touring Car and F3 champion before going sports car racing in 2001. He also competed in IRL and Indy Lights in 1996-2000 and was test driver for Lola UK in 1997-98.

Eric van de Poele brings over twenty years of endurance sports car racing to the team, competing in more than 55 different racing cars on over 80 racing circuits worldwide. The Belgian is a three-time class winner at Le Mans, a two-time 12 Hours of Sebring winner, has claimed four 24 Hour victories at Spa and a victory in the inaugural Petit Le Mans. After a brief start in single-seaters (Formula 3) in 1983, van de Poele made the move to Touring cars in 1985, then Formula 3000 and even competed in Formula One for two seasons (1991-92), all while honing his endurance racing skills. He has competed in a major endurance sports car race for each of the past 14 consecutive years.

Brazilian Ricardo Zonta has over ten years experience in Formula One competition, having worked with such teams as McLaren, Honda, Jordan and Toyota. Krohn Racing's Engineer and new Team Manager David Brown knew Zonta from their days together at Jordan in 2001 and recommended him to fill-in for a suspended Colin Braun at the Sears Point race this past August. Zonta's ability to find speed quickly his first time ever in the Grand-Am Prototype and work smoothly with the team ensured him as a top pick for 2008. Like many race drivers, Ricardo got his start in go karting in his native Curitiba, Brazil for five years (from 1987-1992) before making the jump to the Formula Chevrolet Championship, then Formula 3, Formula 3000 and FIA GT before landing in F1. This past year Zonta added another dimension to his biography when he competed all season in the Brazil Nextel Stock Car Championship.

Darren Turner began his racing career in single-seaters in 1993, and served two years as McLaren's Grand Prix two-seater program driver. He was a test driver for several Formula One teams for nine years between 1997-2005, but mostly with McLaren. His sports car experience includes the DTM Series and FIA GT Championship. He is a class winner at Le Mans, Sebring and Petit Le Mans, with one victory in each of the past three years. Turner previously competed with Krohn and Jönsson at this year's Petit Le Mans in the Risi-Krohn Ferrari.

Oliver Gavin is a three-time consecutive GT1 class champion and has four 24 Hours of Le Mans, four Petit Le Mans and four 12 Hours of Sebring class victories, all with Corvette Racing. The British native got his started in go karts, moved into single seaters and quickly claimed the British National Formula First Championship with 11 wins in 12 races in 1991. He was also named 'McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year'. He moved up to British Formula 3000, where he won the championship in 1995, then the FIA International Formula 3000 and Touring cars. He was a Formula One test driver for Benetton F1 and Renault from 1997 to 2002. Sports car racing has dominated his driving since 2000 with Grand-Am, ALMS ACO-Le Mans and the FIA GT.

In 2007, Krohn Racing finished fourth and 12th with their two-car team in the Grand-Am Protoytpe Team Championship. Tracy Krohn also collected the prestigious 'Jim Trueman Award' for Sportsman drivers. In 2006, Krohn Racing driver Jörg Bergmeister captured the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Prototype Driver Championship. Krohn Racing was second in the Prototype Team Championship, a marked achievement for the new team in 2006.

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Krohn Racing Post-Race Report 2008 Rolex 24 At Daytona

Krohn Racing has reason to be proud of their results in the 2008 running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona endurance race. The two-car team finished fourth and seventh in the 46th running of the twice-around-the-clock historic enduro by racing smart and steady in the 24-hour race known for its unpredictable results.

The No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley of Nic Jönsson, and Daytona rookie teammates Ricardo Zonta and Darren Turner, finished fourth overall, after starting from the 15th position at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 26th. They faced some minor challenges from Florida's unpredictable weather, windscreen visibility, a minor brake change issue and body damage from an on-track altercations. They kept their pace, stayed out of trouble and didn't take undo risks - all part of the overall game plan for the team. It certainly paid off when Jönsson proudly brought the car to the checkered just seven laps down from the winners.

The No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley of Tracy W. Krohn, Eric van de Poele and Oliver Gavin also drove a smart and well-paced race. They started from the back of the Prototype grid, in the 25th position, after skipping qualifying to make a minor body repair. Gavin finished the race just 17 laps down from the winning No. 01 Chip Ganassi Lexus Riley of Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Dario Franchitti and Juan Pablo Montoya.

The previous highest Daytona Krohn racing team finish was fifth in the 2006 Rolex 24 race. Krohn Racing is now in its third full season in the Daytona Prototype class of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

David Brown, Team Manager, Krohn Racing:

'I think the whole team did a wonderful job. We've achieved a great deal this week, and particularly over the last 24 hours. We changed course two weeks before the race. We did an enormous amount of work to get here and the cars were quick, the team worked very well together, we had very few issues and I think we put together a decent championship start for the year.'

Tracy W. Krohn, Owner/driver No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley:

Regarding Krohn Racing's cars finishing fourth and seventh in this year's Rolex 24 At Daytona:

'I think Darren put it the best. We were talking about the race just before it ended and he said, ‘This race is like going to war.' And it very much is. When you see the cars and how it look, the results of the night and the attrition. This race includes great drivers and a great field. These were really tough conditions. It was wet, dry and then it was wet, then it was wet and dry, then through the night, then it finally cleared up a little this morning.

'This was a very difficult race for everyone. I'm very pleased with the result we had. These are not, of course, the cars that we originally thought that we would have for this race. But the idea was to make sure we had a positive result for the championship for the year. And that's exactly what we got. We achieved our goals: Two Top 10 and actually a Top 5 and a Top 10 finish is an outstanding result for where we wanted to be. We're very pleased with it. The whole team did a great job. We didn't have a car in the garage the whole 24 hours, neither one of them. We had some problems with the cars, obviously. You look at them and you can see they're fairly beat up in the back ends. But we absolutely didn't have any major problems the whole 24 hours. I was very proud of all the drivers and everybody that participated in this thing. It's just a really, really superb result for what we're trying to do. Now we get to focus on the Proto-Auto effort (new Lola cars). We start at Homestead, of course. Now we can go there with a little more confidence and not having to weather a 24-hour race with, essentially, an automobile that hadn't had enough test time.'

Regarding being the Grand-Am Prototype season-long two-car team with the top finishes of both cars:

'I think one reason we finished so well with both cars is that we had two very well sorted cars. This is not a hap-hazard effort. This is something we've been doing it for several years now. It's not an afterthought to run two cars because we think we can. This is a result of a lot of planning and a lot of experience with cars that are very well sorted. I think that is the primary thing. The other thing is that we have excellent drivers with this team.

'Ollie Gavin is not one of our regular full-time drivers, but it's great having him on the team. What a fine driver and fine man he is! Eric van de Poele, my regular co-driver this year, again, is great. If you wanted somebody to drive in dark in the rain, he's a good choice. I can't say enough about Nic and Ricardo. They did a great job. Darren Turner is also an outstanding driver and outstanding individual. Everybody just performed extremely well. When we had difficulties, and we all had difficulties last night, it was well taken care of and very professionally. I saw an article about Formula One the other day and they said 51 percent of the wins were made by 4 drivers since 1980. So you can tell how important drivers are. So that's why we spend a lot of effort concentrating on who we have driving.'

Nic Jönsson, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley:

'The guys have done a fantastic job. The engineers, with David (Brown) and Jeff Braun, the crew and the whole team were outstanding. We came down here at the test with the Lolas and then changed to the Rileys, so we basically lost the three-days of testing for preparation for the race. I don't know how David does it, but he always pulls something out of a hat. I had a really good car throughout the race. In the middle of the night when it was raining, we were the quickest car out there. We were really quick in the dry as well. Unfortunately, we have some mishaps when we had to change brakes. The left front caliper, I think, got stuck, but we only lost about 40 seconds. But that's what it's all about. It's definitely great for the championship points. I think we're going to be very strong for the championship. I can't wait to get in the Lola. That's going to be a lot of fun.'

Eric van de Poele, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley:

'The team did a great job this weekend. We had our challenges certainly -- with the rain and some problems in the night -- but everyone worked hard and overcame them. The finishing positions, fourth and seventh, show a fantastic start of the season for Krohn Racing. A 24-hour race is always difficult because you have to be prepared for anything. Everyone worked together and solved whatever problems we had to the best ability.'

Ricardo Zonta, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley:

'I started the weekend with some apprehension. I had an accident here at the testing and did not get that much practice in the car. I learned the circuit really during the race. I enjoyed myself a lot. It was not as bad as we thought because the GT drivers worked really well and left us good lines so there was not the risk we thought. The car was also very good to drive.'

Darren Turner, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley:

'I've loved my first Daytona 24, really loved it. Considering we were on the back foot this weekend because of the three-day test a couple of weeks ago when we were testing the Lola, and obviously now we are here racing with the Riley, we didn't have any real testing behind us. Both Ricardo and I had to get up to speed with the car and the circuit so we weren't really prepared for the race. Up until the race itself, I'd done 23 timed laps in different stints and the longest stint I'd done was seven laps in one go. So my first race stint was three hours and fifteen, 90 laps or so, so it was in at the deep end.

'I love it though because it's a battle, a proper battle out there. Looking at the state of the car now, I didn't even know half the rear bodywork was missing and they've patched it up the best they can but it's a completely battle-worn, battle-scarred car. This is what racing's about.'

Asked about the difference between European racing and Grand-Am racing:

'The Grand-Am series is so different to what I'm used to - either the ALMS or Le Mans itself. It's very close and with the two classes you feel there are more people racing at the same pace as you so it's really competitive out there. This circuit is so different to any other we race on because of the banking. It's flat on the banking which, when you are on your own, is not too bad, but when there's three abreast you rely completely on your spotter to tell you when it's clear because you can be alongside someone for half a mile before you are clear of them, then you can take your line and make your move. It's a different type of racing.

'For Krohn Racing it's brilliant. They really were on the back foot this weekend. One car didn't even make qualifying and the other was in 15th place but the guys did such a great job on the race strategy. We had problems; it wasn't like it was a clean run - damage, windscreen, wiper motors not working when there was a fair bit of rain out there, they all dealt with it really well. The team did a mega job.'

Oliver Gavin, driver, No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley:

'This result is very rewarding, especially for the team who had a very difficult test earlier in the month. We had to switch back to the Riley which they ran last year, which is a very good car, but it still meant there was a lot for Eric and I to find out from the car and we had to do that in the race as there was no time in the days leading up to it. It's been a real epic battle for everyone in the team. It sort of ran reasonably smoothly in the sense we didn't have any big problems, but we had lots of little things - bodywork damage, wipers not working, windshield steaming up, the rain, the tires not being particularly good first out of the pits, when you had to be really, really careful. It's been a real test and great to race against people I haven't raced against for a long, long time. People like Dario, Helio (Oliver raced against him in British F3 in 1995) and being up against Darren in the same team as opposed to our usual GT1 cars.

'I was very proud of the team as they had a lot thrown at them in the last 24 hours and they found a solution for everything, whether it was the gearshift problem we had, to the windscreen to the bodywork. They worked out the problem and got over the hurdle. They are an excellent team.'

by Krohn Racing

by Lola