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Ganassi tops record Rolex 24 with third win in a row
Former Cup champions Johnson, Busch finish in top three
By Reece White, Special to NASCAR.COM
January 27, 2008
08:44 PM EST
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates racing program became the first team to capture a Rolex 24 at Daytona overall victory in three consecutive years when Sprint Cup drivers
Juan Montoya and
Dario Franchitti joined Rolex Series regulars
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in the Ganassi No. 1Lexus Riley to capture the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. The record breaking race was the 46th running of the classic endurance race.
In a race that featured Grand-Am Rolex Series and Rolex 24 records for car leaders (15), driver leaders (25) and lead changes (60), the Ganassi team stayed out of trouble to complete 695 laps and march to a two-lap victory over defending series champions Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, joined by two-time Cup champion
Jimmie Johnson and
Jimmy Vasser in the No. 99 Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley.
The wins were the second in a row for Montoya and Pruett, the first time drivers earned repeat victories in the race since Derek Bell,
Al Unser Jr. and Al Hulbert accomplished the feat in 1986 and 1987.
"We pushed very hard," Montoya said. "Every stint I was in the car, I pushed really hard. It's a good way to start the year. We all worked; we all did what we need to do."
The No. 9 Penske-Taylor Racing Pontiac Riley of
Kurt Busch, Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe scored a third-place finish in owner Roger Penske's first Rolex 24 effort since 1973, rounding out the podium.
While the No. 01 team led 252 laps, it was clear a race win would have to be earned surviving the rain and slippery track prevalent throughout the night stages of the race. When the checkered flag waved, the Ganassi quartet executed their strategy to perfection and went without the mechanical problems that plagued many of their counterparts.
During the final quarter of the race, a string of bad luck hit many of those front-running machines. The least catastrophic of the bunch came when the No. 99 machine was pulled behind the wall with gearbox problems. But strong pit strategy and speed allowed the team to rally throughout the remainder of the race, making up four of the six laps they lost in the garage area.
Disaster struck others. With less than five hours left, a broken suspension piece on the No. 59 Brumos Porsche Riley caused Joao Barbosa to spin from the lead in the final turn. The curse hit No. 23 Alex Job Racing driver Joey Hand moments later as the No. 23 began smoking while running third. What was originally thought to be a tire rub turned out to be a blown engine, erasing the team's efforts that included 59 laps led.
Less than an hour later, Burt Frisselle -- hoping to give Michael Shank Racing its biggest win to date -- saw the No. 6 Ford Riley suffer suspension damage while running in the lead. Despite leading 118 laps, Frisselle and co-drivers A.J. Allmendinger, John Pew and Ian James fell to 14th overall and ninth in class.
Frisselle's suspension failures left Montoya alone on the lead lap, and from there he and his team held on for a victory.
The win added to Pruett's already all-time best eight class victories at the Rolex 24 and record 15th overall Rolex Series wins. It was his third overall in the Rolex 24.
"Your last one is always your best. This was tough," Pruett said when asked to pick the favorite of his Rolex 24 wins. "The conditions were pretty treacherous because it was rain, then it was dry, then it was a little bit of wet again. That makes for a really tough race. I can't say enough for all of the Ganassi guys."
For Fogarty and Gurney, the race was the first step in their Daytona Prototype title defense. Even as a NASCAR champion, Johnson felt the pressure of joining the Rolex Series champions for the Rolex 24.
"In some ways, coming to the Rolex Series in the past, it's really been a release of sorts and something to have fun with," Johnson said. "But coming in, having the honor for these guys to invite me to the team and come drive for them, I'm thinking championship. That pressure was on my mind just like it would be for a Sprint Cup Series race. I would hate to be the one that kept them from winning a championship this year."
Unlike the early favorites who ran into trouble at the end, the No. 9 Penske-Taylor team's troubles started early. The advantage of an early fumble was the ability to recover.
"I had a cut right front tire early in the race, and I just managed to bring it in without much damage," Castroneves said. "Unfortunately, that put us a lap down. This type of race is all about not having trouble. As you can see, the winner had no trouble. To put this project together in four to six weeks with Wayne Taylor, it was an incredible result, and we are extremely happy to finish third."
Busch, a former Cup champion, also had an idea of what to expect having competed in a prior Rolex 24.
"It was an incredible effort," Busch said. "I don't know what the expectation was coming in, but when you're teamed up with the Captain, Roger Penske, you're only shooting for the best. To be able to have a podium finish is incredible. It was a great effort by Tim Cindric [Penske Racing President]; he's a leader on top of the pit box. That allowed us to do our job."
The decision of Krohn Racing to put the development of the Lola chassis on hold to run the tried-and-true Riley chassis from past seasons paid off as Nic Jonsson, Ricardo Zonta and Darren Turner finished fourth overall in the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley.
Wayne Taylor teamed with 18-year-old son Ricky and No. 10 Pontiac Riley full-season drivers Max Angelelli and
Michael Valiante for a scrappy fifth-place finish, eight laps behind the champions.
Rolex 24 at Daytona GT class polesitter Sylvain Tremblay finished what he started Sunday by taking the checkered flag with his co-drivers Nick Ham, David Haskell and Raphael Matos in the No. 70 Mazda RX-8. The quartet also finished ninth overall in the race.
Tremblay set a record qualifying time Friday with a time of 1:50.758 (115.712 mph). The victory was the fourth for the operation in Rolex Series GT, which is in its second full season of GT racing with the Mazda. The team also won the two-hour, 45-minute sprint at Daytona in July 2007.
"It was pretty special," Tremblay said of winning the Rolex 24. "I've dreamt of this since I've started racing. To win at Daytona has been a dream of mine for a long, long time. When I first talked of getting a Mazda running against the Porsches, it seemed like a joke back then. There was so much that had to happen, so many pieces we had to build. Then we had to convince other people to believe in our dream, and pull on from there."
The victory by the Mazda -- combined with a Lexus-powered Daytona Prototype taking the overall win -- broke a 14-year streak of Porsches in the Rolex 24 Victory Lane.
Craftsman Truck Series rookie
Andy Lally finished the 24-hour race in the No. 66 Porsche GT3, just seconds ahead of No. 67 Porsche GT3 teammate Emmanuel Collard. The two cars, which each finished two laps behind the GT winners' pace, swapped the lead during the middle and late stages of the race and consistently ran among the top five.
"It was a long day," Lally said. "It was one of these deals where there were 41 cars in the class and we came home second. It's my third second-place finish in the Rolex 24 and we won it once. Second stings a little bit, to tell you the truth, but it's a great way to start a season for the points.
"Ted [Ballou] and Bryce [Miller] are now P2 in the points and have a real good start to their year for the championship. We're on the podium in Daytona, and there is no better place to be on the podium. This is pretty cool."
Lally shared the No. 66 with Bryce Miller, Ted Ballou and Richard Westbrook, while Emmanuel Collard, Romain Dumas, Spencer Pumpelly, Tim George Jr. and Bryan Sellers piloted the No. 67.
The Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series will continue racing March 28-29 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami.
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