Skip Barber Racing School Announces 2013 Karting Scholarship Shootout Date & Location

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES CAR TO FEATURE NEW COMPONENTS IN 2013

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES CAR TO FEATURE NEW COMPONENTS IN 2013

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013) — Two new components designed and provided by Dallara will be incorporated on the IZOD IndyCar Series car for the 19-race season that commences March 24 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

The chassis manufacturer has designed structural pieces for the sides of the monocoque with the goal of further reducing the risk of cars potentially rotating on side impact. To improve durability, brake disc guards will be mandatory for oval races and optional for road and street course events.

"It is important that we continue to evolve the chassis based on the data gathered to further enhance performance and safety," said Will Phillips, vice president of technology, INDYCAR. "We were extremely pleased with the performance of the new car last season and continue to study data and feedback to improve the car."

The Side Impact Structures, which are mandatory for the 2013 season, are bolted to the sides of the cockpit at driver’s shoulder height and fit inside the bodywork. They are not visible outside of the car and have no aerodynamic effect.

Based on its design to prevent interlocking wheels, the underwing is the widest part of the car, which is unique in open-wheel racing.

"When the underwing contacts the wall, we want to achieve a progressive crush to dissipate the energy as it reaches the tub," said Andrea Toso, head of research and development for Dallara. "The design of the underwing therefore includes some localized weak points, which fail at specific and progressive impact loads to achieve the desired dissipation. Based on information gained from some practice week incidents at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2012, we decided to modify these weak points.

"For Indy, we added slots in the support cones for the underwing, and prior to Fontana we added slots in the leading edge of the underwing. These modifications have made the underwing collapse more progressively in a side impact, resulting in less load being transmitted to the driver."

Toso noted that incorporating Side Impact Structures complements the 2012 modifications. Additionally, the carbon fiber cockpit is reinforced with Zylon panels.

"In order to further reduce the risk of tilt, we needed to get a more even distribution of crash resistance from top to bottom. This is the purpose of the Side Impact Structure," Toso added.

Dallara also has introduced brake disc guards that are more robust and heat resistant than the 2012 model.

"The guard helps keep the rotors, which are made of carbon, from being damaged by the wheel during a typical 6-second pit stop for tires," said Phillips. "We have made it mandatory for the ovals only this season to ensure there is no aerodynamic advantage of running the old versus new type. This will allow our teams to run through their remaining inventory from 2012 at road and street events with no compromise of safety or performance."

Media Contact: Amy Konrath, INDYCAR, akonrath

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Star Race Cars Announcement

STAR RACE CARS AND AUTOENGINUITY LLC FORM MARKETING PARTNERSHIP TO INSURE CONTINUED SUPPLY OF OEM PARTS TO ALL PRO MAZDA RACE CAR OWNERS

Mesa, AZ (February 14, 2013) – Star Race Cars, announced today that it has entered into a marketing partnership with AutoEnginuity, L.L.C. to continue providing the full range of OEM parts for the 150+ Pro Formula Mazda race cars now in use by both the Pro Mazda Championship and club racers around the country.

Star Race Cars will be relocated to 3715 E. Palm ST., Mesa, AZ 85215. The phone number familiar to teams and car owners remains the same, (818) 686-3350 and the website (www.starracecars.com) is now fully operative and will allow online purchasing of parts and services. Prep shops and larger teams will be offered schedule price discounting. Orders are now being filled and rush orders for at-track repairs will be expedited.

"Our focus will include both the club racer and the professional," says Star Race Cars principal Jay Horak. "Customers will see our passion for racing show through in our customer service and the quality of parts supplied. Regardless of your competitive level, we can supply all of your parts needs. We will also be introducing a pricing reduction on some of the fiberglass body parts to help the club racer stay racing."

The new Star Race Cars manufacturing and distribution facility has the full complement of drawings, tools, jigs, molds and materials – such as custom-made chrome-moly tubing for A-arms – to supply car owners with the high-quality parts required for safe competition.

"We’re very happy to be turning Star Race Cars over to such a capable partner," said Gary Rodrigues, the founder of Star Race Cars. "Jay has shown he is enthused about keeping our Pro formula car owners racing, growing the company and seeking out new and forward-looking partnerships in the motorsports community."

About AutoEnginuity LLC

The company was founded in 2002 by Jay Horak, a computer hardware engineer who spent a great deal of his time tuning and racing his own cars. AutoEnginuity’s purpose is to provide vehicle owners and independent service shops the opportunity to diagnose and tune vehicles quickly and economically. AutoEnginuity has grown to become the leading provider of PC/PDA-based scan tools in the world. AutoEnginuity’s customers include vehicle owners, as well as independent service shops, and dealerships.

GRAND-AM, ALMS Announce Formation Of Joint Technical Committee

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

GRAND-AM, ALMS Announce Formation Of Joint Technical Committee

Group Co-Chaired By IMSA’s Elkins, GRAND-AM’s Buck

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 12, 2013) – GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón announced today the formation of a Joint Technical Committee. The group is focusing on key competition issues for the two organizations during this season, but also on the competitive landscape for the new unified sports car series debuting in 2014.

The committee, featuring competition department staff members from GRAND-AM and the ALMS plus outside technical consultants, will be co-chaired by International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Chief Operating Officer Scot Elkins and GRAND-AM Managing Director of Competition Richard Buck.

Initial key projects include race car homologations, balance of performance and the development of technical specifications for the unified series’ classes. Names of those new classes will be announced on March 14 at Sebring International Raceway.

“We have a solid group and an ‘all-for-one’ approach,” said Elkins. “We’re combining the best technical minds from both organizations.”

Added Buck: “This merger is all about putting our resources together for the greater good. That’s what we’re doing with this committee. In the process we’re meeting a challenging situation head-on, brining expertise and enthusiasm to the table.

“Scot is an immense resource, as is Paul Walter, now serving as race director for both the ALMS and GRAND-AM. We’ve assembled an all-star team with this committee.”

—

Contact:

Herb Branham

GRAND-AM Communications

(386) 310-6050

hbranham

GA, ALMS Joint Technical Committee_21213.pdf

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media

@sundaygroup
317.908.2975 (m)
www.sundaymanagement.com

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, www.twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Riley Technologies Wins Ninth Consecutive Rolex 24 At Daytona

Riley Technologies Wins Ninth Consecutive Rolex 24 At Daytona

Scott Pruett Races Into Record Books With Riley
Media Contact: 
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management

(317) 908-2975 (m)

media

Daytona Beach, Fla. (28 January 2013) – Riley Technologies raced into the record books once again this weekend as the firm’s Daytona Prototype design took a ninth consecutive overall victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates drivers Scott Pruett, Juan Montoya, Charlie Kimball, and Memo Rojas edged the field by just 22 seconds after 709 laps of racing in their No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW-Riley at the “World Center of Racing” to open the 2013 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season with a huge victory.
Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype design debuted in the Rolex 24 in 2004, and has won every running of the big event since 2005 as the Mooresville, North Carolina-based organization has continued to offer innovation in design and unparalleled customer support through three generations of DP design.

The race was yet another highly competitive affair, with 24 different drivers holding on to the overall lead, which changed hands a record 78 times despite running under caution for 121 laps, including an extended run of 31 laps behind the pace car as fog enveloped the speedway in the early morning hours.

After taking the pole in Thursday qualifying session, the No. 01 was a factor from the start of the race to the finish, with Pruett leading a race-high 205 of the 421 total laps that the No. 01 BMW-Riley led in the 51st running of the 24.

Pruett has now taken four overall victories in Riley machines, and his accomplishment matched the record of Rolex legend Hurley Haywood, as the two are the only drivers in the race’s history to have won overall five times.

“It’s just an incredible day all the way around, winning with these guys, winning with Chip, with TELMEX and with BMW,” Pruett said. “Then at the end of it, having gotten to know Hurley real well over the years by racing with him and just as a friend – and to have him there at the end – was pretty special. It was a very special thing.”

Teammates Montoya (2007, 2008, 2013) and Rojas (2008, 2011, 2013) now have three wins in the race, all achieved with Riley designs.

“Congratulations to the entire Ganassi organization on their incredible performance for this huge win,” said Bill Riley. “For our customers to have won the race nine times, really is incredible. We are proud of the support that we provide our teams, but this record is a testament to the effort that the teams put into being successful.”


2013 Rolex 24 At Daytona Top-10:

1. (01) Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas/Juan Pablo Montoya/Charlie Kimball/ BMW Riley, 709 laps
2. (10) /Max Angelelli/Jordan Taylor/Ryan Hunter-Reay/ , Corvette DP, 709
3. (6) John Pew/Oswaldo Negri Jr/AJ Allmendinger/Justin Wilson/Marcos Ambrose, Ford Riley, 709
4. (13) Mike Rockenfeller/Burt Frisselle/ Joao Barbosa, Corvette DP, 708
5. (5) Antonio Garcia/Richard Westbrook/Ricky Taylor/Oliver Gavin/ , Corvette DP, 697
6. (7) /Ryan Dalziel/Alex Popow/Sebastien Bourdais/Allan McNish, Ford Riley, 696
7. (8) Jon Fogarty/Alex Gurney/Memo Gidley/Darren Law/ Corvette DP, 695
8. (11) Brian Frisselle/Nelson Piquet Jr/Felipe Nasr/Christian Fittipaldi/ , Corvette DP, 688
9. (22) Filipe Albuquergue/Oliver Jarvis/Edoardo Mortara/Dion von Moltke/Audi R8 GRAND-AM, 678
10. (27) Frank Stippler/Rene Rast/Ian Baas/Marc Basseng/ , Audi R8 GRAND-AM, 678,

###

Rolex24NineRiley2013.pdf

Long Fight, Early End for Stevenson Motorsports in Rolex 24 At Daytona

Long Fight, Early End for Stevenson Motorsports in Rolex 24 At Daytona

Media Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
Media @sundaymanagement.com
(317) 908-2975

https://www.facebook.com/StevensonMotorsport

Daytona Beach, Fla. (28 January 2013)- Stevenson Motorsports did not start the 2013 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season the way the team had been hoping to. After fighting back from a series of setbacks through 595 laps of competition, a transmission problem forced a premature retirement for the Camaro GT.R. The race-ending issue was the final body blow after what was a heavyweight effort from the team, which carried the GM Racing flag with the Camaro GT. R driven by John Edwards, Robin Liddell, Tommy Milner, and Jan Magnussen.

After opening the race from seventh on the GT Class grid, the Camaro made progress up the order, moving up to lead on lap 69, and then again on lap 92. But the time at the front came largely through strategy rather than speed, and the pace was not one that was sustainable after the car suffered some unusual mechanical ailments.

“We started well,” said Team Manager Mike Johnson. “We knew we didn’t have a fast car. We knew we had a battle before the green flag dropped, and we had to probably push a lot harder than some of our competitors did, just to maintain staying at the back end of the lead lap. We just kept pushing and fighting, and I think it just eventually bit us. The whole race never really went well for us. It wasn’t a typical Stevenson race.”

Another challenge developed when a brake line issue reared its head, forcing the squad to cope with the problem. The time spent in the garage meant that the car was now very deep in the running order. Being fully aware of the point structure, the team was committed to making the most out of the race, making repairs to the car to fight back and keep putting in lap after lap, making the slow climb back up the order.

“But the problems happened,” continued Johnson. “We always kept our composure, and we battled back. I think we were as far down as 16 laps and 25th place, and we got back up to 13th, 10 laps down, and we did the last two hours without first or second gear and we were passing cars doing it. I guess the only good news is that we’re walking out of here with 15th place points, versus 20th or 30th. We just have a lot to do before we get to Austin if we’re going to be where we expect to be.”

Unfortunately, all that effort came up short as a transmission went from bad to worse to the garage after the Camaro had finished 595 laps. The team was classified 24th, but will earn the same amount of points as the car finishing 15th.

“What happened is just racing, but I’m proud of my guys after that brake situation,” said team owner John Stevenson. “In all my years of doing this, I’ve never seen anything so bizarre in my life as a brake line pinching a hole in it. The guys did a hell of a job getting the car back out and it looked like we were going to get a chance to maybe get back up there somewhere in that top-10. But second gear was going and then gearbox gets weaker and we’re losing the motor. But sometimes that’s just racing. Mike (Johnson) did a great job on the box as he always does and the crew was good, the drivers were consistent and smooth as you can ask anybody to be and that’s why we’ll do it again. We’ll be back in Texas ready to go!”

“As usual the Stevenson crew is one of the hardest working and best prepared,” said Edwards. “But unfortunately we’re dealing with a very sensitive gearbox while most of the other cars that came over from Europe with a GT3 base have paddle shifters and autoblip, and everything so that’s one of our biggest concerns that they don’t even have to think about. It was really disappointing to put in all the effort after the brake problem and push through the night and get our laps back and then in a sense it was all for nothing because we still ended up with the same amount of points we would have had if we would have just parked it and gone home and slept in our beds!”

“It was not just a disappointing outcome, it was a disappointing performance,” added Liddell. “We actually didn’t really have any pace for anybody last night. Pretty much all the Audis, Ferraris, and Porsches were quicker than us, and all we could do was hustle the hell out of the car and try to keep up with them. You know with four professional drivers that was probably something that played into our strength, but in order for us to get a result of any description, we were going to have to have a perfect race, and in the end we weren’t able to do that for different reasons.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got a great crew, we had good drivers, the car was well-prepared, but we just didn’t have a car which actually had the performance to win this race against the competition. That’s the bottom line; I don’t think there’s any way of getting away from that really, so it’s quite frustrating.

Stevenson Motorsports will return to both GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and Rolex Sports Car Series competition March 1-2 at the Circuit of The Americas outside of Austin, Texas.

SPEED is slated to broadcast the Daytona race on February 2nd at 4:00 PM (ET).

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com or www.twitter.com/sundaygroup

StevensonGT-Race_Daytona2013.pdf

###

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media

@sundaygroup
317.908.2975 (m)
www.sundaymanagement.com

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, www.twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Ganassi Team Takes 51st Rolex 24; Pruett Ties Record With Fifth Overall Victory

Begin forwarded message:

From: GRAND-AM Communications <Grand-AMCommunications>

Subject: Ganassi Team Takes 51st Rolex 24; Pruett Ties Record With Fifth Overall Victory

Date: January 27, 2013 7:06:47 PM EST

To: GRAND-AM Communications <Grand-AMCommunications>

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

Ganassi Team Takes 51st Rolex 24; Pruett Ties Record With Fifth Overall Victory

Audi Earns First Rolex Series GT Victory; Napleton Porsche Wins GX

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2013) – Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates was clearly the team to beat throughout the 51st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. A couple teams, however, came close to doing just that over the final few hours of the twice-around-the-clock race around the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course.

In the end, however, the No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley team of Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Charlie Kimball gave CGRFS its fifth victory in 10 attempts at the Rolex 24. In the process, Pruett joined Hurley Haywood – who served as the event’s grand marshal – as the only drivers to claim five overall Rolex 24 victories.

“It’s just an incredible day all the way around, winning with these guys, winning with Chip, with TELMEX and with BMW,” Pruett said. “Then at the end of it, having gotten to know Hurley real well over the years by racing with him and just as a friend – and to have him there at the end – was pretty special. It was a very special thing.”

With its victory CGRFS has an early lead in the North American Endurance Championship presented byVISITFLORIDA.com. The NAEC is a three-race competition that includes the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and the Super Weekend at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Despite the strength of the No. 01, the DP lead changed hands six times over the final 90 minutes between Montoya, Max Angelelli in the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP and AJ Allmendinger, whose No. 60 Michael Shank Racing team rallied all the way back from a seven-lap deficit early in the race.

A dramatic final hour saw both Montoya and Angelelli try to stretch their fuel loads to the finish, while Allmendinger was effectively removed from contention for the victory with an unscheduled pit stop after contact with Joao Barbosa in the No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP.

Montoya and the Ganassi team blinked first as Montoya surrendered the lead to Angelelli when the No. 01 came to pit lane for a splash with seven minutes to go. Angelelli came into the pits on the next lap and moved Montoya back to the front in a race-record 77th lead change.

The Colombian crossed the stripe 21.922 seconds ahead of Angelelli, who teamed with Jordan Taylor and Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No. 10 machine. Allmendinger and co-drivers Ozz Negri, John Pew, Justin Wilson and Marcos Ambrose placed third in the No. 60. Allmendinger, Negri, Pew and Wilson were the race’s defending champions.

The GT race came down to a battle between European luxury manufacturers Audi, Ferrari and Porsche. Similar to the action in DP, the GT race also saw a number of lead changes over the final hours and fuel concerns coming to the checkered flag.

Filipe Albuquerque drove the No. 24 Alex Job Racing WeatherTech Audi R8 into the GT lead for the final time with a little more than 40 minutes remaining. He went on to win by 1.476 seconds ahead of Rene Rast in the No. 52 Audi Sport Customer Racing/APR Motorsport Audi R8. Albuquerque and co-drivers Oliver Jarvis, Edoardo Mortara and Dion von Moltke gave Audi its first victory in GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series competition.

“It is the first one for Audi at Daytona and I am a part of, hopefully, a long run here,” said team owner Alex Job. “The win was a real team victory. My team, combined with the Audi Sport Customer Racing technical support staff – and of course a group of great drivers – made it all work. The Audi clearly had the speed and it was positioned to win.”

Rast combined with Frank Stippler, Marc Basseng and Ian Baas to finish second in the No. 52. Markus Winkelhock may have given Audi a top-three sweep had his No. 13 Rum Bum Racing Audi R8 not run out of fuel on the final lap. That moved No. 69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD Ferrari 458 teammates Emil Assentato, Nick Longhi, Anthony Lazzaro and Mark Wilkins to third in GT.

The debut race for the new Rolex Series GX class was all about the No. 16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman. Shane Lewis started from the class pole position and combined with co-drivers Jim Norman, David Donohue and Nelson Canache to lead the class for almost the entire race.

“For us it was a race of preparation,” Donohue said. “Our guys did a superior job when this program was conceived in early November of building a car, making it reliable and keeping the stock parts – which are surprisingly many, many stock parts on this car – where they needed to be. The proof is in the pudding.”

Second in GX went to the No. 22 Bullet Racing Porsche Cayman GX.R team of Darryl O’Young, Daniel Rogers, James Clay, Seth Thomas and Karl Thomson. The No. 38 BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman GX.R team of Lee Davis, Ryan Eversley, Jeff Mosing, Eric Foss and John Teece took third in class.

—

Contact:

GRAND-AM Communications

Herb Branham

(386) 310-6050

hbranham

Rolex 24_012713.pdf

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media

@sundaygroup
317.908.2975 (m)
www.sundaymanagement.com

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, www.twitter.com/Sundaygroup

GRAND-AM Cooldown Lap: Rolex 24 At Daytona

Begin forwarded message:

From: GRAND-AM Communications <Grand-AMCommunications>

Subject: GRAND-AM Cooldown Lap: Rolex 24 At Daytona

Date: January 27, 2013 6:53:51 PM EST

To: GRAND-AM Communications <Grand-AMCommunications>

GRAND-AM Cooldown Lap: Daytona

Rolex 24 At Daytona

Rolex Sports Car Series

Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 26-27, 2013

The Recap

Rolex 24 At Daytona Grand Marshal Hurley Haywood gave the command to start the engines on Saturday as the event’s lone five-time overall winner. Twenty-four hours later, he welcomed Scott Pruett into that elite company.

Pruett joined Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Charlie Kimball in the winning No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley, giving Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates its fifth victory in the event. Montoya drove the final stint, coming back after falling to fourth following a restart with 51 minutes remaining. Montoya needed seven minutes to work his way past Max Angelelli to take the lead, and then prevailed in a battle of splash-and-gas fuel stops in the closing minutes to beat Angelelli to the checkered flag by 21.922 seconds. It was the third victory in the event for Montoya and Rojas, and first major triumph for Kimball.

Defending winner AJ Allmendinger rallied the Michael Shank Racing from a seven-lap deficit and a final hour off-course excursion to take third, joined by Marcos Ambrose, Justin Wilson, John Pew and Ozz Negri in the No. 60 Ford/Riley. Joao Barbosa served a penalty following his contact with Allmendinger and returned to place fourth, joined by Christian Fittipaldi, Burt Frisselle and Mike Rockenfeller in the No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP.

The GT class featured a scrap that saw seven cars finish on the lead lap. Filipe Albuquerque nursed the No. 24 Audi Sport Customer Racing/Alex Job Racing Audi R8 to take the class victory, giving Audi its first GRAND-AM victory and first triumph in the Rolex 24.

The event marked the debut of the GX class. David Donohue, 2009 Rolex 24 winner, joined Shane Lewis, Dr. Jim Norman and Nelson Canache in the No. 16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman.

The performances of Ganassi Racing and Alex Job Racing gave the teams the early unofficial lead in the second annual North American Endurance Championship presented by VISITFLORIDA.com. That championship continues with the Sahlen’s Six Hours at Watkins Glen International on June 30, and concludes with the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26.

The Stats

DP 1st: Memo Rojas/Scott Pruett/Juan Pablo Montoya/Charlie Kimball, No.01 TELMEX BMW/Riley

DP 2nd: Max Angelelli/Jordan Taylor/Ryan Hunter-Reay, Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP
DP 3rd: John Pew/Ozz Negri/AJ Allmendinger/Justin Wilson/Marcos Ambrose, No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford/Riley

GT 1st: Filipe Albuquerque/Dion von Moltke/Oliver Jarvis/Edoardo Mortaro, No. 24 Alex Job Racing/Audi Customer Racing WeatherTech Audi R8
GT 2nd: Frank Stippler/Rene Rast/Marc Basseng/Ian Baas No. 52 Audi Sport Customer Racing/APR Motorsport Audi R8
GT 3rd: Emil Assentato/Nick Longhi/Anthony Lazzaro/Mark Wilkins, No. 69 AIM Autosport Team FXDD Ferrari 458 Italia
GX 1st: Shane Lewis/David Donohue/Jim Norman/Nelson Canache, No. 16 Napleton Racing/Calcium Pro/Visit Venezuela/Home Wrecking Racing Porsche Cayman
GX 2nd: Darryl O’Young/Dan Rogers/James Clay/Seth Thomas/Karl Thomson, Bullet Racing Porsche Cayman
GX 3rd: Lee Davis/Ryan Eversley/Jeff Mosing/Eric Foss/John Tecce, No. 38 BGB Motorsports/Luna-C Clothing/Mosing Motor Cars Porsche Cayman

Margin of Victory: 21.922 seconds (DP); 1.476 seconds (GT); 10 laps (GX)

Average Speed: 105.122 mph (DP); 100.518 mph (GT); 94.068 mph (GX)

Cautions: 16 for 121 laps

Noteworthy

Ø In addition to his five overall victories in the Rolex 24, Pruett has 10 class triumphs in the event (Haywood has six). Pruett won for Jack Roush in 1987 and 1988, Tom Walkinshaw in 1992 and 1993, and Paul Gentilozzi in 2002. In addition to winning for Chip Ganassi in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2012, he won overall for Clayton Cunningham in a GTS class Nissan in 1994.

Ø The defending GT-winning No. 44 Magnus Racing Flex-Box Porsche GT3 led a GT-leading 250 laps, including 125 laps by Andy Lally.

Ø Nick Tandy won the GT pole in the No. 32 Konrad Motorsports/Orbit Porsche GT3, but cut a tire in the opening 15 minutes – causing suspension problems that led to that car’s early retirement.

Ø The race ran under caution for one hour, 45 minutes, 13 seconds beginning at 6:55 a.m. due to heavy fog. Two years ago, there was a two-hour, 47-minute caution for fog.

Ø Mazda debuted the Mazda 6 powered by the production-based SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engines. This marked the first appearance of a diesel engine in the 51-year history of the Rolex 24. All three cars experienced problems and retired in the early hours. The No. 70 SpeedSource and No. 25 Freedom Autosport/SpeedSource cars both lost a cylinder, while the No. 00 Visit Florida Racing/SpeedSource entry had a rear main seal failure. Neither problem had been encountered in dynamometer testing.

Ø The No. 93 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 of Gunter Schaldach, Michael Marsal, Maxime Martin and Andy Priaulx failed to start when Priaulx lost the brakes and crashed during final practice. Martin was shifted to the team’s No. 94 BMW for the event. Also entered but withdrawn were spare cars for AF-Waltrip and Audi Sport Customer Racing. Sean Edwards qualified second in GT in the No. 30 MOMO/NGT Motorsport Porsche GT3, but the car failed post-qualifying inspection and was moved to the back of the grid.

The Numbers:

Ø 6 – GT cars finishing on the lead lap
Ø 77 – DP lead changes by 24 drivers in 12 cars
Ø 39 – Record Daytona Prototype victories for Scott Pruett (Memo Rojas second with 26)
Ø 121 – Laps under caution (16 caution periods)
Ø 205 – Race leading laps led by Scott Pruett
Ø 250 – GT leading laps led by the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche
Ø 421 – Laps led by the winning No. 01 car
Ø 2,524 – Miles completed by winning team
Ø 126.669 – Speed in mph of fastest race lap for Scott Dixon on lap 293

Quoteboard:

Ø “This was an incredible day all around. At the end of it, having known Hurley (Haywood) real well over the years by racing with him and just as a friend and then to have him there was a very pretty special thing. … One thing when you get together with a group like this with Memo, Charlie and Juan, you don’t try to be Superman. We’ve got some very incredibly talented guys that can step in and close it out I’m proud to be part of the team, and it was exciting to finish up on top.” – Scott Pruett, No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley

Ø “One of the cool things about doing the Rolex 24 with Chip you’re a favorite every time you come here. You always have a chance of winning. Everybody that comes here with Chip finds that out. It’s fun and it’s exciting. I feel bad for the guys in our No. 02 because they had a ton of speed and they could have easily won, too.” – Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley

Ø “We were hoping on our strategy to make it on fuel and stay out until the end. That’s why we took on no tires on our pit stop. Montoya – in that car – was A-class, we were B class. Today Jordan and Ryan did a great job and the crew never made a mistake.” – Max Angelelli, No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP, finished second

Ø “We knew Montoya would be tough to beat. On that last restart, I got around Juan on the outside into Turn one, and I knew I had to go. I went side-by-side with Joao but got pushed off, and that filled the radiator with dirt and we had to pit. That was disappointing, but it was ‘go time,’ no hard feelings there. I felt we weren’t going to beat Montoya, but thought we might get second. Ganassi Racing did its homework like we did last year. When it’s your year, you’ve got to capitalize on it.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford/Racing, finished third

Ø “I knew that I had to do a splash and dash, but I didn’t know if I had to push. I started to have problems with my gears. I had to use the clutch to upshift, which was not good, I was losing time. Then when I saw “Winkie” (Markus Winkelhock) and Rene (Rast) behind me, they were really fast and I knew I would not last long with me having these problems. When I saw the white flag I had a moment in corner one. I had been doing this for 24 hours, but the last corners were so hard to do, it felt like I could miss it. Unbelievable. First time at Daytona, first win. — Filipe Albuquerque, No. 24 Audi Sport Customer Racing/Alex Job Racing Audi R8, GT winner

Ø “This is unbelievable. That drive by Felipe (Albuquerque) over the last two and half hours was the best drive I’ve ever seen in a race car driver by far. We thought we were down and out. We were down by a lap and we thought we had no chance. But Felipe put us here, with great support by Alex Job and Audi.” – Dion von Moltke, No. 24 Audi Sport Customer Racing/Alex Job Racing Audi R8, GT winner

Ø “It was a heck of a finish. The last two or three hours I pushed like a sprint race. I had a lot of fights with Ferraris, Audis and Porsches. Everything was fair, but the Audi won by two or three seconds. It’s a bit frustrating, but we had a great race. It was great fun, and hopefully, next year again.” – Rene Rast, No. 52 Audi Sport Customer Racing/APR Motorsport Audi R8, finished second in GT

Ø “It’s been a long time. I won this race in 2009, albeit a different class. New class with new cars – I was in the inaugural DP race, but didn’t win that one. Napleton Racing’s Ron Barnaba and Mike Colucci are long-time old friends, and Shane Lewis picked this early on and handed it off to me. Also Jim Norman and Nelson Canache did a great job.” – David Donohue, No. 16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman, GX winner

Ø “This is unbelievable. Two 24-hour wins in one month (he earlier won at Dubai), and there’s nothing sweeter than winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Awesome.” – Shane Lewis, No. 16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman, GX winner

Coming Up:

Round 2 of the 2013 Rolex Sports Car Series season will be the inaugural race at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, March 2. The race will be televised live on SPEED.

Cooldown Lap Rolex 24.pdf

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media

@sundaygroup
317.908.2975 (m)
www.sundaymanagement.com

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, www.twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Stevenson Motorsports Scores Sixth at Daytona

Stevenson Motorsports Scores Sixth at Daytona

Media Contact: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
Media @sundaymanagement.com
(317) 908-2975 (m)

Daytona Beach, Fla. (25 January 2013)- Stevenson Motorsports got the 2013 GRAND-AM season off to a strong start on Friday afternoon as team drivers Matt Bell and John Edwards combined for a run to sixth place with the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro at Daytona International Speedway. The healthy points-earning outing was a satisfying reward after a lot of hard work from the entire Stevenson Motorsports organization.

“What a great result, considering where we started,” said Team Manager Mike Johnson. “We had maybe 20 laps of practice the whole weekend. After the fire, we had an out-lap of practice, and one lap of qualifying, and we still had a car that ran in the top-five all day, led a bunch of laps and finished sixth. This is a great start to the season, and the good news is that that car was really fast on the infield, so once we get to some handling tracks, and if we can keep that reliability up, we’ll be in a great place.”

After a fire in Wednesday’s practice session, the team had to rally to make repairs to the car, replacing the entire front end and sorting out all the electronics. The effort saw the team work so quickly that Bell was able to return to the track on Thursday, just in time to score a few practice laps before returning to take seventh on the grid in qualifying.

Bell opened the race from behind the wheel and ran in the lead pack for the opening segments of the race, which ran without incident before a lap 10 yellow bunched the field. On the ensuing restart, Bell found himself in the lead after contact between two of the front-running cars cleared a path to the front. Bell held that advantage for several laps before a multi-car battle for the lead saw him exchanging podium positions in a heated battle, running either first, second, or third for the next 10 laps before taking to the pits to turn the car over to Edwards.

“This is probably one of the more eventful events we’ve ever had,” said Bell. “To be top-10 after a weekend like that is amazing. And is a testament more to the guys laying underneath the cars and holding wrenches all day more than us. I had a good battle with the Aston Martins and eventually we found ourselves in the lead. I’m really happy with the way the car finished and how well these guys did to bring our car from such an awful state all the way into the top-10.”

Returning to the field 14th in the order, Edwards made the most of the strong handling in the infield with the Camaro as he fended off the competition’s pace on the oval section. Those efforts saw him move up to run in the top five with just laps to go, but ultimately crossing the line sixth at the finish.

“It was absolutely an incredible recovery from the team,” said Edwards. “To be sixth after that battle with Lawson (Aschenbach) , that was actually a really fun battle but I’m kicking myself afterwards because I made the wrong decision! I shouldn’t have been in the lead in the bus stop on the last lap, because with equal cars, you know that the guy behind is going to be able to draft through as long as you get the same exit. So kicking myself for that. We crossed side-by-side. I was on the radio saying, “No, no, no, can’t believe that I made the wrong choice!”

But despite losing one spot at the line in what looked like a Daytona 500 photo finish, Edwards knows what the big picture looks like when racing for a championship.

“After the past few years with bad finishes at Daytona, we’ve been a factor in the championship later on in the year, so I’ll take a sixth place over the results we’ve had in the past here any day, and move on to the tracks where we’re going to be strong,” said Edwards.

Stevenson Motorsports will return to GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition March 1-2 at the Circuit of The Americas outside of Austin, Texas.

SPEED is slated to broadcast the Daytona race on February 2nd at 4:00 PM (ET).

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com or www.twitter.com/sundaygroup

Stevenson_13_Daytona_GSrace.pdf

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Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media

@sundaygroup
317.908.2975 (m)
www.sundaymanagement.com

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, www.twitter.com/Sundaygroup

Johnson, Roush Jr. Repeat At BMW Performance 200

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

Johnson, Roush Jr. Repeat At BMW Performance 200

Lara Tallman Becomes First Female CTSCC Winner Since 2011 With ST Victory

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2013) – The Roush empire won again at Daytona International Speedway on Friday as Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr. scored a repeat Grand Sport (GS) class victory in the BMW Performance 200, while Lara Tallman became the first female Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge class winner since 2011 with her Street Tuner (ST) victory alongside co-driver Vesko Kozarov.

Johnson led the final 70 minutes of the 2013 season-opening race in the No. 61 Roush Performance Mustang. He finished 1.812 seconds ahead of 2012 GS driver champion David Empringham in the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage. Empringham, who co-drove with John Farano to the driver title last season, swapped the lead with Johnson just after the halfway mark, but a small bobble on the team’s final pit stop gave the Johnson/Roush pairing the cushion it needed.

Roush drove from mid-pack early in the race when the Mustang suffered from a flat left-front tire. Between that and the back-and-forth tilt between Johnson and Empringham, it proved to be a dramatic day.

“There was probably more drafting and passing back and forth than I’ve ever seen here,” Johnson said. “Jack did a fantastic job on his first stint, and it’s great to get this win for all the work put in by the team. I was trying pretty darn hard the last few laps. Those Astons and Porsches were pretty quick. I knew if I could get good restarts and get a little cushion I could maintain it. But if I couldn’t, it was going to be a crapshoot.”

Matt Plumb and Nick Longhi finished third in class in Rum Bum Racing’s Porsche 997. Plumb moved from seventh to third inside the final 30 minutes.

In ST, Kozarov and Tallman each scored their first career victories in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Driving the No. 33 Skullcandy Team Nissan Altima, Kozarov took the lead for the first time in the race near the one-hour mark and seized it for good with 40 minutes left during the race’s final full-course caution.

The victory also made Tallman the first female winner in the series since Sarah Cattaneo also claimed an ST class victory in 2011 at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

“What a big thrill – to win my first race at Daytona,” Tallman said. “It’s by far the best way to start the year.”

Gregory Liefooghe and Tyler Cooke finished second in the No. 81 BimmerWorld Racing BMW 328i after leading in the race’s opening half. Compass360 Racing’s Kyle Gimple and Ryan Eversley were third in the No. 75 Honda Civic Si.

An incident on Lap 11 of the 63-lap race left No. 74 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si driver David Thilenius with six fractured ribs on his left side. Scans and x-rays of his head, neck and back were negative. Thilenius was awake and alert and was held overnight at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach for further evaluation.

The BMW Performance 200 will air at 4 p.m. ET, Feb. 2 on SPEED. The second round of the championship is March 2 at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

—

Contact:

GRAND-AM Communications

Herb Branham

(386) 310-6050

hbranham

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media

@sundaygroup
317.908.2975 (m)
www.sundaymanagement.com

For additional information: www.sundaymanagement.com, www.facebook.com/sundaygroup, www.twitter.com/Sundaygroup