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Written by:
J.J. O'Malley
http://www.grand-am.com
06/28/2008 - 12:23 PM
Daytona Beach, Fla.
So far, no other Daytona Prototype team has been able to truly match the Ganassi squad in terms of consistency, and the points table reflects that. (LAT photo) ยป More Photos
While new cars and new contenders have taken headlines during the opening half of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Daytona Prototype season, a pair of familiar names has dominated the championship seven races into the campaign.
A year ago, Scott Pruett was part of the TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates' winning team in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and led the Daytona Prototype points for most of the season, only to stumble in the closing races and lose the title in the closing laps of the season.
For 2008, Pruett and Memo Rojas gave Ganassi Racing its third consecutive triumph in the Rolex 24, joined by Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti, and the pair never let off in the No. 01 Lexus Riley. Pruett and Rojas won four of the opening six races, in addition to a second- and third-place finish, to open up a healthy lead in the championship. While they slipped to eighth in the rain at Mid-Ohio, they lead Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty by 37 points.
While Pruett and Rojas have enjoyed a winning habit, defending champions Gurney and Fogarty have struggled in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley. Last year they recovered from a dismal showing in the Rolex 24 to win seven races - including six of eight late in the year - to overhaul Pruett for the title.
This year, though, Gurney and Fogarty finished second in the Rolex 24 - joined by NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and Jimmy Vasser - but have struggled since then. The team ran five straight races without visiting the podium before finally breaking through to win at rain-soaked Mid-Ohio.
Ryan Dalziel gave Pruett a scare throughout the closing 20 laps at Virginia International Raceway, finishing .548 seconds behind at the checkered flag. In the following race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Dalziel and Henri Zogaib gave SAMAX its first victory in the No. 2 Riley, which switched to BMW power early in the campaign.
Jim Matthews and Marc Goossens finished 2007 with a flourish, scoring Riley Matthews Motorsports first victory at Miller Motorsports Park, and picked up where they left off in 2008. The pair finished in the top eight in the opening five races of the season, with a victory at Mexico City, opening a streak of three consecutive podium finishes for the No. 91
With the Daytona Prototypes entering their sixth year of competition, this season marked the debut of three new manufacturers plus updates for two existing chassis. Participating builders had the option of selling their chassis or modifying the existing model.
Fabcar transferred its license to Cheever Racing. With the input of another original builder, Picchio, Cheever debuted the new Coyote at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Two new bodystyles first raced at Homestead-Miami Speedway in March. Krohn Racing took over the Multimatic license and contracted Proto-Auto to build the Lola. Doran Racing's license went to Italian Dallara, although Doran remained the American distributor for the new body style.
In addition, Riley Composites first raced its next-generation car in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, while the new Crawford chassis debuted at Watkins Glen International.
Another major story in the first half of 2008 was a pair of teams battling back from adversity. Wayne Taylor's SunTrust Racing had its new Pontiac Dallara - along with all of its spares and equipment - destroyed when the transporter caught fire on the highway returning from Laguna Seca. While the entire Grand-Am community offered support, the team dusted off its old Riley and scrambled to get ready for Watkins Glen, where Max Angelelli won the pole and joined new teammate Michael Valiante in a third-place finish, the team's best outing in the first half of the season.
Gene Sigal's team lost its primary sponsor on the eve of the Rolex 24, badly damaged its car in a crash at Mexico City and had it nearly destroyed by fire at Laguna Seca. Despite the struggles, the newly renamed Rum Bum Racing kept fighting back. Both Sigal and teammate Matt Plumb have been competitive in their rookie season in the Daytona Prototypes, with Plumb leading a race-high 31 laps before finishing third at Mid-Ohio.
David Donohue is the lone driver in the Rolex Series to earn multiple poles in the first half of 2008. He was fastest in the No. 58 Brumos Racing Porsche Riley at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio. Donohue and Darren Law ended the first half of the campaign with back-to-back second-place finishes, and are among several teams looking to become the "big news" for the second half of the 2008 season.
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