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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: Indianapolis Preview
John Dagys previews Friday’s inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway...
Sports cars will invade Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time Friday with the inaugural running of the Brickyard Grand Prix. (Photo: GRAND-AM)
One of the most anticipated races in this history of GRAND-AM is upon us. After months of buildup and anticipation, the Rolex Sports Car Series will be part of a history making weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with Friday’s inaugural running of the Brickyard Grand Prix. (Live, SPEED 4 p.m. ET)
The first-ever sports car endurance race at the Brickyard has attracted a sizable field of 34 cars, including 11 Daytona Prototypes and 23 GT machines that will take part in the three-hour race, which also doubles as the third and final leg of the new North American Endurance Championship.
While there will be an expected amount of fanfare around GRAND-AM’s first visit to the famed speedway, coming on the Indy Super Weekend with both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series also in attendance, drivers and teams will be down to business, as practice, qualifying and the races for both the Rolex Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge is sandwiched into a single day of activities.
Leading the charge in DP is Chip Ganassi Racing, a team that are no strangers to success on the 2.5-mile oval. While having won four Indianapolis 500s and the 2010 Brickyard 400, the defending Rolex Series DP champions have an expanded two-car lineup for this event, featuring Scott Dixon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray, all former winners at the Speedway.
Along with the championship-leading No. 01 Riley-BMW of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, Ganassi will have two guns in the fight in its quest of not only becoming the first GRAND-AM winners at Indy, but also be the inaugural champions of the NAEC.
A win at Indy by either of the Ganassi cars, along with entries from Action Express Racing, Starworks Motorsport and Michael Shank Racing would also see that particular team earning the NAEC title, along with the $100,000 first place prize that comes with it.
There’s no doubt a lot at stake, including the end-of-year championship. With five rounds to go, the title race is heating up in the DP category, with only 13 points separating the top four drivers.
While having yet to win a Rolex Series race this season, Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio have continued to use consistency to their advantage, as the Starworks duo sit only three points behind Ganassi’s Pruett and Rojas.
A win at Indy would be icing on the cake for the Peter Baron-led squad, which kicked off the season with a runner-up finish at the Rolex 24 at Daytona before going onto take class victories at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans in their FIA World Endurance Championship program.
Sebastien Bourdais, who teamed with Dalziel and Potolicchio for a third place result at the Six Hours of The Glen, joins Alex Popow in Starworks’ second Riley-Ford, replacing Lucas Luhr for this race. Popow, who is tied for the lead in the ALMS PC championship, sits a distant eighth in the DP title chase following unlucky breaks at Road America and The Glen.
Perhaps the pairing carrying the most momentum into Indy is Action Express Racing’s Joao Barbosa and Darren Law, who have scored two wins in the last four races in their Corvette DP. Following a mid-season driver shuffle within the Gary Nelson-led organization, Law sits 10 points back in the championship chase.
While Law’s former co-driver David Donohue, who is now teamed with Terry Borcheller, is a further six points behind, Michael Shank Racing’s Ozz Negri and John Pew, winners at this year’s Rolex 24, aren’t out of it either in their improving Riley-Ford package.
The first-ever sports car endurance race at the Brickyard has attracted a sizable field of 34 cars, including 11 Daytona Prototypes and 23 GT machines that will take part in the three-hour race, which also doubles as the third and final leg of the new North American Endurance Championship.
While there will be an expected amount of fanfare around GRAND-AM’s first visit to the famed speedway, coming on the Indy Super Weekend with both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series also in attendance, drivers and teams will be down to business, as practice, qualifying and the races for both the Rolex Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge is sandwiched into a single day of activities.
Leading the charge in DP is Chip Ganassi Racing, a team that are no strangers to success on the 2.5-mile oval. While having won four Indianapolis 500s and the 2010 Brickyard 400, the defending Rolex Series DP champions have an expanded two-car lineup for this event, featuring Scott Dixon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray, all former winners at the Speedway.
Along with the championship-leading No. 01 Riley-BMW of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, Ganassi will have two guns in the fight in its quest of not only becoming the first GRAND-AM winners at Indy, but also be the inaugural champions of the NAEC.
A win at Indy by either of the Ganassi cars, along with entries from Action Express Racing, Starworks Motorsport and Michael Shank Racing would also see that particular team earning the NAEC title, along with the $100,000 first place prize that comes with it.
There’s no doubt a lot at stake, including the end-of-year championship. With five rounds to go, the title race is heating up in the DP category, with only 13 points separating the top four drivers.
While having yet to win a Rolex Series race this season, Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio have continued to use consistency to their advantage, as the Starworks duo sit only three points behind Ganassi’s Pruett and Rojas.
A win at Indy would be icing on the cake for the Peter Baron-led squad, which kicked off the season with a runner-up finish at the Rolex 24 at Daytona before going onto take class victories at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans in their FIA World Endurance Championship program.
Sebastien Bourdais, who teamed with Dalziel and Potolicchio for a third place result at the Six Hours of The Glen, joins Alex Popow in Starworks’ second Riley-Ford, replacing Lucas Luhr for this race. Popow, who is tied for the lead in the ALMS PC championship, sits a distant eighth in the DP title chase following unlucky breaks at Road America and The Glen.
Perhaps the pairing carrying the most momentum into Indy is Action Express Racing’s Joao Barbosa and Darren Law, who have scored two wins in the last four races in their Corvette DP. Following a mid-season driver shuffle within the Gary Nelson-led organization, Law sits 10 points back in the championship chase.
While Law’s former co-driver David Donohue, who is now teamed with Terry Borcheller, is a further six points behind, Michael Shank Racing’s Ozz Negri and John Pew, winners at this year’s Rolex 24, aren’t out of it either in their improving Riley-Ford package.
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