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07/16/2008 - 11:31 AM
Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Krohn Racing Pontiac Lolas of Tracy Krohn Eric van de Poole, Nic Jonsson and Ricardo Zonta. (LAT photo) ยป More Photos
Coming off a podium finish in the recent Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Krohn Racing’s Pontiac Lolas continue to improve in Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Cask No. 16 competition. The Atlanta-based team will be looking to score its first Daytona Prototype victory Sunday, July 20, in the Porsche 250 presented by Bradley Arant, which starts at 2:07 p.m. CT at Barber Motorsports Park (SPEED, LIVE at 3 p.m. ET).
To win, though, the two-car team must stop the No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, and the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley of defending Porsche 250 winners Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty. The two teams were involved in the closest finish in Grand-Am Rolex Series history earlier this month, when Pruett shot past Gurney on the front straight and won the Brumos Porsche 250 by .081 seconds.
Pruett and Rojas have five victories in 2008 competition, giving Pruett a record 19 Rolex Series triumphs. They currently hold a 40-point lead (260-220) in the Daytona Prototype point standings, followed by Mid-Ohio winners Gurney and Fogarty. Last year, the GAINSCO duo won seven races and the championship, edging Pruett by two points.
While the Ganassi and GAINSCO teams are running strong, other teams in the Daytona Prototype paddock are looking to break through. Krohn Racing is one of them. Ricardo Zonta – a Formula One veteran and FIA GT champion – and Nic Jonsson finished third at Daytona, giving them four consecutive top 10 finishes in addition to a third-place finish earlier in the season at Mexico City.
Krohn Racing has a history of success at Barber Motorsports Park. Jorg Bergmeister and Colin Braun won the 2006 Porsche 250 presented by Bradley Arant, while Jonsson and Braun finished second here last year. Braun, now a regular for Roush Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, hounded Gurney throughout the final 20 laps of last year’s race. After running nose-to-tail for many circuits, Braun ran out of fuel entering the final turn of the last lap, resulting in a six-second margin of victory for Gurney. Krohn Racing will also field the No. 75 Pontiac Lola for owner/driver Tracy Krohn and Eric van de Poele. This will be the first Barber race for both Zonta
Brumos Racing is another team closing in on victory. Darren Law and David Donohue have scored four consecutive top-five finishes in the No. 58 Brumos Porsche Riley – including a pair of seconds – while teammates JC France and Joao Barbosa have placed fifth and fourth respectively in the last two events in the team’s No. 59 entry. France nearly won the inaugural event at Barber, but was passed by Terry Borcheller on the final lap only three turns from the checkered flag.
Max Angelelli and co-driver Michael Valiante are looking for their first victory of the season in the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Dallara. Angelelli and Memo Gidley placed third last year, while Angelelli and car owner Wayne Taylor won here in 2005.
AIM Autosport captured its first Rolex Series pole when Mark Wilkins led qualifying for the Brumos Porsche 250 in the No. 60 Exchange Traded Gold Ford Riley. He and Brian Frisselle then ran in the top three until a broken half-shaft put them out of action in the closing laps. That ended a streak of four races with finishes of seventh or better.
A number of other teams bear watching at Barber. After starting the season with five consecutive finishes in the top eight – including a victory at Mexico City – Jim Matthews and Marc Goossens have finished 11th or worse in the last three races in the No. 91 Riley-Matthews Motorsports Pontiac Riley. Rum Bum Racing teammates Matt Plumb and Gene Sigal followed up a third-place finish at Mid-Ohio by finishing seventh at Daytona in the No. 7 BumBum.com BMW Riley. The team finished fifth earlier in the season at both Homestead-Miami Speedway and Virginia International Raceway. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca winners Ryan Dalziel and Henri Zogaib seemed headed to a podium finish in the Brumos Porsche 250 before a late-race incident sidelined the No. 2 SAMAX BMW Riley.
The biggest change this weekend will be with Alex Job Racing. Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand will race Job’s No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Porsche Riley for the first time this weekend, switching from the Crawford chassis the team has run for nearly three seasons. Auberlen and Hand finished second at Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this season, while the Crawford qualified second and finished eighth at Barber last year.
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