Grand-Am Rolex Series Head Back To Track At Homestead-Miami Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 25, 2008) ? After nearly two months away from the track, the drivers and teams of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 are itching to get back into action at Saturday?s GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET).

At the top of the Daytona Prototype standings following the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona are some familiar faces, beginning with 2004 Rolex Series co-Champ Scott Pruett and his season-long teammate Memo Rojas in the No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley. Rojas and Pruett lead the championship standings after their win at Daytona, Pruett?s third overall win in the endurance classic.

Hot on their heels entering round two of the season are the defending champions, Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley. Homestead-Miami Speedway was one of the few black marks on the 2007 season for the team after an 11th-place finish, with a top finish in front of the team?s key sponsor a priority at this year?s GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami.

The two-car effort from Michael Shank Racing figures to be in the mix this weekend, including Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson in the No. 6 Ford Riley and Ian James and John Pew in the No. 60 Ford Riley machine. The team swept the front row at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and led throughout the race before mechanical difficulties and bad luck dropped each car back in the pack. Negri has since topped the time charts at February?s test at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Defending race champions Sigalsport return to the scene of its lone Rolex Series victory with an entirely new look for the No. 7 Rum Bum BMW Riley. Matt Plumb and Gene Sigal replace Bill Auberlen and Matt Alhadeff behind the wheel of the No. 7 machine to defend the team title around the 2.3-mile infield road course. Auberlen, with co-driver Joey Hand, will try to repeat behind the wheel of the No. 23 Alex Job Racing Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Porsche Crawford in Saturday?s matinee.

?New? will be a theme for the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami, as a number of Daytona Prototypes have a new look beginning this weekend.

Dallara makes its debut as a chassis manufacturer in the Rolex Series this weekend. Max Angelelli and Michael Valiante will pilot the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Dallara following a runner-up finish for the team a season ago in South Florida. Memo Gidley and Brad Jaeger will pilot the No. 77 Doran Racing Kodak Ford Dallara as a second Dallara entry at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Lola also joins the fray for its first race after a winter of testing the new machine with two cars from Krohn Racing. Nic Jonsson and Ricardo Zonta will pilot the No. 76 Pontiac Lola with Eric van de Poele and Tracy Krohn entered in the No. 75 machine.

The Cheever Group-built Coyotes will return to the track after making their debut during the most difficult race on the schedule, the Rolex 24. In addition to the No. 16 Cheever Racing Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Pontiac Coyote piloted by Matteo Bobbi and Antonio Garcia, the No. 09 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche Coyote driven by Guy Cosmo, Marc-Antoine Camirand and Leonard d?Aston has been converted from the old FABCAR chassis to the new Coyote.

A mix of original and updated Riley bodywork will also be on-track for the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami. In addition to the new bodywork of the Nos. 01, 99, 6 and 60 machines, the No. 91 Riley Matthews Motorsports Pontiac Riley of Marc Goossens and Jim Matthews, the No. 3 Southard Motorsports Lexus Riley of south Florida natives Bill Lester and Shane Lewis, and the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley of Brian Frisselle and Mark Wilkins will run the new-look Riley chassis.

Running the original style with a new engine is the No. 2 SAMAX Miami Garage Cigarette Racing BMW Riley of Ryan Dalziel and Henri Zogaib. The familiar red, white and blue of Brumos Racing will adorn the sides of the No. 58 Porsche Riley driven by David Donohue and Darren Law and the No. 59 Porsche Riley of Joao Barbosa and JC France.

In total, 19 Daytona Prototypes combined with 26 GT machines are entered in the 45 car field.

The two-car effort of SpeedSource returns to its home track with a points lead after the No. 70 MazdaSpeed Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 captured the GT class title in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Championship points leaders Sylvain Tremblay and Nick Ham return behind the wheel of that machine, while Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal will pilot the team?s No. 69 FXDD Mazda RX-8.

Nipping on their heels are multi-car efforts from a pair of historically strong Porsche programs. TRG has entered three Porsche GT3 machines, with Tim George Jr. and Spencer Pumpelly behind the wheel of the No. 67 Gleukos Porsche and Bryan Sellers and RJ Valentine competing in the No. 68 CGR Maxter Rotax Porsche. Ted Ballou and Bryce Miller are entered in the No. 66 Mitchell Rubber Porsche that finished in the runner-up slot in GT at Daytona and last year?s race at Homestead.

Defending Rolex Series team champions Farnbacher Loles matches TRG?s three-car effort with a triplet of their own Porsches. Leh Keen and Eric Lux will drive the No. 86 Porsche GT3 while a pair of Canadians, Dave Lacey and Greg Wilkins, pilot the No. 88 machine. Eric Curran and defending Rolex Series GT champ Dirk Werner are currently entered in the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche.

The two-car Pontiac GXP.R effort of Banner Racing/Banner Engineering will attempt to rebound from a Rolex 24 that saw the No. 07 finish seventh in GT while the No. 06 slid to 22nd in class. Jan Magnussen and Leighton Reese will pilot the No. 06 machine while Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards in the No. 07 try to return to a championship race that lasted until the season?s final laps of 2007.

Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell in the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports BryanMark Financial Group Pontiac GXP.R, the No. 72 Autohaus Motorsports machine of Lawson Aschenbach and Tim Lewis Jr, and the debut of former Atlantic team PR1 Motorsports with Mike Forest and Thomas Merrill behind the wheel of the No. 32 machine round out the Pontiac GXP.R contingent.

A two-car effort from Blackforest Motorsports represents Ford in the GT class, with Jean-Francois Dumoulin, Tom Nastasi and John Farano among those behind the wheel of the No. 15 USG Sheetrock and No. 50 Ford Mustangs.

Grey?s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey will co-drive the No. 40 Hyper Sport Mazda RX-8 with Joe Foster, while the No. 30 Racer?s Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8 will be piloted by Craig Stone and Robert Thorne.

A host of Porsches in addition to the TRG and Farnbacher Loles machines will be trying to make the charge to the front of the GT class at the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami. Alegra Motorsport will field a two car effort with help from Gatorade and TodayMD with drivers Craig Stanton, Carlos de Quesada, Scooter Gabel and Roberto Garcia. Synergy Racing?s No. 80 Porsche GT3 Cup will see Jan Heylen and Steve Johnson behind the wheel, while the No. 74 Safina Raing with Michum Motorsports will sport a special Florida Marlins paint scheme for the visit to South Florida.

Will, Joe and Wayne Nonnamaker and Joe Sahlen will pilot the No. 42 and No. 43 Team Sahlen HRPWorld Chevrolet Corvettes in what is one of the most diverse classes in motorsports.

GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami Storylines

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 25, 2008) ? Heading into this weekend?s GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami, Round 2 of the 15-round 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 (SPEED, Same Day at 6 p.m. Saturday), here are some pre-race notes, story angles and interesting trends to follow:

STREAKS: SCOTT PRUETT has top-10 finishes in 20 consecutive Daytona Prototype races, dating back to the final five races of 2006, and has won two Daytona Prototype races in each season since 2004. Of his 15 Daytona Prototype race wins, none have come at Homestead? TELMEX/CHIP GANASSI RACING WITH FELIX SABATES has led the last 101 laps of competition? GAINSCO/BOB STALLINGS RACING has led at least one lap in 12 straight Daytona Prototype races? RILEY CHASSIS has won 10 straight Daytona Prototype races (44 out of 55 overall starts; 80 percent) and grabbed 44 of the last 45 podium finishing positions? In the GT class, there has been at least one PORSCHE on the GT podium in the last 19 Rolex Series events.

MILESTONES/BY THE NUMBERS: The Rolex 24 featured race records for car leaders (15), driver leaders (25) and lead changes (60)? A total of 695 laps and 2474.2 miles have been completed by winning drivers this season? RILEY CHASSIS has won 44 races in 55 DAYTONA PROTOTYPE starts (CRAWFORD is second with nine wins)? DARREN LAW is quickly approaching the century mark in overall Rolex Series starts. He owns a record Rolex Series total to 98?With its constant tally of pole positions last year, PONTIAC now holds the overall pole position mark with 26. PONTIAC moved into second ahead of CHEVROLET in class engine manufacturer victories last season with 43, now four behind PORSCHE? SCOTT PRUETT in the Rolex 24 scored his record-extending 15th overall Rolex Series driver win, while CHIP GANASSI RACING WITH FELIX SABATES posted its record 16th overall Rolex Series team victory.

HOME SWEET HOME(STEAD): South Florida has one of, if not, the largest contingents of drivers and teams running in the Rolex Series all season long. In Daytona Prototypes, drivers Guy Cosmo (West Palm Beach), John Pew (North Palm Beach), Oswaldo Negri (Miami), Matteo Bobbi (Miami Beach), Shane Lewis (Jupiter), Justin Bell (Delray Beach) and Jim Matthews (Boca Raton) all list south Florida as their current hometowns. In addition, SAMAX is from Pompano Beach, and fields a car for central Florida drivers Ryan Dalziel and Henri Zogaib (both of Orlando). GT drivers currently calling south Florida home include Jeff Segal (Miami), Sylvain Tremblay (Sunrise), Lawson Aschenbach (West Palm Beach), Tim Lewis Jr. (Boca Raton), Carlos de Quesada (Coral Gables) and Joseph Safina (Fort Lauderdale). Tremblay and de Quesada also field two-car efforts based in south Florida, while Autohaus Motorsports? No. 72 is based in the area.

GT TEAMS DEBUTING THIS WEEKEND: Several Rolex Series GT teams will be making their first appearances in the series this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Level 5 Motorsports brings its Ferrari F430 to the track, and will have Scott Tucker and Ed Zabinski behind the wheel of the Italian marquee. The open-wheel veteran team of P1 Motorsports of Fresno, Calif. debuts in Rolex Series competition with Mike Forest and Thomas Merrill.

ETC.: Only ANDY WALLACE and MILKA DUNO have scored multiple victories in Daytona Prototype competition at Homestead (two)? DALLARA and LOLA are making their DAYTONA PROTOTYPE bodywork debuts in Rolex Series competition this weekend. SUNTRUST RACING and DORAN RACING will field the DALLARA chassis while KROHN RACING will field two LOLAS.

GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami Fast Facts

Who: Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Daytona Prototype and GT competitors, representing American and international stars

What: GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami, a two-hour, 45-minute sports car race

Where: Homestead-Miami Speedway ? Homestead, Fla.

When: Saturday, March 29, 2008 at 3 p.m.

TV: SPEED, Same Day at 6 p.m. ET

Schedule of Events:

(All times local, Eastern Time)

Wednesday, March 26

4:00 PM 5:00 PM Rig Parking ? NO UNLOADING

6:00 PM Garages close

Thursday, March 27

7:00 AM Garages open

10:00 AM 11:45 AM Indy 2 Seater Rides

2:00 PM 2:45 PM Practice ? Rolex Series GT

2:45 PM 3:45 PM Practice ? Rolex Series

3:45 PM 4:30 PM Practice ? Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes

4:45 PM 5:45 PM Indy 2 Seater Rides

8:00 PM Garages close

Friday, March 28

7:00 AM Garages open

10:00 AM 10:30 AM Practice ? Rolex Series

10:30 AM 11:00 AM Practice ? Rolex Trueman & Akin award program drivers only

11:30 AM 1:15 PM Practice ? IndyCar Series

1:30 PM 2:30 PM Practice ? Indy Pro Series

3:00 PM 3:15 PM Qualifying ? Rolex Series GT

3:30 PM 3:45 PM Qualifying ? Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes

4:00 PM 4:30 PM Practice ? IndyCar Group 1

4:30 PM 5:00 PM Practice ? IndyCar Group 2

5:15 PM 6:15 PM Practice ? IndyCar Series

6:45 PM 8:00 PM Qualifying ? IndyCar Series

8:15 PM Qualifying ? Indy Pro Series

11:00 PM Garages close

Saturday, March 29

7:00 AM Garages open

9:00 AM 9:15 AM Practice ? Indy Pro Series

10:00 AM 10:30 AM Final Practice ? Rolex Series

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Hot Lap Rides

11:00 AM 12:00 PM Autograph Session ? Rolex Drivers

12:00 PM Indy Pro Series Pre-Race Activities

12:30 PM Indy Pro Series Race

2:30 PM Rolex Pre-Race Activities

3:00 PM START ? Rolex Series race (400K/109 laps/2-hour 45-minute time limit)

7:00 PM IndyCar Pre-Race Activities

8:00 PM IndyCar Race

TIME CERTAIN SCHEDULE ? All sessions to start and finish as shown

EVENT WEBSITES

Live Timing & Scoring is available for all Rolex Series practices, qualifying sessions and races on the official Grand-Am website ? www.grand-am.com.

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