ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING RESULTS
The 2013 racing season took the green flag today at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) with practice and qualifying for the 51st running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, highlighted by a front-row sweep of qualifying for CGRFS.Qualifying Results
P1 No. 01 TELMEX/Target Dinan-Prepared BMW (Pruett) – 1:40.553 seconds
P2 No.02 Target/TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW (Dixon) – 1:40.646 seconds
Practice 1 Results
P1 No. 01 TELMEX/Target Dinan-Prepared BMW (Pruett, Rojas, Montoya, Kimball) – 1:40.937 seconds
N/A No.02 Target/TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW (McMurray, Hand, Dixon, Franchitti) – (only ran a handful of laps due to mechanical problems)
Practice 2 Results
P1 No.6 Ford Riley Michael Shank Racing – 1:42.122 seconds
P3 No.02 Target/TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW (McMurray, Hand, Dixon, Franchitti) – 1:42:431 seconds
P8 No.01 TELMEX/Target Dinan-Prepared BMW (Pruett, Rojas, Montoya, Kimball) – 1:43.234 seconds
Practice 3 Results
P2 No.02 Target/TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW (McMurray, Hand, Dixon, Franchitti) – 1:42.355 seconds
DNP No.01 TELMEX/Target Dinan-Prepared BMW (Pruett, Rojas, Montoya, Kimball)
The one-two sweep of qualifying was the first for CGRFS in the Rolex 24 At Daytona since joining the series in 2004.
It was Pruett’s third career Rolex 24 pole – the first since 2005 – and 15th of his Rolex Series career. A victory this weekend would move him into a tie with Hurley Haywood for the most overall wins in the Rolex 24.
The No. 02 Target/TELMEX BMW was not able to participate in the first practice session of the day due a steering column problem.
Juan Pablo Montoya spent eight minutes in the No.01 in the first practice session and set the fastest lap time. He was happy with the handling of the car and will not spend any more time in it until race day.
The No.01 team did not practice in the final session at night (Practice 3), rather opting to utilize that time prepping the car for the race.
Franchitti ran a limited session in the final practice of the day, only 30 minutes of the two-hour allotted time.
SCOTT PRUETT: “To come back here with TELMEX and BMW is great. We knew we had a pretty good balance with the car, but I knew I had to get a good lap. I gave it all I had, and took a few chances going through the bus stop. I don’t know how many more years I’ll be doing this, so I’ll see if I can start up near the front as much as I can. Winning the pole is big for us. A lot of people have been talking about a lot of sandbagging, but I can absolutely tell you, we laid out all of our hand on the table for qualifying. That’s what we’re supposed to do. We’re racers. There is a little sadness, though. One of our guys from our Concord (N.C.) shop, Sammy Gonzalez, unfortunately passed away from cancer today, so I dedicate this pole to him.”
SCOTT DIXON: “Qualifying was the first time I was in the car all week. We’ve had a lot of problems with the steering and all kind of things, and even the handling-wise, we haven’t done too well with that. I’m surprised we’re only a tenth off. I think the car’s going to be quick, but there still is some speed in our car. It’s good for Chip, having a front of row. It’s kind of funny. Both of our cars don’t even come to the open test (Roar Before the Rolex 24) very similar, and then we gravitate away from each other even more. I couldn’t even tell you what they’re (the No. 01) running.”
The 51st Rolex 24 At Daytona starts Saturday, January 26th at DIS and will air LIVE on SPEED (3:30 PM ET).
Follow us on Twitter @CGRTeams for up-to-the-minute updates throughout the weekend.