CGRFS SECOND AND FOURTH IN INDIANAPOLIS

Results (with starting position) from Indianapolis Motor Speedway
1. (5) No. 2 Ford/Riley (Popow/Bourdais)
2. (7) No. 01 TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW/Riley (Pruett/Rojas)
3. (2) No. 10 Corvette/DP (Angelelli/R. Taylor)
4. (11) No. 02 Chevron Dinan-Prepared BMW/Riley (Dixon/McMurray/Montoya)

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Second and Fourth in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (July 28, 2012) - Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas finished second in the inaugural Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), while teammates Scott Dixon, Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth.

Rojas rolled off seventh for the three hour race on the 2.534-mile road course, but began charging to the front immediately.  Five minutes into his first race at IMS, Rojas worked his way up to second.  He took the lead on Lap 9, holding the point for the next four laps, until the No. 01 TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW/Riley made its first pit stop of the day under green.  At the conclusion of green-flag pit stops, Rojas ended up second and regained the lead on Lap 23.  While leading on Lap 25, Rojas spun, dropping back to fourth.  Four laps later he made his way to pit road under caution, performing a driver change as Pruett entered the No. 01 for the first time.  Under the caution, it began to downpour, soaking the track. 

The middle portion of the race saw a rash of caution flags with the wet conditions on the track.  Pruett pit under caution on Lap 47 and Rojas got back in the car.  He made a dash to the front, getting up to second before sustaining damage due to an on-track incident.  On Lap 64 the No. 01 hit pit road to repair damage and to perform another driver change, with Pruett getting back in to close the race.  Pruett passed all but one car, crossing the finish line in second as the race ended under caution.

McMurray qualified the No. 02 Chevron Dinan-Prepared BMW/Riley in sixth, but due to the wet conditions at the start of the event, Managing Director, Mike Hull elected to have Dixon start.  Dixon was forced to drop to the rear of the field as he did not qualify the car, putting the No. 02 in 11th.  The race started under both the green and yellow flags, which prohibited passing.  At just under four minutes, the race went green and Dixon began moving to the front, gaining four positions in the first two minutes under green.  He continued his march to the front, pitting from third on Lap 42 in order to make a driver change, with Montoya taking over.  The next 45 minutes of the race were littered with cautions, but by Lap 67 Montoya worked his way up to third.  He ran the closing laps of the race in the top-four, bringing the Chevron BMW home in fourth.
   
CGRFS continues to lead the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series point standings with 265 points, 11 points ahead of Dalziel/Potolicchio.

The 10th race of the 2012 Rolex Series season will be at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on Aug. 11.  The Continental Tire 200 presented by Dunn Tire will air live on SPEED at 6:00 p.m. ET.
 
NOTES OF INTEREST
• This was the first race for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and the first start for Rojas at IMS
• Montoya is the only driver to have started at IMS in NASCAR, Indy car and Formula One – and now adds GRAND-AM to that list
• The No. 01 has led a lap in eight out of nine races this year, leading a total of 212 laps this season
• This finish is the sixth podium this season and 50th for Pruett and Rojas as teammates
• This is the third second-place finish of the season for the No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley
• The No. 02 has finished fourth in both of its appearances this season

CGRFS QUOTEBOARD

MEMO ROJAS:  “Today was pretty good, it was probably one of the craziest races we’ve had in a long time – wet, dry, driver changes, people crashing into each other.  Luckily the Riley chassis was really strong.  The team did a great job to put it back together for Scott to finish the race.  We got a second-place which is pretty good for the championship.”