Ganassi's Team Wins Rolex 24 Again
For the first time in history, the finish in the 45th Rolex 24 At Daytona came down to a three-car battle on the same lap. The No. 01 TELMAX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley with driver Scott Pruett outlasted the No. 11 SAMAX CITGO Pontiac Riley and Patrick Carpentier and the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley and Jan Mangunssen to win the Rolex 24.
It's the second straight victory in the Rolex 24 for owner Chip Ganassi and the second Rolex 24 victory for Pruett, who won the twice-around-the-clock challenge back in 1994 with Nissan. For Salvador Duran and Juan Pablo Montoya, the other co-drivers on the No. 02 car, it was their first Rolex 24 triumphs. "It's like winning a championship in one race," Ganassi said.
The No. 02 car had a 1 minute, 14.749 second margin of victory over the No. 11 while the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley, which battled clutch and brake problems in the final hours, finished third. In the final hours of the Rolex 24, the three lead lap cars were nose to tail with Montoya behind the No. 01, Angelelli in the No. 10 and Ryan Dalziel in the No. 11.
"It was incredible after 20 hours there were three cars on the lead lap, three really fast cars," Montoya said. "It was like qualifying on every lap over and over again."
The Chip Ganassi Racing sister car, the No. 02, was also a late-race contender but Memo Rojas crashed entering Turn 1 when attempting to pass a GT class car. Montoya becomes the first driver since Mario Andretti to win a Rolex 24, a Formula One race, a Indianapolis 500, and a Champ Car/IndyCar Series title.
"It's a big deal," Montoya said. "But I'm back here in a couple of weeks for the Daytona 500. Hopefully, we can do something about that as well."(DIS)
For the first time in history, the finish in the 45th Rolex 24 At Daytona came down to a three-car battle on the same lap. The No. 01 TELMAX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley with driver Scott Pruett outlasted the No. 11 SAMAX CITGO Pontiac Riley and Patrick Carpentier and the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley and Jan Mangunssen to win the Rolex 24.
It's the second straight victory in the Rolex 24 for owner Chip Ganassi and the second Rolex 24 victory for Pruett, who won the twice-around-the-clock challenge back in 1994 with Nissan. For Salvador Duran and Juan Pablo Montoya, the other co-drivers on the No. 02 car, it was their first Rolex 24 triumphs. "It's like winning a championship in one race," Ganassi said.
The No. 02 car had a 1 minute, 14.749 second margin of victory over the No. 11 while the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley, which battled clutch and brake problems in the final hours, finished third. In the final hours of the Rolex 24, the three lead lap cars were nose to tail with Montoya behind the No. 01, Angelelli in the No. 10 and Ryan Dalziel in the No. 11.
"It was incredible after 20 hours there were three cars on the lead lap, three really fast cars," Montoya said. "It was like qualifying on every lap over and over again."
The Chip Ganassi Racing sister car, the No. 02, was also a late-race contender but Memo Rojas crashed entering Turn 1 when attempting to pass a GT class car. Montoya becomes the first driver since Mario Andretti to win a Rolex 24, a Formula One race, a Indianapolis 500, and a Champ Car/IndyCar Series title.
"It's a big deal," Montoya said. "But I'm back here in a couple of weeks for the Daytona 500. Hopefully, we can do something about that as well."(DIS)
