MONTEREY, Calif.-Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas focused on the bigger picture of the driver and team championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (MRLS) in the No.01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) Lexus Riley with a third place finish as they maneuvered through eight cautions in the timed two-hour forty-five minute event.
An early off-sequence pit stop for the CGRFS Daytona Prototype (DP) allowed the team to gain valuable track position on the first restart (lap 20). After Pruett assumed the lead on lap 36, the TELMEX team’s strategy through the mid-point of the race was to conserve fuel. A final splash of fuel by lap 58 allowed Pruett to run in the top-three positions throughout the remaining 40 laps. With the No.2 and 91 car battling for the lead, Pruett aimed his focus on the championship and avoided making risky moves on the track. Saturday’s podium finish marked the third top-three finish for the No.01 TELMEX team in four visits to MRLS.
With the result, Pruett and Rojas maintain the lead in the Rolex series driver and team championship race with 1 67 points, 19 points over the No.91 Goossens/Matthews car (148).
Scott Pruett: “Today was all about strategy. We knew going into today’s race that there would be a lot of cautions and that the race would likely be timed. I suppose I was most surprised about the lack of cautions at the beginning of the race and how many came toward the end of the event. The TELMEX team ran a smart race today – we didn’t do anything stupid to risk our championship points hold and I am pleased with the outcome and am glad to leave Laguna Seca with a consistent finish and the points lead.”
Memo Rojas: “It was very nice to get back to Laguna Seca again. I did a lot of racing here earlier in my open-wheel racing career and returning here for the second time in the Grand-Am cars with Scott was comforting. I did my best to hand the car over to Scott in a good spot and keep away from any trouble in the beginning of the race. I’m definitely excited about our lead in the points and look forward to having a top-finish at Watkins Glen in a few weeks. The TELMEX Ganassi team did a great job this weekend giving us a strong car.”
| 
|