After qualifying fourth for the timed 2.5-hour sprint at Virginia International Raceway, TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas fought a good fight but could not overcome the adversity they faced on the 3.67-mile natural terrain road course. An early round of pit stops put Rojas in the lead with fresh tires and a full tank of gas on lap 8, but just a few moments later, a turn-one spinout forced the No. 01 Lexus-Riley off into the grass, putting teammate Scott Pruett at the back of the pack when he took over at Lap 11. Pruett was a man on a mission as he slowly chipped away at the field, but he also had a spin, this time in turn four on lap 24, and time would not be on his side, as he posted an eighth place finish for the TELMEX team.
In their first race since joining the CGRFS Grand Am team, Rob Finlay and Michael Valiante began Sunday’s timed two and a half hour jaunt at VIR with a tenth place starting position and were firmly entrenced in eighth place when a flat tire forced the newly revamped Lexus-Riley to pit moments before the white flag lap. The No. 19 Line Designs/Mission Residential/Make-A-Wish Foundation DP had run much of the race in the top-ten before the unscheduled tire change which resulted in a 15th place finish for the new CGRFS entry.
Pruett and the TELMEX team now relinquish their ROLEX Championship lead to race winner Max Angelelli and Jan Magnussen’s No. 10 SunTrust DP as it notched its first win of the season just three and half seconds before the No. 75 Krohn Racing DP of Colin Braun and Max Papis crossed the finish line in second place. The No. 10 DP now holds an 11-point lead, 127-116, over Pruett with four of 14 races now in the books.
The team now prepares both entries to head westward as they get set to take on California’s Laguna Seca Raceway for the U. S. Sports Car Invitational on May 20, 2007
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