Compiled by James Neilson
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – The top 20 qualifiers for this weekend’s Daytona 24 hours reads like a who’s who of international racing stars. Despite the deeply talented field of former Formula 1, current and ex Indycar and Nascar drivers the No.1 COMPUSA Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley of Scott Pruett, Luis Diaz and Ryan Briscoe continued to dominate the Grand-Am Prototype class.
Pruett set a best time of 1:46.928 (119.856mph), besting the Suntrust Pontiac Riley of Max Angelelli, Wayne Taylor and Emmanual Collard by a mere 17 hundredths of a second. The top 8 cars were separated by less than a second hinting that this years Daytona could be one of the closest races in history.
The pole gives Ganassi racing an incredible 12 poles from 13 races dating back to the 2004 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
“Everything went right out there for us today,” Pruett told the press corps at Daytona. “The preparation from the team is simply second to none. You just can’t beat that kind of effort. The pole is definitely beneficial to get the weekend started on the right foot. They say a good start lets you avoid the mess at the back,” he added.
The NASCAR contingent acquitted themsleves well, considering for some it was their first visit to the Daytona International Speedway. Tony Stewart qualified the highest among the ‘good ole boys’ putting the Howard Boss Motorsports Pontiac Crawford he shares with Andy Wallace and Jan Lammers on the outside of row three in sixth position.
The Labonte brothers, Terry and Bobby, were right behind Stewart in their Doran Racing Pontiac they’ll be sharing with Jan Magnussen qualifying in the seventh spot. Multimatic Teammates, and NASCAR rivals, Kurt Busch Matt Kenseth struggled to get to grips with their Multimatic Ford finishing in the middle of the Daytona Prototype pack in 16th place.
"I wish we were a little faster overall, but we're all running about the same speed and we're comfortable in the car," said Kenseth on NASCAR.com. "We're a little down on straightaway speed, but we seem to be faster than the other cars in the infield."
The open wheel stars also fared well in qualifying. Ganassi IRL teammates Scott Dixon and Darren Manning and fellow IRL driver Casey Mears will line their Target Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley just ahead of Tony Stewart on the inside of row three in fifth position.
Sebastian Bourdais, partnered with Newman/Haas Champcar Team owner (and Eighty year old!) Paul Newman in their Ford Crawford qualified two places ahead of fellow Champcar competitor Paul Tracy in 13th and 15th places respectively. AGR IRL teammates Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon piloted their Howard Boss Motorsports Pontiac Crawford to the 18th position.
Tracy is co-driving with sportscar stalwart Terry Borcheller in last year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona- winning Bell Motorsports Pontiac Doran.
"The DORAN JE4 is a lot different than what I currently drive," said Tracy, speaking of his Daytona experience on his website. "My first time in the car was really the first time I've driven a full-bodied race car with a roof and fenders," adding. “"I hadn't met Terry (Borcheller) before the Homestead test, but I know he has a lot of experience in the car and is very quick. My position on the team is a secondary role to help Terry win the 24-Hours again."
The 43rd annual Rolex 24 at Daytona begins on Saturday February 5, 2005 and can be seen on Speedvision Television. For complete qualifying results go to Grand-Am\s official website at www.grand-am.com
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