Ganassi tops record Rolex 24 with third win in a row

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates racing program became the first team to capture a Rolex 24 at Daytona overall victory in three consecutive years when Sprint Cup drivers Juan Montoya and Dario Franchitti joined Rolex Series regulars Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in the Ganassi No. 1Lexus Riley to capture the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway. The record breaking race was the 46th running of the classic endurance race.

In a race that featured Grand-Am Rolex Series and Rolex 24 records for car leaders (15), driver leaders (25) and lead changes (60), the Ganassi team stayed out of trouble to complete 695 laps and march to a two-lap victory over defending series champions Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, joined by two-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Jimmy Vasser in the No. 99 Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley.

The winning team: Montoya, Franchitti, Rojas, Pruett

The wins were the second in a row for Montoya and Pruett, the first time drivers earned repeat victories in the race since Derek Bell, Al Unser Jr. and Al Hulbert accomplished the feat in 1986 and 1987.

"We pushed very hard," Montoya said. "Every stint I was in the car, I pushed really hard. It's a good way to start the year. We all worked; we all did what we need to do."

The No. 9 Penske-Taylor Racing Pontiac Riley of Kurt Busch, Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe scored a third-place finish in owner Roger Penske's first Rolex 24 effort since 1973, rounding out the podium.

While the No. 01 team led 252 laps, it was clear a race win would have to be earned surviving the rain and slippery track prevalent throughout the night stages of the race. When the checkered flag waved, the Ganassi quartet executed their strategy to perfection and went without the mechanical problems that plagued many of their counterparts.

During the final quarter of the race, a string of bad luck hit many of those front-running machines. The least catastrophic of the bunch came when the No. 99 machine was pulled behind the wall with gearbox problems. But strong pit strategy and speed allowed the team to rally throughout the remainder of the race, making up four of the six laps they lost in the garage area.

Disaster struck others. With less than five hours left, a broken suspension piece on the No. 59 Brumos Porsche Riley caused Joao Barbosa to spin from the lead in the final turn. The curse hit No. 23 Alex Job Racing driver Joey Hand moments later as the No. 23 began smoking while running third. What was originally thought to be a tire rub turned out to be a blown engine, erasing the team's efforts that included 59 laps led.

Less than an hour later, Burt Frisselle -- hoping to give Michael Shank Racing its biggest win to date -- saw the No. 6 Ford Riley suffer suspension damage while running in the lead. Despite leading 118 laps, Frisselle and co-drivers A.J. Allmendinger, John Pew and Ian James fell to 14th overall and ninth in class.

Frisselle's suspension failures left Montoya alone on the lead lap, and from there he and his team held on for a victory.

The win added to Pruett's already all-time best eight class victories at the Rolex 24 and record 15th overall Rolex Series wins. It was his third overall in the Rolex 24.

"Your last one is always your best. This was tough," Pruett said when asked to pick the favorite of his Rolex 24 wins. "The conditions were pretty treacherous because it was rain, then it was dry, then it was a little bit of wet again. That makes for a really tough race. I can't say enough for all of the Ganassi guys." (Continued)