Chip Ganassi cars finish 1-2 at Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway

NSBNews.Net provides Volusia County with 24 / 7 Internet newspaper coverage for a 21st-century world. This website can also be accessed through VolusiaNews.Net

Courtesy photo / Scott Pruett and fellow Daytona Prototype champion Memo Rojas joined team newcomers Joey Hand and Graham Rahal in the No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley, to take the checkered flag Sunday in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

DAYTONA BEACH -- It may be two trips around the clock, but it took as last-lap sprint for Scott Pruett to take theckered flag to win the Rolex 24 today at Daytona International Speedway.

Pruett, in the 01 Daytona Prototype, outdistanced the 02 sister car of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in a mad dash to the finish for the completed "Chip Slam," to give the ownership team consecutive victories in the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and, of course the Rolex 24.Aiding by a lightning-fast final pit stop,

Pruett went from third to first on the final round of pit stops with 48 minutes remaining and held on to give the team its fourth Rolex 24 victory. "It's exciting for our team having a one-two finish," Pruett said. "I think that's how you one-up what you do here. I think that's absolutely amazing and I'm proud of our whole organization."

It was the fourth career overall Rolex 24 victory for Pruett and second for co-driver Memo Rojas while Graham Rahal and Joey Hand earned their first coveted Rolex watches. Ganassi won three Rolex 24s between 2006-08 and has earned runner-up finishes the past two years.

"I don't drive the cars, I don't change the tires, I don't work on the engines," Ganassi said. "There are lots of people, lots of great competitors that it takes to make up a team, and I'm just the guy that gets to stand up there and talk about it."

Rounding out the top three was the runner-up No. 02 Ganassi Racing entry with Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya and 2010 Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray. Third-place honors went to the No. 9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley and drivers Max Papis, Christian Fittipaldi, JC France, Joao Barbosa and Terry Borcheller.

The No. 67 TRG Porsche GT3, driven by Andy Lally, NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan, Spencer Pumpelly, Wolf Henzler and Steven Bertheau, overcame a broken clutch to take GT class honors. Attrition took its toll among many of the contenders.

Jorg Bergmeister won the pole in the No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche/Riley and led the opening 27 laps, but an off-track excursion to avoid an incident damaged the front end of the car and sent the team to the garage, losing 19 laps.

Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson joined two-time DP champs Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Chevrolet/Riley, but the trio fell out of contention late Saturday evening with brake problems.

"I spent a lot of time in the car and learned a lot. it went well," Johnson said. "There was some good race, but a few other situations. I wish I knew who some of those guys are so I could go and talk to them. For me, every lap is helpful and I learn every time I'm out on the track. It's good to be out there."

The highly competitive race featured 52 lead changes among 27 drivers. Twelve of the 18 Daytona Prototypes in the field led at some point. The race was slowed 23 times for 141 laps. While there were no major incidents, early morning fog led to two hours and 47 minutes, resulting in 57 laps of caution.

FAST FACTS The winning No. 01 entry covered 721 laps, 2,566.76 miles, equivalent of a trip from Daytona Beach to Los Angeles. 

The margin of victory was 2.070 seconds and there were four cars on the lead lap. Editor's Note: Information from Daytona International Speedway Communications and Grand-Am Road Racing was used in this story. For more Grand-Am Racing news, go to: http://www.grand-am.com/