Wallace, Duno set for third race of 2005 at historic track
The Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series returns to the beautiful Watkins Glen International Road Course this weekend for the 12th race on the 2005 schedule, the Crown Royal 250 at The Glen. When practice begins on Thursday afternoon for the 250-mile endurance test, the Andy Wallace, Milka Duno, and #2 CITGO Racing Team will be looking for their second win of the 2005 season. On May 21st, Wallace, Duno, and Jan Lammers won the Rolex Series 6 Heures du Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec, Canada in their CITGO Pontiac Crawford.
The Crown Royal 250 will be the third and final visit for the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series at the historic Watkins Glen International course in 2005. The first two attempts to conquer the tricky, picturesque New York course left the CITGO Racing Team wanting for more. On June 12th, the trio of Wallace, Duno, and Lammers finished 12th in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Then, on August 12th, Wallace teamed with NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart to drive the #20 CITGO Pontiac Crawford in the Sahlen’s 200. Unfortunately, late-race problems resulted in a 21st-place class finish for the talented duo. However, Duno and Lammers drove the #2 CITGO Pontiac Crawford to a strong 6th-place finish in the Sahlen’s 200, the best finish for the CITGO Racing Team at The Glen this season.
“I like Watkins Glen,” Wallace commented. “It’s a fast flowing track and very rewarding to drive. We haven’t had much luck in our two visits to The Glen so far this year, so we are determined to bag a place on the podium for the CITGO Racing Team this time. It seems a long time since we won at Mont-Tremblant earlier in the year, and I’m about ready to do that again!”
Teammate Duno shares his enthusiasm.
“This will be our third race of the season at The Glen,” Duno added. “The first was a six-hour race and the second a two-hour event. We scored a 12th-place finish in the first and a 6th-place in the second in August. That demonstrates quite an improvement from one race to the next. It tells me that we are getting closer and closer to finding the optimum setup package there and, hopefully, we’ll score a podium finish this time out.”
“I believe that the mark of a good team is its ability to constantly learn and improve,” Duno continued. “I believe that we have done just that at The Glen. The crew builds upon their experience at various tracks and then, hopefully, improves each time they revisit a circuit. The Howard-Boss Motorsports Team is just this type of team and they work very hard. Andy (Wallace) and I will be doing our best to build upon their effort and nothing would be more satisfying than delivering a good result to the crew and CITGO.”
Milka Duno and The CITGO Racing Team will have additional support this weekend as the IndyRacing League competes at The Glen on Sunday afternoon. Current IRL point leader and 2005 Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon and Andretti/Green Racing teammate Dario Franchitti will likely be in the Howard-Boss Motorsports pits cheering for the CITGO Racing Team on Saturday. Wheldon and Franchitti teamed with Milka Duno and Franchitti’s brother Marino in the #2 CITGO Pontiac Crawford for the 2005 Rolex 24 At Daytona to open the Grand American Rolex Sports Car season in February.
Duno will attend Wheldon and Franchitti's race the next day to cheer them on as well. Wheldon and Franchitti will be competing on The Glen's 3.37-mile long course - the same course that Duno and Wallace will drive in the #2 Pontiac Crawford Daytona Prototype in Saturday's race.
The Crown Royal 250 is set for a 3 PM ET start on Saturday, September 24th. The 250-mile, 74-lap event will be televised live by Speed Channel.
