Max Angelelli turned the fastest lap timesduring both Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series practice sessions for theFood City 250 at Phoenix International Raceway on Thursday. His quickesttime around the 1.51-mile road course came under the lights with a57.501-second lap at 94.537 mph in the SunTrust Racing No. 10 Pontiac Riley.
"This is the best car we've had yet," Angelelli said. "We worked hard forthree days of testing in March, and it's paying off. Today was aproblem-free day, and the crew was really on the ball. We'll need to staythat way, because I have the feeling we'll see quite a few of ourcompetitors improve on their times tomorrow. I'm really looking forward toit."
Scott Pruett turned the second-fastest time with his 57.705-second lap at94.203 mph in the CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing No. 01 Lexus Riley. Aftermissing the opening practice session while making repairs, the Rx.com G&WMotorsports No. 81 BMW Doran had the third-fastest time with its58.276-second lap at 93.280 mph.
Although the PTG Motorsports No. 21 BMW M3 was fastest in the GT classduring the afternoon practice session, it was The Racer's Group No. 66Porsche GT3 RS that turned that best time of the day in the class. The No.66 Porsche clocked a 1:02.406 lap at 87.107 mph. The AASCO Motorsports No.16 Porsche GT3 Cup was the quickest of the day in the SGS class with its1:04.614 lap at 84.130 mph during the evening practice session. The TPCRacing No. 36 Porsche led the afternoon session.
Points leader Terry Borcheller and Craig Stanton topped both Grand-Am CupSeries practice sessions for Friday night's Phoenix Grand Sport 200. Thepair's TheRaceSite.com No. 44 Porsche 996 turned a 1:08.036 lap at 79.899mph. Team Lexus led practice for Saturday afternoon's Phoenix Sport Touring200, recording a 1:10.000 at 77.657 mph with its No. 3 Lexus IS300.
Record Daytona Prototype Field
With 19 Daytona Prototypes set to take the grid, this Saturday's Food City250 is expected to have the largest Daytona Prototype field ever at a race.Six chassis and five engine manufacturers are represented in the 11different combinations of Daytona Prototypes running in this weekend's race.Daytona Prototypes are fielded this weekend by CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing,CITGO Howard-Boss Motorsports, Howard-Boss Motorsports, Cegwa Sport, EssexRacing, Michael Shank Racing, Southard Motorsports, Mears MotorcoachSpeedSource, Spirit of Daytona Racing, SunTrust Racing, Doran-Lista Racing,Silverstone Racing Services, Kodak Bell Motorsports, Red Bull Brumos Racing,Brumos Racing, SpeedSource, G&W Motorsports and Rx.com G&W Motorsports.
Littlechild Cleared After Porsche Rolls
John Littlechild was at the wheel of the TPC Racing No. 37 Porsche GT3 Cupduring night practice when it had contact with another car, sending thePorsche into a spin that resulted with it on its roof.
"I was exiting the keyhole and negotiating the full kink where you make theleft hand turn," explained Littlechild. "In that kink, I got hit on theright rear by a car, which I had seen the headlights coming, but I didn'tthink that he was going to try to move inside me there. He hit me hardenough, I think, to deflate the right rear tire, which sent the car into aspin. I locked up the tires and the car went down the track. Butunfortunately, by the time I got to that soft gravel, the car just rolled onits roof.
After a visit to the infield care center, Littlechild was cleared andanxious to find out the status of his car. "I am 100 percent," he said."We've got a lot of cars on the track, and everybody needs to take care. Itwould good if you didn't get hit in the back. Now I've got to go see how badthe damage is."
Mears Motorcoach SpeedSource Ford Damaged in Opening Practice
The Mears Motorcoach SpeedSource No. 9 Ford Multimatic sustained notabledamage during the opening practice session for the Food City 250. Paul MearsJr. was at the wheel of the Daytona Prototype when the Michael BaughmanRacing No. 47 Porsche GT3 Cup driven by Bob Ward made contact with theDaytona Prototype on the front straight. The No. 9 Ford suffered damagealong the driver's side, and the crew reported that it will have to makeseveral repairs including replacing an axle.
Although the car made it back out for the evening practice session, it hadtrouble on the back stretch and had to be towed in for more repairs.
Relief from the Phoenix Heat
The spring heat wave that Phoenix has been under the last few weeks haslifted this week, giving way to pleasant temperatures. Although the sun didhave the track temperature at 108 degrees during the afternoon practicesession, it cooled to 85 degrees for the evening practice with an ambienttemperature of 79. At 6 p.m., which is the start time for Saturday night'sFood City 250, the track was 93 degrees.
Radio Ramblings
As the first practice session grew to a close, this radio exchange could beheard between SunTrust Racing No. 10 Pontiac Riley driver Max Angelelli and car builder Bill Riley.
Riley: I know we probably have too long a top gear, Max, so let's evaluateit after the session.
Angelelli: No, Bill. I'm still lost out here. I can't say much about gears.
Riley: Well Max, you're P1 right now, so could you stay lost a littlelonger?
Driver Quotes from Opening Practice
Scott Pruett, driver of the CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing No. 01 Lexus Riley"This is a pretty tough, tight, slippery racetrack. The traffic out there isworse than rush hour traffic in downtown Phoenix on the worst of days. You are constantly in traffic, and you barely have time to even look at thegauges. I'm going to say that this is going to be one of the toughest races,due to the traffic, all year. The CompUSA Ganassi guys are doing a greatjob learning a lot about the car and how to get the most out of it. This isstill a work in progress, but unless you're first, the car is not good."
Oswaldo Negri Jr., driver of the Michael Shank Racing No. 6 Lexus Doran"Overall, I am happy with how things are going. I never had a clear lap, soI am definitely pleased with a P4. The team is doing a fantastic job, givingus a top-five car from the start, and I am certain that we will continue toimprove."
Burt Frisselle, driver of the Michael Shank Racing No. 6 Lexus Doran"Wow, the track is definitely a bull ring! I drove this track early in mycareer in an RT car, but I don't remember it being so tight. I was only outthere with the Daytona Prototypes this afternoon, so I anticipate thattonight's practice will be very challenging with all of the traffic. I havea lot to learn, but I have a great team behind me and I am up to thechallenge!"
Joe Policastro, driver of the Orbit Racing No. 44 Porsche GT3 RS"It was a challenge! It's something I've never been used to - it's almost asflat as a pool table out there. There's hardly any banking at all, and youreally have to back off in some spots, which is not normal. It will takesome time to get used to it, and we need to get the right gear ratio, but Ithink we're doing okay."
