Muscle Milk Pickett Racing will be making their debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona from the 11th spot on the grid when the green flag falls on the 2014 season Saturday afternoon.
No one knew quite what to expect in this year's first qualifying session of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season, but as many had predicted the Daytona Prototypes did out-qualify the P2 cars in the Prototype Class.
The #6 Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan was the quickest of the P2 cars in class with 10 Daytona Prototypes ahead of them.
German Lucas Luhr, who has a class victory at Daytona International Speedway in 2001 and a couple of second overall finishes, was in charge of qualifying duties for the Muscle Milk team.
After posting a best lap of one minute 41.032 seconds in practice, the six-time American Le Mans Series champion posted a fastest lap of one minute 39.829 seconds in qualifying, which was 1.6 seconds off of pole position.
Despite the gap, the team came out satisfied with the their performance and the improvements they've made since the test.
After a night practice session on Thursday, the team will be back in action on Friday, January 24 for a final one-hour practice session ahead of the weekend's race.
The Rolex 24 at Daytona, the opening round of the TUDOR Championship goes green at 2:10 pm ET on January 25, 2014.
The race will be broadcast live starting January 25 on FOX from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm ET, FOX Sports 2 from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm ET, IMSA.com from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am ET and FOX Sports 1 from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm ET on January 26, 2014.
For more information on Pickett Racing please visit www.pickettracingteam.com
Muscle Milk Pickett Racing Quotes:
Lucas Luhr Lucas Luhr, driver Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
"It was the first qualifying of the year, the good thing is that we are by quite a bit the fastest of the P2 cars. The thing is that the DPs are just too quick for us at the moment. I think they have to have a second thought on the balance of performance, especially on a high-speed track like we have here and later in the year at Road America.
"In regards to our performance, our car was good. We made a lot of improvements since the test today. We did the best we could, therefore I'm happy with our performance at Muscle Milk Pickett Racing, and in relation to the others, that's not really in our hands."
Race Facts:
52nd Annual Rolex 24 at Daytona
Daytona International Speedway, 3.56-mile road course, Daytona Beach, FL
January 23 - 26, 2013
TUDOR United SportsCar Championship: Round #1 of 11
Race Duration: 24 hours
Where to watch:
Race
January 25, 2014
FOX: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
FOX Sports 2: 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
IMSA.com: 9:00 PM - 7:00 AM
January 26, 2014
FOX Sports 1: 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Schedule (All times Eastern):
Friday, January 24, 2014:
Practice 4: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm (All Classes)
Saturday, January 25, 2014:
Autograph Session: 11:30 am - 12:15 pm
Race: 2:10 pm (24 hours)
