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Welcome to The Glen - Rolex Series Live Updates!
August 6, 2009

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - The ultra competitive Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 heads to Watkins Glen International on Aug. 6-7. Stay tuned for constant news and information on the stars and cars of the Rolex Series.

EVENT INFORMATION
- Weekend Schedule
- Entry List
- Starting Grid (after qualifying)
- Session Results

Bouchut, Segal Lead Final Practice (Updated Thursday at 7:05 p.m.)

Christophe Bouchut ran a lap of 1:05.486 in the No. 55 Supercar Life BMW Riley to lead Thursday's final practice, followed by Scott Pruett, Romain Dumas, Alex Gurney and Max Angelelli.

In GT, Jeff Segal was fastest with a lap of 1:12.318 in the No. 69 FXDD SpeedSource Mazda RX-8.

Next on-track activity will be Friday's Crown Royal 200, taking the green flag at 6:30 after a full day of NASCAR Sprint Cup and National Series practice and qualifying.

The Rolex Series will have an autograph session at 2 p.m.

Post-Qualifying Quotes (Updated Thursday at 6:35 p.m.)

Brian Frisselle: ""It's always disappointing when you're not on the pole, but it was a good run and it's the top-three cars in the championship that are in the top-three again, so it was an overall solid session. We need to improve the car some more, and I think we can. Once we do, we should have the car to beat. It's tough, doing all of practice and qualifying all in one day, but it's the same for everybody, so it's not too terrible. From here, we just have to put our heads down for the final practice session (this evening) and really try to work on some balance issues and try to get the SunTrust car up front. It's a good place to be for the start of the race, here - on the inside. Whatever happens at the start of the race tomorrow night, it'll be a matter of just taking what comes to you and keep your head down and hand off the car in good condition. Don't force anything. I've learned my lesson and I'm going to be focused tomorrow night. "

Memo Rojas: "We're doing well. We did a few changes to it but we weren't really happy with it in the session, so we're going back with it. We have an OK car, but it could be better. We're going to do our best to fix it. We've been on the front row every race, and it seems the 99 car is almost always up there. It's going to be another real good race for Grand-Am."

Andrew Davis: "I'm happy with the guys, because they've worked really hard. We started off the morning not in the best fashion. The car was ready to go, but the setup wasn't really ideal. The track was really green - there was no rubber down - and we struggled with the handling this morning. We made some changes for the second session, and the car was quite good in qualifying. I could push it when I wanted to. I was surprised by the number Leh had in the Porsche. We didn't have anything for him there, but we still got a good racecar."

Leh Keen: "Obviously, everything went just about perfect for us. The car has been awesome as soon as we get it off the trailer. Dirk qualified for the pole for the six-hour race, so the guys for Farnbacher Loles really know what to do for the car for this track. Also, our testing went really well here the day after the six hour race. Today, my lap was just about perfect. I got a bit of a draft from Andrew (Davis). I've got a routine where I can get the tires to where they're perfect for one lap, and I've been doing that for the last few races and it's been working out real good. We're excited, of course. The car is fast, and it also looks like it will be consistent for the race. We're going for the win."

Rice, Sutherland Teams Have Times Disallowed (Updated Thursday at 6:05 p.m.)

Two Rolex Series teams had their times disallowed after post-qualifying inspection.

Buddy Rice was fifth-quickest in the Daytona Prototype session, but the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Porsche Coyote was found to be too wide.

Tom Sutherland was second-fastest in the Acxiom GT session, but the No. 30 Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8 was moved to the back after it was found to be too low.

Also moving to the back will be the No. 59 Brumos Porsche Riley of JC France and Joao Barbosa, which changed an engine after qualifying.

After Hardship, Fogarty Captures Pole (Updated Thursday at 6 p.m.)

Less than an hour before Thursday's qualifying session, Bob Stallings would have been happy just to see his No. 99 GAINSCO Pontiac Riley get in a time.

Then, after two laps of hardship practice, Jon Fogarty gave him a pole.

"We spent really the whole first morning practice trying to diagnose some brake problems," Fogarty said. "We really spent no time developing the car and we eventually reached the conclusion that we should bring the car back to the truck and make a complete change, master cylinder, brakes and basically the entire braking system. The GAINSCO crew was put to the test again like they were at Daytona, when we had to change the steering rack just minutes before the race. It was a total thrash and fortunately we got the car put back together and we were granted a couple of hardship laps by Grand-Am at the end of practice. The car was good and it is a testament to the engineers and the homework they are doing away from the track between races to be able to come here with a package capable of qualifying up front.

"We got going right away and there is something to be said about not running prior to that. Jumping right in you really can't worry about the things the car is doing wrong. You just have to focus on going fast, and that's what I had to do. I got going quick and just decided to let it all hang out and was able to make some changes inside the cockpit midway through that qualifying session that improved the car slightly and gave us that little bit of time there toward the end of the session. It was just a great job again by the GAINSCO team. They have been put to the test a number of times this year, not just by the competition but by little gremlins like we have today."

Ganassi Battling Brake Issues (Updated Thursday at 2:30 p.m.)

While Scott Pruett was atop the timing charts for most of Thursday's opening practice session (Ozz Negri nipped him in the closing minutes), the practice was not without its problems for the No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley.

"We were fighting a brake problem," Pruett said at the end of the session. "We're not sure what it is, but we're going to go into it a bit more. We don't know what was going on, but we're digging into it. Otherwise the car is quite good. The Ganassi guys are doing a good job as always. It's crunch time. There are four races left, and we need to get every point we can."

Pruett and Memo Rojas won at the Glen in June in the Sahlen's Six Hours on the 3.4-mile long circuit. What changes did the team make for Friday's race on the 2.45-mile short course?

"The setup is the same," Pruett said. "The only difference is we had endurance brakes on for the six hour, and we have sprint brakes on for the two hour."

PR1 Motorsports Debuts BMW M6 (Updated Thursday at 12:45 p.m.)

After running a Pontiac GXP.R throughout last season and the opening four races of 2009, PR1 has converted its car to a BMW M6. Max Hyatt was first on course at the Glen - his first laps on the historic circuit.

"It's a great course. I really love Turn 1, and the Esses are a lot of fun," Hyatt said. "The Inner Loop is good. It's great to be in the car. It's our first race with PR1 and the BMW M6. It's great to be here with Dinan. The car's running great so far, we're just trying to get up to speed. We haven't decided our qualifying strategy yet, it will be a close battle between Jeff (Westphal) and I."

Edwards Injured, to Miss Event (Updated Thursday at 12:40 p.m.)

Paul Edwards, running second in the GT championship in the No. 07 Drinkin' Mate Pontiac GXP.R., is on the sidelines this week, nursing a shoulder injury. Team owner Leighton Reese will co-drive with Kelly Collins this weekend. Edwards won the last time the GT class ran in the Crown Royal 200, winning in a TRG Pontiac with Jan Magnussen in 2005. Edwards and Collins are the defending GT champions.

"I just got overconfident on a bicycle," Edwards said. "It's amazing. I've been racing cars for 13 years - never missed a race, never got any injury a Band-aid couldn't heal. Never hurt in a race car, and then two wheels without a motor took me out of this race. I got a sprain and tore about 50 percent of the ligaments in my (right) shoulder. I had elbow and knee pads on and a helmet, just taking it easy, but my shoulder took the brunt of the fall. My car was only four miles away. Everybody heals a little bit differently. In the textbooks, soft tissue takes four-six weeks to heal. I'm doing everything I can. I've got 16 therapy sessions lined up when I get home. My goal is to be back in the car at Montreal. Only time will tell."

Ben Collins Drives Five Daytona Prototypes! (Updated Thursday at 11:25 a.m.)

While Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 practice will get underway at noon Thursday at Watkins Glen International, Ben Collins drove in five different Daytona Prototypes in a special test session. Collins was at the wheel of the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Porsche Coyote, the No. 77 Doran Racing Ford Dallara, the No. 76 Krohn Racing Ford Lola, the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley, and the No. 2 Childress-Howard Motorsports Chevrolet Crawford. Collins is a British journalist working on a special feature for Autosport.

Related Series NewsFogarty "Brakes" Track Record at Watkins Glen
Welcome to The Glen - Rolex Series Live Updates!
Tight Daytona Prototype Championship Battle Heads to Watkins Glen for Crown Royal 200
Wilkins, Lally, Miller on Grand-Am Weekly
Rolex Series Boasts Tight Competition with Close Finishes
PR1 Returns - With BMW M6!
Garofall Takes Lead in Sunoco Driver Challenge
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