October 31, 2004
LEXUS POWERS PAPIS/PRUETT TO VICTORY AND 2004 ROLEX TITLE
Needing a victory to clinch the Rolex Series title, Lexus-powered drivers Max Papis and Scott Pruett led 81 of 89 laps on the way to a dominating victory in Sunday’s Lexus Grand American 400K to win the 2004 Grand American Rolex Series championship at the California Speedway.
The CompUSA Ganassi Racing drivers led a parade of Lexus-powered entries across the finish line as the manufacturer powered five of the top seven finishers. Darren Manning and Scott Dixon placed third to make it two Ganassi cars on the podium while running a one-off following the conclusion of their IndyCar Series campaign. Didier Theys and Jan Magnussen finished fifth in their Doran-Lista Racing Lexus, with Jimmy Morales and Luis Diaz sixth in the third CompUSA Ganassi Lexus, and Oswaldo Negri and Burt Frisselle teamed to bring home the Michael Shank Racing Lexus in seventh.
“Everybody at CompUSA Ganassi Racing and Lexus wanted this championship very badly,” said Papis. “It’s a fantastic feeling. The whole team worked so hard and it’s great to bring them a championship and to give Lexus its first (Rolex Series) championship.”
After starting from the pole for the 11th time in 12 races, Papis and Pruett pulled away from the field early and gave up the lead just once during the race – from Lap 68 through Lap 75 – while serving a 30-second penalty in the pits for a pit lane fuel hose violation. Fittingly, the only other car to lead the race was the #02 CompUSA of Morales and Diaz. A flat tire cost the duo a chance at second, but their sixth-place showing was good enough to give Morales sixth in the series points race, while Diaz was ninth. Didier Theys placed eighth.
In addition to winning the driver’s championship, the #01 CompUSA Lexus also took the team points title in Ganassi Racing’s first season of sports car competition. The Pruett and Papis duo also led the series in laps led with 650 – more than double the total registered by their nearest competitors.
October 21, 2004
Reinforcements Coming as Ganassi/Lexus Eye Rolex Series Crown
Heading into the Champions Weekend season finale on Oct. 31, Lexus-powered drivers Scott Pruett and Max Papis know only one certainty – win to claim the Rolex Series championship. Anything less and they no longer control their own destiny.
The duo has combined to win a series record 10 poles in 11 races, as well as register three victories and seven top-three finishes in 11 races this season. They hold a slim three-point championship lead over their closest rivals - Max Angelelli and Wayne Taylor – with three points as the difference awarded between first and second.
“The CompUSA Lexus team wants this championship very badly,” said Papis. “We came out of the last race leading by three points, but the fact remains we’re still the ones to beat.”
The CompUSA Ganassi Racing team will be a little harder to beat in the Lexus Grand American Champions Weekend with the addition of a third Lexus Riley for IndyCar stars Scott Dixon, who ran with the team in the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, and Darren Manning. Not only have both excelled on the Indy Racing League ovals, but both have raced in CART, as well as tested with Formula One teams – Dixon with the Williams team, while Manning served as the test driver for BAR. The two open-wheel drivers will be able to take advantage of an additional test day at the track on Thursday to better prepare for the race.
“The 24 hours at Daytona was a good first-time introduction to sports car racing for me,” said Dixon, the 2003 IndyCar Series champion. “We had a fair race at Daytona, but the CompUSA team, along with Lexus, has really worked hard and improved from that initial race. I’ve never run on the Fontana road course, but I’m really looking forward to it. The team has a championship on their mind and it will be great to be a part of it.”
Jimmy Morales and Luis Diaz combine to give the CompUSA Ganassi team another strong entry at Fontana. With three consecutive top-five finishes and five in their last seven races, their #02 Lexus has established itself as a contender to break through for their maiden victory. Morales is sixth overall in points heading into the season finale, while Diaz is tied for 10th place.
Doran-Lista Racing already is a proven Rolex Series winner and they, too, will receive reinforcements for the final race of the season with the return of Jan Magnussen, who’s been forced to miss the last three races due to previous commitments. In his most recent Daytona Prototype race, he co-drove the #27 Doran-Lista Lexus to victory at Watkins Glen along with the team’s lead driver, Didier Theys. Magnussen drove in just four races this season, with the team mounting serious challenges for the victory in three of the four. Doran-Lista Racing is fourth overall in the team points race, while Theys sits in seventh-place in the driver standings.
Despite consecutive 14th-place finishes as a result of on track incidents while running in the top six at the time, Michael Shank Racing continues to maintain fifth in the team points race. The “Little Team That Can” will field a Lexus-powered Doran JE4 with Oswaldo Negri and Burt Frisselle continuing behind the wheel as they have for all but one race this season.
For the season, Lexus-powered cars have won four races, 10 pole positions and secured 10 additional top-three finishes.
Qualifying for the Lexus Grand American 400K will take place Saturday, October 30, while Sunday’s season finale race can be seen live on SPEED beginning at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. The Grand-Am Cup race, featuring Team Lexus and its Lexus IS 300s will take place Saturday immediately following Rolex Series qualifying.
October 17, 2004
CASTRONEVES MAKES TOYOTA TWO FOR TWO AT TEXAS
- After leading much of the early portion of the race, Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Toyota) powered by Danny Wheldon for the lead on Lap 180 and went on to win Sunday’s Texas 500 by .3732 seconds. The victory allowed Toyota to sweep the weekend’s two feature races after Todd Bodine won Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event in a Toyota Tundra.
- Today’s victory is the second of the season for Toyota and its 13th in 32 IndyCar Series races. It also marks Toyota’s third win in four races here at the Texas Motor Speedway and its second straight Fall triumph here after Gil de Ferran’s win last October.
- Helio Castroneves’ victory is his first of the season and the sixth of his IndyCar Series career. His last IRL win came at Nazareth in 2003. The triumph also marks the second of the season for Marlboro Team Penske and is the team’s 12th in IRL competition – seven of those coming with Toyota power.
- Toyota-powered cars led 159 of 200 laps run today with Helio Castroneves leading 103, Sam Hornish in front for 53 and Scott Sharp leading three laps. Castroneves earned the three bonus points for leading the most laps. It’s the third time in the last four races that he has led 100 or more laps. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner finished second in the series in laps led this season with (504).
- Helio Castroneves’ victory marks his fifth top-five showing of the season and his 13th top-10 finish in 16 races this season.
- Scott Dixon’ sixth-place finish gives him nine top-10 finishes in 15 races this season.
- After running in and around the top-five all day, Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) earned a season-best eighth, it’s his sixth top-10 finish of the season. In addition, Sharp competed in his 98th IndyCar Series race and his 90th consecutive event – both IndyCar Series records.
- A.J. Foyt IV (Conseco Toyota) earned his first career IndyCar top-10 finish today with a 10th.
- With the victory, Helio Castroneves moved up to fourth-place in the final point standings. Two other Toyota-powered drivers also finished in the top-10 overall with Sam Hornish Jr. in seventh and Scott Dixon in 10th.
Driver, Start/Finish
Helio Castroneves 1/1
Scott Dixon 5/6
Scott Sharp 14/8
A.J. Foyt 13/10
Tora Takagi 17/12
Sam Hornish 2/17
Next Race: Toyota Indy 300, Homestead-Miami Speedway, March 6, 2005, ESPN
October 12, 2004
FAST FACTS - TEXAS 500K
Sun., Oct. 17, 12:30 p.m., EDT, ABC
Texas Motor Speedway
200 laps on the 1.5-mile oval for 300 miles
CASTRONEVES LOOKS TO TIE SERIES POLE RECORD – Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Toyota) will attempt to tie an all-time IndyCar Series record by winning his fourth consecutive pole this weekend. If the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner can take the top spot in Friday’s qualifying, he will tie the mark set by Billy Boat in 1998. Making Castroneves mark even more impressive is that all three of the poles won so far in his streak have come on different types of tracks. He earned the top spot on the 1-mile oval at Nazareth, the 1.5-mile track at Chicagoland and the 2.0-mile California Speedway.
Castroneves’ pole run marks the second straight year that a Toyota driver has been in a position to tie Boat’s record. A year ago, 2003 IndyCar champion Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) won three consecutive poles only to see his run for a record fall just short at Michigan where he qualified second to then-teammate Tomas Scheckter after winning poles at Richmond, Kansas and Nashville.
TOYOTA LOOKS FOR THIRD TEXAS VICTORY IN FOUR RACES – After a pair of victories in 2003, Toyota will be looking for its third win in four races at the Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. Al Unser Jr. took a popular victory in his Kelley Racing Toyota last June, while Gil de Ferran won his final IndyCar Series race at Texas last October in his Marlboro Toyota for Penske Racing.
TOYOTA DRIVERS, TEAMS EXCEL AT TMS – Not only did Toyota-powered cars win both starts at Texas last year, but current Toyota-powered drivers or teams have won six of the last seven IndyCar Series races run at TMS and seven of the last nine.
No team has had more success here than Kelley Racing, which has won three Texas races in the last four years. Al Unser Jr. won last year, while Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) won on the 1.5-mile oval in both 2000 and 2001. Marlboro Team Penske won the fall race last year at Texas, while current team driver Sam Hornish Jr. (Marlboro Team Penske) won the Fall events on the way to his titles in 2001 and 2002.
Here’s a look at current Toyota-powered teams and drivers Texas victories:
2003: Kelley Racing (June); Marlboro Team Penske (Oct.)
2002: Target Chip Ganassi Racing (June); Sam Hornish, Jr. (Oct.)
2001: Scott Sharp/Kelley Racing (June); Sam Hornish, Jr. (Oct.)
2000: Scott Sharp/Kelley Racing (June)
1999: Kelley Racing (Oct.)
1998: Foyt Racing (June)
MANNING OUT FOR TEXAS – Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Darren Manning will not compete in this weekend’s IRL IndyCar series 2004 finale in Texas after consultation with the Indy Racing League’s medical staff. Manning suffered a minor compression fracture of the sixth and seventh thorasic vertebrae during qualifying for the Toyota Indy 400. There are no plans to replace Manning for the Texas race.
INDY CARS PROVE TO BE A LUCKY CHARM FOR TOYOTA TRUCKS – This weekend’s action at the Texas Motor Speedway will mark the season’s final IRL IndyCar Series/NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series double-header of the season and it’s likely that the Toyota Tundra drivers will be sorry to see the open-wheelers go. Toyota Tundras have won on each of the last two “double-header” weekends with Travis Kvapil winning the Saturday feature at Michigan, while Todd Bodine was victorious two weeks ago on the Toyota Indy 400 weekend at the California Speedway.
THREE TOYOTAS IN TOP-10 IN POINTS RACE – Heading into this weekend, three Toyota-powered drivers continue to rank in the top 10. Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Toyota) is in a hotly-contested battle for fourth through sixth, currently sitting in fifth, while his Marlboro Team Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr. is seventh. Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) holds down the 10th spot heading into Texas, just one position ahead of teammate Darren Manning.
Toyota IndyCar Series Driver Line-Up and Position Entering Texas 500k
Car # Driver Car Season Points Standing
#3 Helio Castroneves Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 5th
#6 Sam Hornish Jr. Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 7th (Won Homestead)
#1 Scott Dixon Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 11th
#10 Darren Manning Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 10th – Will not compete at Texas
#8 Scott Sharp Delphi Toyota (Dallara) 14th
#12 Tora Takagi Pioneer Toyota (Dallara) 15th
#14 A.J. Foyt IV Conseco Toyota (Dallara) 18th
October 11, 2004
ALABAMA RAINS WASH AWAY LEXUS HOPES FOR VICTORY; THREE LEXUS CARS IN TOP FIVE AT BARBER 250
After breaking the previous track record by almost four seconds on Saturday, Max Papis and Lexus saw its advantage for Sunday’s Barber 250 washed away with the rain, although he and co-driver Scott Pruett went on to place third and earn their seventh top-three finish of the season as Lexus-powered cars finished third, fourth and fifth.
In addition to setting the new track speed record in qualifying, Papis, Pruett and the #01 CompUSA Ganassi Racing Lexus team also established a new Rolex Series record with 10 pole positions in their 11 races this season.
The race started on a high note with Papis leading the first 23 laps, but the treacherous conditions hampered his ability to pull away. He eventually gave up the lead while making a pit stop, but the conditions and numerous caution flags held back their charge through the field with the pair eventually settling for third-place. In the process, Papis and Pruett continue to lead the championship, but their advantage has dwindled to just three points.
“We had to set a conservative pace, everyone behind us was able to use our car as a reference for braking points, and that made this very difficult for us," Papis added. "We had a lot to lose because any small mistake could have taken us out of the championship. That's racing and in the end it was a great race in difficult conditions. I don't ever remember driving on slicks in wet conditions for so long. We come out of this race only leading by three points, but the fact remains we're still the ones to beat."
While Papis and Pruett continue to hold on for the championship, their CompUSA Ganassi Racing teammates Jimmy Morales and Luis Diaz in the #02 Lexus continue to battle to move up in the standings after a fourth-place finish – the duo’s third straight top-five showing. Morales is in sixth-place overall heading into the Lexus Grand American Champions Weekend.
Right behind Morales in sixth-place is Didier Theys, who co-drove his Doran-Lista Racing Lexus to a fifth-place finish along with Andrea Montermini. After switching to “wet” tires late in the event, it appeared that Montermini might have a shot at the victory, but after passing his way into the top four, the track conditions caught up with him as he spun off the track before recovering for fifth.
For the second consecutive race, Michael Shank Racing’s Oswaldo Negri and Burt Frisselle were running in the top six before an incident with a lapped GT car prematurely ended their race.
The season-ending Lexus Grand American Champions Weekend at the California Speedway is scheduled for Oct. 31. The race will be shown live on SPEED beginning at noon eastern.
October 05, 2004
AND THEN THERE WERE TWO: LEXUS DRIVERS TAKE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD INTO BARBER 250
Lexus-powered drivers Scott Pruett and Max Papis will take a slim five-point championship lead into this weekend’s Grand American Rolex Series Barber 250 at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, with just two races remaining on the schedule.
Coming off a second-place finish last weekend at the Virginia International Raceway, Pruett and Papis have now registered three victories and three second-place finishes, to go along with nine pole positions in 10 races this season in their #01 CompUSA Lexus. A win and a second-place in the final two races will clinch the duo’s Driver’s Championship in Lexus’ first season of Daytona Prototype competition.
While Pruett and Papis have been a force throughout the season, their Ganassi Racing CompUSA teammates Jimmy Morales and Luis Diaz have used a strong late-season push to propel Morales into sixth-place overall in the championship hunt. Over the past six races, the pair have four top-five finishes, including a fourth at Homestead and a fifth at Virginia in the two most recent events.
Michael Shank Racing is coming off its most disappointing finish of the season (14th) after a late-race incident at VIR while the team was running in sixth place. The small Ohio-based team still ranks fourth overall in team points heading into the final two races of the 2004 campaign. Burt Frisselle and Oswaldo Negri will continue behind the wheel as they have for all but one race this season for the first-year sports car team.
Doran-Lista Racing is the third Lexus-powered team in the top five in team points. Former Formula 1 and Champ Car driver Andrea Montermini will join lead driver Didier Theys behind the wheel of the team’s #27 Lexus for the second consecutive race. The team was forced to retire early due to mechanical problems last weekend at Virginia. Jan Magnussen, who co-drove with Theys to victory at Watkins Glen, is expected to return for the season-ending Lexus Grand American 400, October 29-31 at the California Speedway.
For the season, Lexus-powered cars have won four races and nine pole positions and secured nine additional top-three finishes.
Qualifying will take place Saturday, October 9, at 1:15 p.m. EDT, while Sunday’s Barber 250 Presented by Bradley Arant can be seen live on SPEED beginning at 12 noon. The Grand-Am Cup race, featuring Team Lexus and its Lexus IS 300s will take place Saturday immediately following Rolex Series qualifying.
October 03, 2004
PAPIS/PRUETT GIVE LEXUS RUNNER-UP FINISH AT VIR 400
Scott Pruett put up a valiant charge, but finished just short as he and Max Papis combined to finish second in their CompUSA Lexus in today’s VIR 400 Presented by SunTrust at the Virginia International Raceway.
After starting from the pole for the ninth time in 10 races this season, the #1 CompUSA Lexus led the first 17 laps before giving up the top spot while pitting under a full-course caution. Unfortunately, shortly after the yellow, Papis was forced through the grass to miss a spinning GT car, collecting a large amount of grass and debris in the radiator. With rising water temperatures a concern, the Italian was forced to back off his earlier pace and, while maintaining second, fell back from the leader.
The CompUSA Lexus team was down, but not out, as Pruett erased a five-second lead in the final laps to close to within less than half a second behind the leader as rain began to fall on the Virginia track. Pruett made a move for the lead, but couldn’t pull off the pass and was forced to settle for second place.
“Everyone at CompUSA Ganassi Racing and Lexus race to win and we really put the heat on them at the finish,” said Pruett. “But the rain was starting to come down harder and we had to do everything we could just to keep it on the track.”
The second-place finish kept the Lexus-powered drivers in first place in the series Driver’s Championship race with a five-point advantage heading into the season’s final two races. The race marked the duo’s sixth top-two finish in 10 races this season.
Ganassi Racing’s strong showing wasn’t limited to the Papis/Pruett entry, though, as Jimmy Morales and Luis Diaz (#02 CompUSA Lexus) combined to finish fifth and give the team and Lexus two cars in the top five today. It was their second straight top-five finish and their fifth of the 2004 campaign.
Things didn’t go nearly as well for the other two Lexus-powered Daytona Prototypes.
Oswaldo Negri was running in the top-six after a late-race spin, but took a violent hit while re-entering the track in his Michael Shank Racing Lexus. Negri walked away from the crash, but it dropped he and co-driver Burt Frisselle to an eventual 14th-place finish. The day ended even earlier for the Doran-Lista Racing Lexus as mechanical woes sidelined the team just a handful of laps into the event for a 17th-place finish.
The Rolex Sports Car Series and the Lexus Daytona Prototype program return to action for the Barber 400 Oct. 10 at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. The race will be televised live on SPEED.
LATE RACE YELLOWS DOOM CASTRONEVES’ VICTORY HOPES
- Helio Castroneves (Marlboro Toyota) dominated most of the race, but lost the lead after a late-race restart and wasn’t able to mount another challenge for the victory after a succession of yellow flags in Sunday’s Toyota Indy 400. Adrian Fernandez went on to win the race.
- After leading all but a handful of laps between Lap 16 to 175, Helio Castroneves earned the three bonus points for leading the most laps today.
- Sam Hornish Jr. (Marlboro Toyota) finished fourth as the highest-placing Toyota, with Castroneves placing seventh and Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) eighth to give Toyota three of the top eight today.
- With his fourth-place finish today, Sam Hornish has now registered two victories and a fourth in three races at the California Speedway.
- After qualifying a career-best fourth on the first lap of qualifying yesterday, Darren Manning made hard contact with the wall on his second lap and was not cleared to race today due to precautionary measures.
- Despite dominating the race, Helio Castroneves fell to fifth-place in points with one race remaining. Sam Hornish Jr. remains in seventh, while Scott Dixon moved up one spot to pass teammate Darren Manning for 10th.
- Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) competed in his 97th IndyCar Series race and his 89th consecutive event – both IndyCar Series records. He finished 11th.
Driver, Start/Finish
Sam Hornish 3/4
Helio Castroneves 1/7
Scott Dixon 2/8
Scott Sharp 15/11
Tora Takagi 21/14
A.J. Foyt 8/19
Darren Manning 4/DNS
Next Race: Texas 500k, Texas Motor Speedway, Oct. 17, 12:30 p.m., ET, ABC
October 02, 2004
PAPIS PUTS LEXUS ON POLE FOR VIR 400
Max Papis set a new track record (111.639 mph) in putting his CompUSA Lexus on the pole for Sunday’s VIR 400 Presented by SunTrust at the Virginia International Raceway.
Papis and co-driver Scott Pruett will be starting from the pole position for the ninth time in 10 Grand-American Rolex Series races this season. The duo also will take an eight-point lead in the Driver’s Championship into tomorrow’s 10th round of the title chase.
“Miami was a hiccup and unfortunately it cost us a lot (in the points race),” said Papis. “It made the championship more interesting, but we are fighters. We are going to prove that in the next three races. We want to win this championship badly for Lexus and for Chip Ganassi. Today was a great team effort. We came over here with one focus, and that was getting a very fast race car with a race pace. We didn’t focus much on qualifying, and still qualifying was awesome. It’s an attitude. Here at Lexus and CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing we are all here for one goal, winning. It’s always a psychological advantage to start on the pole position, and I’m glad all the field knows where we stand.”
The Michael Shank Racing (MSR) duo of Oswaldo Negri and Burt Frisselle made it two Lexus-powered machines in the top three with a third-place effort by Negri today. MSR comes into this weekend’s race fourth in the team points race.
Two more Lexus-powered Daytona Prototypes will start in the top 10. Jimmy Morales and Luis Diaz will start eighth in their #02 CompUSA Lexus, while Didier Theys and Andrea Montermini will start 10th in the #27 Doran-Lista Racing Lexus.
Sunday’s VIR 400 Presented by SunTrust can be seen live on SPEED beginning at 12 noon.