July 30, 2006
BORKOWSKI/CONSTANTINE LEAD LEXUS TRIO INTO THE TOP 10 AT BARBER
Mike Borkowski and Tommy Constantine combined to drive their #6 Playboy Racing/Mears Motorcoach Lexus-Riley to a seventh-place finish in Sunday’s Barber 250 as all three Lexus-powered cars finished in the top 10 at the tight Barber Motorsports Park road course in Birmingham, Ala.
Following Borkowksi and Constantine in the Lexus camp were Michael Shank Racing teammates Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson in ninth in their #60 Flight Options Lexus-Riley, and the #01 CompUSA Lexus driven by Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz, who placed 10th.
Sunday’s event marked the third consecutive race that Michael Shank Racing placed both of his Lexus-powered entries into the top-10, with Borkowksi having co-driven to consecutive top-seven showings after a sixth at Daytona with Paul Tracy.
The two-hour and 45-minute race didn’t end nearly as well for Pruett and Diaz in their Ganassi Racing entry as Pruett lost what appeared to be a certain sixth-place finish on the last lap when he was forced off the track by the #75 Krohn Racing entry.
“The whole situation is pretty frustrating to be honest,” said Pruett. “The #75 car ran me off the track on the last lap. We didn’t have the fastest car today, but we managed to get to sixth by the end, and we were willing to take that. But to have what happened drop us back to 10th really upsets me. I know Grand American will do the right thing and take the appropriate actions, but there is nothing they can do to make up for what we lost in the championship points race today.”
Next up for the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series is Watkins Glen International for the Crown Royal 200 on August 11.
Lexus results – Start/Finish
#6 Mike Borkowski/Tommy Constantine 20/7
#60 Mark Patterson/Oswaldo Negri 18/9
#01 Luis Diaz/Scott Pruett 7/10
July 29, 2006
DIAZ, LEXUS SEVENTH IN QUALIFYING AT BARBER
Luis Diaz qualified seventh in his CompUSA Lexus-Riley in preparation for Sunday’s Barber 250 to lead the Lexus contingent as each of the teams adjust to a new chassis/engine package in Rolex Sports Car Series competition.
This weekend marks the debut of the new Lexus 5.0-liter engine, which is expected to provide improved performance, but also requires the teams to adjust the cars set-up for the new package.
“Coming out of the box with the 5.0-liter we know it’s a very solid engine,” said Diaz’ CompUSA teammate Scott Pruett. “We know it’s just going to get better, but it’s a little bit of a challenge because it wants a little something different set-up wise. There’s a lower center of gravity, it’s a little bit lighter, which gives us a little bit of leeway in where we re-proportion the weight. The problem is right now, we are not quite sure where we want to put it.”
The seventh-place in qualifying marks the eighth top-10 start of the year for the Ganassi team.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well for the Lexus-powered Michael Shank Racing team which saw Mark Patterson qualify 19th in the #60 Flight Options Lexus-Riley and Tommy Constantine place 21st in the #6 Playboy Racing/Mears Motorcoach machine.
Lexus maintains a slim lead in the Rolex Series Manufacturer’s Championship heading into tomorrow’s Barber 250, which will be shown live on SPEED beginning at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
NOTE: Scott Pruett and Max Papis teamed to finish third in the 2004 Barber 250, Lexus’ best overall finish to date on the Birmingham road course.
#01 Luis Diaz/Scott Pruett, CompUSA Lexus-Riley 7th
#60 Mark Patterson/Oswaldo Negri, Flight Options Lexus-Riley 19th
#6 Tommy Constantine/Mike Borkowski, Playboy/Mears Lexus-Riley 21st
July 26, 2006
AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME…. LEXUS PREPARES FOR FINAL FOUR G-A RACES WITH SLIM TITLE LEAD
With the finish line in sight, Lexus heads to Birmingham, Ala., for this weekend’s Barber 250 at Barber Motorsports Park holding a tumultuous six-point lead in hand as the series begins a stretch of four-races-in-six weeks to close out the 2006 Rolex Sports Car Series schedule.
The manufacturer will once again power three cars, led by the Ganassi Racing duo of Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz in the #01 CompUSA Lexus/Riley. To date, the pairing has earned three victories and seven top-three finishes this season as they enter this weekend’s action in second-place in the series Driver’s Championship. Pruett is the winningest driver in Daytona Prototype history with 10 victories – all coming with Ganassi Racing, which has earned 11 of Lexus’ 12 Rolex Series race triumphs.
The Ganassi entry is joined by a pair of cars from the Michael Shank Racing stable. Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson will team in the #60 Flight Options Lexus-Riley, while Mike Borkowski and Tommy Constantine partner in the #6 Playboy Racing/Mears Motor Coach Lexus. The Shank team has six top-five showings to its credit, including a pair of second-place finishes – one coming at the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona. Patterson currently ranks ninth in the title chase.
There will be one new factor involved in this weekend’s action as Lexus debuts its new 5.0-liter engine, similar to those generally used throughout the series, in hopes of generating better fuel mileage amongst its gains.
With four wins this season, Lexus-powered entries have now won 12 races and 18 pole positions in 36 Rolex Series events since entering the series in 2004.
Friday’s practice sessions begin at 10:40 a.m., with qualifying scheduled for 2:15 on Saturday. The green flag will wave for Sunday’s Barber 250 at 3:00 p.m. (all times EDT) with the race scheduled for 109 laps/250 miles with a two-hour and 45-minute time limit. The event will be televised live on SPEED.
Lexus Daytona Prototype Performance Index
Race, Started/Finished #01 #02 #6 #39 #51 #60 #61
Daytona 24 9/20 2/1 12/27 13/11 12/17 5/2 --
Mexico 1/1 -- 13/3 -- -- -- --
Miami 4/3 -- 13/18 -- -- 15/22 --
Long Beach 1/1 -- 17/9 -- -- 15/5 --
Virginia – Qual. 1/22 -- 13/10 -- -- 9/6 --
Virginia 3/25 -- 10/23 -- -- 6/13 --
Laguna – Qual. 7/6 -- 8/10 -- -- 2/2 --
Laguna 6/10 -- 10/13 -- -- 2/11 --
Phoenix – Qual. 2/2 -- 12/5 -- -- 6/17 --
Phoenix 2/1 -- 5/23 -- -- 17/16 --
Watkins Glen 6-Hour 1/7 -- 16/14 -- -- 8/4 --
Mid-Ohio 26/21 -- 11/7 -- -- 14/9 --
Daytona 1/3 -- 14/6 -- -- 8/10 27/21
Barber
Watkins Glen
Sears Point
Salt Lake City
2006 Lexus Daytona Prototype Laps Led (750 of 1683 possible)
#02 - 272
#01 - 320
#39 - 74
#60 - 52
#6 - 33
2006 Lexus Pole Positions (4) – Scott Pruett, Mexico, Luis Diaz, Long Beach, Pruett/Diaz, Watkins Glen; Pruett/Diaz, Daytona;
2006 Lexus Wins (4) – Dixon/Wheldon/Mears, Daytona; Pruett/Diaz, Mexico;
Diaz/Pruett, Long Beach; Diaz/Pruett, Phoenix