 Alton,
VA. (April 20, 2006) -- For Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series
presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve Daytona Prototype points co-leaders
Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz, in the No. 01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus
Riley a return to Virginia International Raceway for this Sunday's VIR 400
(SPEED, Live, 1:00 p.m. ET) is welcome news for them, given their past record
at the 3.27-mile road course. Pruett and Diaz return as defending champions of
the VIR 400. This will be the 5th Round of the 14-race 2006 Rolex Series
championship. There is a field of 26 DP teams entered for this weekend race.
The point’s race could change
significantly this weekend as the Rolex Series introduces 30-minute qualifying
races. The qualifying races will award full points (35 for first, 32 for
second, 30 for third, etc.) toward the driver, team and manufacturer
championships. The qualifying races will not include driver changes, but all
entered drivers will earn the same points as the qualifying driver, providing
they drive under green flag conditions in the feature race. Additionally, the
driver who contests the qualifier cannot be the starting driver in the feature.
The Rolex Series GT class returns to
action this weekend for the first time since the Linder Industrial Komatsu
Grand Prix of Miami last month. Leading the 20-car field to Virginia are No. 64
TRG Pontiac GTO.R co-drivers Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards, who have used
class victories in Round 2 at Mexico City and Round 3 at Homestead-Miami
Speedway to take over the class points lead.
After nearly a three-month break, the
Grand-Am Cup Series resumes this weekend with Saturday's VIR 200, Round 2 of
the 10-race championship. With an entry list of 91 teams, Saturday's VIR 200
will undoubtedly be action packed. With their victory in the season-opening
Grand-Am Cup 200 at Daytona International Speedway in January, Tafel Racing
co-drivers Eric Lux and Charles Espenlaub stand atop the Grand Sport (GS) class
point standings and will share the No. 175 Rembrandt Charms Porsche 996 this
weekend. John Schmitt and Dave Roush lead the way in the Street Tuner (ST)
class in the No. 92 Red Line Oil/Honda of America Honda Accord following their
class victory at Daytona for the HART team.
Hoosier Racing Tire staff on hand is
ready to accommodate this large field of cars, over 137 teams in all. Hoosier
Racing Tire delivered several trailers loaded with tires for this weekend's
events. Hoosier Racing Tire staff on hand includes tire technicians to mount
and dismount throughout the events. In addition, Hoosier’s engineering staff
is working closely with all teams to optimize car set-up and monitor tire
performance.
SPEED Channel will provide live
coverage of Sunday's VIR 400 beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET, while the Grand-Am Cup
Series VIR 200 will air on SPEED at 1:00 p.m. ET on April 29. Live Timing &
Scoring data and audio webcasts in English and Spanish will be provided on the
official web site of the Grand American Road Racing Association, www.grandamerican.com.
Hoosier is proud to be the sole tire
supplier for the Grand American Rolex Racing Series.
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