Mooresville, NC (January 11, 2011) The Rolex 24 at Daytona is the Grand-AM Rolex Sports Car Series’ opener set for Jan. 29-30 at Daytona International Speedway.
The “World Center of Racing’s” all-new pavement, combined with the largest number of Roush Yates engines in the event’s premier class, including an entry that set an unofficial track record during testing, are sure to make this year’s race the most exciting ever.
During the “Roar Before the Rolex 24” practice session this past weekend, Ford driver Ryan Dalziel ran an unparalleled lap with an elapsed time of 1:39.973 using his Roush Yates-powered engine, unofficially breaking the track record for a Daytona Prototype (DP) class for a lap around Daytona International Speedway’s 3.56-mile, 12-turn speedway/road course.
Dalziel is the reigning Rolex 24 winner and drove a BMW during the majority of the 2010 season, but decided to switch to Ford motors for the 2011 season. The switch is already paying off, and Dalziel couldn’t be more excited about his chances for a repeat victory with 2011 co drivers Mike Forest, Colin Braun, and Tomas Enge.
“We are contenders, and we’ve proven that now” said Dalziel. “I think we could have gone faster. I didn’t put together a perfect lap, and we didn’t have a qualifying setup on the car. I know we’ve got more”.
Car owner Peter Baron credits engineer Bill Riley for the success of the #8 Starworks Motorsport Riley Ford during Sunday’s practice session. Riley has been working on set up options since August of last year and both owner and engineer can’t wait until the January 29th race.
“We spent a lot of time in the off season working on setup ideas with the new Continental tire and were anxious to test at Daytona for the first time with a Ford engine,” said Baron. “Setting the record at a horsepower track like Daytona is awesome. I’m more than impressed with the engine package Roush Yates has provided us with and I’m looking forward to our chances in the Rolex 24.”
Roush Yates has a total of eight engines running in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the most of any manufacturer in the field. Ford teams Michael Shank Racing and Doran Racing were also at the top of the speed charts during last Sunday’s test session.
Practice and qualifying for the Rolex 24 begins Thursday, Jan. 27th and the green flag waves at 3:30pm (ET) on Saturday, Jan. 29th.
About Roush Yates Engines Roush Yates Engines designs, engineers and crafts high performance racing engines with the power to perform and the horsepower and durability you’d expect from legendary NASCAR pioneers Jack Roush and Robert Yates. The partnership of power and precision has come from merging the knowledge and experience of two legendary engine builders, both with a passion for winning today and powering up for tomorrow. In 2009 Doug Yates purchased his father’s half of Roush Yates Engines to become a co-owner in the company.
As CEO, Doug Yates leads a staff of 180 engineers and technicians who design, assemble, test, and service racing engines at two separate state-of-the-art facilities in Mooresville, North Carolina. Here, the best minds and latest technology are hard at work producing nearly 1,500 racing engines each year for teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA, Grand-Am, FIA GT3, Dirt Late Model, Sprint cars, and NHRA Pro Stock. At Roush Yates Engines, the mission is Power Performance, which is achieved through innovation, design, precision engineering, and skillful craftsmanship. Building the best engines in racing today, providing service that’s second to none, and honoring a commitment to research and development are the heart of Roush Yates Engines.
