ROUSH YATES ENGINES NOTES AND QUOTES
ROLEX 24 HOURS AT DAYTONA, DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
JANUARY 29, 2011 (11:30 p.m. ET)
With seven of 24 hours complete at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, all eight Roush Yates-powered entries are still running strong with six of the Ford teams running inside the top 10 at any given time. John Maddox, road racing program manager for Roush Yates Engines had these comments during the seventh hour of competition:
HOW ARE THE ROUSH YATES ENGINES DOING OVERALL ACROSS THE BOARD?
“Everything on our end looks good. We’re seven hours in I guess and we don’t have any issues that are stopping us from running right now. Everything looks good and the guys say everything is running well so we’ll just see what happens in another six or 12 hours.”
*The following four drivers changed out during the sixth hour:
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, NO. 6 CONTINENTAL TIRES/CURB RECORDS/PVA/ROCKY FORK COMPANY MICHAEL SHANK RACING WITH CURB/AGAJANIAN FORD/DALLARA: DURING YOUR STINT OUT THERE HOW WAS THE MOTOR WORKING? “The motor was good. Our straight-line speed is pretty good. It’s early in the race so we’re just kind of running conservative and we’ll see what we have at the end.”
MICHAEL VALIANTE, NO. 60 CROWN ROYAL XR MICHAEL SHANK RACING FORD/RILEY: WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE? “The car is quick we just got a flat tire so we went down two laps and got one of them back so we’re just trying to get back on the lead lap.” HERE IN THE SIXTH HOUR, HOW’S THE MOTOR RUNNING? “We have no issues so far, the motor’s been running great so we’re in good shape motor wise.”
TRACY KROHN, NO. 76 KROHN RACING FORD/LOLA: HOW’S THE MOTOR RUNNING? “The motor’s doing great, it’s running real strong. The motor hasn’t missed a beat so I can’t complain.”
COLIN BRAUN, NO. 8 GROUT SHIELD/BURLUSA STARWORKS MOTORSPORT FORD/RILEY: HOW’S THAT ROUSH YATES ENGINE TREATING YOU TONIGHT? “Really good. We had really good power from the Roush Yates engine. John Maddox and all the guys did a really good job working on all those motors. We were able to put a little bit more tape on it since it cooled down tonight but we were still able to run really competitive.” IS IT EASY TO PASS WITH THE HORSEPOWER YOU HAVE? “We worked hard on getting our car trimmed out to maximize what we had with the motor. It’s always easier to pass on the straightaway than it is in the corner so I think we’re in good shape.”
*The following three drivers changed out during the seventh hour:
MARC GOOSSENS, NO. 60 CROWN ROYAL XR MICHAEL SHANK RACING FORD/RILEY: HOW’S THE ROUSH YATES MOTOR RUNNING RIGHT NOW? “The engine is running pretty good and strong, it sounds very reliable right now but it’s still a long way. Right now in that double stint that I did I had to push the car really hard because we went two laps down because of a blown tire so we weren’t really taking it easy on it. But everything’s holding up very good and you know just look forward to the remaining 16 hours. Just a long way to go.” YOU’RE IN HOUR SEVEN NOW. WHAT IS THE STRATEGY AT THIS POINT OF THE RACE? “We are on the lead lap again now so we need to just keep good pace and take it easy and avoid accidents because it’s getting pretty wild out there during the night. It feels good. We have to keep a good pace and stay out of trouble.
MARK BLUNDELL, NO. 23 JOHNNIE WALKER/FXI/UBS UNITED AUTOSPORTS WITH MICHAEL SHANK RACING FORD/RILEY: HOW WAS YOUR SECOND STINT OUT THERE? “Everything was good, car’s running very well. We don’t seem to be having any issues to speak of. IT LOOKS TO BE PRETTY COMPETITIVE OUT THERE AND IT’S STILL EARLY ON, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? “It’s actually an incredible pace. I’m quite surprised people are running that fast and even the racing is quite competitive out on the circuit so I don’t know. It’s a good thing for people that are watching but it’s not so good thing when you’re sitting inside and you just want to have everything a little bit calmer.”
NICHOLAS MINASSIAN, NO. 76 KROHN RACING FORD/LOLA: TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR DOUBLE STINT AND HOW IT WENT? “It was wild, it was unbelievable. Lots of touching and pushing you know. Even if you are faster than somebody it’s very difficult to overtake sometimes so you have to be rough to go by. It’s a long time since I’ve been racing like that, its good fun. The only problem we have is we got the pressure wrong with the car. It was way too high and the car was really a handful to drive so I really struggled my second stint, I really struggled to keep the car on the track so it was tough. It was really tough. We got our lap back, we’re back on the lead lap and I’m sure we’ll look after the pressure the next time and we should be alright.” HOW’S THE MOTOR RUNNING FOR YOU? “The engine is very lean, very good. You don’t feel any difference with it from start to finish that’s very good, that’s what you want, an engine that will just stay at peak all the time and that’s what it does. It’s very good you know on the straight, I never had anybody overtaking me on the straight so we have good straight-line speed and it’s very consistent. So we’re good.”
Speed is carrying live coverage of the event (check local listings for times). Fans can also stay up to date with the Roush Yates-powered entries via Twitter (@roushyates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/Roush-Yates-Engines) throughout the 24-hour event. Be sure to check out www.roushyatesparts.com for more information as well.
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
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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.
