There was no possible way for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and its drivers Memo Rojas and Scott Pruett to clinch the 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series DP championship last weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. And they didn’t even come close to making it a comfortable trip to the Sept. 28-29 Championship Weekend at Lime Rock Park.
The No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley looked fast through two practice sessions but went downhill thereafter. Rojas qualified fifth and Pruett brought the blue and white machine home a lukewarm sixth, matching the team’s second worst finish of the season. It definitely was a come-down after the glory of recording Ganassi’s 150th victory a few weeks earlier in Montreal.
The upside is that Ganassi has a reasonably easy route to a fifth DP title – and fourth for Pruett; third for Rojas. Both Starworks Motorsport’s No. 8 Ford/Riley and driver Ryan Dalziel and the No. 9 Action Express Motorsports No. 9 Corvette DP and driver Darren Law face big points deficits entering the finale.
Dalziel finished third in Monterey but a possible points penalty for a technical violation effectively made the weekend a wash between the two. Law finished fifth.
“It’s tough. It’s still possible to win mathematically at Lime Rock, but Ganassi isn’t … (going) to give up and neither are we,” said Dalziel.
Lime Rock has not been a pleasant stop on the calendar for Ganassi, Pruett and Rojas. The team has missed the podium in consecutive years and was a victim of a first-turn accident in 2010.
“It’s a really challenging track,” said Rojas of the 1.5-mile, seven-turn layout. “The championship is on the line in this final race and we are preparing as best as we can to win it all.
“Even though it might not seem like it, it has been a really tough year for us trying to find the speed in our car. We are looking forward for a good and smart race.”
The 2010-11 champions have reached the cusp of a third straight title through consistency: two wins and eight podium finishes.
“The championship is most important at this point but a win would be a nice way to end the season not only for us but all of our partners and especially BMW at their home track event,” said Ganassi team manager Tim Keene.