Chip Ganassi Racing to Start Third and Fifth in Rolex 24 At Daytona

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates drivers Scott Pruett and Scott Dixon posted the third and fifth best times in qualifying on Thursday Jan. 27 for the 49th annual Rolex 24 At Daytona. In the 15-minute qualifying session that saw the top-eight qualifiers best the previous Rolex 24 track record held by Mark Donahue, Pruett, paired with GRAND-AM co-driver Memo Rojas, Graham Rahal and Joey Hand recorded a third-place time of 1.40.245 sec.(128.033 MPH) aboard the No. 01 TELMEX/ Target Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley. Dixon, paired with Dario Franchitti, Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya recorded the fifth best time in the session with a lap of 1.40.302 sec. (127.774 MPH) aboard the No.02 Target/TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley.

The CGRFS team practiced earlier on in the day as the No.02 recorded the fastest time in first practice and the 12th fastest time in second practice, with the No.01 recording times good for seventh and sixth in the first two practices respectively. Pruett and Dixon picked up nearly a second in qualifying from their second practice times, while also coming within two-tenths of the pole at the end of the session.

The 49th Rolex 24 At Daytona field takes the green flag Saturday, Jan. 29 at 3:30 p.m. (ET). SPEED will provide seven hours of live coverage at 3 p.m. (ET), resuming with seven hours on Sunday morning beginning at 9 a.m (ET), covering the final stages of the race.