Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team 2008 Grand-Am season review

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team finished its third full season of Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 competition with two podiums, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes.

Round One: Jan. 26-27

Rolex 24 at Daytona

Qualify 12, Finish 15

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand, Patrick Long, Andy Wallace

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team entered the Rolex 24 At Daytona with arguably the strongest sports car driver lineup in the field. Full season drivers Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand were joined by Porsche factory driver Patrick Long and Crawford factory driver Andy Wallace. Under cloudy skies with a threat of rain, Hand started the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Crawford Daytona Prototype on slick tires, while 11 other DP cars gambled on rain tires. The early gamble paid off because at the end of Hand's first stint he was sixth. At this point, the former Rolex 24 GT winner Auberlen got into the car for his first stint. By lap 41, Auberlen had the No. 23 Porsche in the top five and was in fourth when he brought the car to pit lane for the next round of green flag stops.

When the Ruby Tuesday machine re-entered the track, Long was in the car and in 12th place. Just as Long took to the track, the race's second full course caution came out. This worked to the team's benefit because the race leaders made pits stops behind the Ruby Tuesday team. This meant Long was sixth when the race went green on lap 56. By lap 90, Long was in second place, just 16 seconds behind the race leader. That is when former Rolex 24 winner Wallace took control of the No. 23 Porsche Crawford. He was in ninth place to start his first stint and, by the time Wallace's stint ended, he was fourth. When Hand got back into the car for his second stint, he had his work cut out for him. He was nearly 45 seconds behind the race leader. To make matters worse, he was helped off-track on lap 151. As a result of the off-track excursion, the No. 23 sustained front splitter damage. Hand made a pit stop on the next lap to look at the suspension and change four tires. This put the No. 23 one lap down. But, as luck would have it, on lap 156, the fourth race caution came out and this allowed Hand to be back on the lead lap. Three laps later the skies opened up and rain began to fall on the World Center of Racing. Crew chief Mike Evans made the call to put on rain tires. This move paid off because the Ruby Tuesday Team was the first team to put on rains. On lap 162, Hand took the lead. He led for the next 14 laps, while opening up a 40 second lead. Hand then turned the No. 23 machine over to Auberlen, who led 27 of his next 33-lap stint. On lap 220, Long began his second stint and was not feeling well. But, that did not stop him from keeping the No. 23 out of the top three during his 41-lap stint. Wallace began his second stint on lap 261 and had difficulty seeing through the pit-filled windshield. The lack of clear visibility forced him to slow his pace a bit. On lap 302, Hand got back into the No. 23 Porsche Crawford for his third stint and was in sixth place one lap down halfway through the 24-hour event. Despite an overnight rain shower and being one lap down most of the night, the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing fought back to fifth and was on the lead lap after 18 hours thanks to the double stint efforts of Auberlen and Long. Just a couple hours after the sun came up; the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team suffered a disappointing blow when something happened to No. 23's engine. Hand was running third with nearly four hours remaining when the crew noticed light smoke coming from the rear of the car. At first, they thought it might be a light tire rub and told him that there was some smoke coming from the car. Hand radioed back and said he didn't feel anything wrong. Just about that time, more smoke trailed behind the car and the team told him to pit. On lap 569, Hand brought the car to pit lane thinking it might be a tire problem. When Hand stopped in the pit box, Hand got out of the car (completing his third consecutive stint) and Bill Auberlen got in. As the team diagnosed the problem, they noticed a lot of fluid under the car and pushed it back to the garage. Once in the garage, the team realized its day was finished due to an engine problem.

Round Two: March 29

GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Qualify 7, Finish 2

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

Coming off a solid performance at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team looked poised to earn its first podium finish of the 2008 season. And, that is exactly what happened. Auberlen and Hand earned a well-fought second place finish in the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami. Auberlen started from the inside of row four and took the strategy of letting the race come to him instead of being

too aggressive early in the race. This race strategy came to fruition, as Auberlen, the defending race winner, had to deal with six full course cautions during his 45-lap stint. During this time, he moved from seventh to fifth by lap 22. Under the race's sixth full course caution, Auberlen came in for the team's second pit stop and Hand got into the car. When the race went green on lap 50, Hand was in 13th (the lowest position the team had been in all day). Hand immediately put together an impressive driving display. He picked up a couple of spots as his times got faster and race attrition set in. With about an hour left to go in the race, the team realized that Hand may not have enough fuel to finish the race. This realization came soon after Hand took the race lead on lap 64. This is when the race leaders came in for a pit stop during the race's seventh caution. Hand stayed out and led the next 14 laps before eventual race winner Scott Pruett passed him at the start-finish line on lap 78. At this point, the team desperately needed a few more cautions so Hand could conserve fuel. The team got what it needed when the No. 9 and No. 16 DP cars had late race troubles in separate incidents. Thanks to the much needed cautions, Hand no longer had to conserve fuel and continued to set fast race laps. His quick pace, coupled with running tight race lines, helped Hand give the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team its first podium finish in 11 races.

Round Three: April 19     

Mexico City 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Qualify 11, Finish 13

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team finished 13th despite an ill-handling car. Auberlen started on the inside of row six. Through the first 21 laps, Auberlen managed to pick up five positions and was in sixth place when the first full course caution came out. This is when Auberlen made a fuel only pit stop. When the race went green on lap 25, Auberlen was in fifth and moved to fourth one lap later (the highest position the team ran all day). However, shortly after he made this move, the car started to have some handling issues and Auberlen began to lose positions quickly. He lost six positions over the next 11 laps. Losing positions, Auberlen radioed the crew to ask them when he should pit. The team's strategy was to have him make a full pit stop on lap 40 and put Hand in the car. On lap 38, Auberlen had an accident happen right in front of him just before the pit entrance. With the wreck in front of him, he knew this would bring out a full-course caution and made a last second decision to come to pit lane for his stop. Unfortunately, this opportunistic moment happened too quickly for the team to respond adequately. The stop took longer than expected and when Hand returned to the track he was one lap down. At this point, the team told Hand to run consistent laps and concentrate on getting the lap back because there were more than 60 laps remaining. On lap 52, Hand was working hard to earn his lap back. He was right behind the race leading No. 58 Porsche Riley, when the then third place No. 01 Lexus Riley tapped Hand in the right rear spinning the No. 23 machine. Unfortunately, the move by the No. 01 cost the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team another lap. After this incident, the No. 23 Porsche Crawford was never quite the same. In fact, the handling issues proceeded to get worse, which ultimately led to a 13th place finish.

Round Four: April 27

Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway

Qualify 4, Finish 7

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

Hand and Auberlen drove the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche Crawford Daytona Prototype to a seventh place finish in the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway. Hand started fourth in the Alex Job Racing-prepared Porsche Crawford. He spent most of his 30-lap stint in fifth place. On lap 31, he brought the No. 23 machine to pit lane under the race's second full course caution for a full pit stop including a driver change. The race went green on lap 33 with Auberlen behind the wheel. He continued to run consistent lap times, which put him in the race lead by lap 48. This was the third time in four races that the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday machine led a race. With about 25 laps remaining in the 77-lap event and with a 24-second lead on the field, the team began to seriously discuss fuel strategy. The team discussed a variety of green flag and yellow flag pit stop options. However, these discussions were short lived, as the race's third full course yellow came out on lap 55. At this point, the team elected to have Auberlen pit under yellow for a splash of fuel. When Auberlen returned to the track, he had dropped to ninth for the restart. The race went green on lap 59. For the remainder of the race, Auberlen did his best to pick up positions. He managed to fight his way to seventh on the last lap of the race.

Round Five: May 17

Rum Bum.com 250 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Qualify 4, Finish 11

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team looked to defend its race title from a year ago when it traveled to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Rum Bum.com 250. Hand started fourth in the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Crawford Daytona prototype and led 11 of his 59-lap stint. To that point in the race, the team had been running up front and the car appeared to be really strong. But, just as Hand turned the No. 23 machine over to Auberlen under caution on lap 59, the team's luck began to change. Auberlen came down pit lane to re-enter the race and had the No. 7 BWM Riley on his right. Just as the two cars neared pit out, the No. 10 Pontiac Dallara came out of his pit stall and made contact with the left front of the No. 23 machine. As a result, it knocked the car's nose loose. The team felt the nose would stay connected and told Auberlen to stay out on track. But, shortly after the race went green on lap 61, it came off just as the caution came out because the No. 7 BMW Riley caught fire. Auberlen brought the No. 23 Porsche Crawford back to pit lane for a new nose piece. When the race went green on lap 69, Auberlen was in 14th. The team got word from Grand-Am officials that it had to serve a stop and go penalty for not giving the No. 7 the right-of-way exiting pit out. Simultaneously, the No. 10 also received a stop and go for making contact with Auberlen. On lap 70, Auberlen served the stop and go penalty and was still 14th with 45 minutes remaining in the 98-lap race. Unfortunately, the last 45 minutes were marred by cautions, which did little to help the Ruby Tuesday team finish in the top-10.

Round Six: June 7

Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International

Qualify 19, Finish 16

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

It was an exciting, yet tough weekend for the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team at the Sahlen's Six Hours Of The Glen at Watkins Glen International. The weekend started off well when the team rolled the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Crawford Daytona Prototype off the transporter. That is when the Grand-Am community got its first look at Crawford Composites newest creation - the new Crawford DP08 bodywork. In fact, Friday morning's practice session was the first time the newly modified No. 23 machine had ever turned a wheel on a race track. But, that is when the initial excitement wore off and the learning process began. Auberlen was the first driver to get seat time and he was the one who eventually qualified the car sixth in what turned out to be a crash-shortened qualifying session. Following the post-qualifying technical inspection, the No. 23 machine was moved to the back of the field due to non-compliance with the front dive planes. Therefore, Auberlen started the Round Six race last on the DP grid. Even before he turned his first official race lap, he had to make a pit stop to repair a throttle cable. This put the team one lap down one lap into the race. Auberlen spent most of his first stint trying to get the lap back. Unfortunately, Grand-Am no longer had the "lucky dog" rule, which would have helped the team get back on the lead lap. On lap 38, Auberlen came to pit lane for his first full pit stop and driver change. This is when Hand tookover. Hand, who pushed hard and made in-car adjustments throughout his 32-lap stint, drove the No. 23 into the top-15 before giving it back to Auberlen. With Auberlen back in the car still one lap down, he continued to work the sway bars to improve the car's performance. On lap 110, he was in 12th before Grand-Am officials informed the crew that the No. 23 no longer had brake lights. So, on lap 113, Auberlen brought the No. 23 machine to pit lane for a full stop, a driver change, and the crew fixed the brake lights. However, the more than four minute pit stop cost the team another lap. Hand was now back in the car for his second stint and unfortunately he was two laps down. At this point, the team decided to approach the race more like a test session - trying a variety of set up changes in an effort to learn more about the new bodywork. On lap 153, Hand made his final pit stop with less than one hour to go. By this time, the team was in 15th when Auberlen got back in for his third and final stint. Undaunted by being two laps down, Auberlen continued to hustle the No. 23 around the 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course. In fact, he set the team's fastest race lap (1:44.279) on lap 172 of the 179-lap race. He tried to turn a faster time on the very next lap, but halfway through the run, he spun the car and could not get it restarted - thus ending the team's day.

Round Seven: June 21

EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Qualify 12, Finish DNS

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

The dark ominous storm clouds that hovered over the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at the start of the EMCO Gears Classic were just an early sign what was to come for the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team. Basically, the team's day ended before the green flag dropped on Round Seven. Hand just started the pace laps when something happened to the drivetrain and the result rendered the No. 23 machine immobile. Stuck on track, safety crews had to move the No. 23 machine behind the wall before the green flag came out. Shortly after the race started, a deluge of rain fell on the 2.258-mile circuit. The massive rainfall led to a multi-car accident, which brought out the race's first caution. As the conditions worsened, coupled with the fact that the team was already several laps down at this point, Team Owner Alex Job decided to park the No. 23 machine rather than risk severe car damage with the next round only two weeks away.

Round Eight: July 3

Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway

Qualify 7, Finish 8

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team turned in an eighth place effort at the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Auberlen started seventh in the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Crawford Daytona Prototype and immediately dropped four spots in the first two laps. It did not take teams long to start playing the pit stop game. In fact, just eight laps into the 70-lap race, the Ruby Tuesday team had Auberlen make a pit stop to take on fuel and get the mandatory 45-minute pit stop out of the way. Auberlen was 18th after the pit stop. During his stint, he ran consistent lap times in the 1:44s and had the No. 23 machine up to fourth by the time he made his final pit stop on lap 37. This is when Hand got into the car. Just one lap into Hand's stint, the first of four cautions came out. Each time the caution came out and bunched up the field, Hand had to go into defensive driving mode to fend off other DPs. Unfortunately, the No. 23 machine did not have enough performance to fend them off. Hand dropped from fourth to 11th with just 14 laps to go. Over the next 14 laps, the Ruby Tuesday team benefited from some late race attrition that claimed a couple of the top contending DPs, which ultimately helped the No. 23 machine finish eighth.

Round Nine: July 20

Porsche 250 Presented by Bradley Arant at Barber Motorsports Park

Qualify 9, Finish 12

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

About a week prior to the Porsche 250 at Barber Motorsports Park, the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team announced it would campaign a Riley chassis for the remainder of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season. After more than two and a half seasons running a Crawford chassis, Team Owner Alex Job decided it was time to move in a different direction. In the past three seasons, the Riley chassis had won 33 (of 36) races to that point. In fact, a Riley chassis had won 17 straight races dating back to the June Watkins Glen race the previous year. It was difficult to argue against the Riley's performance. The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing team believed that in order to be competitive in the best road racing series in North America, it was time to make a switch. The car was the former No. 47 TruSpeed Motorsports Porsche Riley that finished eighth in the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona. Auberlen started ninth in the new No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Riley and quickly made a steady move towards the front. On lap 23, Auberlen moved up to second when the race leaders, including Auberlen, made their first round of green flag pit stops. That is also when Auberlen handed the No. 23 machine over to Hand. When Hand returned to the track, he was in 10th place. Over the next seven laps, Hand ran lap times quicker than the race leaders and had the Alex Job Racing-prepared Porsche Riley in fifth by lap 30. The race's first caution came out two laps later. When the race went green, Hand was right behind the No. 10 Pontiac Dallara and passed him for third. Hand finally took the race lead on lap 57 and led for seven laps before an untimely caution erased a more than 40 second lead. At this point, the team told Hand to make a pit stop for tires and fuel. Unfortunately, the heat in the cockpit also took a toll on Hand and he felt he could not make it to the end of the race. So, Auberlen got back in the car during the stop. After surrendering the lead to make a pit stop, Auberlen was eighth to start his final stint. The team was hopeful and confident that Auberlen could drive the car back to the front with just 39 laps to go. Unfortunately, it was not to be. About halfway through his final stint he had trouble getting the car to turn and, then late in the race, he had to make three unscheduled pit stops to assess damage sustained when another Daytona Prototype made contact with the No. 23 machine. Although the team finished 12th, they were encouraged with the performance of their new Riley.

Round 10: Aug. 1

Montreal 200 at Circuit Gilles Villenueve

Qualify 5, Finish 15

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

Coming off its first race with the new No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Riley, the team had high hopes heading into the Montreal 200. The car performed well in qualifying and it performed equally as well in the race. Auberlen started fifth on the grid. Early in the race, Auberlen was engaged in an epic battle with the No. 16 Pontiac Coyote for fourth when its driver made a double move resulting in contact with Auberlen in Turn 10. Unfortunately, the avoidable contact cost Auberlen a position. Frustrated, but undaunted, Auberlen quickly regained his position later in the lap and was back in fifth when the race's first caution came out. Under yellow on lap 21, the team brought Auberlen to pit lane for tires, fuel and to put Hand in the car. Once the pit stops cycled through Hand was ninth. Now it was Hand's turn to drive the No. 23 machine back to the front. On lap 53, Hand passed the No. 16 machine in Turn Three for third place. At this point, Hand had the team's first win in his sights, with the No. 58 Porsche Riley and the No. 01 Lexus Riley just in front of him. On lap 56, both the No. 58 and Hand passed the No. 01 machine to take over the top two spots, respectively. From there, it was going to be a shootout to the end with just 13 laps remaining. Unfortunately, during those final laps, the team also knew that they were getting low on fuel. With two laps to go, Hand was still trying to take the lead when he had to go to reserve fuel. But, unfortunately, the No. 23 machine ran out of fuel on the back straight on the last lap. This unfortunate circumstance relegated the team to a 15th-place finish.

Round 11: Aug. 8

Crown Royal 200 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International

Qualify 7, Finish 4

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team debuted the new Crawford bodywork at Watkins Glen International in June. But, this time, the team returned with a different chassis - a Riley. After leading the race at Barber Motorsports Park and then almost winning its first race in Montreal before running out of fuel on the last lap, the team knew it was close to getting its first win. With a threat of rain just prior to the start of the Crown Royal 200, teams had a big decision to make. Would they start on wet or dry tires? The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team decided to start the race on dries. And, the decision paid early dividends, as Auberlen moved up from his seventh starting position to fourth by lap five. However, it wasn't that easy for Auberlen. In fact, he had his hands full trying to deal with some difficult weather conditions. It was raining on parts of the track, while other parts were dry. Soon the rain covered the entire track and Auberlen had to do his best to keep the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Riley on the track with the dry tires on it. Fortunately, he was able to persevere through those conditions and stayed in the top five before pitting on lap 26 for a driver change and fuel. Interestingly, the team decided not to change tires during its stop. In fact, they decided to stay on the same dry tires that they started the race on. The team gambled that the track conditions would improve and dry out. In the end, the decision paid off. Once Hand got in the car, he had some issues of his own to deal with. About halfway through his stint, he had to begin conserving fuel in order to make it to the end. The team did not want a repeat of the Montreal race where they came up a half a lap short of the finish. So, not only did Hand have to try to catch the leaders, but he also had to do it in fuel conservation mode. On lap 64, he began his charge. He passed the No. 76 Pontiac Lola for fourth and was quickly catching the No. 58 Porsche Riley for third. It must have seemed like déjà vu for Hand, as he found himself in the exact same position he was in the previous weekend - trying to chase down the No. 58, while trying to conserve fuel. Unfortunately, Hand could not get around the No. 58 for the final podium spot and finished fourth.

Round 12: Aug. 23

Armed Forces Grand-Am 250 at Infineon Raceway

Qualify 4, Finish 8

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team ended a frustrating day with an eighth-place finish in the Armed Forces 250 at Infineon Raceway. Auberlen started fourth in the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Porsche-powered Riley and spent all of his first stint in the top-five before pitting on lap 28. In fact, when Auberlen brought the No. 23 machine to pit lane for fuel, tires and a Gurney change, he was the race leader. After all of the pit stops cycled through, as several teams were using different pit stop strategies, Auberlen was in eighth to start his second stint. He worked his way back up to second by lap 58. At this point, the team was discussing its next pit stop when the race's only caution came out. The team had Auberlen pit under caution on lap 60. This stop included fuel, tires and driver change. When the race went green on lap 64, Hand started his stint in 10th. By lap 86, Hand moved up to sixth when the No. 58 Porsche Riley spun in Turn Seven. Eyeing their second top-five finish in as many races, Hand pushed hard to catch the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola for fifth. Unfortunately, the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola, who was a lap down, continued to hold off Hand for nearly 15 laps. Hand tried to pass the No. 75 machine several times, but the No. 75 machine continued to stay in front of him. With 10 laps remaining, Hand got a run on the No. 75 machine going into the hairpin and got underneath him. Unfortunately, the No. 75 saw Hand coming and checked up. That is when Hand got into the back of the No. 75 and spun him. This miscue drew the ire of the Grand-Am race officials. As a result of the contact, Grand-Am gave Hand a drive through penalty. This penalty ultimately cost the Ruby Tuesday team two positions and a shot at a top-five finish. A similar instance happened earlier in the season in Mexico City, when the No. 01 Lexus Riley spun Hand (who was a lap down at the time) and Grand-Am officials failed to penalize the No. 01 for the same type of contact Hand had with the No. 75.

Round 13: Aug. 31

Supercar Life 250 at New Jersey Motorsports Park

Qualify 3, Finish 3

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

Auberlen made a thrilling late-race pass on the final lap to help the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team finish third in the inaugural Supercar Life 250 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Auberlen was behind the wheel of the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Riley Daytona Prototype when the race went green for the final time with only two laps remaining. On the restart, he was fourth and needed to pass at least one car for a shot at a podium finish. The team knew this would not be an easy task for a couple of reasons. First, the competition directly in front of him (Max Angelelli and Joao Barbosa) and immediately behind him (Alex Gurney) had been strong most of the day. This is to say that passing the two in front would be just as difficult to do as it would be to fend off a charge from the car behind him. Second, the No. 23 Porsche Riley had struggled on the each of the previous four restarts with having too much pickup on the tires. What this meant was that Auberlen would have difficulty getting the traction necessary to remain in the hunt. But, the team had faith that Auberlen could get it done. And, he did not disappoint. The green flag dropped with two to go and Auberlen held his position on the first lap. On the final lap, he came down the front straight, took the white flag and he was within striking distance of third. He waited for Angelelli to make a move on Barbosa, who was second at the time. Just as Angelelli pushed Barbosa wide, Auberlen seized the opportunity to also slide underneath Barbosa for third. Auberlen's opportunistic move netted the team its second podium finish of the season.  Auberlen's teammate, Hand, set the tone early for what proved to be a consistently strong run by the Ruby Tuesday team all day. Hand started third and took the race lead on lap 16 before the race's first caution came out. On lap 17, Hand made his first pit stop and took fuel only. Following the stop, he dropped to fourth (only because there were a couple of DPs that did not pit) when the race went green. Once again, over the next 34 laps, Hand showed just how quick the No. 23 machine had been all weekend. By this time, he was in second and was just behind the race leader when the third caution came out on lap 55. One lap later, Hand made his final pit stop, which included four new Pirelli tires, fuel and a driver change. At this point, Auberlen got in the car and ultimately drove to a third-place finish.

Round 14: Sept. 19

SunRichGourmet.com 1000k at Miller Motorsports Park

Qualify 5, Finish 8

Drivers: Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand

Coming off a podium finish in New Jersey and heading into the season finale at Miller Motorsports Park, the team believed that this was the race it was going to get its first win of the season. It turned out to be a tale of two races for the Ruby Tuesday team. Early on, the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Daytona Prototype was very quick. In fact, Hand and Auberlen were fairly dominant in the first half of the race. They ran most of the first 85 (of 137) laps in the top three and even led the most laps today with 32. But, it was the final 52 laps that were a struggle. The changing weather conditions, an unscheduled driver change, and a broken sway bar all played a role in the team's finish. On lap 76, a brief torrential downpour hit North America's longest road course bringing out the race's fourth caution. At the time, Grand-Am officials felt the conditions were unsafe for all of the drivers who were still on dry tires - which included most, if not all, of the field. Leading the race under caution, Hand brought the No. 23 machine to pit lane for four new Pirelli rain tires. Just minutes after Hand made the pit stop, the sun came out. The team knew it would not take long for the track to dry out and began planning the team's next stop. Unfortunately, the team did not plan to change drivers during that stop. They had only planned to put the dry tires back on and send Hand back out. However, Hand was experiencing some cramping, which made driving difficult. So, on lap 84, Hand returned to pit lane for dry tires and put Auberlen back in the car. Hand was second when he came in, but after all of the pit stops cycled through, Auberlen was ninth when he started his final stint. Auberlen fought his way up to sixth with 26 laps to go. But, a broken sway bar in the late going prevented Auberlen from making a serious run at the race leaders and he finished eighth.

The season began with Team Owner Alex Job assembling one of the strongest sports car driver lineups in North America with Californians Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand. The team started the season campaigning the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche-powered Crawford Daytona Prototype. Early on, the team had some success with the three year-old Crawford. It led 59 laps in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and that success was followed up by a second-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

While the team enjoyed some early success, it still eagerly anticipated getting its new Crawford bodywork. Just days prior to the June Watkins Glen race, it was out with the old and in with the new. The Ruby Tuesday crew finally got the update it had been waiting for - the new Crawford DP08 bodywork. Unfortunately, at the time, no one really knew how the new bodywork would perform under race conditions because it had not been tested at that level.

So, the drivers and the crew did everything they could to quickly understand the new bodywork's dynamics. After three races, the team decided that the new bodywork simply needed a bit more development before it was ready to compete against the race-winning Riley's. With that in mind, Job had a tough decision to make. He elected to run the remaining six races with a Riley chassis.

Starting with the race at Barber Motorsports Park, the new Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team machine was a Porsche-powered Riley. Despite the fact that the crew had little experience setting up its new chassis, the new Riley paid immediate dividends. In the car's first outing, Hand took the race lead and led for seven laps before an untimely caution erased a more than 40 second lead.

In the next race at Montreal, Hand was in second place, within striking distance of the race leader, when the car ran out of fuel on the race's last lap. The following weekend, the team finished fourth at Watkins Glen. Two weeks later, Auberlen and Hand drove the No. 23 machine to its second podium finish of the season at the newly-built New Jersey Motorsports Park. In the season finale at Miller Motorsports Park, Auberlen and Hand were very strong. They led 32 laps before a broken sway bar cost the team an opportunity to make a serious run at the race leaders.

This season provided several memorable moments.

"One of my most memorable moments this season was showing up at Daytona with my new teammate Joey Hand," Auberlen said. "I mean that was the start to a season that a driver dreams about. This [season] was supposed to be an amazing moment in my career and looking back on it; it was great - absolutely spectacular.

"Unfortunately, the results weren't there. But, Alex, our engineer Greg Fordahl and our entire crew were extremely dedicated to giving us what we needed to win. No one could ever question Alex's dedication to his race team and to winning. And, that is all a driver could ever ask for. I feel that if we had one more season together, we could make a serious run at the championship.

"This was an amazing season. The team switched from the old Crawford body to the new Crawford body and then switched to Riley. That was like having three year's worth of work and the team crammed it into one year.

"When we finally caught our stride, at the end of the season, we were pretty much the fastest car in every session. We spent more time at the top of the time sheets than anybody and that goes to show that this team found a way to go really fast. If only we could've found those little finishing touches, we would've been hard to stop."

"My most memorable moment happened even before the season started," Hand said. "It happened during the November test days in Daytona. I was there in sort of a shootout format with another driver and I had to put down good laps. It was a pretty good memory for me because it went really well. It was the start of the whole deal for me at Alex Job Racing. When Alex said, 'O.K. you're the guy,' I told him right away, 'I thought this could be a home for me. I'd love to be here for a long time if you'll have me.' And, over the course of the season, we became like family - Alex, Holly, all the guys on the team, and especially Carol Mueller. I had a great time this season and hopefully we will be joined up again somewhere down the road.

"The Montreal race was also a memorable moment for me, especially with how it went down. I had a rough start to my stint and then I got it figured out. I got the car to the front and then we ran out of fuel and so did the Brumos car. I think it is one of those races that people are always going to talk about.

"Probably one of the biggest moments was when Alex made the switch to the Riley. That was a pretty big deal. It was a pretty bold move on his part. He laid a lot on the line with his company and with his people. He really did it for Bill and I to continue to have a job. He could have very easily said let's forget about it and call it quits. But, he doesn't have a quitting team. I am very thankful to Alex for what he did. I think that is where Ruby Tuesday, Alex Job Racing, Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand, our engineer Greg Fordahl, and all of the guys on the team got our reputations back. Because for awhile there, people did not think we could get it done. When we switched to the Riley, we were back in the mix. I think that was a big turning point for the whole program. It showed what we were capable of."

"This season really had several memorable moments," Job said. "I think the most memorable moment was the switch from a Crawford to a Riley. That was a tough decision for me to make. But, I think it worked out well for us. It made us competitive right away. After the switch, it only took us five races to be on the podium with a podium finish at New Jersey. Had we not run out of fuel in Montreal, we would have been on the podium in our second race with that Riley. Another memorable moment was our second-place finish at Homestead, after having a strong run at the Rolex 24 in Daytona.

"I'd like to thank Sandy Beall, Mark Young and everyone at Ruby Tuesday for the support they've given us over the past three years. Without them, this could not have been possible. I cannot thank them enough. They are a great organization with great people. I'd also like to thank my crew. Without question, I think that I have the best crew in sports car racing. They worked tirelessly to put us in contention in every race and, for that, I am grateful. And finally, I would like to thank Bill and Joey for giving everything they had each time out. These two drivers are true professionals. Not only are they fast, but they are a true joy to work with."