Alex Job Racing finishes 14th and
17th at Rolex 24 at Daytona
Alex Job Racing (AJR) finished the 50th
Anniversary GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Rolex 24 At Daytona 14th
and 17th this afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.
The No. 24 McKenna
Porsche/Battery Tender/ Kensington/Koss Stereophones/Alex Job Racing
GT3 Cup car driven by Cort Wagner, Bill Sweedler, Fred Poordad, Bob
Faieta and Michael Avenatti took a conservative measured approach to
the race. The five drivers ran consistent lap times, never went
to the garage for repairs, kept the yellow, red and white Porsche on
the track and were rewarded with a top 14 finish in GT, 25th overall in
the 54 car field today. Any other year a good, no problem run
like that would be a top five finish or even a podium.
"My last stint was fun,"
Poordad said. "The track was greasy and there was a lot of
traffic. I got punted in the Horse Shoe, but managed to keep the
car straight and on the track. It was a great experience to run this
race. Our guys brought the car back in one piece for a good
finish. It was fun. I enjoyed it."
"It was a great race, with the
50th anniversary," Sweedler said. "We were looking for a podium,
but there was great competition today. We got screwed up on the
wave-bys. It was disappointing the way that those were
managed. This is an incredible event. You have the best
drivers from around the world, a great experience to be here."
"I had a great weekend," Wagner
said. "Alex Job and the WeatherTech team, sharing the
information, it was a real team effort. All our guys got along
great and did a great job driving. I enjoyed the process with the
guys and the team. Any other year we would have had a top five
finish. The new rules are confusing with the yellows and the
wave-bys and I think everyone on pit lane had problems with it."
"This was awesome," Faieta
said. "My stints today were great until we lost second gear in
the afternoon. We were able to drive around it to the
finish. It was a great experience, and I hope to do it again next
year."
"The car ran as good as could be expected," Avenatti said. "Alex
and the team, our crew chief Bill Radar, all did a great job preparing
the car. It is a really difficult race with the level of
competition. A top fifteen finish is good for us. All the
drivers did a great job. We ran a near-perfect race."
The No. 23 WeatherTech/Alex Job
Racing Porsche was running strong in sixth place on lap 728, around
1:30 p.m. Marco Holzer was in the car and exiting the Bus Stop
Turn when a suspension problem stopped him on the apron of NASCAR Turn
Three. The No. 23 WeatherTech Porsche had to be towed to the
garage for repairs. Cooper MacNeil returned to the action taking
the checkered flag in 17th. The team consisting of Holzer, MacNeil,
Emmanuel Collard, and Butch Leitzinger ran a good fault-free race until
the suspension problem.
"The car was great up until
two-and-half-hours to go when Marco had the part failure," MacNeil
said. "You can't prevent machinery from breaking. The AJR
guys and WeatherTech put a great car on the track. I had a great
weekend. I ran the fastest laps that I have ever run here.
I was happy with my driving, and I am looking to improve to come back
even stronger next year."
"My last stint was really bad,"
Collard said. "The safety car was a disaster. Every restart
I had to warm the tires again. I had a small problem with the
brakes. The crew was able to fix it. The balance of the car
was bad at the end, there was a lot of understeer. But all of
these things you expect at the end of a 24-hour race. It is too
bad about the part problem at the end."
"We had a good run," Leitzinger
said. "I was leading this race once with a two-hour lead and blew
a motor with two-and-a-half hours to go. I can't kick any dogs
over this. I feel bad for the crew. When you can see
daylight, it is tough to have to do serious repairs that late in the
going. It is fun to be with a professional group like AJR.
David MacNeil from WeatherTech was very supportive, and I enjoyed my
co-drivers."
"Before we had the suspension
problem the car was great," Holzer said. "I was able to drive the
fastest race lap in GT, which is good for the team and means the car
was very good. We were unlucky with the yellows. Three
times we came into refuel then yellows came out, just unlucky. We
lost three laps as a result."
Team owner, Alex Job, is happy
to have both cars finish, yet thinks of what could have been.
"The guys in the 23 WeatherTech
Porsche were really fast," Job said. "Into the night we were
swapping the lead among six cars until the early hours of the
morning. We had some tough luck with yellow flags that put us
down three laps. It was just too hard to come back with the level
of competition in the GT class this weekend. The 24 McKenna
Porsche Battery Tender car ran really fault-free all weekend. The
guys took a measured approach and any other year that was a top five
run or even a podium."
Alex Job Racing is one of the
most successful teams in sports car racing with 39 wins, including a
1999 Rolex 24 GT Class win. This record is supported by 46 pole
positions and 84 podium finishes. The team has won three
championships (GT in 2002, 2003 and 2004) complimented by their two GT
class wins at Le Mans. The team also boasts seven Sebring 12-hour
wins.
The GRAND-AM category suits one
of the most popular factory produced racing cars in the world, the
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Developed for Porsche's one-make series
around the world, the new version of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is based
on the road-going 911 GT3 RS. The power unit featured in the new 911
GT3 Cup is largely identical to the production engine of the 911 GT3 RS
with the same output of 450 bhp and the same maximum engine speed of
8,500 rpm.
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