The Grand Am Endurance And NASCAR

The Grand Am's Rolex 24 at Daytona is set for January 26-27 which will then be followed by NASCAR's Daytona Speedweeks. Hence, the race fans wait is almost over.







With that, this 2009 GRAND AM will have Ganassi Racing looking to take their Fourth Straight Win. Last year, Chip Ganassi Racing With Felix Sabates became the first team to win the Rolex 24 in three consecutive seasons. This year, it's going for four-in-a-row if they do take that checkered flag and dodge any of those mechanical woes that can sometimes pop up.

Ganassi Racing has two entries in the race to buffer their odds!

• The No. 01 TELMEX/Target Lexus Riley which will be driven by Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas. Montoya and Pruett have won the event the last two years.
• The No. 02 Target/TELMEX Lexus Riley will be driven by Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Alex Lloyd.

With regards to the Rolex 24, a number of NASCAR drivers will start getting track time and the chance to test their sports car prowess in the Rolex 24:

Jimmie Johnson will drive the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley in the featured Daytona Prototype category. Along with Jimmie will be team regulars Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney and open-wheel champion Jimmy Vasser. This team finished 2nd overall last year.

As noted above, Juan Pablo Montoya is going for his three-peat with Montoya's favorite team mate, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas.

Other NASCAR drivers who have a foot up on the track time thing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona are

• Casey Mears (Richard Childress entry)
  
• Kyle Petty (Orbit Racing BMW/Riley);
• A.J. Allmendinger (Michael Shank Racing Ford/Riley) and
• Colin Braun (Michael Shank Racing Ford/Riley).

A note on Casey Mears: If he loses I won't feel one bit bad for him. His driving partner is going to be Danica Patrick, along with Andy Wallace and Rob Finlay. Oh poor boy. [AutoWeek]

On car owners from NASCAR shovig an entry in the Rolex 24:

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner Roger Penske will enter a Porsche/Riley joining fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup owners Chip Ganassi, Felix Sabates and Richard Childress in the field.

[NASCAR press release]