Sonoma, California — The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team qualified third for round 13 of the Grand American Rolex Series presented by Crown Royal Reserve to be run at Infineon Raceway tomorrow afternoon.
Patrick Long took the controls of the Alex Job Racing prepared Porsche powered Crawford and was able to post a qualifying time of 1:28.554 and average speed of 102 mph. The second row starting position is the team’s ninth top three qualifying effort on the season.
Patrick Long is satisfied with his run. “I was able to get some clear laps and had as good a shot at the pole as anyone. We have a good starting position in the second row and we have a car that we can drive nearly anywhere on the track to get around traffic. Tomorrow’s race will be about managing traffic and tires as opposed to all out speed. We will need to run a clean race and not fall to far back on pit stops.”
Mike Rockenfeller likes the way the #23 Ruby Tuesday car is handling. “We have a good car on old tires. We struggled a little in the first two practices and then hit on our setup today. Our times don’t seem to fall off that much over a longer stint. Patrick did a good job to get up toward the front for the start. We will probably see a lot of yellows and we will have to be clean and fast in traffic as well as on our game with strategy.”
“The second row is a nice place to start the race from here at Infineon,” said Alex Job, team owner. “The Ruby Tuesday team has worked hard on the set-up of the car as the circuit is made up primarily of turns, with no real straight-away to speak of. Patrick and Mike know the circuit well and we will have to be mindful of the GT competitors during the race as well as have good pit work and strategy. Infineon is a good track for our car and our team; we have had a lot of success here over the years.”
The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team is riding a podium streak that has witnessed a second place finish at Daytona, third place at Barber Motorsport Park and another third place in the last race at Watkins Glen.
The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team is currently fourth in the battle for the team championship. Long and Rockenfeller are fifth in the drivers point standings, 67 out of the lead in the Daytona Prototype category.
Tomorrow’s race from Infineon Raceway will be televised on Speed Channel, tape delayed, starting at 3:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, August 27th.
Grand Am Daytona Prototype Infineon Qualifiers:
1. |
Angelelli/Magnussen |
Pontiac/Riley |
1:28.234 |
2. |
Jonsson/Bergmeister |
Ford/Riley |
1:28.550 |
3. |
Long/Rockenfeller |
AJR Porsche/Crawford |
1:28.554 |
4. |
Pruett/Diaz |
Lexus/Riley |
1:28.798 |
5. |
Gurney/Fogarty |
Pontiac/Riley |
1:28.874 |
6. |
Fernandez/Haberfeld |
Pontiac/Riley |
1:28.882 |
7. |
Leitzinger/Wallace |
Pontiac/Crawford |
1:28.954 |
8. |
Donohue/Law |
Porsche/Riley |
1:29.228 |
9. |
Orsi/Fittipaldi |
Porsche/Crawford |
1:29.301 |
10. |
Figge/Dalziel |
Pontiac/Riley |
1:29.387 |
Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team is fourth in the team championship. |
2006 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team DP Finishes
RACE |
DRIVERS |
QUALIFYING |
FINISH |
---|---|---|---|
Daytona |
Long, Luhr, Rockenfeller |
1 |
3 |
Mexico City |
Did not attend |
– |
– |
Homestead |
Long, Rockenfeller |
1 |
1 |
Long Beach |
Long, Rockenfeller |
2 |
2 |
Virginia |
Long, Rockenfeller |
*2 |
1 |
Laguna Seca |
Long, Rockenfeller |
*1 |
24 |
Phoenix |
Long, Rockenfeller, Tiemann |
*19 |
20 |
Watkins Glen |
Long, Rockenfeller |
5 |
15 |
Mid-Ohio |
Long, Rockenfeller |
1 |
20 |
Daytona |
Long, Rockenfeller |
7 |
2 |
Barber |
Long, Rockenfeller |
2 |
3 |
Watkins Glen |
Long, Rockenfeller |
3 |
3 |
Infineon |
Long, Rockenfeller |
3 |
|
*Denotes qualifying race finish.
|
Ruby Tuesday is one of the nation’s leading casual-dining restaurant companies, with more than 800 restaurants worldwide. It was founded in 1972
by Sandy Beall, who serves as Chairman & CEO today. The company is committed to having uncompromising freshness and quality with passionate employees
who take pride in delighting guests with an excellent dining experience. The burger-centric menu features an assortment of handcrafted burgers, its fresh
salad bar, premium baby back ribs and a variety of other signature entrees. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is traded on the NY Stock Exchange (symbol:RI). To find out more about Ruby Tuesday, please visit www.rubytuesday.com
To view the Alex Job Racing press kit or for additional information, please refer to www.alexjobracing.com or contact Kyle Chura by or at (248) 821-0468.