Dalziel, Potolicchio Win Grand Am Season Finale At Mid Ohio

Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio scored the Grand Am Daytona Prototype victory at Mid-Ohio. Photo courtesy Grand AM

Determined to ‘win or wreck,’ Ryan Dalziel held off newly crowned Daytona Prototype champion Scott Pruett by .416 seconds to capture Saturday’s GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series season-ending EMCO Gears Classic presented by KeyBank at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Pruett and Memo Rojas clinched their third DP title in four years by completing the minimum 30 minutes in the No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley required to score points. Pruett made numerous attempts to close the year on a winning note, but Dalziel was up to the task to give the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley started by Venezuelan rookie Enzo Potolicchio its first victory of the season.

“This is absolutely huge for Starworks,” said Dalziel.  “We’ve been through some rough years, but Peter (Baron) keeps brining me back. This victory was more emotional for me than winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona last year. Today was one of those days when it all comes together. At the end, I was driving my butt off to stay ahead of Scott. I said in my head, ‘I’m going to win or wreck.’ I’m also excited to win for Ford.”

It was Pruett’s fourth DP title and the fifth team championship for Chip Ganassi Racing since entering the Rolex Series in 2004. BMW also won the DP Manufacturer’s championship in a double tiebreaker with Chevrolet, based on the team’s five second place finishes.

“It’s been an incredible year for us,” said Pruett.  “We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve been focused as a team to get our car to the front as much as possible. All my championships are great. I never thought I’d still be winning championships at this point in my career.”

Rounding out the podium were third-place finishers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet/Riley, who were looking to end the year with two straight victories.

Bill Lester – bidding to become the country’s first African-American champ of a major auto racing series – and Jordan Taylor – looking to become GRAND-AM’s youngest champion – came up two points shy in their bid to make history in the No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro. Lester spun and lost a lap in the opening minutes, and the team fought back to regain the lead lap and finish eighth.

Ronnie Bremer and Robin Liddell took the GT victory – combining to lead 34 laps to win the second straight race for the No. 57 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro.

Andrew Davis and Leh Keen finished fourth to capture the championship in Brumos Racing’s first season in the GT class. The co-drivers of the No. 59 Brumos Porsche GT3 were trailing Sylvain Tremblay and Jonathan Bomarito, drivers of the No. 70 Castrol Edge Mazda RX-8, late in the event. However, Keen beat Bomarito out of the pits following the final pit stop and held that advantage for the remainder of the event.

Grand Am Rolex Series
Mid Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, OH
EMCO Gears Classic – Sept. 17, 2011

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