Backstretch Motorsports

ALTON, Va. - Catching Scott Pruett is one thing. Passing him is another.

Pruett and Memo Rojas culminated an eventful weekend by leading the final 20 laps today in their #01 Telmex Lexus on the way to winning the Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series’ Bosch Engineering 250 at the Virginia International Raceway.

The weekend started off on a high note with Rojas apparently winning his second consecutive pole, only for the car to fail technical inspection and be forced to start from the rear of the field. With a thought toward saving fuel and making up track position, the car started from the pit lane and then made an early pit-stop to top off their fuel tank. The move proved to be the correct one as a full-course yellow came out shortly after and put Rojas into the top-five.

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With a pair of victories and a second-place finish in the season’s first three races, the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus set the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 set qualifying pace at Virginia Interantional Raceway and took pole for the Bosch 250 event.

Memo Rojas won his second career and second consecutive Daytona Prototype pole. The Mexican driver ran a lap of 1:43.329 on the 3.27-mile, 17-turn circuit

Running his fourth race in the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley fielded by SunTrust Racing, Michael Valiante qualified second at 1:43.329 after leading much of the 15-minute session.

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ALTON, Va. (April 25, 2008) – Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., will start Saturday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED Touring Car Round Two race from pole at VIRginia International Raceway during the Bosch Engineering 250 weekend after setting a new qualifying lap record. Charles Espenlaub, of Lutz, Fla., will start second, making it an all-Mazda front row.

Driving the No. 97 Tindol Motorsports MAZDA6, Herr captured his third career-pole with a new qualifying lap record at VIRginia International Raceway. Herr’s lap of 2:05.650 (93.859 mph) around the 17-turn, 3.27-mile track was slower than several of the times clocked in morning practice, but was the quickest lap produced in the much warmer qualifying session .Although not as warm as Herr and the Tindol Motorsport team were expecting.

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Stevenson Returns To Two Car Effort For VIR

The #57 Stevenson Motorsports / BryanMark Financial Pontiac GXP-R took the win at the most recent round - the Mexico City 250 - of the Grand American Road Racing Rolex Series sponsored by Royal Crown Cask 16. This weekend, the whole team will look to carry that momentum forward as they go for another win at their home track, Virginia International Raceway.

And this weekend will be a homecoming of sorts for some old friends as well.

In the 2007 season, the team campaigned a Crawford-built Chevrolet Corvette. They switched to the potent Pontiac GXP-R for 2008 and the performance of that car has been all they hoped it would be. But old friends are good to have and the Corvette is being rolled out for one more track-attack in pursuit of a podium placing.

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