NEWS

OMP on the Daytona podium!

After twenty-four exhilarating hours of competitive racing in Daytona the results are OMP scored with The No. 9 Penske-Taylor Racing Toshiba Pontiac Riley of Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Kurt Busch a third-place finish in Roger Penske's first Rolex 24 effort since 1973.  "It was an incredible effort," Busch said. "I don't know what the expectation was coming in, but when you're teamed up with the Captain, Roger Penske, you're only shooting for the best. To be able to have a podium finish is incredible. It was a great effort by Tim Cindric (Penske Racing President); he's a leader on top of the pit box. That allowed us to do our job." Wayne Taylor teamed with 18-year old son Ricky and No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley full-season drivers Max Angelelli and Michael Valiante for a well deserved  fifth place finish.

While SpeedSource celebrated its win, TRG went full force for the other top-five positions. Running a strong seven-car effort for the Rolex 24, TRG Porsches garnered second, third and fourth in the 24-hour classic that saw five of the seven cars take the checkered flag. 
Plagued by overheating problems before the race was half over, team principal Kevin Buckler instilled patience throughout his roster, which helped claim the final two podium positions. 
Andy Lally finished the 24-hour race in the No. 66 TRG Marquis Jet/Mitchell Rubber Porsche GT3, just seconds ahead of No. 67 TRG Monster Cable/Need For Speed Porsche GT3 teammate Emmanuel Collard.
The two cars, which each finished seven laps behind the GT winners' pace, swapped the lead during the middle and late stages of the race and consistently ran among the top five. "It was a long day," Lally said. "It was one of these deals where there were 41 cars in the class and we came home second. It's my third second-place finish in the Rolex 24 and we won it once. Second stings a little bit, to tell you the truth, but it's a great way to start a season for the points.
Ted (Ballou) and Bryce (Miller) are now P2 in the points and have a real good start to their year for the championship. We're on the podium in Daytona, and there is no better place to be on the podium. This is pretty cool." Added Pumpelly: "It was a relief. We fought until the very end. I was sick. We had to nurse it home for hours and hours. We came to win, and we weren't able to, but at the same time, there were a lot of positives. We started the season higher in the points. We had a really good effort. The team worked very well, so my enthusiasm and optimism are very high. I'm truly honored to be a part of an effort like this. There's nothing else like it." Lally shared the No. 66 with Bryce Miller, Ted Ballou and Richard Westbrook, while Collard, Romain Dumas, Spencer Pumpelly, Tim George Jr. and Bryan Sellers piloted the No. 67. 

For the second straight season, the No. 64 TRG/J-Lowe Racing Porsche GT3 finished in the top five in the Rolex 24 in GT competition, as co-drivers Jim Lowe, Jim Pace, Johannes van Overbeek, Tim Sugden and RJ Valentine.

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