Five-time and reigning GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Cars Series Champions (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011) Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) will travel to Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) for the inaugural Super Weekend at the Brickyard, fielding two entries in the Brickyard Grand Prix on July 27, which airs at 4:00 p.m. ET on SPEED.

Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, who enter the event first in Rolex Sports Car Series Standings, will pilot the No. 01 TELMEX Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley for the first time on the 2.534-mile road course.  NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray will make their second GRAND-AM appearance of the season in the No. 02 Chevron Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley, joined by two-time Indy car Champion and the 2008 Indianapolis 500 Winner, Scott Dixon, also making his second GRAND-AM appearance of the year.

CGRFS looks to earn another victory this season at IMS.  Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver Dario Franchitti won the 96^th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in May, with teammate Dixon finishing second.  Franchitti’s victory in the event gave Ganassi his fifth win in the Indianapolis 500 as an owner.  Overall CGRT have earned five victories, 21 top-five finishes and led 1,435 laps in 30 races at IMS.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

• Ganassi’s IMS Glory: Team Owner Chip Ganassi’s history at IMS over the years includes five wins as an owner in the Indianapolis 500 (1989, 2000, 2008, 2010 and 2012) in addition to winning the 2010 NSCS Brickyard 400. He was also named Rookie of the Year as a driver in the 1983 Indianapolis 500.

• Team Target Wins 96^th Indy 500: Franchitti earned his third victory in the Indianapolis 500 and delivered Target Chip Ganassi Racing its fourth Indianapolis 500 victory. With his fifth win as an owner, Ganassi is now tied with Lou Moore for second all-time in Indianapolis 500 wins behind only Roger Penske. Combined, Team Target led 76 of the 200 laps to earn their 15^th double podium since becoming teammates in 2009. It was also the second time Franchitti and Dixon finished one-two, respectively, in the Indianapolis 500.

• Chip Slam: During the 2010 season, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams complete the first ever “Chip Slam” of motor racing by winning four major motorsports events in a 12-month period with victories in the 2010 Daytona 500, the 2010 Indianapolis 500, the 2010 Brickyard 400 and the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona

• GRAND-AM History: CGRFS has five championships (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011) and 38 race wins since their introduction to the circuit in 2004 – all GRAND-AM records. Pruett and Rojas are the most successful driving duo in GRAND-AM history with 24 wins in six seasons as teammates. Pruett also holds the distinction of being the winningest GRAND-AM driver with 36 victories.

• No. 01 Once More: Team TELMEX enters this race first in the 2012 Rolex Sports Car Series Standings with one victory (Road America), one pole (Watkins Glen) and five podium finishes. So far this season, Pruett and Rojas average a 4.5 starting position and a 3.8 finishing position.

• 2011 Rewind: Pruett and Rojas had a stellar 2011 season in which the team won five of the 12 races and claimed their third GRAND-AM Team Championship in four years. In addition to wins, the team had 10 podium finishes giving them an average finishing position of 2.2.

• Racking Them Up: Pruett became the first four-time GRAND-AM Rolex Series Driver Champion in 2011 and is the first American to score 10 major sports car championships – his closest competitor is the late Peter Gregg who has seven to his credit. Pruett’s previous titles include four Daytona Prototype Championships (2004, 2008, 2010, 2011), two IMSA GTO Titles (1986, 1988), one IMSA GT Endurance (1986) and three Trans-Am Championships (1987, 1994, 2003).

• Pruett at Indy: Pruett will make his seventh start at Indianapolis in his third different series. He has four starts in Indy car and two NSCS starts on the 2.5-mile oval. In six starts he has accumulated two top-10s, three-top-15 finishes and has led eight laps.

• No. 02 History: In 33 total starts, the No. 02 has earned one win (2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona), five podiums, 16 top-fives and led 879 laps. Since 2004, the No. 02 has an average start of 6.9 and an average finish of 7.4.

• Montoya at Indy: Montoya is the 2007 and 2008 Rolex 24 At Daytona Overall Winner, a two-time NSCS Race Winner, the 2007 NSCS Series Rookie of The Year, 2000 Indianapolis 500 Winner and the 1999 CART Series Champion. He is the only driver to compete in NASCAR, Indy car and Formula One races at Indianapolis and will add GRAND-AM to his resume to extend that record. Montoya has 11 starts at Indianapolis in three different series’ (NSCS – five, Formula One – five and Indy car – one). In those starts, he has earned one pole (NSCS: 2010), one win (Indianapolis 500: 2000), four top-10 finishes and has led in each of the three series with 371 laps led overall.

• McMurray at Indy: McMurray is the 2010 Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 Winner, a six-time NSCS Race Winner and the 2003 NSCS Rookie of The Year. He has nine NSCS starts at IMS, earning one win (2010), three top-fives, five top-10s and leading 43 laps. He has an average start of 15.3 and an average finish of 13.1. He has completed 1,420 of 1,441 laps, or 98.5 percent.

• Dixon at Indy: Dixon has 10 Indy car starts at IMS, earning one victory (2008), one pole (2008), three podiums and leading 346 laps. In 11 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series starts, Dixon has one victory (2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona), three podiums and 6 top-five finishes.

• Dinan Power: The 2012 season marks Dinan Engineering’s ninth season (2004-2012) in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Cars Series and their third with TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

• Team TELMEX: Usual partner TELMEX will appear on the No. 01 Dinan-Prepared BMW Riley at Indianapolis. This season marks the sixth year TELMEX has partnered with CGRFS.

• The Return of Chevron: The Chevron brand returns to racing after last sponsoring the championship-winning Indy car piloted by Cristiano da Matta in the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series for Newman-Haas Racing.

• Backed By BMW: Through the support and assistance of BMW of North America, LLC and Dinan Engineering, BMW Power will provide the 5.0-liter BMW M S62 V8 power plant that has driven the team to 15 Daytona Prototype class victories in 32 races over the last three seasons. 2012 marks the 40^th anniversary of BMW Motorsport.

QUOTEBOARD:

Scott Pruett:  “I’m excited that GRAND-AM and Team TELMEX have the opportunity to race at Indianapolis this year.  This is going to be a huge event and the guys back at the shop have been working hard to make sure we have a great chance to win.”

Memo Rojas:  “We’re really looking forward to racing at Indianapolis. There is so much history there and to be a part of the inaugural event is exciting. We’d love to give Team TELMEX their second win of the season this weekend at Indianapolis.”

Juan Pablo Montoya: “To be honest with you I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the No. 02.  These cars are a lot of fun and it’ll be cool to get back out there on the road-course at Indianapolis.  It’s also great to have Chevron onboard.  I’m hoping Jamie and I can put on a good show and end up in Victory Lane.”  

Jamie McMurray:  “I am really looking forward to this race.  It is fun to be part of history, with this being the first ever Grand-Am race at the Brickyard.  The Grand-Am car is fun to drive and Indianapolis is just a special place.  We tested this car here a couple of weeks ago and it is really cool to run the road course and go the opposite direction from what we are used to.  It is especially fun to run a race like this when you feel like you’ve got a chance to win.”

Source : Chip Ganassi Racing