Grand American Rolex

...AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY GO - Lexus drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas will take a slim four-point lead into this weekend’s race in Montreal with just three races remaining in the season. A total of 14 points separates the first three cars in the championship with all three contenders winning titles in the last five years. This weekend’s event marks the 20th time in the last 23 races that the #01 Telmex Lexus has been on top of the Grand-Am standings.

On the strength of five top-five finishes (two wins and three seconds) in the last six races, Pruett and Rojas have held at least a share of the points lead since winning the Watkins Glen race in June as the team pursues its fourth championship in six years since entering the series in 2004.

I MUST BE IN THE FRONT ROW... - No, it’s not long-time Milwaukee Brewer broadcaster Bob Uecker, it’s the Lexus-powered duo of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas. After qualifying sixth at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, the #01 Telmex Lexus has now qualified on the front row in each of the last eight races. Over that span, the team has accumulated four pole positions and four second-place qualifying efforts.

The Chip Ganassi Racing entry is the only car in the series to have led every race this season. Overall, the #01 Lexus has led more laps than any other team in the series with 406 -- 123 more than the second-highest total. Individually, Pruett leads the series with 191 laps led and Rojas is second with 162. Only five drivers have led over 100 laps this season.

LAST RACE – Starting from the outside of the front row at Watkins Glen, Memo Rojas moved the #01 Telmex Lexus into the lead on Lap 6 and secured a firm position in the top spot until pitting on Lap 24. After falling back during the pit stop, Rojas once again moved into the lead on Lap 29, but at that point, caution flags, traffic and a variety of race strategies would rule the day. Scott Pruett climbed into the car in eighth after pitting and steadily moved up the grid into second place with just under 30 minutes remaining. Pruett hounded former Toyota F1 driver Ricardo Zonta the rest of the way, even pulling up next to the Brazilian where the two made side-to-side contact, but was unable to squeeze by while on the way to a second-place finish.

LEXUS AT MONTREAL – Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas combined to lead a race-high 27 laps in the #01 Lexus, leading the race until just 17 minutes remained before placing fifth while trying to save fuel in last year’s event at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Chip Ganassi Racing duo also placed fifth at Montreal in 2007.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS – The Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus team enters into this weekend’s race as the winningest team in Rolex Sports Car Series history with 23 victories. Lead driver Scott Pruett has won more races than any driver in Rolex history with 22, while also holding the record for most podium finishes with 45. Despite its relatively late entry into the series in 2004, Lexus is second among manufacturers in all-time wins with 25.

PRUETT ON MONTREAL: “We’re seven months and nine races from when we started the season with the Rolex 24 at Daytona and, amazingly, not much has changed. We knew if the #01 Telmex Lexus was going to win a championship that we were going to have to beat the #99 and the #10. Nine races later, we go into these final three races still knowing that we have to beat the #99 and the #10, and for the most part, we’re still almost dead-even.”