Grand-Am

Birmingham: Qualifying report

Braun Continues Krohn Racing Hot Streak with Porsche 250 presented by Bradley Arant Pole DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 29, 2006) -- Krohn Racing's recent performances in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special ...

Published: Jul 30, 2006, 2:51 PM

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Braun Continues Krohn Racing Hot Streak with Porsche 250 presented by Bradley Arant Pole

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 29, 2006) -- Krohn Racing's recent performances in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve were a perfect match for the hot temperatures during qualifying for Sunday's Porsche 250 presented by Bradley Arant (SPEED, Live, 3 p.m. ET), as 17-year-old Colin Braun put the No. 76 Ford Riley on the pole position.

Braun posted a best lap at 1:22.022 (100.948 mph) in the 15-minute session to record the first pole of his Rolex Series career. The youngster did record the fastest time during qualifying for the EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last month, but the time was disallowed for a technical infraction and Braun started from the rear of the grid. Braun and co-driver Jorg Bergmeister--who currently leads the Daytona Prototype driver standings--head into Sunday's race looking to bring the No. 76 machine home with its fourth-consecutive podium result.

"It feels great to not only get a pole for myself, but also for all of the guys at Krohn Racing," said Braun. "Hats off to my engineer, Steve Newey, because we've had some pretty good tests here and have learned quite a bit. There's a fantastic bunch of guys working on this team."

Patrick Long will start second in the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche Crawford after logging a best qualifying lap at 1:22.496 (100.368 mph). It will be the seventh time in the team's 10 races this season that the No. 23 machine is starting from the front row. Long and co-driver Mike Rockenfeller are looking for their sixth podium result and third feature race victory in Sunday's Porsche 250.

"Our qualifying run was pretty positive," said Long. "It was definitely more than we expected since we've been battling some problems all weekend. This is a very tricky track, but our car seemed to handle pretty well during the session. It should be a barn-burner when the race comes around."

Starting third will be Jan Magnussen in the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley following a best qualifying lap at 1:22.520 (100.339 mph). The No. 10 machine won in the last Rolex Series visit to Barber Motorsports Park last year and Magnussen will combine with defending Daytona Prototype co-champion Max Angelelli in an attempt to repeat the feat. Angelelli has not finished worse than fourth in his past six starts.

"Things went very well, I think," Magnussen said. "We got the best out of it that we could. On my best lap, according to the data, I was blocked by traffic. Second was within reach, but pole was a bit far away. We have to work harder, but I think we have a really good race car, as we have had in the past. I think it will be good for tomorrow."

Alex Gurney starts fourth in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Blackhawk Racing Pontiac Riley he co-drives with Jon Fogarty after posting a best qualifying lap of 1:22.524 (100.334 mph). Gurney and Fogarty have finished inside the top-eight positions in each of their last five Rolex Series starts with best results of second at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Watkins Glen International, and both drivers are still looking for their first Rolex Series victory.

Memo Gidley rounds out the top five in the No. 19 Playboy/Uniden Racing Ford Crawford following a qualifying run of 1:22.569 (100.279 mph). Gidley and co-driver Michael McDowell are looking for their first feature race victory since taking the season-ending Mexico City 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last year.

The top-seven qualifiers turned laps within one second of Braun's time. The top seven also featured six different engine and chassis combinations.

DAVIS SCORES GT POLE FOR PORSCHE 250 PRESENTED BY BRADLEY ARANT

Andrew Davis put his background as a Porsche Driving Experience instructor at Barber Motorsports Park to good use in GT class qualifying for the Porsche 250 presented by Bradley Arant, as he placed the No. 73 NEC Porsche GT3 on the class pole position.

Davis turned a best lap of 1:31.775 (90.220 mph) to secure his first Rolex Series class pole since the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona last year. The Georgia resident shares the No. 73 Tafel Racing machine with team owner Jim Tafel, who also hails from the Peach State.

"I work here at Barber for the Porsche Driving Experience, so I'm pretty familiar with the layout," said Davis. "It feels great to share this pole with Jim Tafel and everybody at Tafel Racing. The guys literally worked until the green flag dropped on qualifying to get our car out there. We had some issues yesterday afternoon and this morning, but they crew worked together and put a fast car our there."

Starting second will be Kelly Collins in the No. 64 TRG/iRise Pontiac GTO.R. Collins turned in a best qualifying lap at 1:31.840 (90.156 mph), and looks for his fourth class victory of the season alongside co-driver Paul Edwards in the Porsche 250. Qualifying third was points co-leader Marc Bunting in the No. 65 TRG/F1 Air Pontiac GTO.R with a lap at 1:31.919 (90.079 mph). Like their teammates in the No. 64 machine, Bunting and co-driver Andy Lally will be going for their fourth class victory of the season on Sunday as well.

David Murry posted the fourth-quickest qualifying lap at 1:32.291 (89.619 mph) in the No. 80 Shoes For Crews/Synergy Racing Porsche GT3. Murry shares the No. 80 machine with Leh Keen. Leighton Reese qualified fifth in the No. 06 Banner Racing Chevrolet Corvette he shares with Tim Gaffney. Reese turned in a best lap at 1:32.434 (89.577mph).

The No. 72 NEC Porsche GT3 of co-drivers Wolf Henzler and Robin Liddell did not record a qualifying time due to an engine change. Henzler and Liddell currently trail Bunting and Lally by just eight points in the GT driver standings, and will start from the rear of the class grid.

-garra

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