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Michael Shank Racing Fastest In 2nd Day Of Rolex Tests

Daytona Beach, FL ? The Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley roared to the fastest time during the second round of Rolex Series tests on Saturday at the Daytona International Speedway. With A. J. Allmendinger at the wheel, the rising star clipped off a lap speed of 126.198 miles per hour.

Allmendinger?s co drivers are Ian James, John Pew and Burt Frisselle.

Said Allmendinger of his accomplishment, ?I?m happy with the car; we?ve really improved it compared to the last two times I was here. I got a little bit of a tow on that lap, which was the only clean one I ?ve had all weekend.?

James said, ?We made some big shock changes this morning, and the car is really good to drive now.?

Scott Pruett timed second fastest at 126.172 mph and he was pleased with the continued consistency of the Target Lexus Riley fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

On the last lap of the afternoon session, Colin Braun steered the AIM Autosport Ford Riley to the third fastest speed of 126.162 mph. ?The team has been working very hard and we have been improving little by little,? Braun said. ?We are chipping away with it, and I got half of a clear lap at the end. It was only my third lap of the day.?

Wayne Taylor pushed the Sun Trust Racing Pontiac Riley to the fourth fastest speed of 125.826 mph.

Fifth fastest was IndyCar star Scott Dixon in the TELMEX Lexus Riley, the second Ganassi entry. ?It was my first day on the track and it went okay,? Dixon said. ?This morning I only did six laps and this afternoon I did a bit more. Trying to get a quick lap is always a pain, but I think we can run close to the quick time. Our second car looks to be faster, though. There are some things we would like to have on this car but we don?t have any spare parts.?

Dixon had not been in a Daytona Prototype for a long time and he indicated it took a while to transition to the car. ?I was all over the place in the first session, as the car doesn?t have much platform. In the second session, the car felt pretty good.?

In GT action, Bob Michaelian put the Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8 on top with a lap of 1:50.617 seconds at a speed of 115.859 mph.

The Synergy Racing Porsche GT3 Cup driven by Germany?s Lance Arnold was second fastest trailed by one of the Farnbacher Loles Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup entries.

Rolex Series testing will conclude Sunday with two Rolex Series practices and two Koni Challenge Series sessions.

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