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Ganassi Stars Focused On Winning The Rolex 24 Again

Winning Ganassi car pushed to Rolex 24 victory lane in 2015. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Winning Ganassi car pushed to Rolex 24 victory lane in 2015. [Joe Jennings Photo]

For the 54th edition of the long race, the team will be doubly challenged or more with not only two Prototype entries but two new Ford GTs cars, which will require a small army of personnel to tend to the cars and drivers, etc.

Dubbed the “Star Car” a year ago, much to the chagrin of Chip Ganassi, the No. 02 entry commanded top billing with Verizon IndyCar Series stars Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stalwarts Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson.

While the No. 02 basks in the limelight, the No. 01 Prototype runs under the radar but it is a force to be reckoned with as its driver line-up includes former F1 driver Alex Wurz, FIA European F3 winner Lance Stroll, WEC Endurance LMP1 champion Brendon Hartley and FIA Touring World Car champion Andy Priaulx.

Commenting on the car’s nickname, Dixon said, “I just drive the car; you can call it whatever you want. We all love driving it, and it is a fun combination of two IndyCar guys and two NASCAR guys. Hopefully, you can call it the winning car.”

Asked what it takes to transition to the sleek sports car, Dixon noted, “It doesn’t take too long to adjust to the Prototypes, even though I haven’t driven one since the Petit LeMans last year. We come here with one goal and that is to win. With this being the last year for the Daytona Prototypes, we want to go out on top.”

Kanaan said the addition of the Ford GTs has been a challenging one for the Ganassi staff, but he’s thrilled that Ganassi has brought back the winning car. “It took a lot out of Chip and the team to bring us back but with last year’s win being so great, we are back with the same car,” the flashy driver said. “It is good training for our IndyCar guys, as they are doing the DP program with everyone else having switched to the Ford GT. After our long off-season, this is a good way to get our new year started and that goes for everyone on the team. It is a luxury we have while other teams are sitting at home with nothing to do. This is a cool thing.”

While Kanaan admitted to liking being dubbed as “Star Car” drivers, he suggests there are several more teams that should share in that moniker. “You’ve got stars driving our No. 01 car, the Taylor brothers, too, along with Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa and others. I don’t mind the label and as long as we win, you can call us whatever you want.”

Except for this event, McMurray’s career is focused on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series, but after running in the Rolex 24 some eight times, he finds it easy to make the transition. “It feels very natural. It used to be awkward and it does take a little time, but after studying the steering wheel map, I was ready.” He did say it took a bit to adjust to the expanded number of traction control buttons, going from one to three and giving a driver something more to memorize.

According to McMurray, his job at Daytona is made easier as the track is so easy to drive with only two hard-braking points, plus it is flat with no elevation changes.

Said the much-traveled Larson, who came to Daytona after winning a sprint car race in Arizona, “If we can come back and back-up what we did a year ago, it would be good.”

A year ago, new fathers Kanaan and Larson brought their new sons, Deco and Owen, respectively, to victory lane, and they would like nothing better than to bring their active one-year olds back to the victory party along with co-drivers Dixon and McMurray.

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