Daytona Beach, FL (Sports Network) - Chip Ganassi Racing claimed its fifth victory while driver Scott Pruett matched a record in the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona on Sunday.
Pruett tied Hurley Haywood's record of five overall wins in the twice-around- the-clock event at Daytona International Speedway. The 52-year-old Pruett shared driving duties with his Grand-Am Road Racing teammate, Memo Rojas, as well as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Juan Pablo Montoya and IndyCar Series competitor Charlie Kimball in Ganassi's No. 01 BMW/Riley.
"It's just an incredible day all the way around, winning with these guys, winning with (team owner) Chip (Ganassi)," Pruett said.
Pruett is a record five-time Grand-Am Rolex Daytona Prototype champion. He and Rojas have won the DP title with Ganassi the past three years.
"With the five championships that we've won, and now the five overall wins here at the Rolex 24, five-for-five is nice," Pruett noted. "They're all different, but they are all as sweet."
Montoya drove the No. 01 car during the final hours of the race, crossing the finish line 22 seconds ahead of Max Angelelli, who was behind the wheel of the No. 10 Corvette for Wayne Taylor Racing. Jordan Taylor and reigning IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay shared driving duties with Angelelli in the No. 10 car.
Montoya, Pruett, Rojas and Kimball combined for 709 laps around the 3.56-mile a race that featured a record 74 lead changes.
Ganassi's fifth win in the Rolex 24 came in his 10th attempt.
With just over an hour remaining in the race, a full-course caution bunched up the frontrunners. A.J. Allmendinger, a NASCAR competitor, grabbed the lead during a round of pit stops before the caution. Montoya ran back in the fourth spot for the restart, but quickly charged his way up front before passing Angelelli in the closing laps. Allmendinger, who won last year's Rolex 24 with Michael Shank Racing, ended up finishing third.
"It was a lot of pressure," Montoya said. "You had to be smart about when you passed them and everything, so I was always careful on the restarts, and I took my time to pass people."
Marcos Ambrose, who is also a Sprint Cup regular, shared driving duties with Allmendinger in Shank's No. 60 Ford/Riley. Ozz Negri Jr., John Pew and Justin Wilson also drove the car.
