August
25, 2006
Immediate Release
Ruby
Tuesday Championship Racing Team Qualifies Third at Infineon
Sonoma, California
-- The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team qualified third for
round 13 of the Grand American Rolex Series presented by Crown Royal
Reserve to be run at Infineon Raceway tomorrow afternoon.
Patrick Long
took the controls of the Alex Job Racing prepared Porsche powered
Crawford and was able to post a qualifying time of 1:28.554 and
average speed of 102 mph. The second row starting position is the
team’s ninth top three qualifying effort on the season.
Patrick Long
is satisfied with his run. “I was able to get some clear laps
and had as good a shot at the pole as anyone. We have a good starting
position in the second row and we have a car that we can drive nearly
anywhere on the track to get around traffic. Tomorrow’s race
will be about managing traffic and tires as opposed to all out speed.
We will need to run a clean race and not fall to far back on pit
stops.”
Mike Rockenfeller
likes the way the #23 Ruby Tuesday car is handling. “We have
a good car on old tires. We struggled a little in the first two
practices and then hit on our setup today. Our times don’t
seem to fall off that much over a longer stint. Patrick did a good
job to get up toward the front for the start. We will probably see
a lot of yellows and we will have to be clean and fast in traffic
as well as on our game with strategy.”
“The second
row is a nice place to start the race from here at Infineon,”
said Alex Job, team owner. “The Ruby Tuesday team has worked
hard on the set-up of the car as the circuit is made up primarily
of turns, with no real straight-away to speak of. Patrick and Mike
know the circuit well and we will have to be mindful of the GT competitors
during the race as well as have good pit work and strategy. Infineon
is a good track for our car and our team; we have had a lot of success
here over the years.”
The Ruby Tuesday
Championship Racing Team is riding a podium streak that has witnessed
a second place finish at Daytona, third place at Barber Motorsport
Park and another third place in the last race at Watkins Glen.
The Ruby Tuesday
Championship Racing Team is currently fourth in the battle for the
team championship. Long and Rockenfeller are fifth in the drivers
point standings, 67 out of the lead in the Daytona Prototype category.
Tomorrow’s
race from Infineon Raceway will be televised on Speed Channel, tape
delayed, starting at 3:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, August 27th.
Grand Am Daytona
Prototype to Infineon Qualifiers:
1. Angelelli/Manussen
Pontiac/Riley 1:28.234
2. Jonsson/Bergmeister
Ford/Riley 1:28.550
3. Long/Rockenfeller
AJR Porsche/Crawford 1:28.554
4. Pruett/Diaz
Lexus/Riley 1:28.798
5. Gurney/Fogarty
Pontiac/Riley 1:28.874
6. Fernandez/Haberfeld
Pontiac/Riley 1:28.882
7. Leitzinger/Wallace
Pontiac/Crawford 1:28.954
8. Donohue/Law
Porsche/Riley 1:29.228
9. Orsi/Fittipaldi
Porsche/Crawford 1:29.301
10. Figge/Dalziel
Pontiac/Riley 1:29.387
2006 Ruby Tuesday
Championship Racing Team DP Finishes
Race |
Drivers |
Qualifying |
Finish |
Daytona |
Long, Luhr, Rockenfeller |
1 |
3 |
Mexico City |
Did not attend |
|
|
Homestead |
Long, Rockenfeller |
1 |
1 |
Long Beach |
Long, Rockenfeller |
2 |
2 |
Virginia |
Long, Rockenfeller |
*2 |
1 |
Laguna Seca |
Long, Rockenfeller |
*1 |
24 |
Phoenix |
Long, Rockenfeller, Tiemann |
*19 |
20 |
Watkins Glen |
Long, Rockenfeller |
5 |
15 |
Mid-Ohio |
Long, Rockenfeller |
1 |
20 |
Daytona |
Long, Rockenfeller |
7 |
2 |
Barber |
Long. Rockenfeller |
2 |
3 |
Watkins Glen |
Long, Rockenfeller |
3 |
3 |
Infineon |
Long, Rockenfeller |
3 |
|
*Denotes qualifying race
finish.
Ruby Tuesday is one of
the nation’s leading casual-dining restaurant companies, with
more than 800 restaurants worldwide. It was founded in 1972 by Sandy
Beall, who serves as Chairman & CEO today. The company is committed
to having uncompromising freshness and quality with passionate employees
who take pride in delighting guests with an excellent dining experience.
The burger-centric menu features an assortment of handcrafted burgers,
its fresh salad bar, premium baby back ribs and a variety of other
signature entrees. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is traded on the NY Stock
Exchange (symbol:RI). To find out more about Ruby Tuesday, please
visit www.rubytuesday.com.
To view the Alex Job
Racing press kit or for additional information, please refer to
www.alexjobracing.com or contact Kyle Chura at chura@aol.com or
(248) 821-0468.
|