1-4-07 -- For Immediate Release

Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Begins 2007 Season

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team is poised to start the 2007 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve with Porsche factory drivers Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Romain Dumas. The 14-race series begins with the 44th running of the Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona Jan. 27 - 28.

Bergmeister, the current Grand-Am Daytona Prototype driver champion, returns as a factory Porsche driver and the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team in an effort to retain his Championship crown in 2007. In 2006, Bergmeister captured wins at Watkins Glen, Daytona, and Barber Motorsports Park, while grabbing six podiums and 16 top-10 finishes.

Long, of Las Vegas, Nev., is a seasoned factory Porsche driver who had three Grand-Am wins and nine podium finishes in 2006. Long and Bergmeister have partnered in the American Le Mans Series for the last two seasons, winning the back-to-back GT2 championships. This duo share a racing kinship that has resulted in pole positions, wins and championships.

The third driver in the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday car for Rolex 24 at Daytona will be French Porsche factory driver Romain Dumas. Dumas drove to four wins and eight LMP2 class podium finishes in the American Le Mans Series in 2006.

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing team looks to improve on its strong 2006 season, posting wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Virginia International Raceway. The Ruby Tuesday Team is prepared to get another fast start at the Rolex 24. In last year's 24-hour, the Alex Job Racing prepared Porsche powered Crawford sat on the pole and finished third after the twice around the clock affair. Small mechanical issues thwarted the team's chance at victory.  With a full season of tough Daytona Prototype competition under its belt, the Ruby Tuesday team is ready to take on the 50 competitors that will receive the green flag at Daytona.

"It's good to be back with Alex after two years not driving for them," Bergmeister said being glad to be back with Alex Job Racing. "I was very impressed with their performance last year coming into Grand-Am. So, I hope it will be a successful season for the Ruby Tuesday team this year.  During the last two seasons Patrick and I have worked well together winning two championships. It is hard to say exactly what makes he and I a good combination, but we have a lot of confidence in one another. Not only have we been teammates, but we have also become good friends. It's been a great partnership. To be successful this season we will need some wins and finish all the races to have a shot at the championship."

"For me, having Jörg as a teammate is the best scenario I could think of going into 2007," Long said of his teammate. I will miss Mike [Rockenfeller], but everyone has to do what is best for them. Jörg and I have had success in the other series and it is a natural for us to be together. Besides our height difference, we really like the same things in the setup of the car. Jörg has had great results in the Grand-Am series. He brings even more credibility to our already strong program. We will need to add consistency and reliability to our already strong will to win this

season. We have tested harder and earlier than any other team. The team has proven we can win; we need to show we are a championship winning team. Ruby Tuesday gives us the support and we are going out to win races.  We have all of the factors that championship winning teams posses."

"The Ruby Tuesday team has been in preparation for the Rolex 24 Hour since we finished our coffee at the banquet in Las Vegas last September," Job said. "We have completed over eight-days testing and made improvements to No. 23 Ruby Tuesday car. Patrick and Jörg have been a strong one-two combination in road racing for two years, logging two GT championships. They know each other very well and really complement one another behind the wheel.  We are familiar with Jörg from when he drove for us in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Romain Dumas is also a known commodity to us, having piloted our GT car in 2004 and 2005. With these three going into Daytona, I really like our chances."

The Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona will be televised live on the Fox Network starting at 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 27 and switching over to the Speed Channel at 2:30 p.m.

2007 Grand-Am Road Racing Schedule
Rolex 24 at Daytona January 27-28
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez March 3
Homestead-Miami Speedway March 24
Virginia International Raceway April 29
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca May 20
Watkins Glen Six Hours June 9
Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course June 23
Daytona International Speedway July 5
Iowa Speedway July 14
Barber Motorsport Park July 22
Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve August 3
Watkins Glen International August 10
Infineon Raceway August 25
Miller Motorsport Park September 15

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 garden 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, visit www.rubytuesday.com.  

For more information regarding the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team, visit www.alexjobracing.com or contact Adam Horn at horn@iland.net or (660) 864-8927.