7-3-07
For Immediate Release

Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Heads To Daytona For Brumos Porsche 250

One day after America celebrates Independence Day, the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team hopes to do a little celebrating of its own by winning the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

 Round Eight, of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve, is a one-day event that will see the Daytona Prototype (DP) class practice, qualify and race all in the same day. With that in mind, the Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team is prepared to be fast right out of box.

 If the consistently fast lap times turned at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago are any indication of how much this car has improved since the last time the team was in Daytona (for the Rolex 24), then it stands to reason that the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche Crawford will be a legitimate contender for its second race win of the season.  

 “I think we are going to have a much different car than we did for the 24-hour race,” driver Patrick Long said of the team’s return to Daytona. “I think we should be good. The Porsche horsepower runs very well up top [on the steep banking].

 “The guys have been working real hard to establish a new balance on this car. Being the lone full-time Crawford is always a challenge, but the Crawford company has stuck behind us and they’ve been to the track working with us day after day. So, we are pretty excited about going back to Daytona. It is a one-day event so we have to come off the trailer fast. I think that is one of our strengths and I am pretty confident we will do well.”

 “We will be much more competitive than we were last time we were there,” the defending Daytona Prototype Drivers’ Champion Jörg Bergmeister said about the team’s chances at Daytona. “The team has worked hard to improve the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Porsche.”

 “With it being a one-day event, coupled with having limited practice time to setup the car, we are going to have to be fast right off the trailer,” team owner Alex Job said. “We have come a long way since the beginning of the year [starting with the Rolex 24 at Daytona] in improving the car and with the fast lap times we saw Jörg and Patrick turn at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago, I think we have a car that can win.”

 In last year’s Brumos Porsche 250, Bergmeister won the event (co-driving the No. 76 Ford Riley with Colin Braun) by more than 16-seconds over Long, who finished second with Mike Rockenfeller in the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Porsche Crawford.

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team has one win, two top-five and six top-10 finishes this season. Bergmeister and Long both are tied for sixth place with 172 points (40 points behind the point leader Scott Pruett) in the Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Driver Point standings. The team is in fifth place in the Grand-Am Rolex Series Team Point standings also with 172 points.

The No. 23 Porsche Crawford takes to the track for the first practice session at 10 a.m. (EDT), with a second practice set for noon (EDT), and qualifying at 1:45 p.m. (EDT). Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype race fans can catch live race coverage from Daytona International Speedway live on SPEED Channel beginning at 8 p.m. (EDT), Thursday, July 5.

 Ruby Tuesday is one of the nation’s leading casual dining restaurant companies, with more than 900 restaurants worldwide. It was founded in 1972 by Sandy Beall, who serves as chairman and 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 a variety of handcrafted burgers, including its exclusive Triple Prime Burger, and a wide assortment of fresh signature items and entrees, among them the Fresh Garden Bar, Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Chicken Fresco and Prime Sirloin Steak. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is traded on the NY Stock Exchange (symbol: RT). 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 ahorn@iland.net or (660) 864-8927.