9-13-07
For Immediate Release

Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Completes Practice at Miller Motorsports Park

The Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team completes Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve practice sessions at Miller Motorsports Park. Today's practice was in preparation for Saturday's Sunchaser 1000k.

Piloting the No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche Crawford Daytona Prototype, Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Mike Rockenfeller all took their shot at taming the 4.486-mile, 24-turn road course. But, it was Long who turned the team's fastest overall lap (2.43.206, 98.952 mph) in the afternoon session.

"It is difficult to know where we stand [in terms of speed] following that session, especially with little amount of track time we had and all of the traffic," Long said after the 30-minute afternoon session. "We made a substantial change to the rear-end differential and we're pretty happy with it. So, we'll keep moving forward.

"The interesting thing is I think most teams will run their number one driver in qualifying because it's such a long race. There is no reason to put in some of the gentleman drivers from the pro-amateur combinations. So, it's going to be a very competitive qualifying session tomorrow.

In the morning practice session, Long set the tone early with a time of 2:43.510, which was the fourth fastest lap overall at the time. After a driver and a couple of changes to the car, Bergmeister recorded a team-best lap of 2:43.378 (98.848 mph).   

"I went out and did one timed lap," Bergmeister said of his practice session. "And, then we basically tried to work on the car. The position we were in [at the time] wasn't the best. But, the car is getting better and better and hopefully we can close the gap a little more." 

"After we struggle yesterday, I think we got the car better today," Rockenfeller said. "Today, I felt confident in the car [after not having driven the car in a year]. After about 10 laps in the car, I was up to speed. I think I've been able to provide some good input on the car because I am coming from the outside. The car is improving. But, tomorrow we'll see where we are."

"We were seventh quickest in the afternoon session, which is not bad," team owner Alex Job said. "But, we just couldn't get a clean lap with the GT cars out there. We've improve the car a lot. We did not go for time this morning. We ran the whole session on one set of tires. This time [the afternoon session], we put new tires on and went for a lap. But, just couldn't get a clean one. We've got a much better car now and we'll continue to tune it for the race. Things are starting to come to us now after a somewhat difficult start."

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series practice resumes at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 14, with a 15-minute qualifying session begining at 2:15 p.m. The Daytona Prototypes take to the track for a final 15-minute practice session beginning at 7:50 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, with round 14 action starting at 11 a.m. Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype race fans can catch all of the live race action beginning at 1 p.m. (EDT), with continuing coverage resuming at 5:30 p.m. on SPEED Channel.

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 uncompromising freshness and quality, served by passionate employees who take pride in delighting guests with an excellent dining experience. The menu features a wide variety of fresh signature items and entrees, among them the Fresh Garden Bar, Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Chicken Fresco and Premium Aged Prime Sirloin. Guests can also enjoy Ruby Tuesday's renowned fresh handcrafted burgers, featuring its exclusive Triple Prime Burger. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. is traded on the NY Stock Exchange (symbol: RT). To find out more about Ruby Tuesday, visit www.rubytuesday.com.