(September 13, 2007) - The Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season comes to a close this weekend at the 4.486-mile, 24-turn Miller Motorsports Park road course in Tooele, Utah. The Sunchaser 1000 race is a seven and one-half hour/1,000-kilometer combined Prototype and GT race. The 2007 Grand-Am Driver and Team Championships will be crowned following this race in the highly contested sports car series. Last year Krohn Racing won the Driver’s Championship with Jörg Bergmeister and finished second in the Prototype Team Championship.
Krohn Racing will see the return of 18-year-old hotshoe Colin Braun and teammate Nic Jönsson to the cockpit of the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley, as they seek their first victory of the season. Team owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn and Max Papis will co-drive the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley in search of additional points in Tracy’s quest of the Jim Trueman Sportsman Award.
Max Papis, driver, No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley:
What are your goals entering this 2007 season finale race?
“I really don’t know what to expect. This is a long-distance race. Many things can happen. It would be really cool to finish the season with a podium finish for Tracy. The Trueman Award is going to be special for Tracy and we are going to go for it. I think we’re pretty close on points and Tracy will need some good laps and the consistency to make the Trueman Award his award. The first goal of the day would be to see if we could get the 76 (car) a little bit further up than we had in the last couple of races. Maybe a podium is possible.”
How do you like having the last race being an endurance race? Does that make it more difficult or more exciting – especially when the championship comes down to the final race of the year?
“I think that it is great. It’s great to see endurance racing. Grand-Am is all about endurance racing. We started with the Daytona 24 Hour and end up with Salt Lake City with seven hour something race. I think it is a perfect ending. The teamwork and driver work will be important and it is not just going to be a two-and-one-half hour sprint race that is going to decide the championship. There are going to be lots of different scenarios that need to be in place to be successful. I think it is a perfect thing to do – to end with this race.”
The Krohn Racing team comes to the Utah finale, Round 14 of 14, in fourth place in the Rolex Series Prototype team points chase with the No. 75 entry and 12th place with the No. 76 entry following the penultimate race in Sonoma in late August. Braun has five podium finishes, Papis four and Jönsson one. Braun has also captured two pole positions. Krohn has one Top Five and four Top Ten finishes so far this year. Pontiac has already claimed the 2007 Manufacturer’s title.
Krohn Racing won the 2006 Daytona Prototype Driver’s Championship and finished second in the DP Team Championship after the team collected three victories, six podiums, eight Top Five finishes, 13 Top Ten finishes and two pole positions.
The Sunchaser 1000 will be televised live in two parts on SPEED TV -- from 1:00 –2:30 p.m. ET and again from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, September 15th. For more information, please see www.grand-am.com and www.krohnracing.net.