Jordan Taylor Leads Daytona Prototype Qualifying In Corvette DP, 

Captures TOTAL Pole Award For Brickyard Grand Prix 

Said, Long Capture GT/GX Poles At Indianapolis 

After struggling in Thursday’s practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Wayne Taylor Racing hit the setup jackpot in qualifying for Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix. Jordan Taylor captured his third consecutive Daytona Prototype pole position, breaking the track record with a lap of 1 minute, 22.251 seconds in the No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP. 

He will be joined on the front row by Memo Rojas, who ran his final lap in 1:22.375 in the No. 01 Telcel/Telmex BMW/Riley co-driven by Scott Pruett. The race begins at 5:10 p.m. ET (SPEED, 7:30 p.m.). 

“This is a very unique track, with a long front straight followed by a very technical section,” said Taylor. “We were worried when we were out of the top 10 during opening practice, but the team and [my co-driver] Max Angelelli kept working on the setup.” 

Gustavo Yacaman qualified third in the No. 6 Aero/Tuvacol/Curb Records Ford/Riley co-driven by AJ Allmendinger, 1:22:455. Fourth was Christian Fittipaldi, 1:22.544, who joins Joao Barbosa in seeking a third consecutive victory in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP. Action Express also leads the standings in the North American Endurance Championship presented by VISITFLORIDA.com, entering its third and final round after races at Daytona and Watkins Glen. 

Veteran Boris Said won his first pole of the season in GT, running a lap of 1:28.374 (103.225 mph) in the No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette co-driven by Eric Curran. 

“Everyone keeps saying how they’re going to keep their cool in the race, but this is Indianapolis,” Said explained. “When they drop the green flag tomorrow, it will be like 35 Doberman Pinschers with hand grenades in their mouths. Everyone will be fighting for position.” 

Robin Liddell was second in the No. 57 Stevenson Auto Group Chevrolet Camaro co-driven by John Edwards, 1:28.917, falling short in a bid to give the team its fourth pole of the season. Audi driver Filipe Albuquerque was third, followed by Patrick Lindsey in a Porsche and Alessandro Balzan in a Ferrari. 

Tom Long took his third pole of the season in the new GX class, running 1:33.156 in the No. 70 MAZDASPEED/SpeedSource Mazda 6 co-driven by Sylvain Tremblay. 

CTSCC

In Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge preparation for Friday’s Brickyard Sports Car Challenge, Jade Buford continued to dominate Grand Sport qualifying in the No. 55 Multimatic Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage. Buford made it three in a row – and five in six qualifying sessions this season – winning the pole with a lap of 1:35.630. Hugh Plumb was second in the No. 45 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3, followed by 17-high school senior Trent Hindman, making his debut in the No. 48 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3, 1:35.899. 

The CJ Wilson Racing team swept the front row in Street Tuner (ST) qualifying. Chad McCumbee took his second pole of the season with a lap of 1:40.580 in the team’s No. 3 Mazda MX-5, followed by teammate Stevan McAleer in the No. 5, 1:40.734. 

Photos: Grand-Am