Daytona 24: Synergy Racing Thursday report

Frisselle qualifies Rx.com Daytona Prototype 13th for Rolex 24 At Daytona in heavy traffic

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 26, 2006) -- Synergy Racing driver Burt Frisselle, of Kihei, Hawaii, overcame heavy traffic to qualify the No. 8 Rx.com Porsche Doran Daytona Prototype 13th for the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Frisselle had to contend with 28 other Daytona Prototype entries on the 3.56-mile circuit during the 15-minute qualifying session.

"I'm a little disappointed with qualifying 13th," admitted Frisselle. "I felt like we had a top-10 car, but with that many cars on the track you get a lot of traffic. Trying to find a hole was really hard to do today. But we're starting in the top half of the field, we're around a bunch of good drivers, and I think we have a good car for the 24-hour race. And if there ever is a race where it doesn't matter where you start, this is the one."

Qualifying times were extremely tight among the Daytona Prototypes, with 13 entries qualifying within one second of the polesitting and record-setting Porsche Crawford of Lucas Luhr. Frisselle's 1:44.996 lap at 122.062 mph was more than a half second quicker than the prior track record and was one of five Daytona Prototypes that qualified within one tenth of a second of each other.

Frisselle will share the Rx.com Daytona Prototype with his younger brother Brian Frisselle, of Kihei, Hawaii, and Dutchman Patrick Huisman, with Clint Field, of Columbus, Ohio, serving as back-up driver for the trio during the 24-hour race.

"The car is really good. There are a few small adjustments we'd like to make, and we've got a good long practice session tonight and some tomorrow. So if we can get the car dialed in then I think we'll be one of the tougher ones to beat," Frisselle said.

Murry qualifies SHOES FOR CREWS® Porsche 11th in GT David Murry, of Cumming, Ga., was able to qualify the No. 80 SHOES FOR CREWS® Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 11th in the GT class despite a shortened qualifying session due to a black flag on the first lap. Murry turned a 1:54.964 lap at 111.478 mph in the Porsche he will share in the Rolex 24 with Leh Keen, of Dublin, Ga., and Craig Stanton, of Long Beach, Calif., with Frenchman Xavier Pomeidou serving as back-up driver.

"We had a black flag and had to come back in early, so when we went back out we had some oversteer issues because the tires weren't up to temperature yet," Murry said. "I had to back it down and drive off the rear tires the second and final lap. But, I think everyone else was in the same boat unless they got an extra lap.

"We're looking forward to the race. Every time I come here, I try not to get wrapped up in qualifying. You can start anywhere in the field, including dead last, and you're going to finish in the same spot. So, we've got to get a car that's very comfortable to drive, easy to drive for the race, and we can run 24 hours and stay out of the pits," Murry continued.

Because only the top-30 entries were locked in during Thursday's qualifying session, only the polesitting entry of Tafel Racing was able to secure its starting position in the GT class. The Synergy Racing entries will get a second chance to top Thursday's times during the second round of qualifying on Friday at 11:40 a.m. The best time recorded in the two qualifying sessions will determine the starting position for the remainder of the field.

David Gaylord, of Graham, Wash., had the second quickest GT qualifying time for Synergy Racing in the Team Seattle No. 87 Strobe Data/Kid's Country Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with his 1:57.681 lap at 108.905 mph.

"The car felt pretty good, especially with new tires on it," remarked Gaylord, who will team with Will Diefenbach, of Kirkland, Wash., and twin brothers Wes and Ken Hill, of Snohomish and Bellevue, Wash., during the Rolex 24. "When we were here for the test, we were mainly using old tires, but with sticker tires all the way around, it really turns in more like the Formula car I'm used to driving. So, it was quite fun to drive."

The other Team Seattle entry was piloted by founder Don Kitch Jr., of Bellevue, Wash., during qualifying. Kitch put together a 2:01.861 lap at 105.169 mph in the No. 86 Microsoft/Who's Calling Porsche 911 GT3 Cup he shares with Chris Pennington, of Redmond, Wash., Don Gagne, of Redmond, Wash., and Chris Pallis, of Mercer Island, Wash.

"We've got a great car. You could tell after only one or two laps," Kitch said. "I just needed a few more laps. Right as it really started coming around the checkered came out. The good news is the car is great--not an evil bone in its body. We needed to go faster and in one or two more laps we would have done it."

John Pew, of North Palm Beach, Fla., clocked a 2:00.887 lap at 106.016 mph during first-round qualifying in the No. 81 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup he shares with Hal Prewitt, of South Miami Beach, Fla., Ben McCrackin, of Corpus Christi, Texas, and brothers Steve and Danny Marshall, of Blacksburg and Danville, Va.

"The car felt fantastic, but unfortunately somebody put it in the wall on the first lap and we got black flagged, so we only got a few laps," said Pew. "We're ready for tomorrow's second round of qualifying. This was really a practice session for tomorrow. The car feels good and we're ready to go tomorrow."

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