Contact Laz Denes with True Speed Communication
(704) 875-3388 ext. 806 or Laz.Denes@TrueSpeedCommunication.com
www.TrueSpeedCommunication.com
Online Media Kit Available at www.TrueSpeedMedia.com

Date: April 8, 2011
Event: Porsche 250 (Round 3 of 12)
Series: Daytona Prototype division of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series
Location: Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala. (2.3-mile, 17-turn road course)
Pole Winner: Antonio Garcia of Spirit of Daytona Racing (1:21.682 at 101.368 mph)
SunTrust Racing: Third by Ricky Taylor (1:22.193 at 100.738 mph)

The No. 10 SunTrust Chevrolet Dallara of Wayne Taylor Racing will start Saturday’s GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Porsche 250 from the inside of the second row after qualifying Friday morning at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala.

Ricky Taylor, co-driver of the SunTrust Racing machine with veteran Italian Max Angelelli for the second full season, turned a fast lap of 1 minute, 22.193 mph (100.738 mph) around the 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural road circuit just east of Birmingham. It placed Taylor third on the starting grid among 27 car-and-driver combinations entered for Saturday’s 2-hour, 45-minute race. Despite the solid starting position, Taylor, who earned his first career Rolex Series pole here last year, was somewhat disappointed after today’s 15-minute qualifying session.

“It wasn’t anything to do with the car,” said the 21-year-old Taylor, who is a mechanical engineering major at the University of Central Florida. “It’s just that I didn’t put two laps together well enough and just made too many mistakes. I think we had a car that could’ve been on the pole or second – definitely second, but maybe even pole. I just think I didn’t get everything from it. It’s just a matter of saving your tires for the race. Speed isn’t going to mean as much as it should. Having more tires for the race than everyone else is going to make the difference tomorrow. It’s hard to tell just how good the car is because the balance changed so much from old to new tires. On new tires, like I had for qualifying, the car feels really good, but it was a 180-degree turnaround from when I got out of the car after this morning’s practice, which was on old tires. The one really good thing for tomorrow is that I’m on the inside at the start.”

Antonio Garcia, driving the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Chevrolet Coyote, earned his first career Rolex Series pole today with a lap of 1:21.682 (101.368 mph), a full two seconds slower than Taylor’s track-record lap of 1:19.624 (103.988 mph) set here last year.

“Ricky’s not happy because he thought he could’ve gone quicker, but he’s in a good position on the inside of the second row,” said team owner Wayne Taylor, who co-drove to the 2005 Porsche 250 with Angelelli en route to that year’s Rolex Series championship for SunTrust. “That’s better than starting P2, here. If you can’t get the pole, this is the place to be. I think the guys did the best with what they had. They did a good job, and Ricky did a good job with the tools he had. We only got two good laps (out of the tires) during the qualifying session. All things considered, it was a pretty solid result. When you get down to it, the only thing that matters is where we’ll be after the checkered flag falls tomorrow.”

The top-five in qualifying were the following teams:

1. Spirit of Daytona Racing (No. 90 Chevrolet Coyote) with Paul Edwards and Antonio Garcia (1:21.682 at 101.368 mph)

2. Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing (No. 99 Chevrolet Riley) with Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney (1:22.178 at 100.756 mph)

3. SunTrust Racing (No. 10 Chevrolet Dallara) with Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli (1:22.293 at 100.738 mph)

4. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (No. 01 BMW Riley) with Memo Rojas and Scott Pruett (1:22.374 at 100.517 mph)

5. Doran Racing (No. 77 Ford Dallara) with Brian Frisselle and Henri Richard (1:22.741 at 100.071 mph)

Race time Saturday is 4 p.m. EDT with next-day-delayed television provided by SPEED beginning at noon EDT Sunday. Live radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM 127, Sports Play-by-Play 3, beginning at 3:45 p.m. Saturday. Live timing and scoring during all on-track sessions can be found at www.grand-am.com, and now on mobile devices at m.grand-am.com.

- SunTrust: The Official Bank of Motorsports –

SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the nation's largest banking organizations, serving a broad range of consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. As of December 31, 2010, SunTrust had total assets of $172.9 billion and total deposits of $123.0 billion. The Company operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout the high-growth Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and a full array of technology-based, 24-hour delivery channels. The Company also serves clients in selected markets nationally. Its primary businesses include deposit, credit, trust and investment services. Through various subsidiaries the Company provides mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage, investment management, equipment leasing and investment banking services. SunTrust's Internet address is suntrust.com.