Memo Rojas grabs pole

Already running at the limit, Memo Rojas was told he needed to go a little faster in Friday's qualifying for the EMCO Gears Classic presented by KeyBank at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He responded with a track record lap in the final minute of the 15-minute session to take the pole from Ricky Taylor.

While Taylor will start Round 7 of the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 season from the second starting position, his younger brother Jordan Taylor captured his third pole of the season for the production-based GT class. The race will take the green flag at 5 p.m. ET (SPEED, live).

Rojas toured the 2.258-mile, 13-turn circuit in 1:17.523 (104.856 mph), driving the No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley. Rojas and co-driver Scott Pruett are seeking their fifth victory of 2010, and hold an 18-point lead (190-172) in the Daytona Prototype standings over Ryan Dalziel. David Donohue was the former track record holder, with a 2008 lap of 1:17.883 (104.372 mph).

"When you think you are already on the limit, pulling out an extra tenth is really tough," said Rojas, who joined Pruett in winning last year's event at Mid-Ohio.

Ricky Taylor dominated the 15-minute Daytona Prototype session, breaking the record three times in the No. 10 SunTrust Ford/Dallara before he was bumped to second in the closing moments. His best lap was 1:17.530 (104.847 mph).

"I heard them saying on my last lap, 'He's got you by seven-thousandths,' and I pushed a little too hard and made a little mistake," Taylor said of his last lap.

Burt Frisselle qualified third in the No. 61 Pacific Mobile/BioSign Ford/Riley, running a lap of 1:17.911 (104.334 mph). He will be joined on the second row by Jon Fogarty, 1:17.994 (104.223 mph) in the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet/Riley.

Brian Frisselle was fifth-fastest, running 1:18.019 (104.190 mph) in the No. 6 Pit Stop On Norris Lake Ford/Dallara. It was the team's first race in the new Dallara, which replaced the team's Riley that was destroyed in a fire at Watkins Glen.

Buddy Rice qualified sixth in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Porsche/Coyote, 1:18.878 (103.055 mph), with the 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner coming off the team's best finish, third.

Jordan Taylor won the pole in GT, running a record lap of 1:24.140 (96.610 mph) in the No. 30 3Dimensional.com/IDEMITSU Mazda RX-8, his third pole of the season. Unlike his older brother, Jordan Taylor's best lap stood up throughout the GT session.

"I knew Joey Hand was going to be very fast, and the other Mazdas are always quick, so I just tried to lay down a good lap early in the session and let everyone fight for it," Jordan Taylor said. "I was lucky to get a good lap early in the session, and I was able to stick with it."

Hand qualified second in the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW M6, 1:24.253 (96.481 mph), driving a car that was rebuilt from a practice incident that forced the team to miss the race at Watkins Glen.

Adam Christodoulou took third in qualifying with a late lap of 1:24.387 (96.328 mph) in the No. 68 MazdaSpeed Motorsports Development Mazda RX-8. He will be joined on the second row by Scott Russell, No. 07 Mobil 1 Corvette, 1:24.461 (96.243 mph).

Saturday's Rolex Series activities begin with final practice at 8:40 a.m. ET. The schedule also includes a two-hour, 30-minute Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at 1:15 p.m.

Results

Pos	No.	Class	Pic	Drivers	Team/Car	Time	Speed
1	01	DP	1	Pruett / Rojas	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates / BMW Riley	1:17.523	104.856
2	10	DP	2	Angelelli / Taylor	SunTrust Racing / Ford Dallara	1:17.530	104.847
3	61	DP	3	Frisselle / Wilkins	AIM Autosport / Ford Riley	1:17.911	104.334
4	99	DP	4	Fogarty / Gurney	GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing / Chevrolet Riley	1:17.994	104.223
5	6	DP	5	Frisselle / Valiante	Michael Shank Racing / Ford Dallara	1:18.019	104.190
6	90	DP	6	Garcia / Rice	Spirit of Daytona Racing / Porsche Coyote	1:18.878	103.055
7	77	DP	7	Gidley / von Moltke	Doran Racing / Ford Dallara	1:18.940	102.974
8	59	DP	8	Donohue / Law	Brumos Racing / Porsche Riley	1:19.204	102.631
9	8	DP	9	Dalziel / Forest	Starworks Motorsport / BMW Riley	1:19.320	102.481
10	60	DP	10	Negri / Pew	Michael Shank Racing / Ford Riley	1:19.811	101.850
11	9	DP	11	Barbosa / Borcheller / France	Action Express Racing / Porsche Riley	1:20.651	100.789
12	75	DP	12	Jonsson / Krohn	Krohn Racing / Ford Lola	1:21.014	100.338
13	7	DP	13	Lester / Philippe	Starworks Motorsport / BMW Riley	1:21.629	99.582
14	30	GT	1	Buford / Taylor	Racers Edge Motorsports / Mazda RX-8	1:24.140	96.610
15	94	GT	2	Auberlen / Hand	Turner Motorsport / BMW M6	1:24.253	96.480
16	68	GT	3	Christodoulou / Edwards	SpeedSource / Mazda RX-8	1:24.387	96.327
17	07	GT	4	Edwards / Russell	Banner Racing / Corvette	1:24.461	96.243
18	31	GT	5	Curran / Wilden	Marsh Racing / Corvette	1:24.527	96.168
19	41	GT	6	Gue / Keen	Dempsey Racing / Mazda RX-8	1:24.680	95.994
20	40	GT	7	Espenlaub / Foster	Dempsey Racing / Mazda RX-8	1:24.702	95.969
21	70	GT	8	Bomarito / Tremblay	SpeedSource / Mazda RX-8	1:24.732	95.935
22	57	GT	9	Davis / Liddell	Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GT.R	1:24.741	95.925
23	28	GT	10	Collins / Gigliotti / Lux	LG Motorsports / Corvette	1:24.803	95.855
24	69	GT	11	Assentato / Segal	SpeedSource / Mazda RX-8	1:24.861	95.789
25	97	GT	12	Bremer / Schaldach	Stevenson Motorsports / Camaro GT.R	1:24.934	95.707
26	43	GT	13	Lally / Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	1:26.325	94.165
27	44	GT	14	Potter / Stanton	Magnus Racing / Porsche GT3	1:26.362	94.124
28	42	GT	15	Lally / Nonnamaker / Nonnamaker / Sahlen	Team Sahlen / Mazda RX-8	1:26.996	93.438

* - Withdrew