Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian Ready for Rolex 24 at Daytona
The team won the race in 2012 and has finished on the podium four times since making its first start in the event in 2004. The 2014 driver line up is a familiar one, as full season pilots John Pew and Ozz Negri are joined by Justin Wilson and AJ Allmendinger. The lineup is the same as that which won in 2012.
The 2014 Rolex 24 is Michael Shank Racing’s 10th straight campaign in the event and the team will once again utilize Ford power. 2014 sees the Blue Oval put innovation on the track as a new EcoBoost motor will power the team. Michael Shank Racing already has written history with the powerplant, setting several records with EcoBoost power at Daytona International Speedway late last year.
“It is hard to believe that this is our 10th Rolex 24, and it is certainly going to be the biggest one yet," said team owner Mike Shank. “This sport is ready to put on a great show for a huge audience and we are very excited for what is next with the United SportsCar Championship. There are so many unknowns with the new rules and all the new classes, it is little bit like the first time for us. But we’ve been preparing non-stop and are ready to put all of our preparation to work this weekend. We’ve got some incredible support from our commercial partners and this is the same driver line up that we won the race with so everyone is just chomping at the bit to get down there and get going."
Following the first official visit to IMSA technical inspection at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian will open the weekend on Thursday with practice starting at 9:30 AM (full schedule below).
Daytona Highlights—Ford Racing and Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian:
-Rolex 24 at Daytona Pole and front row in 2008. First year with Ford power as Ozz Negri sets new Daytona Prototype Track Record
-Rolex 24 At Daytona victory with Ford power—50th Anniversary Rolex 24 in 2012
-Daytona International Speedway new track record (222.9 mph) and new FIA 10k and 10 mile records, October, 2013 (video recap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgKsTuiudyU&list=UU87j_-SIjbzUqlY8tuKlZyQ)
-Rolex 24 at Daytona video preview from Ford Racing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nY-LCwp5f8&list=UU87j_-SIjbzUqlY8tuKlZyQ&feature=c4-overview
Rolex 24 At Daytona Broadcast Information:
Television:
Fox 2:00 PM-4:00 PM ET
Fox Sports 2 4:00 PM-9:00 PM ET
IMSA.com 9:00 PM-7:00 AM ET
Fox Sports 1 7:00 AM-3:00 PM ET
Radio:
MRN Radio www.mrn.com
Also note: In partnership with Roberts Service Group, Michael Shank will team with Matt Finkes and 95.5 The Game for a radio show from Daytona International Speedway. You can listen live at http://player.tritondigital.com/12171 (http://www.955thegameonline.com/)
Roberts Service Group/The Game at Daytona Broadcast Schedule:
Friday, January 24 9:00 AM- 12:00 PM
Saturday, January 25 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM
Team Store:
Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian fans and supporters can wear their allegiance with pride as the team has unveiled a new line of merchandise ahead of the 2014 season:
http://www.michaelshankracing.com/store
Get Social: Make sure to follow the race via updates from team members and with the #msr24 tag
www.twitter.com/michaelshankrac Mike Shank
www.twitter.com/johnpew1 John Pew
www.twitter.com/ozznegri Ozz Negri
www.twitter.com/justin_wilson Justin Wilson
www.twitter.com/ajdinger AJ Allmendinger
www.twitter.com/sundaygroup Sunday Group (Team PR)
Michael Shank Racing Driver comments ahead of 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona:
John Pew: "It was good to be back in the racecar with this Ford EcoBoost twin turbo at the Roar. The car was awesome, we are very close to where we need to be. We quit a little early to do a little extra work, but all four drivers feel good about the car. I can't wait to come back for the 24."
"It is nice going into a race with familiar people, a familiar team and teammates. We all gel really well so there are none of the problems that some other teams may experience, so that is nice. We are always hoping for a win, but this is going to be a tough one. It's going to be a long 24 hours. There are lot of different classes this year and a lot of new drivers, so it is definitely going to be interesting. It's going to be about reliability and lasting for 24 hours."
Ozz Negri: “It's always great to be back at Daytona and to be back with the team. We have incredible potential. We are working on a few items that need to be addressed and I'm really looking forward to coming back here for the race."
"We are all such good friends on this team so that is a great part of this, it makes it fun. It's fun being around these guys. We have been together for so long and it's just like Thanksgiving day when everybody gets reunited. Just like AJ (Allmendinger) said, we don't get to see each other much during the year, but it's not quantity time it is quality time."
Justin Wilson: "It's great to get back in the car, this was the first time in about four months I think, so that is always good. The car feels good. I love the sound and the feel of the new Ford EcoBoost engine, it's a lot of fun to drive. I'm just looking forward to the race now. We will get a few more miles in and we have a lot of work to do but everyone is working hard and it is fun to be a part of this group and be back here and hopefully we have a shot at getting another Rolex."
"We are just trying to take it one step at a time, not looking too far ahead. We don't have any preconceived ideas about the race and we are just taking it one step at a time. I would love for us to win it again but we have to make sure we do all of the right things and give ourselves a chance."
AJ Allmendinger: "I love me some Shank, so it is always good to come back here. To be able to hang out with all of the guys, with Ozz and Justin and John and everyone else, it's just a fun group so it makes coming to the racetrack fun even when you are having difficulties. I think the positives are that when we are running it is really fast and we will have the speed to go out there to compete."
"I think this race is going to be one of the toughest ever, with four classes and around 70 cars. I think more than ever we are really going to have to be accurate and really cautiously aggressive because there are a lot of unknowns and it's so easy to get caught up in something. We all have to be very smart about not making any mistakes. But I am looking forward to it."
Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian Rolex 24 At Daytona Statistics
2004 No. 6 Lexus-Doran Started: 7 Finished: 4 Led:1 509/526 Laps
2005 No. 6 Pontiac-Riley Started: 12 Finished: 22 Led: 0 399/710 Laps
2006 No. 6 Lexus-Riley Started: 12 Finished: 27 Led: 33 168/734 Laps
2006 No. 60 Lexus-Riley Started: 5 Finished: 2 Led: 47 733/734 Laps
2007 No. 6 Lexus-Riley Started: 10 Finished: 16 Led: 29 595/668 Laps
2007 No. 60 Lexus-Riley Started: 22 Finished: 9 Led: 0 628/668 Laps
2008 No. 6 Ford-Riley Started: 2 Finished: 9 Led: 119 652/695 Laps
2008 No. 60 Ford-Riley Started: 1 Finished: 6 Led: 15 680/695 Laps
2009 No. 6 Ford-Riley Started: 17 Finished: 19 Led: 15 153/735 Laps
2009 No. 60 Ford-Riley Started: 10 Finished: 16 Led: 0 262/735 Laps
2010 No. 6 Ford-Riley Started: 3 Finished: 7 Led: 43 707/755 Laps
2010 No. 60 Ford-Riley Started: 2 Finished: 5 Led: 4 726/755 Laps
2011 No. 6 Ford-Dallara Started: 8 Finished: 7 Led: 32 719.721 Laps
2011 No. 60 Ford-Riley Started: 11 Finished: 10 Led: 7 706/721 Laps
2011 No. 23 Ford-Riley Started: 9 Finished: 4 Led: 3 721/721 Laps
2012 No. 60 Ford-Riley Started: 6 Finished: 1 Led: 249 761/761 Laps
2012 No. 6 Ford-Riley Started: 8 Finished: 3 Led: 1 761/761 Laps
2013 No. 60 Ford-Riley Started: 6 Finished: 3 Led: 10 709/709 Laps
2013 No. 6 Ford-Riley Started: 4 Finished: 13 Led: 1 508/709 Laps
2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona Weekend schedule:
23 January
Practice 1 – TUDOR Championship 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM ET
Practice 2 – TUDOR Championship 1:15 PM – 1:45 PM ET
Qualifying – TUDOR Championship (P) 4:50 PM – 5:05 PM ET
Practice 3 – TUDOR Championship 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM ET
24 January
Practice 4 – TUDOR Championship 11:30 AM-12:30 PM
25 January
Autographs – TUDOR Championship 11:45 AM – 12:30 PM ET
Fan Walk – TUDOR Championship 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
Start – The 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona 2:10 PM ET (24 hours)
26 January
Finish – The 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona 2:10 PM ET
Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian 2014 Team partners:
Ford Racing www.fordracing.com
Curb Records www.curbrecords.com
AEROTM Advanced Paint Technologies www.rethinkpaint.com
CRC Industries www.crcindustries.com
AAG (Architectural Artistry in Grills and Metal) http://www.aagrilles.com/
Roberts Service Group http://www.robertsservicegroup.com/
Rocky Fork http://rockyfork.com/
Cap and Associates www.cap-associates.com
Ford Racing Information:
• Ford this year is bringing its fuel-saving EcoBoost technology to the race track in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series.
• Ford’s EcoBoost engine down-sizing technology uses direct-injection, turbocharging, variable valve timing and proprietary software tuning to provide the fuel-efficiency of a smaller engine with the power of a larger engine, giving consumers the fuel-economy they need and the power they want.
• The EcoBoost engine blocks that’ll power Chip Ganassi Racing and Michael Shank Racing come right off the assembly lines and are the same ones found in the Taurus SHO.
• Seventy percent of the DP 3.5-liter V-6 EcoBoost engine is stock production pieces.
• Ford’s two millionth EcoBoost engine came off the line in September of 2013.
• Ford’s fuel-saving EcoBoost technology is now available in over 90 percent of the 2014 Ford product line-up, and includes 1.0-liter (Fiesta), 1.5-liter (Fusion), 1.6-liter (Fiesta, Fusion, Escape), 2.0-liter (Focus, Fusion, Escape, Taurus, Explorer), and 3.5-liter (Taurus, Explorer, F-150) versions. Ford has also announced a new 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine, which will be available on the all-new 2015 Mustang, as well as another all-new EcoBoost powerplant to be launched in 2014.