Pruett, Auberlen Lead Opening Rolex Practice
"It's a great way to be kicking off the season," said Pruett, who led DP with a lap of 1:41.043 in the No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW/Riley. "Last year certainly was an incredible season. This is our Super Bowl. A lot of energy goes into it – not only from the teams, but the officials and everyone involved. It's monumental."
The second Ganassi car – the No. 02 Target/TELMEX entry – was second in the opening session, with Juan-Pablo Montoya setting the lap of record while Scott Dixon also drove.
"We had a few questions coming into the test, and so far, so good," Pruett said. "The track is really improved with the paving job. It's wonderful to drive. It's well worth the huge effort that everyone put into it – a tremendous job. And the Continental tires came up to temperature real well, and the consistency and predictability were there as well. Memo, Joey (Hand) all ran competitively, so that also bodes well. Now we'll continue to fine tune the car."
Said shared time in the Turner BMW with Auberlen.
"Right out of the box the car was really good," the veteran said. "The team rebodied the car, and did a lot of work to it as well. It's bigger inside – great for the taller drivers! – and they've worked on the heat issue.
"The weather here is perfect, and the paving is awesome," Said added. "It's going to be an awesome Cup race. I'm working on getting a ride for the Daytona 500 – but it doesn't look good – but I might have a ride in the Nationwide Series race."