---Antonio Garcia was clearly a man on a mission Friday at Barber Motorsports Park. After missing out on the pole in last year’s Porsche 250 by a fraction of a second, the Spaniard had something to prove this time around.
Garcia didn’t fail to disappoint, having pounded around the twisty 2.3-mile circuit to claim the top spot for Sunday’s three-hour race. Turning a 1:21.682 lap time, it marked Spirit of Daytona’ first pole position in Daytona Prototype competition, not to mention its ever-improving Coyote-Chevrolet package.
“Last year we missed pole position by a thousandth of a second and a hundredth another time. So it’s good to be up in front and good for the team,” said Garcia, who will share the wheel with fellow GM factory driver Paul Edwards. "For the Coyote to be on the pole for the first time, and the Chevy engine as well, to put everything together is always good. This program has been developing for over a year now. And now we’re in a position to take the profits of this hard work”
GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing will line up alongside Garcia and Edwards in second, making it an all-Chevy ront row. Two-time Daytona Prototype champion Jon Fogarty was unable to improve on his 1:22.178 lap time that was laid down on his first flyer. With tires at a premium this weekend - most DP teams being allowed only five sets for practice, qualifying and race - Fogarty turned only two laps in qualifying. It leaves he and co-driver Alex Gurney with three fresh sets of Continentals, plus the qualifying set, for tomorrow’s race.
“Luckily that lap was good enough to hang onto the front row,” Fogarty said. “I don’t know if we had anything for the 90 car. We would have really had to take a lot of risks and abuse the tires in trying to catch them. We ran the fewest laps of everybody, so that’s a good thing.”
The No. 10 SunTrust Racing Dallara-Chevrolet of Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli will roll off third, thanks to Taylor’s 1:22.193 lap time. While the 21-year-old was unable to secure back-to-back Barber poles, he, like Fogarty, are thinking of the big picture. “I think we had a car that could’ve been on the pole or second – definitely second, but maybe even pole,” Taylor said. “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.”
Defending Rolex Sports Car Series champion Memo Rojas qualified his No. 01 Telmex Chip Ganassi Racing Riley-BMW in fourth, with the No. 77 Doran Racing Dallara-Ford of Brian Frisselle rounding out the top-five.
Qualifying marked a number of firsts not only in Daytona Prototype but also GT, as Dane Cameron took his Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8 to the class pole. It was the first pole for the 22-year-old Californian and the Georgia-based Dempsey squad.
“I wasn’t that confident we could be on the pole, but this morning we were second,” Cameron said. “The tires are so sensitive, especially around Barber. As hard as it is on tires, I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew we had two laps to do it, so I tried to stagger myself to get two clear laps and went absolutely maximum. It ended up being enough.”
Cameron’s 1:31.106 lap edged out Friday morning’s pace-setting Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R of Robin Liddell by 0.254 seconds. After scoring the LMPC class pole and win in the Twelve Hours of Sebring last month, the 2011 season is certainly off to a strong start for the rising sportscar star.
“It’s very pleasing for me, for 12 or 13 years worth of work up until this point and I still feel like I’m getting better,” Cameron said. “I’m only 22, so I’m still learning. Being around Dempsey Racing and around guys that have a lot more experience than I have is a good learning tool. And I’m soaking up every minute of it.”
The No. 07 Banner Racing machine Gunter Schaldach posted the third-quickest time in GT, making it two Camaro GT.Rs inside the top-three. Wayne Nonnamaker in the No. 42 Team Sahlen’s Mazda and the Andrew Davis-driven Brumos Porsche rounded out the top-five.
