LEAVING NOTHING TO CHANCE; Ganassi Racing dominates Grand-Am.(News)

Byline: TRAVIS BRAUN

Scott Pruett saw his bid for a second Daytona Prototype championship crumble in the final minutes of the 2007 Grand-Am Rolex Series season finale, when a penalty for on-track contact at Miller Motorsports Park dropped Pruett and co-driver Memo Rojas to a ninth-place finish, one position and two points shy of the title.

It was the third consecutive runner-up finish for Pruett and Chip Ganassi Rac-ing in the drivers' championship. But while Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing celebrated its new Grand-Am crown, Pruett, Rojas and team owner Chip Ganassi thought about redemption.

"We sort of thought we had 2007 taken away from us by some calls [by officials] we thought were wrong, Ganassi said. "The best thing you can do in that situation is put it behind you, and that's kind of what I remember saying to everybody.

The bitter end to 2007 inspired a storybook season this year for Pruett and Rojas. They won six racesincluding the season-opening 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway, alongside Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Fran-chitti. By season's end, they had crushed Gainsco/ Bob Stallings by 20 points. The duo left nothing to chance for this year's season finale, earning the championship simply by starting the race.

"Chip asked to put [2007] behind us and to focus 100 percent on what we need to do to win the championship in 2008, Rojas said. "It gave us enough strength and motivation to not let it happen again.

Ganassi's leadership translated into a year of records. He became the first team owner to win the 24 Hours of Daytona in three consecutive years, and the championship was his third Prototype title. Pruett scored the first repeat Prototype championship to go with the 2004 title he earned alongside Max Papis. Mean-while, Rojas became Grand-Am's first Mexican champion.