Starworks Motorsport on the Pole for Daytona!

January 26, 2012

One blistering lap. That's all it took for Ryan Dalziel to vault Starworks Motorsport from underdog to front-runner Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. (courtesy of www.Grand-Am.com)

In spite of a morning motor failure that wiped out an entire practice session, Dalziel deftly drove his No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley to capture the pole for the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona with a lap of 1:41.119 (126.741 mph).

"Maybe sometimes the underdogs aren't supposed to beat the powerhouse teams," said Dalziel, who dueled SunTrust Racing's Max Angelelli for the pole in a furious 15-minute qualifying session on the 3.56-mile road course. "But what has happened at Starworks the past four or five months is that we've tried to create a powerhouse team, hired the right people and put together an unbelievable car. I think the No. 8 car is not only going to be a contender this weekend, but a contender the entire year."

That message was delivered just three minutes into qualifying, as Dalziel bested the provisional pole time of Angelelli's Corvette. Angelelli regained the top spot until six minutes remained, when Dalziel turned in his pole-winning time (for more go to www.Grand-Am.com)