Defending Montreal 200 winners Max Angelelli and Brian Frisselle return to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve driving different cars with different co-drivers, but both look to score a Daytona Prototype hat trick at the home of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Angelelli and Frisselle won the 2009 event with SunTrust Racing. Angelelli returns in that car, joined by Ricky Taylor; the pair are third in the DP points standings with one win. Angelelli also won the race in 2007 with Jan Magnussen.
The team's gamble to stay out on rain tires paid off last year. In an event that featured inclement weather at times, it became a guessing game as to race on slicks or rain tires. Midway through the race, several teams switched to slicks on a rapidly drying track, but were forced back in when the skies opened. The end result: a minute-plus victory.
Frisselle and Vancouver, B.C., driver Michael Valiante have endured an up-and-down 2010, but Montreal could change that. Frisselle has won back-to-back Montreal races, including 2008, when co-driver Mark Wilkins came from fourth to first on the final lap to give himself, Frisselle and Canadian-based AIM Autosport, a first-time victory. In fact, the 0.064sec margin of victory over Antonio Garcia was the closest in Rolex Series history.
Meanwhile, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas could wrap up their second championship in three seasons at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and add several milestones as well. To clinch the title, the pair need only to leave the Canadian facility with a 35-point advantage. They lead Ryan Dalziel by 26 points (302-276) and Angelelli and Taylor by 30 (302-272).
An eighth victory this weekend would break a record they tied earlier this month at Watkins Glen. Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty in 2007 won seven races en route to the DP title. Among Pruett and Rojas' seven wins were a pair of three-race winning streaks, also tying a series record.
Pruett and Rojas can match another milestone with their 10th podium of the season. Angelelli and Wayne Taylor accomplished that in 2005, en route to the DP title.
The Ganassi team has led nine races, with Pruett pacing nine races for 486 laps and Rojas eight races for 139 circuits. The No. 01 has led 687 of the 1,846 laps completed this season. The lone blemish on the team's record was a last-place finish, 13th, at Lime Rock Park on Memorial Day, when Rojas was involved in an incident in the first turn on the opening lap.