The No. 10 SunTrust Dallara prototype of Wayne Taylor Racing is switching back to General Motors engines for 2011. Drivers Max Angelelli and Ricky Taylor will be powered by Chevrolet engines for the 2011 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season, the team announced today.
 
Pontiac V8s powered the SunTrust squad through the first five seasons of its Rolex Series existence, which included 12 race victories, 34 podium finishes, 44 top-fives, 56 top-10s and 10 pole positions, highlighted by the Rolex Series championship for Angelelli and co-driver Wayne Taylor in 2005.
 
“Having been with GM through most all of my racing career in North America, I am extremely happy to be back with GM,” said Wayne Taylor, whose SunTrust Racing effort concluded a two-year run with Roush Yates Ford engines last month with a second-place finish in the 2010 Rolex Series title chase. “Clearly, there is a lot of motivation to get SunTrust and GM back on top in the championship, so there is a tremendous amount of excitement already building for the 2011 season on all fronts. I can't wait for it to get here.”
 
The 2011 season kicks off with the traditional Rolex 24 At Daytona twice-around-the-clock endurance classic Jan. 29-30 at Daytona International Speedway. Angelelli and Wayne Taylor dominated that event in 2005 en route to that year's series championship, scoring their first of five wins together that season to go with 10 podium finishes in 14 events and lead-lap finishes at every single race.
 
Angelelli and the 21-year-old Ricky Taylor will be back in the SunTrust Racing prototype in 2011 for their second consecutive season together. In 2010, the duo recorded a Memorial Day victory at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn., to go with seven podium finishes, 11 top 10s and three pole positions.
 
“We are thrilled that SunTrust and Wayne Taylor Racing have chosen to race with Chevrolet engines next year,” said Mark Kent, Director, GM Racing. “We look forward to being reunited with this championship-winning team.”
 
“This just seems to be the beginning of a great technical partnership with us,” added Richie Gilmore, Chief Operating Officer, Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines, the Lexington, N.C.-based manufacturer of the No. 10 SunTrust Chevrolet Dallara engine. “SunTrust and Wayne Taylor Racing are all about trying to win championships, which is in our DNA. The combination of ECR Engines and Wayne Taylor Racing is something we're really looking forward to getting off the ground in 2011.”
 
Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines was formed in 2007 as a joint venture between Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and Richard Childress Racing. The company produces engines for Chevrolet-powered competitors in NASCAR's Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series, in addition to the Rolex Series and the SCCA Trans-Am Series.
 
The SunTrust team will first take to the track for the 2011 season at the Roar Before the 24 Test Days at Daytona Jan. 7-9. Additional co-drivers for the SunTrust Racing effort at the Rolex 24 will be announced.