Ricky Taylor improved his consecutive Daytona Prototype pole position streak to five Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and will lead the field to the start of Sunday's American Red Cross 250, the ninth round of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 season.
Taylor, in the No. 10 SunTrust Dallara-Chevrolet, lapped the 2.25-mile, 12-turn track at a time of 1:16.719 (106.974mph), slightly better thanAntonio Garcia's time of 1:16.769 (106.904mph) in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Coyote-Chevy.
"I think I can't take very much credit for it in qualifying," Taylor said. "The car does most of the work and it's been really, really quick this year."
Taylor's five-race pole streak moves him within two of the all-time record; Jon Fogarty won seven consecutive poles in 2007. Fogarty, the defending race co-winner with Alex Gurney, qualified third in the No. 99 GAINSCO Chevrolet/Riley.
In the GT class, John Edwards earned his first career Rolex Series pole, turning in a time of 1:24.673 (95.662mph) in the No. 42 Team Sahlen Mazda RX-8. It marks the second pole in three races for the No. 42; Edwards's co-driver Wayne Nonnamaker won the pole last month at Road America.
"The progress Team Sahlen has made is a multitude of things that have come together all at the right time," Edwards said. "We're shooting for more podiums and hopefully a win or two later this year."
Joining Edwards on the GT front row will be Boris Said, who turned a time of 1:24.715 (95.615mph) in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Corvette.
The two-hour, 45-minute race will begin at 1 p.m. ET Sunday