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Rolex "8 hours" of Daytona for Colin
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Daytona Beach, FL -After closing out the 2008 Rolex Sports Car Series season with wins from both team Daytona Prototypes, Michael Shank Racing had good reason for high expectations for a strong result in the 47th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Boasting the same technical Ford-Riley package that powered the team to victory lane last season, as well as a stellar driving line up for both the No. 6 and No. 60 machines, the aim was clear for the season-opening enduro at Daytona—to return to the Rolex 24 podium once again.

But after getting off to a strong start, that ambition will have to be postponed one year as both team machines were unable to finish the race after being sidelined by a outside supplier, crank trigger wheel failure in the engine. Even for a team that has demonstrated remarkable comebacks in previous examples of the grueling endurance test, the setback proved to be too much to overcome as both team entries were retired.

Deepening the disappointment was the fact that the early race performance confirmed the team’s high hopes for the event. The No. 60 Westfield Insurance entry was still running on the lead lap in fourth position as the race neared the nine-hour mark. Colin Braun had a good stint in the car from 7:30 to 9:00 when he set the car's fastest lap to that time. Running in the top 5 for most of his stint, he was getting exceptional fuel mileage and saving the car for a charge later in the 24 hour race.

Colin Braun

"We were just making laps and trying to position the Westfield-Insurance Ford for a good strong run in the last 6 hours of the race. My stint went well and I was just about to get in for a triple stint (over 3 hours of driving) when the car stopped on track. Ryan said it had no power. The team car had the same problem an hour earlier. As it turned out all but one Ford had the same problem. I was told it was a sensor wheel that was supplied to Roush Yates Engines by an outside source that failed. That is a shame as the Ford engine was so powerful and is normally just as reliable. I know John Maddox and his guys at Roush Yates will figure it out. My NASCAR truck engines are built by them and there are is no one better or more dedicated."

"All the Mike Shank Racing guys worked so hard and had a great prepared car. All the drivers did a near perfect job and we were all set for a good result. This kind of thing is what makes endurance Sports Car racing so difficult and such a emotional type of race."

Mike Shank - Team Owner

“This is a huge disappointment for us because we’ve never had any kind of problem like this before, and to have both team cars get knocked out while running so strong is just a punch in the gut." “If we weren’t going to win this race, we wanted at least to start off right in the championship with some good points so unfortunately that’s not the way it played out tonight.”

Colin will be back behind the wheel of the #6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150 at Daytona for the NextEra Energy Sources 250, Feb 15th