Ricky Taylor Snares Pole Position
The race takes the green flag at 11 a.m. Flag-to-flag SPEED coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET.
Taylor put the No. 10 SunTrust Ford/Dallara atop the scoring charts early in the 15-minute session, and bettered his speed three times to hold off defending Daytona Prototype champion Jon Fogarty in the No. 99 GAINSCO Chevrolet/Riley. Taylor is in his first year co-driving with Max Angelelli, defending winner of the Brumos Porsche 250.
But that was not enough for team strategist Simon Hodgson, who told the 20-year-old student at the University of Central Florida that he needed to go faster.
"As always, the car was capable of winning the pole, and it was a matter of putting all of the corners together," said Taylor, who recorded his second pole of the season. "When you run with a team like SunTrust, it's easy to look good. I think I could have gone even faster if I had another lap, but I ran out of fuel."
"Ricky was fantastic, and he continues to exceed my expectations," said Angelelli, who co-drove with Brian Frisselle in last year's victory. Angelelli also won this event in 2004, co-driving with car owner Wayne Taylor, father of the pole winner. "I am looking forward to tomorrow night – and the future."
Fogarty was second fastest with a lap of 1:42.454 (125.090 mph). Starting on the second row will be Darren Law, 1:42.904 (124.543 mph) in the No. 59 Brumos Porsche/Riley, and points leader Memo Rojas in the No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley shared with Scott Pruett, 1:43.377 (123.973 mph). Rojas and Pruett have won five of seven races this year, including the last two.
Ironically, while Taylor secured the pole on his final lap, his younger brother Jordan Taylor was bumped off the top slot in GT qualifying on the final lap by Sylvain Tremblay. Tremblay ran a lap of 1:50.495 (115.987 mph) in the No. 70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 he drove to victory in the 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona with co-driver Jonathan Bomarito.
Tremblay, second in GT points, is a two-time GT winner of the Brumos Porsche 250. Tremblay also won the Rolex 24 twice – all in the No. 70 Mazda RX-8. The No. 70 he drove Friday is the same car that was involved in an accident two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; the team replaced the entire front end of the car.
"I was gradually getting quicker on every lap," Tremblay said. "As the track got better, I played with my line and adjusted the bars – and that got the car better at the end. Jordan was quick – but he always qualifies fantastically."
It will be the seventh front-row start of 2010 for Jordan Taylor, who ran a lap of 1:50.514 (115.967 mph) in the No. 30 Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8 he shares with Todd Lamb. Taylor leads the class with three poles.
Starting on the second row will be Adam Christodoulou, 1:51.326 (115.121 mph) in the No. 68 Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development Mazda RX-8 co-driven by John Edwards; and James Gue, 1:51.835 (114.597 mph) in the No. 41 Global Diving & Salvage Mazda RX-8 he shares with defending GT race winner Leh Keen.
Saturday's schedule opens with a 9:45 a.m. ET with a 20-minute practice session. The two-and-a-half hour Brumos Porsche 250 begins at 11 a.m. ET.