4-28-2007 - Colin on pole at VIR

ALTON, Va. (April 28, 2007) -- With a best lap at 1:45.003 (112.111 mph), 18-year-old phenom Colin Braun earned his third career Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve and will start from the inside of the front row for Sunday's VIR 400 at Virginia International Raceway (SPEED, Live, 1:00 p.m. ET).

En route to the pole position, Braun established a new Daytona Prototype lap record at the 3-27-mile circuit, breaking the previous record of 1:45.447 (111.639 mph) that his current co-driver, Max Papis, which he established in 2004 when he shared the Daytona Prototype championship with Scott Pruett. Braun owns two career Rolex Series race victories, but he and Papis enter the VIR 400 still looking for their first win after a best result of second in Mexico City last month. Braun also started from the pole at that event.

"We didn't have that great of a setup when we started, and even this morning, but my engineer and Max turned this car into something that works really well," Braun said. "We worked at it hard, and I've got to give those guys thanks for giving me a great car. Right now, I think the car is really good, and that Pontiac engine is really strong too. As for our changes tomorrow, it's going to be really tough here because the tires seem to fall off pretty quickly. It's going to be hard to keep the tires underneath us for a long length of time, so you need to keep an eye out on those and pay attention to what you have until the end."