Last weekend at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty entered the Rolex Series season finale with a one-point lead over Scott Pruett in the No. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley and three points ahead of Max Angelelli in the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley.

After heated late-race battles with the No. 01 car and the No. 10 car in the 1000-kilometer race, the No. 99 car of Fogarty and Gurney finished eighth overall and became the fifth different Daytona Prototype champion since the class was introduced in 2003 by a slim margin of two points.

The No. 99 car of Gurney and Fogarty will certainly be one of the favorites for the upcoming Rolex 24 on Jan. 26-27. Gurney captured the pole for the 2007 edition of the Rolex 24 while in July, both Gurney and Fogarty claimed a 7.480-second victory in the Brumos Porsche 250.

"We love Grand-Am, we think that racing Daytona Prototypes is the greatest road racing in the United States and we're extremely proud of our accomplishments in winning the driver and team titles this year with Alex and Jon," owner Bob Stallings said. "The only objective that we did not achieve was winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and in our minds, that's an event on par with the Daytona 500 or the Indy 500.

"We thought we should have had it this year, and all of our guys on the GAINSCO team want that win. In 2008, we intend to go to the Rolex 24 with a strategy and a lineup of drivers that assures us of the ability to do what so many legendary teams and drivers have done before - win America's toughest endurance race."

For Gurney, winning at historic Daytona International Speedway has special meaning. His father Dan won the inaugural Daytona Continental (now Rolex 24) in 1962.

"This is the place to win," said Gurney after his Brumos Porsche 250 win. "It's the World Center of Racing."

The next step in the countdown to the Rolex 24 is a major test session on Nov. 14-15 and the traditional three-day Rolex 24 test on Jan. 4-6 with The Roar Before The Rolex 24 fan fest slated for Saturday, Jan. 5.

Race fans can purchase tickets early for the Rolex 24. A two-day advance infield/grandstand ticket with a collectible Rolex 24 hat is available for $45. Go online at http://www.racetickets.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.