Pruett and Papis Win Race and Title

The emotions burned inside Max Papis, not because of his competitive nature, but because of his compassionate one. Five years to the day after one of his best friends died at California Speedway in a race that Papis nearly won, he sat inside a media room there alongside teammate Scott Pruett as a race winner and series champion.

Papis started his Chip Ganassi-owned Lexus Riley from the pole for the 11th time in 12 races, then turned it over to Pruett, who delivered their fourth Daytona Prototype victory in 12 races and the season-ending Lexus Grand American Rolex 400K.

Papis and Pruett, a couple of open-wheel veterans, led 81 of the 89 laps Sunday. Their only hiccup could have been a major one -- Pruett pulled out of the pits on Lap 40 with a fuel hose still attached. He quickly stopped without causing damage or fire but was held 25 seconds by an official. The road course champion should have been hit with a stop-and-go penalty, so they held him 30 seconds on a subsequent stop.

Still, Pruett crossed the finish line 43.934 seconds ahead of the Pontiac Crawford driven by Butch Leitzinger and Elliott Forbes-Robinson, who celebrated his 61st birthday.

The victory gave them 362 points, 10 more for the championship than Wayne Taylor, who finished fourth in the race with Max Angelelli. Taylor, who trailed Papis and Pruett by three points at the start of the day, had a wheel-speed sensor problem and pitted on Lap 8.

The hefty lead was little comfort to Pruett as the laps wore on.

“We were two laps down at Watkins Glen and came back to win,” said Pruett, who won the Trans-Am title last season in a Jaguar for Paul Gentilozzi. “I took a deep breath when I saw the white flag, and breathed when I took the checkered.”

Papis thrust his arms in the air to conclude an emotional week. He tested a Nextel Cup car for Ray Evernham, and became close to several who died in the Hendrick Motorsports airplane crash on Oct. 24.

“I shared with [Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson] what I felt when Greg Moore passed away,” Papis said, recalling the Oct. 31, 1999, crash that killed the rising Canadian star of Champ Car. “I told Jimmie, ‘This week we are going to drive from our hearts.’ ” Johnson won the Nextel Cup race Sunday.

It was the seventh sports car championship for Pruett dating to his first, an IMSA GTO title in 1986. The 42-year old Sacramento native, who qualified a Champ Car at 233.748 mph exactly six years earlier at the Marlboro 500, and Papis delivered an average speed of 102.961 mph on the 21-turn, 2.8-mile course. It was the first series title for Papis, an Italian from Miami Beach, Fla., who finished second to Adrian Fernandez in 1999.

Bill Auberlen, with eight victories to Boris Said’s five, won the Grand Touring championship though both BMW drivers were tied with 373 points. Auberlen took sixth in class with co-driver Justin Marks.

Teammates Marc Bunting and Andy Lally shared the Super Grand Sport title with 377 points apiece; they finished second to race winners Gene Sigal and Harrison Brix, who completed 81 laps. All were driving Porsches.