March 25, 2006
Team Scores A Top-5 Finish at Homestead
As the sun began to set over the Homestead Miami Speedway, the crew of the Make/A/Wish/Z-Line Designs Ford-powered Daytona Prototype prepared for the drop of the green flag.
Rob Finlay climbed behind the wheel, strapped in and pulled the car off the grid for the start of the Grand Prix of Miami. Finlay starting in the 18th position picked up two positions by the end of the first lap. Settling into the race, Finlay ran competitive lap times and managed to make up a one lap deficit due to excellent race strategy and calm driving skills before turning over the driving duties to his teammate, Michael Valiante.
Valiante took over where Finlay left off and continued to pick off their competitors, finding himself running in the top-10 with impressive lap times. As the race came to a close, the No. 5 machine moved into the top-five, scoring the team's strongest finish of the season.
"The race went really well tonight. I made a few mistakes that cost us some time but the car really handled well. We were running up front at the end and I definitely felt that we had a podium car. Rob did a great job; he stayed out of trouble and managed to get the lap back. It's good to come away with a top-five finish heading into Long Beach."
Michael will next compete at the famed Long Beach Grand Prix April 8th.