Michael Shank Racing reacts to post Rolex 24 penalty

Michael Shank Racing was notified on Thursday by GRAND-AM that the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ford-Riley has been disqualified from the 2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona following “...a rule infraction discovered following the 24-hour season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway.”

Pit stop for #60 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley: Marcos Ambrose, John Pew, A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Wilson, Oswaldo Negri

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

The team has been asked to return prize monies earned from the race, and will suffer a 30 point penalty. The team, which won the 2012 edition of the race, will also make a compulsory $15,000 donation to Boggy Creek.

“We are as surprised about this as anyone,” said team owner Mike Shank. “This was an incredible team effort--not just from John, Justin, Ozz, Marcos, and AJ, but from the entire crew as well as our partners at Roush Yates. We are very proud to work with Ford Racing, and we know that the guys will figure out what when wrong and make sure we are not in this position again. After having fought back from so far down to make it to the podium, it is hard to put into words how disappointing this is.”

Michael Shank Racing