GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing, Gurney and Fogarty retake Rolex Series Daytona Prototype championship leads with third-place Montreal 200 finish
No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance team five points in front with two races remaining
GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing and drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty challenged for the victory throughout a slick and slippery race of survival Saturday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and reclaimed the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype championship leads with a third-place finish in the Montreal 200.
Fogarty and Gurney each led the two-hour sprint race on the 2.709-mile Grand Prix Formula 1 circuit that was run in a mixture of both dry and rainy conditions. GAINSCO and its drivers pitted five different times in the race, usually swapping between dry and wet weather tires depending on the conditions at the time. GAINSCO’s final stop came with just over 10 minutes to go when Gurney brought the No. 99 in for a quick change from slicks to rain tires. He returned to the race in fourth place and then charged down the No. 13 Beyer Racing Chevrolet Riley of Ricky Taylor in the rain to grab the final top-three podium spot on the last lap.
“It was pretty eventful out there, really difficult conditions” said Gurney, who battled side-by-side for the lead with the second-place finishing No. 12 Verizon Wireless Penske Racing Porsche Riley of Timo Bernhard in the race’s late stages. “Once I got in we had a lot of battling back and forth with the No. 12 car and had to go in and out of the pits several times because of the changing conditions. Our car was pretty good in the wet and it was nice to catch Ricky on the last lap and get him for the podium. Great day for the championship, for sure, and we are back in the lead. Just two races to go, so it’s crunch time.”
The No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley and Gurney and Fogarty once again lead both the Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Team and Driver Championship standings with 274 points. They are five points ahead of Montreal 200 winners Max Angelelli, Brian Frisselle and the No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara and the No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, who are tied for second with 269 points. Pruett and Rojas finished 10th in the Montreal 200 after starting on the front row with GAINSCO and Fogarty.
“We’re pretty happy with our finishing position and it’s a good day for the championship points’ battle,” said Fogarty, who led 15 race laps, including the first six circuits after starting from the pole. “We are pretty pleased with the pace of the car both in the dry and in the wet, so that bodes well for the remainder of the season.”
GAINSCO and its drivers first led the championship standings in May with a victory in the Verizon Festival of Speed presented by SPEEDCOM at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. They reclaimed a co-share of the points lead with the No. 01 team after a series-leading third win of the season in the Porsche 250 presented by Legacy Credit Union last month at Barber Motorsports Park and now have sole possession of first place again with two races remaining on the 2009 schedule. Next up is Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sept. 19 before the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Oct. 10.
GAINSCO has been on the podium six times in the year’s first 10 races and finished in the top four in seven races, including the last five in a row. The team’s first win this season was at Virginia International Raceway in April’s Bosch Engineering 250.
Round 11 of the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series from Miller can be seen live on SPEED at 5:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. PT) on Saturday, Sept. 19th.
