Gainsco Team Looks To Snatch 1st VIR Victory

Gainsco Racing

Apr 24, 2008

DALLAS — Encouraged by a strong performance and equally determined after a nearly-missed victory less than a week ago in Mexico City, reigning Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Champions Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty and GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing are primed for their first win of 2008 at this weekend’s Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway.

The team was the fastest in the field during last week’s Mexico City 250, which should bode well for the GAINSCO squad as they head back to a VIR circuit that is a team favorite. After opening the season on the superspeedway stadium road courses at Daytona and Homestead-Miami, the Mexico City and VIR stretch gives the team back-to-back chances for success on two traditional and high-speed road courses, the type of tracks that play to the GAINSCO team’s strength.

In Mexico, the team was fastest in most of the practice sessions and Gurney set the fastest race lap, but a team pit-stop miscue while Fogarty was leading a little over one-third of the way into the race essentially ended any chances for a win. Still, the team rallied back to finish fourth and left pleased with the speed and performance of the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley, a trend that should continue at VIR.

“We are going to be good there,” Gurney said. “We have had a good car there and I think we have a good chance of winning. I love this track. Those esses are great. I wish they would put a grandstand there, low and really close, because the cars look so fast there. You are flat out and the car is really moving and it is just sketchy, and the car is also sketchy. It is a fast and fun track.”

Despite not yet hitting the win column, the GAINSCO team’s early season start is its best in just three full seasons of Rolex Series competition. Joined by fellow Champions Jimmie Johnson and Jimmy Vasser and with co-sponsorship from Lowe’s at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, the team finished a solid second, led the race and challenged for the win throughout the event. One race later in the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami, Gurney and Fogarty co-drove to a sixth-place finish to match their career best result at that track. Heading to VIR, the No. 99 GAINSCO team and the duo of Gurney and Fogarty are each third in the respective Rolex Series Team and Driver Championships with 85 points. They trail Mexico City winners Marc Goossens and Jim Matthews and the No. 91 Riley-Matthews team by just a point and are within 17 points of leaders Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas and the No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing team.

In last year’s Rolex Series race at VIR, Fogarty qualified second and challenged for the lead from the start, leading seven laps.