Hispanic-Themed GAINSCO Team Rolls Into Mexico For The First Race Of The Rest Of The Season

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For the first time ever, the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley will wear colors other than red, as a set of striking white and green stripes down the side will set Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty and the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing team apart in the 2007 Rolex Sports Car Series’ only race south of the border — Saturday afternoon’s Mexico City 400k at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Coupled with the new paint are Spanish-language “GAINSCO Seguros de Autos” logos on the nose and tail, all of which are tied to the Dallas-based insurance company’s expanded marketing efforts to the booming Hispanic auto insurance market.

“Over half of GAINSCO’s customer base are originally from Mexico, so in a way it’s a home game for us, ” team owner Bob Stallings said. “We’re excited to be racing here. ”

Last year, Gurney was quick in practice, and fast enough throughout the race to keep pace with the leaders despite going a lap down early. Alex is confident that he’ll have the car underneath him to push for the GAINSCO team’s long-awaited first victory.

“We’re all ready to start fresh in Mexico, and I really love this track, ” Gurney said. “The esses that constantly pick up speed and the Peraltada are fantastic corners to drive. We know we should have a quick car, so we just need to run a clean race. ”

For Fogarty, this event will mark his first-ever race on the fast, flowing 2.5-mile road course set in the heart of Mexico City, and he’s looking forward to the new challenge — though not without a bit of trepidation.

“It’s a little bit stressful having to come to a new track in such a competitive series, but I believe we can come away from here with a strong finish, ” Fogarty said. “Of course our goal is to win, but it’s a long season still and we want to climb back into the points fight, and you can’t do that in a single race. ”

Stallings agreed, saying, “It’s a long season and we’ve got plenty of opportunities to get back up atop the leaderboard. A good, solid finish at Mexico will go a long way toward doing that — and who knows, maybe that ever-elusive first win will finally manifest itself. ”

The Mexico City 400k opens tomorrow afternoon with practice sessions beginning at 1 p. m., and qualifying will go green at 11:40 a. m. Friday. The 100-lap, two-and-a-half hour Mexico City 400k starts at 3:15 p. m. Saturday, with live coverage on SPEED Channel beginning at 4 p. m. Eastern time.


 
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