Gurney and Fogarty handle late-race calamity for second top-five showing of 2010

DANVILLE, Va. (April 24, 2010) — GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing and its team of two-time champion drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty scored a hard-fought fifth-place finish in Saturday’s Bosch Engineering 250 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).

Fogarty and Gurney both ran as high as second during their stints in the first 95 minutes of the 2-3/4-hour timed race, but GAINSCO’s second and final pit stop, a late-race restart contact incident and an overall lack of pace to the leaders combined for a long day.  Gurney came in for the final stop while running second but the GAINSCO “Red Dragon” was beat out of the pits by the race-leading TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley and three other Daytona Prototypes that apparently took on lighter fuel loads than the No. 99 team.

“The car handled well at the beginning of the race,” Fogarty said. “I had a great start and was able to get around a couple of guys and hang on to the back of the 01 for quite a while, but it was all I could do, really.  I turned the car over in one piece and in a good position and from then things kind of fell apart.  There were no real errors, just a bunch of individual events that we ended up on the short end of.”

The competition’s short-fuel strategy paid off when the race was slowed for a full-course caution period with 30 minutes remaining. Gurney was running fifth as the field came down the front straight for the restart but the leaders accelerated to the start/finish line much slower than usual.  As the green flag flew, Gurney hit the No. 58 Brumos Porsche Riley of David Donohue that was directly in front of him and the right front bodywork of the No. 99 broke off in the impact.  Despite the damage, Gurney was able to hold on to fifth through one final restart and after some great driving in the race’s closing minutes.

“We were long in trouble before that,” Gurney said. “I think the car was good and it handled well the whole day, but it was really a big problem in the straight line and every time we hit the throttle. On the pit stop a bunch of guys gambled and got by us there.  I don’t think anybody passed us on track all day, but we were still not moving forward.  On the restart, somebody checked up in front of us, and it was probably hard to see, but it obviously happened.  I don’t know who it was and we will have to watch the replay really closely, but I hit Donohue pretty hard.  It was unfortunate, but I was able to hold on at the end even though we had a lot of push through the esses without the nose.”

Gurney had been planning to make a move on Donohue for fourth on the restart before the brake-check incident.

“On that one restart I was going to take a shot at Donohue for fourth,” Gurney said.  “He seemed to be struggling on the brakes going into Turn 1, so there was an opportunity there, but I doubt anywhere else.  It is nice to finish a race.  Fifth place is never what we shoot for but on a day like this we will take it.”

The fifth-place result is just GAINSCO’s second finish in the year’s first four races.  The No. 99 team also finished third in March’s Grand Prix of Miami but that result came in between a pair of engine failures in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona in January and earlier this month at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.  The engine held together at VIR this weekend, but Team Owner Bob Stallings remains concerned about the competitive viability of the Chevrolet Riley package within the current GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series rules structure.

“We had the eighth fastest car on the track and we finished fifth despite a pretty well-damaged car, and I think that is a tribute to the drivers and the team,” Stallings said. “We definitely didn’t have anywhere near the combination that would be needed to run up with the Fords and BMWS.  There just wasn’t any way that was going to happen.  We are disappointed, and really we are disappointed because there is not much that we as a team can do, and that’s frustrating.  It’s frustrating to go to a track and really realize that, despite your best efforts and the experience you have winning everywhere, that two or three cars are going to have to be in trouble for you to finish up front.  Everybody on the team has done a great job, but there is a lot to overcome.  It’s not over yet but the championship is way out of reach.  I guess it is mathematically possible, but realistically the 01 team is a very good team and I have tremendous respect for them. They don’t make many mistakes and they have got a terrific package and really no one can run with them.”

The No. 01 and drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas won their third-consecutive race at VIR and have a commanding lead in both the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series team and driver standings with 137 points in both championships.  The No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet Riley is fifth in the team championship with 97 points.

About GAINSCO Auto Insurance

The primary sponsor of the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Daytona Prototype is GAINSCO Auto Insurance (Amex:GAN), a Dallas, Texas-based auto insurer that distributes policies through a network of thousands of independent agents across Sunbelt states. GAINSCO uses its “Are You Driven?®” motorsports sponsorship and marketing campaign to build brand awareness and advance its distribution strategies. For more information, visit www.GAINSCO.com.

About GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing

GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing has been committed to excellence in road racing since its formation in 2001. The team, lead drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, and the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Riley Daytona Prototype won the 2007 and 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Championships and finished second in the same championships in 2008. The team is supported by GAINSCO Auto Insurance, powered by Chevrolet and partnered with GM Racing, Riley Technologies and Puma. For more information, visit www.GAINSCOracing.com.

Reigning Rolex Series Champs ready for rebound in No. 99 GAINSCO “Red Dragon”

MIAMI, Fla. (March 2, 2010) — GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing and drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty clinched their second GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype Team and Driver Championships at Homestead-Miami Speedway less than five months ago but that day of triumph and celebration will be just a distant memory when the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet Riley team returns to the South Florida facility this weekend for the Grand Prix of Miami. The 2-3/4-hour timed race is Round 2 of the 2010 GRAND-AM Rolex Series 12-race schedule and can be seen live on SPEED this Saturday, March 6, at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

 The 2009 GRAND-AM Rolex Series season ended at Homestead-Miami last October where GAINSCO, Gurney and Fogarty wrapped up their second set of Daytona Prototype Championships in the last three years with a fourth-place finish in the Florida finale. The titles capped a solid season for the GAINSCO team, which also led the 2009 GRAND-AM Rolex Series Daytona Prototype division with four race wins and six poles. The championship celebration began the evening of the race and continued straight through the Rolex Series Awards Banquet two nights later, but don’t count on the GAINSCO team resting on its laurels when it returns to Homestead-Miami this week.

 “I think we will be focused on this weekend rather than to relive any glory days,” said Fogarty, who led a race-high 45 laps from the pole in the 2009 Homestead race. “We would prefer the race weekend to be a glory day in and of itself but, for sure, the memories we carry into Homestead could be worse. We just narrowly got it done last year. If it had gone the other way, I would really be hating this upcoming trip. But we did win our second championship in Miami last year, so it’s not so bad.”

 Saturday’s Grand Prix of Miami also gives the No. 99 GAINSCO “Red Dragon” team a chance to shed the memory of January’s season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. After clawing back from an accident on the first day of practice and tackling a myriad of typical endurance-related issues in the day-long race, the GAINSCO team was running in the top five only to retire at Noon on Sunday when the No. 99 lost oil pressure just over three hours from the finish. Despite the rare and disappointing DNF (Did Not Finish) at Daytona, the GAINSCO squad was still classified in eighth place in the final race results, and the team and drivers earned 23 valuable championship points.

 “Daytona was a real disappointment for our entire team but especially tough because we fell out at the 21-hour mark,” Gurney said. “It was a very long weekend for our crew and I had hoped that they would get to see us up on the podium. The important thing to take away from Daytona, though, is some points and on that front we are really not in a bad position at all.”

 While 2009’s championship-clinching performance was GAINSCO’s best career showing at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the 2.3-mile speedway road course has traditionally been one of the hardest circuits to conquer for the No. 99 team. Both the GAINSCO crew and its drivers always approach the tricky 11-turn circuit with mixed emotions.

 “Honestly, I never know what to expect at Homestead, other than a lot of head scratching,” Fogarty said. “But the head scratching does seem to be worth something as we are improving. The team will never give up on improving and Homestead is just another challenge, and actually one I somewhat welcome. I really want to win at that track, and having another shot at it is great. We had a fairly balanced car last year and if we have made headway in the horsepower department, we should be better still. So I think we are as good as ever.”

 A victory could be just what GAINSCO and the drivers need to shake off the team’s long-standing frustrations at Homestead-Miami.

 “I think as a team we have yet to stand on the podium in Homestead so we have a clear goal in mind come race time,” Gurney said. “I am very excited to get back behind the wheel of the Red Dragon and I know that the entire GAINSCO team will be giving it maximum effort as we try to chase another championship. We are looking to get right back in the thick of things at Homestead. We had a very stressful race there last season for the finale. We had some problems with the car during the race but we were all elated that it held together and we were able to squeak out another championship.”

 Despite the GAINSCO team’s sketchy history at Homestead, Fogarty is quick to give credit where it is due.

 “Say what you will about the place, but the racing is usually quite good.” Fogarty said. “The track is slippery with slow corners and with GT cars you can really get hung out, which seems to keep everyone close together. The draft comes into effect as well as the long straights. You cannot ignore the horsepower issue. Nowhere else will you see the gap between pros and gentlemen drivers so close. The reason is the time really comes from the straightaways, another factor that keeps everyone close.”

Practice and qualifying for the Grand Prix of Miami takes place this Friday, March 5, before the Saturday, March 6, race, which airs live on SPEED at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Noteworthy

GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing debuted at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006 when Jimmy Vasser co-drove with lead driver Gurney to a sixth-place finish after qualifying ninth. That event marked the only GRAND-AM sprint race Vasser, who won his first CART Champ Car race at Homestead in 1996, has ever driven for GAINSCO, although he has been the team’s primary endurance race specialist for the last five seasons… GAINSCO won its first GRAND-AM Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Team and Driver Championships in 2007, but the Homestead-Miami round was not part of the successful season. Fogarty qualified a solid second but the team ultimately crossed the finish line in 11th place… In 2008 Gurney and Fogarty matched the team’s then-best Homestead finish with another sixth-place showing after qualifying fifth, but 2009’s championship-clinching run remains GAINSCO’s best Grand Prix of Miami showing to date. Fogarty won the pole and then joined Gurney in finishing a career-best fourth last year… Fogarty echoes teammate Gurney’s praise for the effort the GAINSCO crew turned in at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. “It goes without saying that the crew did an outstanding job at Daytona.” Fogarty said. “I am glad they have had some time between races, they deserved some rest. I never doubted their ability to perform at the 24, despite our pre-race issues. They are dedicated pros, the best at what they do and they are excellent people outside of the race track as well. I can’t wait to see them each and every race weekend.”… Fogarty will join several of his GRAND-AM driver colleagues in support of Homestead-Miami Speedway’s “Drop-N-Drive” Haitian earthquake relief effort this Thursday evening, March 4, between 5 – 8 p.m. Donors are welcome to drop off a variety of much-needed canned food (pull-tab cans), hygiene (soap, shampoo, etc.), shelter (tarps, blankets, etc.), medicine (rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, etc.) and power items (batteries, flashlights, etc.) at the track and then will be allowed to take a guided driving lap of the actual Homestead-Miami Speedway circuit. Fogarty is scheduled to help with donation collections from 6 to just after 7 p.m.… One of Gurney’s few positive memories in Miami happened at Homestead 12 years ago. “I think apart from last year’s finale, my only good memory at Homestead was in 1998 when I had a pole position in the Barber Dodge race.” Fogarty was in the same race. “I remember Alex being on pole in 1998,” Fogarty said with a smile. “Then during the race I remember being part of the freight train waiting to get past him!”… Parting Comment: “One way to look at it is to say that Homestead is one of my favorite tracks on the GRAND-AM schedule,” Gurney said. “I rank it right after Virginia, Barber, Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, Daytona, New Jersey, Montreal and Salt Lake – right after those.”

TEAM MERCHANDISE
Check out Team 99’s new Red Dragon T-Shirt. The eye-catching design includes photos of Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, Jimmy Vasser, Jimmie Johnson and the No. 99 “Red Dragon” on the back, plus team logo on the front left chest.

See the shirt, our new team hat, and other new items we’ve recently added to the GAINSCO racing store.

MORE INFO
www.gainscoracing.com
www.gainsco.com
www.grand-am.com

About GAINSCO Auto Insurance

GAINSCO, INC. (NYSE Amex: GAN), through its insurance brand, GAINSCO Auto Insurance, specializes in minimum-limits personal auto coverage, which is sold through a network of thousands of independent agents in the states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina and Texas, and through an independent managing general agency in California. Established in 1978, GAINSCO’s corporate headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas, with key regional field offices in Miami and Phoenix. Its insurance company subsidiary is MGA Insurance Company, Inc. For more information, visit www.GAINSCO.com.

About GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing

GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing has been committed to excellence in road racing since its formation in 2001. The team, lead drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty and the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype won the 2007 and 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Championships and finished second in the same championships in 2008. The team is supported by GAINSCO Auto Insurance, Puma and powered and partnered by GM Racing. For more information, visit www.GAINSCOracing.com.