Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney Win the Inaugural GRAND-AM Race at Circuit of The Americas
Three Corvette Daytona Prototypes Take the Checkered Flag in the Top-Five
AUSTIN, Tex. (March 2, 2013) – The No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing “Red Dragon” Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) with pole winner Jon Fogarty behind the wheel, led the field to the green flag of the inaugural GRAND-AM of The Americas. And, 2.75 hours later, Alex Gurney finished the race by leading the Rolex Sports Car Series (Rolex) field to the checkered flag at the Circuit of The Americas.
“That was a hard battle, but a lot of fun,” said Gurney from Victory Lane. “Always great racing with those guys up front. Look at this, we have all the GAINSCO guys here. It’s our home race. We won it! We all dug deep – we wanted this one really bad. Just so stoked we pulled it off.”
“Alex did a really good job, man,” said Fogarty. “It was a nail-biter, and he held on and fought, and that is what it takes to win these races. It is great to do it in front of the GAINSCO crowd.”
Today’s victory on the home track for both the team (headquartered in Lewisville, Texas), and their sponsor GAINSCO, is the 16th time the driver combo of Fogarty and Gurney have won in Rolex competition.
“Congratulations to Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney as well as team owner Bob Stallings on a hard-fought victory today,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, GRAND-AM Road Racing. “The last few laps were very tense, but Alex did exactly what he had to do to hold off the competition for the win. Winning here at Circuit of The Americas is very special for the Texas-based team and their sponsor, and going to Victory Lane at the inaugural event at any venue is always memorable.
“Having a Corvette DP take the checkered flag is very rewarding for everyone involved in Chevrolet’s effort in GRAND-AM Road Racing. This success is the result of the teamwork & dedication by our technical partners, race teams and drivers.”
The two-time Daytona Prototype champions led one time for eight laps around the 3.4-mile, 20-turn road course on the way to victory lane.
“Alex did a heck of a job,” said Stallings. “He didn’t quite have the car that second-place car had, but he ran a heck of a race. He was great – awesome. The last lap especially was very nerve-wracking, but Alex did a great job. He gave that car everything it could do.”
Today’s win moved both the team and drivers to second in the standings with two of 12 races on the 2013 schedule in the record books.
Giving Team Chevy three of the top-five finishers in today’s race were: No. 3 8 Star Motorsports Corvette DP (drivers Enzo Potolicchio and Stephane Sarrazin) – 4th, and No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP (drivers Brian Frisselle and Christian Fittipaldi) – 5th.
Other Corvette DP finishers were: No. 10 Velocity World Wide/Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP – 10th; No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Corvette DP – 11th and No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP -14th in-class.
In Rolex Grand Touring (GT), it was a tough day for both the No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette GT.R No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R. Each suffered issues throughout the race that relegated them to the 13th and 15th in-class finishing positions respectively.
In the GRAND-AM of the Americas – Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GS.R piloted by Matt Bell and John Edwards brought home a 10th place finish in round two of the 2013 season. The No. 00 CKS Autosport Camaro GS.R finished 15th on the lead lap, and team car, the No. 01 was scored 24th in-class after being sidelined with a mechanical issue.
Next on the Chevrolet GRAND-AM Road Racing schedule for both Rolex and CTSCC will be April 3-6, 2013 at Barber Motorsports Park just outside Birmingham, Alabama.