GAINSCO Team Claims 10th Pole Of Season At Infineon

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SONOMA, Calif. (Aug. 24, 2007) – Jon Fogarty piloted his No. 99 GAINSCO Pontiac Daytona Prototype to the team's 10th pole position this season Friday at the 2.52-mile, 12-turn Infineon Raceway in a qualifying session that was cut short by nearly 8 minutes.

Joining the Texas-based team on the front row for Saturday's Round 13 of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve Armed Forces 250 is the No. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac. It was qualified by Nic Jonsson.

The GAINSCO Pontiac team is in a must-win situation for the last two races of the Rolex Series season to keep its championship hopes alive. Fogarty and teammate Alex Gurney are four points out of the drivers standings lead.

Fogarty posted a time of 1:28.028 to capture the team's 10th pole and maintain Pontiac's perfect pole streak at 13 consecutive. This also gives Fogarty a Grand-Am record for a single driver of eight poles in one season. Gurney has claimed two poles this year.

"I raced here for the first time in '95; I consider it my home track," Fogarty said. "My lap was really clean and I had a good run. The GAINSCO guys gave me another great car to get the pole. We have to win the race to keep our championship hopes going into the last race. The top three teams are locked into a championship battle separated by only four points. We have to win and they can't afford any mistakes."

Jonsson earned the other front row starting position with a lap of 1:28.441. He is sharing the Pontiac powered Riley with new teammate Ricardo Zonta, who is substituting for Colin Braun, who has been suspended for one race.

"I have recovered from being sick over the last week," Jonsson said. "Qualifying was really good again for us. The Krohn Racing guys gave me a good car. I have a new teammate in Ricardo Zonta. He is very experienced in everything from F3000 to F1, he has great credentials. He got in the car yesterday and in 20-minutes he was third quick. That says a lot about his talent. Now he has to get used to running against these guys in this series. I hope I can give him the car up front and make his job easier."

Memo Gidley, driving the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac, posted a time of 1:29.129 for a third row starting position for the 2 hour 30 minute race. The Novato, Calif.-based driver is sharing the seat with series points co-leader Max Angelelli.

"The car felt the best it has all weekend," Gidley said. "We struggled a little in practice earlier, but as usual, the SunTrust guys came through in qualifying with a very good car. I had a small mistake that may have cost me a couple tenths, so I could have used a few more laps to make it up. But we will have a good race car and I am ready to support Max for the championship this weekend."

Harrison Brix, driving the No. 39 Cheever Racing Crown Royal Special Reserve Pontiac Fabcar, will start ninth based upon his qualifying time of 1:29.543. However, the No. 39 posted the second fastest practice time of the weekend earlier in the day.

"The car was better than the qualifying time reflected," Brix said. "I had a better lap going when the yellow came out and that ruined the effort with just two turns before the timing stripe. Qualifying wasn't that great, but the car is good. We really don't qualify that well, but the car really races well. It is a good feeling going into the race knowing that we have a stronger car than the qualifying time showed."

Round 13 of the Grand-Am Rolex Series for the Daytona Prototype cars will receive the green flag at 2:45 p.m. PDT Saturday. The race will be televised on the SPEED Channel, tape-delayed at 8 p.m. EDT on the same day. The next round for the GT cars is Sept. 15 at Miller Motorsport Park in Utah.

Grand-Am Top 10 Daytona Prototype Infineon Qualifiers:
1. Fogarty, Gurney, Pontiac Riley 1:28.028
2 Jonsson, Zonta, Pontiac Riley 1:28.441
3. Donohue, Law, Porsche Riley 1:28.605
4. Rojas, Pruett, Lexus Riley 1:28.611
5. Valiante, Lloyd, Lexus Riley 1:28.798
6. Angelelli, Gidley, Pontiac Riley 1:29.129
7. Lewis, Ruhlman, Lexus Riley 1:29.181
8. Frisselle, Wilkins, Lexus Riley 1:29.519
9. Fittipaldi, Brix , Pontiac Fabcar 1:29.543
10. Long, Borcheller, Porsche Crawford 1:30.704

Pontiac Points for 2007:
- Pontiac has won seven DP races in 2007
- GAINSCO Pontiac has six wins this season
- GAINSCO Pontiac has 10 pole positions
- GAINSCO Pontiac has started on the pole or on the front row for every race
- SunTrust Wayne Taylor Racing's Max Angelelli is tied for the points lead
- GAINSCO's Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty are four points out of the lead
- Pontiac has a 13-for-13 pole qualifying streak
- Pontiac has locked up the manufacturers title for 2007