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(Alton, VA) 25 April 09 – Guy Cosmo and Scott Russell combined to bring the No. 09 Porsche V8-powered Coyote home 10th in the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway to take the first top ten of the Rolex Sports Car Series season for Spirit of Daytona Racing, which opened the season with a run to 11th in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Cosmo started the race from 10th on the grid, and was on the gas from the drop of the green, moving up to 7th in the early laps, into the top five and then up to 3rd by lap 25 of the two hour and forty-five minute race.
“The car was just as good in the race as it was in qualifying,” said Cosmo. “We got off to a solid start, and just went from there. It was really stable and predictable, so it was a great move forward from Daytona. We were hoping to still be in the top five at the finish, but the way the yellows fell just didn’t work out with our driver changes. But it was still a good weekend, Scott kept making progress every lap he was out there, and we just kept working on getting everything we could out of the car. And the great news is that we get to go racing again next weekend! So we can just keep at it. We were strong in New Jersey last year, so we’re going to head there to build on what we did here this weekend.”
Turning the car over to Russell, who had only previously seen the track from aboard a motorcycle, saw the AMA-liveried Coyote return to the field deep in the pack. But despite one off-course excursion, Russell kept his rapidly accelerating Daytona Prototype learning curve going has he moved up from 24th up into the top 12 before turning the machine back over to Cosmo.
“I’m still feeling like I’m in the deep end a little bit here, but it was great to get more time behind the wheel today and hopefully I can get a good start at new Jersey next weekend,” said Russell. “I had a little off and I’m disappointed for the team that it set us back some, but I’m just working on getting a feel for what the car can and can’t do. I’m really hungry for more seat time, and hopefully I can have all the guys hard work pay off with a little bit better run here soon!”
About Spirit of Daytona Racing:
Spirit of Daytona Racing is headquartered just down the road from the “World Center of Racing ” in the Daytona Beach, Florida area. Team principal Troy Flis has steered the team since its inception, and the organization has competed in Grand-Am since 1999, with sixteen class victories to its credit.
For additional information:
www.scouting.org
www.spiritofdaytona.com
www.sundaymanagement.com
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Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (mobile)