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(Millville, NJ) 3 May 2009 – After leading the early stages of the Verizon 250, Spirit of Daytona Racing finished the race 11th as Guy Cosmo and Scott Russell partnered in the No. 09 Spirit of Daytona Porsche V8-Coyote in round 3 of the Rolex Sports Car Series championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
The race was run in highly challenging conditions in the second visit to the south Jersey facility for the Rolex Series.
After he qualified 6th Cosmo was once again looking to make the most of the Coyote’s tendency to shine in low-grip conditions, and he did just that as he pounced to take the lead from the defending Rolex Champion 01 machine. The rain kept coming, and so too did a pair of yellows, so the team called Cosmo in to swap seats with Russell, which was the same formula the team employed to take a top ten last weekend at VIR.
But the rain meant that not only was there little grip and visibility on offer, but it also contributed to cockpit fogging and a part-time wiper failure, which when combined with the high speed, made for a tough day in the office for both drivers.
“Even though I’d never raced this car in the rain, I was hoping to have been faster out there than I was so that was a bit disappointing,” said Russell. “But I kept it on track and Guy did an amazing job. You couldn’t even see out there when the wiper WAS working, so for him to be out there in these conditions without it working was impressive. There is no way to prepare for these conditions-you have to just get in there and do what you can do. Now I’ve had this experience, and I know I’ll be better the next time I’m in these conditions.”
“It was tough!” said Cosmo as he emerged from the cockpit. “We had to make some extra pit stops with a wheel nut problem, which meant that at least I could get my windscreen wiped off! It was great to have the pace early on to just go out and run to the front like we did, but we had some small things just keep us back today. It was tough out there, but we kept it on the track and brought it home!”
“It was a frustrating day out there for us,” said team owner Troy Flis. “We just had a couple little things go wrong and when things are like they were out there today, that can really set you back and it did just that today. But both guys kept it on the pavement, and that was a lot harder than it sounds. My guys on the team have been working so hard, so you want to be bringing better results for all their effort. But we’re all looking forward to moving forward on the next chapter with this Coytote, and hopefully we can come out swinging next time.”
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)