(Lexington, OH) 24 June 2009— After driving a Daytona Prototype in a select schedule of Rolex Sports Car Series events for Spirit of Daytona Racing, Guy Cosmo had almost forgotten how much fun could be had racing in Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge. Almost.

But his grin was back after getting behind the wheel of the No. 129 Next Generation Motorsports BMW 330i for Sunday’s Sports Tuner (ST) class round for the EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Teaming with Puerto Rico’s fastest export, Bryan Ortiz, Cosmo powered the BMW to 8th on the grid in Saturday’s morning qualifying session.

Making the most of the car’s balanced handling and strong braking, Cosmo bolted to third in the order in the early going before the pit rotations saw him move to the front for two laps.

“It was great to get back in this car and be able to move up so quickly,” said Cosmo. “These guys lean on each other pretty hard and I was having a blast out there. This track is one of the best to race on. It’s really technical so you really have to pick your battles and not get too impatient on the back side.”

As Cosmo hit the Next Generation fuel window, he was called into the pits from the lead to turn the machine over to Ortiz, who was also in GS class action on Saturday. But before he was even done taking off his helmet, Cosmo’s day turned from good to bad as a pit miscue saw the No. 129 leaving the pits before the service was complete, generating a drive-through penalty for the car.

Running a lap down from the leader, the day turned even worse as damage from on-track debris forced the machine into the pits and behind the wall after it was determined that the car was unsafe to have on track when the windshield shattered.

“It was looking like we’d be in position to maybe fight for a podium, so it’s obviously disappointing that Bryan didn’t get the chance to do that,” said Cosmo. “But I think we showed that this Next Generation car has some fight in it, and I really had a good time out there and didn’t really want to come in and turn the car over!”

Cosmo will be back in racing action in the Brumos Porsche 250 as he returns to Rolex competition behind the wheel of the No. 09 Spirit of Daytona Racing Coyote/Porsche V8.

For additional information, please visit:
www.guycosmo.com
www.nextgenmotorsports.net


Contact: Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
media@sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)

-30-