Daytona Int'l Speedway Friday notes
GAINSCO Racing Back On Track; Rum Bum Racing Takes Fresh from Florida200 Win
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — After a rough start to the Rolex 24 At Daytonaweekend, GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing rebounded on Friday by gettingback on the 3.56-mile road course and recording the third fastest lap infinal practice session.
Jon Fogarty posted the no. 99 car’s fastest lap of 124.822 mph, oneminute, 42.674 seconds.
The team worked into the early hours of Friday morning making repairs tothe no. 99 Chevrolet Riley after four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup championJimmie Johnson made heavy contact with a safety barrier during theThursday morning practice.
“The components on the car were going to be our backups and now wedon’t have those spares so I have put the team in a really tight spot,”Johnson said. “I know it was a racing situation on the track but bottomline is I was behind the wheel and I feel terrible for it.”
Despite the team’s incredible repair effort, Johnson still feels guiltyabout damaging the car.
“I feel better now that the car is repaired, very fast, comfortableand all the things that we hope for,” Johnson said. “But until wefinish the race and can honestly look back and say it didn’t affect theperformance, then I’m going to have the guilt on my shoulders.”
Teammate Jimmy Vasser was upbeat about the repairs, which were completedaround 4 a.m. on Friday morning.
“It was a great job by all of the guys on the GAINSCO team,” Vassersaid. “The car is good enough for us to win the race and we just can’tbeat ourselves. We just need to get it out there and keep it going.”
Fresh from Florida 200: In their team debut, Rum Bum Racing captured thecheckered flag in the Fresh from Florida 200 Continental Tire Sports CarChallenge race on Friday afternoon.
Gianluis Bacardi and Matt Plumb shared the wheel on the no. 13 BMWM3 Coupe and earned a 0.107 second win over second place Fall-LineMotorsports no. 48 BMW M3 Coupe of Charles Espenlaub and Charles Putman.
“I’m speechless,” said Plumb. “I’ve been trying to think of what to say.My proud moment was seeing Gian doing as well as he did in the race. Allthe stars aligned for this day, and I’m very glad to be a part of it.”
Compass360 Racing claimed the ST class win in the no. 74 Honda Civic SIpiloted by Lawson Aschenbach and David Thilenius.
Tickets for all Hershey’s Milk & Milkshakes Speedweeks events, includingthe 48th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, are available online atdaytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.
-source: dis