Backstretch Motorsports

Season Finale Crowns 2008 Grand-Am Class Champions

TOOELE, Utah (Sept. 20, 2008) - Raphael Matos bookended the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 season. After winning the GT class in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona back in January, Matos made his return to the series by winning in his first Daytona Prototype start.

Matos joined regular drivers Ian James and John Pew to give the No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley its first Rolex Series victory in the SunRichGourmet.com 1000 presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels. The team became the third first-time Daytona Prototype winner in three races at Miller Motorsports Park.

[read more...]

By J.J. O’Malley

TOOELE, Utah (Sept. 19, 2008) - Ricardo Zonta saved his best for last Friday at Miller Motorsports Park, running a lap of 2:35.664 (103.747 mph) to capture the pole for Saturday’s SunRichGourmet.com 1000 presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels, the final event of the 2008 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

It was the first career pole for Zonta, a former Formula One regular, and also the first time the Lola chassis captured a pole in Daytona Prototype competition. Zonta will co-drive the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Lola with Nic Jonsson in search of his first career Rolex Series victory.

[read more...]

Partnership Allows For Sharing Of Resources With NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 4, 2008) – NASCAR Holdings today announced an agreement to acquire the Grand-American Road Racing Association (Grand-Am). The future move will allow for resource sharing between Grand-Am and NASCAR while both organizations continue to operate independently. NASCAR Holdings is the legal operating entity that includes the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and many of its subsidiaries.

Grand-Am, one of the world’s most competitive road racing organizations, and NASCAR, the No. 1 spectator sport in the U.S., will combine marketing and communications efforts to include brand management, research, marketing and public relations.

[read more...]

MILLVILLE, N.J. (August 31, 2008) — Oswaldo Negri Jr. held off Max Angelelli by .459 seconds Sunday to win the first professional feature race at New Jersey Motorsports Park, the Supercar Life 250, while Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas clinched the Daytona Prototype team championship with a ninth-place finish in a backup car.

[read more...]

MILLVILLE, N.J. (Aug. 30, 2008) - Mark Wilkins saved his best for last Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP), winning the pole for Sunday’s Supercar Life 250. The race takes the green flag at 1 p.m. ET (SPEED, live).

Wilkins tamed the 2.25-mile Thunderbolt Raceway layout with a lap of 1:11.761 (112.875 mph) late in the 15-minute session, good enough to capture his second pole position of the season. He won the pole at Daytona International Speedway in July the last time he qualified, while co-driver Brian Frisselle also won a pole at Watkins Glen International earlier this month.

[read more...]

Farnbacher Loles Racing will support five Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars in the inaugural Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race at Thunderbolt Raceway in Millville, N.J., this weekend. The entry is the team’s second-largest of the year, following a seven-car effort in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona in January.

[read more...]

Sonoma, Calif., August 23, 2008 – The No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Daytona Prototype (DP) driven by Michael Valiante and Max Angelelli won round 12 of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 at Infineon Raceway today. The No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac of Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney came home in second giving Pontiac a one-two finish.

The 2.47-mile, 12-turn Infineon road course proved to be the perfect location for the SunTrust team’s first win of the season. Michael Valiante started the race from pole position, which he inherited late last night when the original pole sitter was sent to the back following the post qualifying technical inspection. Valiante led every lap of his stint and then turned the car over to Angelelli. He reassumed the lead on lap 45 with a competitive pass on the leader and was never headed since then. The team lead every lap of the 102 circuit event except 22.

[read more...]

HAWTHORNE, Calif. - The upcoming Infineon Raceway Daytona Prototypes-only event is already the 12th race of the season for Rum Bum Racing team co-drivers Gene Sigal and Matt Plumb. The Infineon race is the second race of the season in California and like Laguna Seca; it is considered a home race for Rum Bum Racing.

[read more...]

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 8, 2008) - One week after scoring an improbable first victory in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, AIM Autosport made victory number two look easy Friday night at Watkins Glen International.

Brian Frisselle and Mark Wilkins led 78 of the 82 laps to win the Crown Royal 200, Round 12 of the 2008 Rolex Series season showcasing the Daytona Prototypes.

[read more...]

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 7, 2008) — One week after scoring his first Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 victory, Brian Frisselle gained his first career pole position Thursday in qualifying for the Crown Royal 200, shattering the Watkins Glen International short course record in the process.

[read more...]