Backstretch Motorsports

TRG Looks to Defend 1-2 Finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca And Home Turf with Five-Car Entry in RumBum.com 250

PETALUMA, Calif. In the GT class, there is no Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 race closer to home for TRG than next weekend’s RumBum.com 250 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

There is also no facility on the 2008 schedule for which TRG owner Kevin Buckler - and many others in the Grand-Am paddock - has as much passion as the picturesque, 2.238-mile, 11-turn permanent road course in Monterey, Calif.

“I’m going back to my roots,” said Buckler. “We lived across the street from the track when (wife) Debra and I first moved back to California. It is one of my favorite all-time circuits anywhere in the world. Everybody loves going to Monterey. Everyone has a great time. It’s a fantastic place. One of my first-ever races-and I think my first driving school-I did there. I’m really looking forward to returning to the circuit and we’ve done very well there.”

Indeed, the team has done extremely well at Laguna Seca. Last year, the team swept the top-two positions in a standalone GT race, with co-drivers RJ Valentine and Andy Lally taking the victory in the No. 66 Porsche, followed by Ross Smith and Daniel DiLeo in the team’s No. 65 machine. The team also finished second with co-drivers Lally and Marc Bunting in the 2006 Rolex Series event.

“We finished first and second there last year and had a great run,” Buckler said. “It’s just a track that puts a smile on everybody’s face, racing there, staying there on the Monterey Peninsula. You see more wives, family and friends being brought to this event than many others because they just like going. We enjoy Laguna Seca like everybody else. I do get to drive down since it’s only three hours from home. I really feel like we’re going home, because Debra and I started The Racer’s Group and TRG there at Laguna Seca Raceway.”

TRG has grown immensely since those early days of the team in Monterey, as evidenced by the fact that the team will bring no fewer than five Porsche GT3s to the RumBum.com 250. The team’s two full-time entries for the 2008 season are once again entered at Laguna Seca, with co-drivers Bryce Miller and Ted Ballou in the No. 66 Marquis Jet/Mitchell Rubber/Resorts International/IPC/Total Lubricants machine, and Spencer Pumpelly and Tim George Jr. in the No. 67 Monster Cable/944 Magazine/WIN Institute/Gleukos Porsche.

The No. 67 team is currently second in the Rolex Series GT point standings heading into Round 5 of the 13-race championship, just six points behind the class leaders. Pumpelly and George have achieved that status on the strength of podium finishes in three of the first four races this season, including second-place performances in Round 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in March and at VIR last month.

The No. 66 team is also a fixture in the top 10 and is currently ranked seventh. Miller and Ballou had their best result of second in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona alongside co-drivers Lally and Richard Westbrook.

Returning to the site of his sweet victory last year, Valentine will pilot the No. 68 CRG/Maxter/Rotax/MBA Group/F1 Air Porsche along with co-driver Bryan Sellers. It will be the fourth start of the season for both drivers, and both have already finished inside the top five.

Returning for their second consecutive Rolex Series race and third of the year are Jim Lowe and Jim Pace in the No. 64 SRS/Globus/Adopt A Pig Porsche for TRG/J Lowe Racing. Lowe and Pace own a best 2008 result of fourth from the Rolex 24, when they shared their No. 64 machine with Valentine, Johannes van Overbeek and Tim Sugden.

For the first time since the Rolex 24, TRG will also field the No. 65 machine, which carries sponsorship from Riegel Tuning, Mike Wiegele Helicopter Skiing and Total R as well as co-drivers Hima Maher-who drove TRG’s No. 63 entry in the Rolex 24-and team newcomer Craig Stanton, who won the 2005 GT driver’s championship.

“We’ll have five cars and it’s a big event for us,” Buckler said. “We’re debuting our new car with Riegel Tuning and Craig Stanton and Hima Maher. We’re working on it right now and we’re very excited. We’re ready to go.”

On track activities for the RumBum.com 250 get underway on Friday, May 16 with a GT-class practice session from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. PT, followed by an hour-long combined practice session for GT machines and Daytona Prototypes from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Another combined practice session is planned from 3:00 to 3:25 p.m., followed by an exclusive practice session for drivers contending for the Bob Akin Award and Jim Trueman Awards for the top “sportsman drivers” in the GT and Daytona Prototype classes, respectively, from 3:25 to 3:45 pm. Friday’s schedule concludes with GT qualifying from 4:25 to 4:40 p.m.

Saturday’s race day schedule will see the Rolex Series machines on course for a final practice session from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. PT followed by an all-driver autograph session from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 Noon. The RumBum.com 250 is scheduled to take the green flag at 1:45 p.m. PT with a scheduled distance of 250 miles (112 laps) and a two-hour and 45-minute time limit.

The race will be televised on SPEED beginning at 12:00 Noon ET on Sunday, May 18. Live Timing & Scoring data from every session will also be available on www.grand-am.com.

TRG was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of sports car racing ever since. The team has the most wins of any team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series with 23, including the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Series GT championship trophy to go along with wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours or Le Mans.

TRG is a manufacturer and distributor of high-performance racing parts. The group specializes in engine and chassis building as well as full service professional race car preparation. The company also provides electrical and mechanical engineering services, driver development and arrive-and-drive opportunities. TRG is based in Petaluma, Calif., near its home track of Infineon Raceway in Sonoma as well as its new facility in Charlotte.