From (the battle by the championship) to the broken heart, the last race of calendar 2007 of the Series Grand-A.m. Rolex Sports Car presented by Crown Royal disputed Special Reserve east Saturday in the Miller Motorsports Park was a true representation of the season like a whole, including which the hopes by the one title escudería became, literally, smoke.

Alex Gurney to the controls of car no. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley

Sunchaser 1000 was a race for history, and not only by the first victory of the equipment Riley-Matthews Motorsports in the Rolex Series. Jim Matthews, Marc Goossens and Ryan Hunter-Reay perseveraron to the controls of the 91 no. Riley-Matthews Motorsports Pontiac Riley throughout the marathon of 1000 kilometers, advanced 18 positions and raised at the most high of podio.
“Our car was very strong towards the end of the race”, said Goossens, that realized the last turn of handling. “We tried and we tried all evening. We did some of our faster times towards the end of the day. The car was not fantastic, but we followed (ahead) thanks to my equipment”.
Equally impressive it was the battle by the championship of the Daytona Prototypes, which began the most fought day like in all the motoring.
As many hoped, the result of the championship was not decided but until the last returns when the drama filled the competition. Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty arrived at the last competition to the controls of 99 car no. GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley, a point in front of Scott Pruett - with the no. 01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley- and three so many more than Max Angelelli, with the 10 no. SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley.
The drama of the championship began to be developed in return 110 when Pruett entered the car after the turn of its coequipero, Salvador Durán, and leaving pits secondly it was just located behind Angelelli (SunTrust) and five seconds in front of Jon Fogarty (GAINSCO). Five returns later, Pruett was surrounded in a battle rolls to wheel with Angelelli, in as much Fogarty had closed the difference to only three seconds of the leaders.

Taylor/Angelelli/Magnussen left the test

Whereas Angelelli maintained to ray to Pruett, it began to leave smoke his Pontiac Riley. What one was afraid that was the motor, became the back rim making contact with enemy with the defense. In return 113, a shutdown in pits fixed the problem but it sent to the machine from SunTrust to the seventh place.
Meanwhile, Fogarty had approached Pruett and looked for to pass so much to the first place of the race like of the championship. Fogarty chose its opportunity at return 115 and battled in the first curves of the circuit until Fogarty moved on the inside in curve five. The contact caused that Pruett was abriera and Fogarty was in the commando of the race.
Pruett recovered but the incident left to the no. 01 Lexus Riley with “a ponchada” rim, like the no. 99 Pontiac Riley (left advantage). With 20 curves in a circuit of 4,486 miles between both cars and the line of pits, the rim of the car of Pruett began to disintegrate itself, taking pieces of the body in the process. Equipment GAINSCO took advantage of the shutdown in pits to do its last change of pilots, putting to Gurney to the steering wheel for the final section.

The Lexus Riley damaged of Red Pruett//Lasts

The metal that had flown of the TELMEX car had to land in some side, and as the destiny decided, it cut the right back rim of the car of the third contender of the championship. While Angelelli returned to pits, its body began to suffer damages, something was broken and the later part of the car was surrounded in flames. Angelelli could take it pits, where the fire was contained, but the hopes of the Italian to obtain the championship vanished. The fire and the pieces of the car of Angelelli in the track, caused the first total yellow flag.
“We knew that we had the fastest car in a return, but knew that we could run against both (the 01 and the 99) in long distances”, Angelelli said, that started eighth and shared the responsibilities of handling with Jan Magnussen. “We had the strategy to our favor. Our car was good with old woman rims. We fight all along in the track. And to lose a race and a championship this way is not just. He is terrible. It is a bad sensation. It is going to take long time to me to forget this day and this result”.
The fourth yellow of the race had to a contact between the no. 23 Alex Job Racing Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Porsche Crawford and the no. 61 AIM Autosport Exchange Traded Gold/Barrick Gold Lexus Riley (returned 124) that caused I spin a top of the machine of Ruby Tuesday and established the last shock of the championship, now reduced to only two opponents. Gurney behind reinitiated in fifth place in the return 127 with Pruett two positions and five turns later Oswaldo Negri (60 no. Michael Shank Racing Lexus Riley) changed of position and the battle of the championship was wheel wheel.

The winners, Matthews/Goossens/Hunter-Reay de Riley-Matthews Motorsports

To only six turns of the end of the season, the sun began to descend on Pruett and its aspirations by the title. While it tried to advance to Gurney in return 132, Pruett made contact with enemy with the later part of the GAINSCO car, and so Gurney fell to 11º position and Pruett climbed to eighth.
The officials of the race determined that the contact could be avoided and gave to Pruett a penalty “drive through” by the incident. Pruett fulfilled the penalty at the end of return 136 and returned to the track in the tenth position, two behind Gurney. Pruett had advanced a place when the picture flag was shaken in return 139, being right behind the GAINSCO car.
“We were leaving (the part of) back and passed it to Negri and I was on the inside with respect to him (Gurney) and it “put” towards my a little”, said Pruett. “We touched ourselves briefly and one left line. Neither I spin a top nor nothing, only left line. This equipment has much reason why to feel proud. We work all the year hard and we ran clean all the year”.
With the result, Gurney and Fogarty become the fifth champions different from the Daytona Prototype since the class in 2003 was created, and happen to be united to Terry Borcheller (2003), Pruett and Max Papis (2004), Angelelli and Wayne Taylor (2005) and Jörg Bergmeister (2006).
“I am even trying “to fall in account” and “to digest it””, said Gurney, that obtained its first professional championship of motoring. “One feels incredible to be champion. We deserve this championship. We broke many record this year and is huge to be in highest. Today it was a great day. With Bob Stallings and Pontiac, this championship feels very well”.
Unlike its teammate, Fogarty has previous championships with which to compare.
“Any championship that is worth the trouble to be gained, is difficult to obtain”, said Fogarty. “This it was most difficult to win in my professional race, is safe. All in equipment GAINSCO we are very direct and we only concentrated ourselves in the goal ahead. That is what we did the year throughout. We always made sure to have a fast car. It is motoring and if, they are resistance races, but in the end, you must be fast. All we worked together and Bob (Stallings) was a great leader. It gave the tools us that we needed we used and them. That is what it is needed”.

The car BMW Riley of the trio integrated by Auberlen/Alhadeff/Hand

Of return to podio, the Riley-Matthews equipment celebrated its own profit. Goossens crossed the line of goal 1,280 seconds in front of the no. 11 SAMAX Pontiac Riley, handled by Enge.
“I do not know no other form to say it: this is a good form to finish the season”, said the co-owner, Matthews. “This victory came (in way) towards short while. Marc and Ryan made a great race and we were able to obtain ours first victory in the last race. We put a rim (in site) mistaken and never had bad luck. The car never lost the rate; the boys of Riley really maintained to us. This is a pretty form to go towards the 2008”.
Hunter-Reay was united to escudería by fourth time in the season, since it handled with them in the other two races of resistance of the year (Rolex 24 AT Daytona and the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) and in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The best result of Hunter-Reay with the equipment had been sixth in Watkins Glen.
“We have touched to the door by long time”, said Hunter-Reay, Novice of the Year of the IndyCar Series. “It has been about to happen by long time, so it is very good. This is motoring, never you know when it will be your moment. We were there at the moment and the place right. The today race was very funny. He was exciting, thanks to these boys”.

The Lexus Riley de Michael Shank Racing

Tying his better previous result of season SAMAX it finished second, like in Rolex 24. In the three pilots who ran Saturday, only Ryan Dalziel had participated in the 24 hours of Daytona. Kris Szekeres, that no. 11 classified and started, and Enge Takings, were united to Dalziel in Utah.
“Whenever I come and handling for SAMAX, he is one of those week ends in which we began slow but always we ended up fighting by the victory”, Dalziel said, that ran with the equipment in the Mazda Raceway Dry Lagoon. “We did not have the best car, but we were consistent”.
Enge arrived at the second place after the fire of Angelelli, happening from the quarter to the second in the first curve, during the resumption. From there, Enge could stay in the position.
Podio of Pontiac completed the no. 75 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley de Colin Braun and Nic Jönsson. Braun full-time made their last race in the Rolex Series, before beginning their stage in the stock to car she did and it with podio that will be a good memory for the young person of 18 years of age.
“We began with a little slow car during the weekend and lost positions at the beginning of the race, but we had a really good car”, said Braun. “NIC put the car to point very well. To finish third parties is fantastic. Simply I passed it phenomenal in these cars during two years”.
Jönsson obtained its second podio in the season with a machine of Krohn Racing.

The Pontiac Fabcar of the equipment Crown Royal Special Reserve

“It is tuna to finish the season in podio”, said Jönsson. “It would have wished to gain it. It was a quite hard day, in which we battled with the car. We made some adjustments and all carried out a great work they put and it where we needed that it was. Colin did a great work all the day. The equipment was tuna to finish the year with podio and it gives something exceeds what to construct us for which it comes”.
The no. 3 Southard Motorsports Preformed Line Products/TrueChoice Lexus Riley handled by Shane Lewis and Eric Lux obtained its better result of the season, a fourth place, that is its first end between the five better and the second between the 10 best ones of the season.
The group of the five first completed no. 23 Ruby Tuesday handled by Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Mike Rockenfeller.
The competitors of the Rolex Series will be homenajeados by their profits of 2007 Monday 17 of September in the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino in Fertile valleys.