• Home
• Reviews
• Insurance
• New Car Buyer's Guide
• Buyer's Guides By Make
• Auto Parts
• Video/Audio
• PennySaver

Front-Row Rebound For GAINSCO/Bob Stallings And Jon Fogarty In Qualifying For Montreal

GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing made a front-row rebound Friday in qualifying for today's Montreal 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where Jon Fogarty captured the outside-pole starting position with a lap time of 1:33.707 (104.073 mph) in the repaired No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley. Today's 74-lap race on the 2.709-mile Isle Notre Dame circuit starts at 4:15 p.m. ET and can be seen later on Friday in same-day coverage on SPEED at 8 p.m. ET.

Fogarty's on-track effort was supported by an equally strong performance by the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing crew that worked late into the night yesterday after Fogarty was caught up in a Thursday practice accident. Fogarty was uninjured in the incident but the No. 99 required right front and extensive rear-end repairs after backing into the wall. After doing all they could to return the No. 99 to racing shape last night and earlier on Friday, Fogarty took to the track for qualifying without running a single practice lap in the repaired GAINSCO machine.

"Qualifying was the first opportunity we had to run the car since we had a pretty good wreck yesterday," said Fogarty who will co-drive in the Montreal 200 with teammate and fellow Rolex Series Champion Alex Gurney. "It was a little bit of an unknown, but I have faith in our crew. They are good guys and put the car back together perfectly."

Fogarty was second fastest halfway through the session and improved his lap times twice in the final minutes to secure GAINSCO's fourth front-row start of 2008. GAINSCO and Fogarty also qualified second at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Mid-Ohio and in the Brumos Porsche 250 At Daytona.

"The only issues were that we had to put a new set of brakes on the car going into qualifying so I had to get those up and running before I could put a good lap in," Fogarty said. "The car felt good and I was happy with the balance. I think I got all I could out of it."

Fogarty will share the front-row with the championship-leading No. 01 TELMEX/Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley and Scott Pruett, who made a rare qualifying appearance.

"Unfortunately, our lap wasn't good enough to catch the No. 01 car. I think it is going to be an interesting race. It is a shorter duration than we usually run and there will be some differences in pit strategies going on. We certainly have a good race car and it is 100%. I have to thank the crew for working all night."

The Montreal 200 is just the second race this season that requires Rolex Series competitors to qualify and race on the same day. Fogarty will start the race and later hand the No. 99 over to Gurney who will take the GAINSCO race car to the checkered flag. The 74-lap race has a two-hour time limit, 45 minutes shorter than most Rolex Series sprint races.

About GAINSCO Auto Insurance

The primary sponsor of the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Daytona Prototype is GAINSCO Auto Insurance (Amex:GAN), a Dallas, Texas-based auto insurer that distributes policies through a network of thousands of independent agents across Sunbelt states. GAINSCO uses its "Are You Driven?®" motorsports sponsorship and marketing campaign to build brand awareness and advance its distribution strategies.