Doran Lista Wants Only the Best at The Glen
Doran Lista Wants Only the Best at The Glen DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 2, 2002) -- Doran Lista Racing has posted a stellar season so far in the Rolex Sports Car Series. The current points leader kicked off 2002 by winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona and followed that with victories in Miami and Fontana and second-place finishes in Phoenix and Daytona's second race. Only one racetrack this season has not seen the Doran Lista team in Victory Lane - Watkins Glen - and the August 9th Bully Hill Vineyards 250 at The Glen will give the team a chance to rectify that. The team was fourth in the SportsRacing Prototype class in its first appearance at the historic road course during the 6 Hours of The Glen. The crew spent a good portion of the race working on the car in the pits or behind pit wall after struggling with an engine electronics problem, resulting it the team's worst finish of the season. While many teams would consider fourth place in class not so bad, the Doran Lista team members left The Glen feeling they had not been able to show everyone their best. Luckily, the team will not have to wait an entire year before it gets to try again, as the Rolex Sports Car Series will return to The Glen this weekend for the Bully Hill Vineyards 250. The team views the return trip to The Glen as a chance to improve on its earlier visit and show everyone in attendance the winning form that put them on top of the point standings. The engine woes that kept the team off the podium during the 6 Hours of The Glen turned out to be a fuel-mapping problem. Though the team was left scratching its head during the race, it took only a few computer strokes to remedy the problem once it had returned to the team's home base of Lebanon, Ohio. The team knows it must be at the top of its game to win in the 250-mile sprint race. However, after winning the series' only other 250-mile race, the Nextel 250 in Miami, Doran Lista feels confident heading into The Glen. "For sure, a sprint race forgives fewer mistakes," said the team's rookie driver Fredy Lienhard Jr. "If you want to win, there's no margin for error. Losing two seconds could mean losing the lead. You could end up at the finish line with only a few seconds between the top-two cars, and then you think how easy you could have made up those seconds somewhere on the course. In a sprint race, there's just no room for error." Lienhard Jr. and his points leading co-driver Didier Theys will pilot the #27 Judd-powered Dallara in the Bully Hill Vineyards 250 on Friday, August 9 following NASCAR Winston Cup qualifying for the Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen. Tickets are currently on sale for the event and may be purchased online at www.theglen.com or by calling The Glen's ticket office at 607-535-2481. Additional information on the Rolex Sports Car Series is available online at www.grand-am.com. -30- For more information Grand American Road Racing Association Christie Hyde (386) 681-4182; email: CHyde@grand-am.com