Craig Stanton 2005 Grand-Am Cup Champion In Race Down to the Wire

Craig Stanton 2005 Grand-Am Cup Champion In Race Down to the Wire

 

FONTANA, Calif., October 30, 2004 - Craig Stanton won the 2004 Grand-Am
Cup GS class season championship today in dramatic fashion. Early season
predictions had put the Long Beach, Calif.-resident as the clear class
of the field for the Grand-Am Cup championship with three victories in
the first three races. However, one missed race due to other obligations
and one mechanical failure left Stanton trailing entering the
season-finale at his home track, California Speedway. In the end, the
three hour Grand American Road Racing Association-sanctioned Lexus Grand
American 250 proved why Stanton and TheRaceSite.com Racing Team are
worthy of the title "champion".

 

Stanton and teammate David Murry, of Cumming Ga., qualified the No. 43
TheRaceSite.com Racing Porsche 996 on the pole for today's multi-class
race. The 2.8-mile, 21-turn California Speedway road course,
approximately one hour from Stanton's home, combines portions of the
super-speedway and the tight infield road course making it one of the
most challenging courses on the circuit. Stanton, who entered the race
trailing four points behind former teammate Terry Borcheller,
Gainesville, Ga., needed to finish two positions ahead of Borcheller to
win the title outright and three to tie. A tie would give the immensely
popular Californian his first professional sports car championship as a
result of his six wins in ten races. Borcheller had four victories on
the year including the three opening rounds in which he co-drove
TheRaceSite.com Porsche with Stanton.

 

Starting the car, Stanton drove off to an early lead and stayed within
striking distance throughout the event's first two hours and 15 minutes.
For the remaining 45-minutes, Murry took over driving chores with an eye
towards assisting his longtime friend and multi-series teammate win the
title and his seventh race of the year. A win today would have been
Murry's fourth of 2004. However, just 11 laps from the conclusion of the
race, TheRaceSite.com entry suddenly slowed and then began spilling
fluid onto the track as a result of a broken engine-mount. The mount had
dropped the Porsche's six-cylinder boxer engine down to the point that
it was rubbing the track surface as Murry nursed the car back into pit
lane. The Nonnamaker family-owned TheRaceSite.com Racing Team
immediately attacked the car making repairs to the broken mount and
refilling the lost fluids. Despite incredible abuse from the fall and
the loss of water, the Porsche engine completed the remaining six laps
at speed earning Stanton the title. Borcheller would finish 17th, one
position short of earning the title outright. Stanton and Murry would
finish 13th in class, 22nd overall completing 83 of 89 laps.

 

The Lexus Grand American 250 will be shown on a tape-delay basis at 5pm
(ET), Nov. 7 on SPEED. Stanton will race in the Rolex Series Lexus Grand
American 400k at California Speedway on October 31st which can be seen
live on SPEED at 4 pm (ET).

 

Quotes.

Craig Stanton, 

(about winning the championship): "This was all about teamwork.
TheRaceSite.com guys have been a great, great team. It all starts with
the family and goes down from there. Our goal from the first race was to
do well in the championship. At about the mid-point of the season we
realized that we could win the championship and that became our goal.
It's really special, really neat to have a goal, a dream, come true.
Everyone was saying it was 'in the bag' but I just told them to 'hold on
a minute. Nothing it over until it's over.' And, we had to take it down
to the last race, the last lap and literally the last 15 seconds. But,
we won it and we did it here in Southern California where I learned to
race. That's pretty special for sure. I don't think Hollywood could
script it much better than this. This was a movie out there all season
long. I'm just glad it was a happy ending. There are so many people that
got me here going back to my parents, my brother, my wife Joy, David,
all my family and friends, the Nonnamakers, Porsche. I can't begin to
thank everyone. There are so many people that are key to making
something like this happen. I'm just the guy behind the wheel. Terry
gave us a great race this season and it has been fun all season long. A
little nervous there at the end but fun. Who would have guessed at
Daytona when Terry and I were celebrating together, we would end-up
fighting for the title like this?"

 

(about the race): "What could go wrong? Right? TheRaceSite.com guys
really raced hard today. In that last stop to fix the car they were
pulling pieces off of other cars and getting ours fixed as quickly as
they could. It was about doing what you had to do. Odd as it seems,
everything fell into place. What a way to end it! We were all watching
the laps because we knew just what we had to beat. David and all the
crew guys were working really hard for this. They did just an incredible
job to get it repaired and back out there. Then David did exactly what
he had to to bring it home. I am just so impressed with these guys. They
showed how badly they wanted it. We wanted to come out from the first
day racing for the win. We knew we had to. We won the pole and then just
stuck to our strategy. We led when we could without abusing the car and
let others get around us if we needed to knowing it was a long race.
When Terry's car had its problems (the No. 11 had to stop for extensive
repairs after an on-track accident), we weren't coasting but we were
watching. We kept it up towards the front and, if things had gone
differently, we might have made a hard move for the win at the very end.
This championship, really goes to the Nonnamaker family and their team.
Even when the car came in with the engine almost dragging the ground no
one gave up. Not the crew, not David, not myself. That is what desire
and true teamwork are all about. I am proud to be working with these
guys for sure. What a race! What a year!"

  

For more on Craig Stanton please visit
<outbind://22/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK2/www.cra
igstanton.com> www.craigstanton.com. Log-on to
<http://www.gandwmotorsports.com/> www.gandwmotorsports.com to learn
more about G&W Motorsports. For additional information on
TheRaceSite.com Racing team, please visit
<outbind://22/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK2/www.the
racesiteracing.com> www.theracesiteracing.com.