Guy Cosmo - Barber Motorsports Park
For Immediate Release Contact: John Thawley Guy Cosmo - Barber Motorsports Park Race Wrap-Up Though the weather threatened and the track was enveloped in extreme humidity and heat, it would take a broken suspension piece to spoil the day for Guy Cosmo, Bobby Labonte and the Spirit of Daytona MarineMax 09 Pontiac Crawford. Through it all, the team stayed focused and Bobby and Guy wrestled home the ill-handling 09 MarineMax Prototype in 21st place for the Porsche 250 Presented by Bradley Arant at the Barber Motorsports Park. The team qualified 16th with Labonte in the car. As the qualifying driver, it was Bobby's role to start the race. After running a 7 lap caution period at the start of the race, the No. 77 Doran made contact with Labonte putting him off line and into the grass. A suspension piece broke sending Bobby [in an extremely muddy #09 car] to pit lane and the team scrambling to repair the damage. After going nine laps down and enduring another long caution, Labonte turned the car over to Cosmo. A result of the earlier damage created quite a challenge braking in traffic. "With the repair we had to make to the rear suspension, the corner weight in the car was a bit off," noted Cosmo. "That has a big effect on the car under braking. It made things much more difficult to get through traffic. "It was pretty tough on the front left and I was braking really early," Guy continued. "I flat spotted the front tires pretty bad. The car was still very good though," Cosmo remained optimistic in Spirit of Daytona's efforts and their potential to be competitive. "The team did an excellent job getting the car ready for this weekend," Cosmo acknowledged. "And, I think Bobby and I are communicating well as teamates. It is just a shame that we were not able to show how quick we were. We owe this one to MarineMax, a big thanks to them for being loyal to us." The Porsche 250 Presented by Bradley Arant at the Barber Motorsports Park was the 11th Grand American Rolex Series race of the season. Labonte and Cosmo will return to the track once again at Watkins Glen on August 11. Guy Cosmo's extensive background with open-wheel formula cars and sports prototypes has earned him a reputation as one of the most successful and versatile young racing drivers in North America. The 2005 American Le Mans Series Rookie of the Year ranks among the top- level road racers in the world. He has earned overall racing titles and major successes in many disciplines including karting, Formula Ford, Formula 2000, Star Mazda, Toyota Atlantic, Grand American and American Le Mans. You can learn more about Guy Cosmo at www.guycosmo.com. The Grand American Road Racing Association was established in 1999 to return stability to major league sports car road racing in North America. As the organization begins its sixth season of competition in 2005, Grand American is universally regarded as one of the world’s fastest-growing motorsports organizations. MarineMax is the nation's largest and most successful boat retailer with over 85 retail locations in 21 states. MarineMax is the industry leader, selling new and used recreational boats and related marine products and provides yacht brokerage services. The company complements its industry leading brands with exclusive, value-added services, such as dedicated delivery captains, classroom and in-water customer training, and professionally organized Getaways cruises. Photo Credit: John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group _______________________________________________________________________ John Thawley ~ Creative Communications Group @ www.c2group.com ~ 248.356.5699