Brumos Porsche 250 Date Change Pays Off With Huge Increase In Ratings/Attendance

Daytona Beach, July 9, 2009: Grand-Am Road Racing's strategic decision to change the date of the historic Brumos Porsche 250 from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon, prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, was a huge success. The event not only increased in attendance from previous years, but the live SPEED telecast attracted a viewership increase of 165 percent over 2008 in Round 7 of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

The decision to run the race as part of a doubleheader with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 presented by Coca-Cola was a strategic move to include Grand-Am Road Racing as part of the NASCAR family. The move gave NASCAR fans the opportunity to experience competitive sports car racing and, in return, sports car fans were able to experience NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.

Fans in attendance, as well as over a half million viewers tuned into the live broadcast on SPEED, watched SunTrust Racing driver Max Angelelli hold off GAINSCO driver Alex Gurney to the checkered flag in the fifth-closest finish in Rolex Series history.

"I have always believed that we have the best road racing in America, and Saturday was our big opportunity to show what Grand-Am is all about to one of the biggest audiences ever," Angelelli said. "The best part for me was that we won the race for SunTrust, and it came all the way down to the last lap, which was great for the fans at the track before the NASCAR race, and on TV."

The race earned a .48 rating, up 118 percent over the 2008 event, and was the highest rated motorsports event on SPEED during the weekend. SPEED is also working with Grand-Am and Pirelli to offer fans the chance to win a Chip Foose customized Ford Flex. To date, fans tuning into SPEED broadcasts have logged thousands of entries for a chance to win this one-of-a-kind car.

Grand-Am Road Racing's growth has been a trend throughout the 2009 Rolex Series season, with increases in event attendance and television viewership up 32 percent over the 2008 campaign.

The Rolex Series returns to action with the July 19 running of the Porsche 250 presented by Legacy Credit Union at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. The weekend will also feature a pair of KONI Sports Car Challenge races. The green flag is set to wave for the Rolex Series race shortly after 2 p.m. CT (SPEED, live at 3 p.m. ET).