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Tommy Bahama and Brian Simo Let One Get Away at Laguna Seca

20 October 2000

HUFFAKER/QVALE MOTORSPORTS, TOMMY BAHAMA, AND BRIAN SIMO STILL HAVE 
MATHEMATICAL SHOT AT TITLE AFTER FINISHING  26TH IN LAGUNA SECA TRANS-AM

MONTEREY, Calif. (October 18, 2000) — It may not be over 'till the fat lady 
sings, but she was warming up after the GlobalCenter Sports Car Championships 
Presented by Honda last weekend at Laguna Seca Raceway. A lap 12 collision 
between Brian Simo in the #88 Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports Tommy Bahama Qvale 
Mangusta and the Jaguar of point leader Paul Gentilozzi during the BFGoodrich 
Tires Trans-Am Series race sent Simo sailing off course. Though Simo limped 
back to the pits and later rejoined the race, he'd suffered extensive damage 
and could do little but circulate the track and try to pick up valuable 
championship points. Even that wasn't enough; Simo was scored 26th at the 
end, just out of the points, while Gentilozzi finished third to extend his 
championship lead. Still, with two races remaining on the schedule a slim 
chance remains that Simo and the Tommy Bahama squad could take the season 
title.

"We still have a shot at it, and there's no quit in this team," noted 
Huffaker/Qvale Motorsports vice president and technical director Joe 
Huffaker, "I was proud of how our guys got the car repaired enough for Brian 
to get back out on the track, but there was too much damage to be able to 
really race. We haven't made things any easier on ourselves by finishing out 
of the points here.

"This was hard to take; we felt this was our home track and we had a lot of 
supporters here. But the next two are in our court, too, and we'll keep our 
chins up and go for them just as hard as before. We can only control what 
happens to us, so if we all execute the way we know we can, we'll be in good 
shape for those two races. Then the points will fall where they may; we can't 
control what happens to anyone else."

Simo, who has three race wins and six consecutive fastest race laps this 
year, is the only driver remaining with a chance at catching Gentilozzi in 
the points. The final two races of the 2000 Trans-Am season will take place 
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV on October 29, and in San Diego 
on November 5.

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