Alex Gurney (and Jon Fogarty) held off Scott Pruett (and Memo Rojas) in a 20-minute sprint to win Sunday's Porsche 250 by 0.759 seconds, tying the Daytona Prototype point standings with only four races remaining in the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series season.
The closing laps encompassed a three-car fight, with Michael Valiante able to pull alongside Pruett several times in the No. 6 Ford Riley started by John Pew. Valiante finished third, 1.261 seconds back.
Two of the four leading championship contenders entering the event experienced problems in the opening laps.
SunTrust Racing drivers Brian Frisselle and Max Angelelli entered the race one point behind Pruett and Rojas. Frisselle went off course and was stuck in a gravel trap on Lap 3, bringing out the first caution period. He lost four laps. The team was able to make up one lap but finished 14th, and is now 16 points out of the lead with 215 points.
In Acxiom GT class, Stevenson Motorsports stretched the opening shifts for both Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell, who had fresher tires in the stretch run en route to a second victory in 2009.
Liddell won over Nick Ham and Sylvain Tremblay. Paul Edwards and Kelly Collins took third, followed by Joe Foster and Charles Espenlaub.
Keen and Dirk Werner placed fifth after winning the past three GT races and four of the last five. They maintained their points lead over Edwards and Collins, who closed to within 25 points with four events remaining (247-222). Tremblay and Ham moved from fifth to third in the standings with 211 points.
The next action will be the Crown Royal 200, Friday, Aug. 7 at Watkins Glen International, when the Grand-Am Rolex Series races in conjunction with the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.
In KONI Challenge ST, Ian Baas and Josh Hurley turned in a dominating performance Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, leading 76 of the 83 laps to win the Legacy Credit Union 200.
Andrew Carbonell, who took over for 15th-place starter Rhett O'Doski finished second, 4.118 seconds behind Hurley. Skavnes held on for third.
In the GS race, Bret Seafuse and James Gue led 65 of the 90 circuits, with Gue beating point leader Ken Wilden to the stripe by 1.863 seconds while running low on fuel. The team appeared on its way to win here a year ago, only to need to stop for a splash of fuel late in the race which led to a second-place finish.
Wilden took second. He retained his point lead over Seafuse and Gue (236-218), while Dean Martin remained third with 206 points.
Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr. placed third.
Only three races remain for the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge, which next sees action Aug. 15-16 at Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada.
photo:Grand-Am
The closing laps encompassed a three-car fight, with Michael Valiante able to pull alongside Pruett several times in the No. 6 Ford Riley started by John Pew. Valiante finished third, 1.261 seconds back.
Two of the four leading championship contenders entering the event experienced problems in the opening laps.
SunTrust Racing drivers Brian Frisselle and Max Angelelli entered the race one point behind Pruett and Rojas. Frisselle went off course and was stuck in a gravel trap on Lap 3, bringing out the first caution period. He lost four laps. The team was able to make up one lap but finished 14th, and is now 16 points out of the lead with 215 points.
In Acxiom GT class, Stevenson Motorsports stretched the opening shifts for both Andrew Davis and Robin Liddell, who had fresher tires in the stretch run en route to a second victory in 2009.
Liddell won over Nick Ham and Sylvain Tremblay. Paul Edwards and Kelly Collins took third, followed by Joe Foster and Charles Espenlaub.
Keen and Dirk Werner placed fifth after winning the past three GT races and four of the last five. They maintained their points lead over Edwards and Collins, who closed to within 25 points with four events remaining (247-222). Tremblay and Ham moved from fifth to third in the standings with 211 points.
The next action will be the Crown Royal 200, Friday, Aug. 7 at Watkins Glen International, when the Grand-Am Rolex Series races in conjunction with the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.
In KONI Challenge ST, Ian Baas and Josh Hurley turned in a dominating performance Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, leading 76 of the 83 laps to win the Legacy Credit Union 200.
Andrew Carbonell, who took over for 15th-place starter Rhett O'Doski finished second, 4.118 seconds behind Hurley. Skavnes held on for third.
In the GS race, Bret Seafuse and James Gue led 65 of the 90 circuits, with Gue beating point leader Ken Wilden to the stripe by 1.863 seconds while running low on fuel. The team appeared on its way to win here a year ago, only to need to stop for a splash of fuel late in the race which led to a second-place finish.
Wilden took second. He retained his point lead over Seafuse and Gue (236-218), while Dean Martin remained third with 206 points.
Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr. placed third.
Only three races remain for the Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge, which next sees action Aug. 15-16 at Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada.
photo:Grand-Am