.:: GAINSCO TEAM LOOKS
FOR HOMETOWN EDGE WITH ROCKY MORAN Jr AT LONG
BEACH
Tuesday,
April 4th, 2006. Three races in,
GAINSCO/Blackhawk Racing is in the thick
of the Rolex Sports Car Series championship
fight and to grab an “unfair advantage” in
the first-ever Daytona Prototype street race
at Long Beach, Calif. on April 8, hometown
favorite Rocky Moran, Jr. will join Alex
Gurney behind the wheel of the No. 99 GAINSCO
Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley — a dynamic
duo of Southern California second-generation
stars.
"Driving the GAINSCO machine with Alex at Long
Beach will be awesome," Moran, Jr. said. "We
both know the track very well and we’ve even raced
against each other in our Atlantic cars. Alex is the
perfect teammate for me – he’s familiar with the car,
he’s quick and he’s a friend. I know that I’ll be able
to learn from him and together I think we can win.
In addition to family and friends, I’ll have hundreds
or maybe thousands of people from the California karting
community to root us on. I’m looking forward to giving
this race our best shot for the GAINSCO team."
Moran previously piloted the No. 99 at the season-opening
Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona — his first-ever sports
car race. The second-generation driver’s performance
there, helping the team bring home a wounded GAINSCO
Riley in 13th place in class, did much to impress
team owner Bob Stallings. Rocky’s extensive experience
on the demanding street circuit was also a key factor
in the selection — he dominated the Toyota Atlantic
Championship race there last year until mechanical
maladies put him out of the race.
"We are really pleased that Rocky will be back
on the GAINSCO team for the Long Beach Grand Prix.
He did an excellent job for us at the 24 Hours and
we are especially fortunate to have him on this street
course," Stallings said. "Being that both
Alex and Rocky are hometown boys, I think that’ll create
an added incentive – there will be plenty of family
and friends in the stands to cheer them on. We are
expecting good things this weekend."
Rocky and Alex will go street racing in sunny Southern
California starting on Friday, as practice for the
Crown Royal Grand American Challenge of Long Beach
begins at 8 a.m. Pacific time. The grid will be set
at 3:55 p.m., and the 90-minute, all-out sprint race
goes green at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The race will be
broadcast on a same-day-delayed basis on SPEED Channel
at 9 p.m. Eastern Saturday. Internet radio coverage,
live timing and scoring and race updates are available
at Grand-Am.com. For more information, visit the
team’s Web site at http://www.GAINSCOracing.com.
The primary sponsor of the No. 99 Blackhawk Motorsports
Daytona Prototype is GAINSCO Auto Insurance (Amex:GAN).
GAINSCO is a fast-growing leader in the automobile
insurance industry, and markets its nonstandard personal
line of auto insurance through a network of over
2,700 independent agents in the Southwest and across
the Sun Belt, including Arizona, California, Florida,
Nevada, South Carolina, and Texas. With its "Are
You Driven?" marketing theme, GAINSCO’s racing
program is intended build brand awareness and advance
its distribution strategies, as well as develop strong
relations with agents and customers in key markets
like Florida. GAINSCO was established in 1978 and
is based in Dallas, Texas. For more information,
visit http://www.GAINSCO.com.
Blackhawk Motorsports has been committed to excellence
in road racing since its formation in 2001. The team
campaigns the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac
Riley Daytona Prototype in the 2006 Grand American
Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal
Special Reserve. With two poles, a podium and dozens
of laps led in their maiden 2005 season, drivers
Bob Stallings, Alex Gurney and Rocky Moran, Jr. are
hungry for even greater success. The team is supported
by GAINSCO Auto Insurance, and proudly partners with
Pontiac, Riley Technologies, Puma and Ringers Gloves.
GAINSCO/Blackhawk Racing
http://www.GAINSCORacing.com
Team media contact: Travis Mason-Bushman
(510) 260-6224 – travismb@GAINSCORacing.com
GAINSCO media contact: Katie Brannan
(775) 782-7191 – katiebrannan@earthlink.net
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