the midst of a task as monumental as the Rolex 24 At Daytona itself
Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway where the team is
rebuilding the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Chevrolet Riley after the
race car was heavily damaged in a morning practice crash with four-time
reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson at the wheel.
"I put myself in a position with a GT car that I shouldn't and paid the
price," said Johnson, who was uninjured in the incident. "I hate it
that I tore up equipment and put the guys in this spot. It looks like
we will get this fixed and hopefully everything will be good for
tomorrow."
After Alex Gurney ran the opening laps of the weekend's first practice
session, Johnson took the wheel of the No. 99 "Red Dragon" and
immediately began turning competitive times in his first on-track action
of the year. Late in the run, Johnson was passing a slower GT entry
that appeared to have given him the line in the fast run through the
infield "kink" only to have the other car move over on the GAINSCO
machine. Johnson spun off course and the No. 99 made heavy contact when
it backed in to a safety barrier.
The initial inspection of the damaged No. 99 team revealed a severely
bent rear bulkhead in the engine compartment area. The GAINSCO team was
thought to be done for the weekend but the team later determined a
repair was possible after consulting with personnel from chassis
constructor Riley Technologies.
"After reviewing several options we made the decision to repair the
car," said Team Owner Bob Stallings. "Our first plan was to bring our
No. 98 back-up car from our shop in Texas but that would have required
some all-night driving and then a marathon preparation session. The
crew will still have to work most of this evening but ultimately
repairing the No. 99 was the best choice."
The extensive repair will basically center on replacing the angular
U-shaped bulkhead at the very back of the Riley. The damaged part of
the car will be removed and the replacement chassis components and a jig
that will be used in the installation were being flown from Riley
Technologies headquarters in Charlotte to Daytona early Thursday evening
on one of Johnson's airplanes. After the new structure is in place, the
GAINSCO team will then have about five hours of additional work ahead of
them. If all goes to plan, they will be able to participate in Friday's
first scheduled practice session at 9 a.m.
"We should be fine," Gurney said. "It was a tough opening day, for
sure, but we have been up against it before. I got to run a few laps in
the morning and the car seemed pretty good. We have it the way we want
to run it in the race and we should be OK, but it is going to be a long
night for the guys. The crew is basically doing a 24 hour before the 24
hour but we are working on a way to get them some sleep early tomorrow
afternoon. So they will get in a little bit and definitely it will be a
long weekend for those guys, but hopefully we will be smiling at the end
of it."
Jon Fogarty and Jimmy Vasser didn't get a chance to drive Thursday as
the team missed both qualifying and night practice but joined the rest
of the GAINSCO team in staying optimistic.
"The Red Dragon lives," Vasser said. "GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing is a
champion team and this just gives us a chance to prove it."
Live coverage of the 2010 Rolex 24 on SPEED begins on Saturday, January
30, at 3 p.m. EST/12 p.m. PST, prior to the race start at 3:30 p.m.
local time. SPEED's first round of programming lasts until 10 p.m.
EST/7 p.m. PST and then resumes at 7 a.m. EST/4 a.m. PST on Sunday with
coverage until the checkered flag and through the post-race ceremonies
until 4 p.m. EST/1 p.m. PST.
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