Spirit of Daytona's Night to Shine

Daytona Beach, Florida (June 30, 2006) - Spirit of Daytona Racing with Bobby Labonte raced under the Daytona International Speedway lights in the Burmos Porsche 250 with a two-car effort on Thursday night. Bobby Labonte teamed up with Guy Cosmo in the DIRECTV/MarineMax sponsored 07 Crawford Daytona Prototype and finished 15th overall. The 09 Daytona Prototype driven by Doug Goad and Marc-Antoine Camirand finished in 18th position.

Spirit of Daytona and the rest of the Rolex Series competitors did not have a qualifying session for the evening race and the cars had to line up by points. Seeing that this was the 07 DIRECTV/MarineMax sponsored DP's first time racing this season, the machine started the race in 26th position. Guy Cosmo started the blue and white DIRECTV Crawford first and powered his way up to 16th place before handing the wheel over to co-driver Labonte.

"I did alright in the car, it was really hot during my stint," said a flushed Cosmo after he got out of the 07 Crawford. "It seemed like air was not getting back to me while in the car. At the start of the race I was getting blocked a lot. But I was able to gain a few spots on track." Cosmo gained 10 spots on track during his stint in the car. With Cosmo and Labonte's efforts, the 07 DIRECTV/MarineMax sponsored Pontiac was the one entry in the Rolex Series Daytona Prototype class that improved its position the most from start to finish in the race.

Cosmo and NEXTEL Cup driver Labonte were a perfect pair during the evening race. "Labonte is a great guy and I like the experience I am gaining with him," said Cosmo. Labonte jumped into the 07 machine after Cosmo's 32 lap stint and kept the car out of trouble on track. He was able to regain a top position after the driver change and was racing with the front of the pack. Labonte had to make one more pit stop for fuel and stayed in the DP for an extended stint.

Labonte said, "I was in the car for full stint and then some, it was very hot in the car. After racing in Sonoma last week I thought I could handle it. But it was hotter than I ever expected it to be." Labonte finished the 07 machine in 15th place and had to reenergize for his busy racing schedule in the Pepsi 400 on Saturday night.
In contrast to Labonte's busy race schedule the 09 DP drivers, Goad and Camirand, were finishing the last of their busy racing week. The Brumos Porsche 250 was the third race the two drivers had competed in lass than one week. Goad and Camirand raced in the EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio on Saturday then on Sunday competed in the Grand-Am Cup race in their Pontiac GTO. Even with the numerous hours of racing the two drivers logged over the past week, Goad and Camirand were excited to be racing in Daytona.

The 09 Pontiac Crawford driven by Goad and Camirand looked to be a front running car at the start of the race. Goad was passing his competitors and gaining track position at the start of his stint. Then on lap 11 the nose of the 09 Prototype came off. A quick pit stop for a new nose put the 09 car down a few laps. Goad and Camirand were not able to make up the time they missed during the early pit stop and could not get the car back on the lead lap.

Camirand jumped into the car after Goad turned 34 laps. Camirand was running his Hoosier tires ragged on track to catch his competitors. The French-Canadian was able to pass some Prototypes on the track but did not have enough time in the race to gain a top-10 finish. "The car was better than what we had this morning. It was pretty consistent throughout the race. And we brought it back in one piece. There was no major issues with the car," said Camirand.

Bobby Labonte will be joining Spirit of Daytona Racing in the next Grand American Rolex Series event at the Barber Motorsports Park on July 30.