FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Gamble

Richmond, Virginia (January 31, 2008)

If you want to gamble, you can go to Las Vegas. Or, you can go to the race track.

Motorsport Technology Group (formerly Marcus Motorsports) and ACG Motorsports arrived in Daytona with high hopes for the Fresh From Florida 200. The support race for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, this would be the first event of our ten race season. We had good cars, a great crew, and exceptional drivers. We had performed well at the test.

The first gamble came during practice. As the cars were off the pace in the first session, significant set-up changes were required. The crew’s experience paid off and we made the right calls. We were ready for qualifying.

After ½ a lap of qualifying though, the rain appeared. By rules you aren’t allowed to switch to rain tires during qualifying. The session became a crap-shoot and no one was able to put in a representative time. All three of our cars would start near the back in 27th, 28th, and 33rd out of 46 cars.

At the drop of the green flag, Darren Law, our lead driver, went to work in the #19 car. After an hour in the cockpit, he had moved from 27th to 4th. Certainly, a testament to his driving ability. But also, a clear signal that this team has what it takes to develop and maintain front-running cars.

Unfortunately, after a driver rotation, the #19 car got caught in the pits while the field drove by. Simply bad timing. From 5th, we dropped to 65th. Game over.

During this time, Andrew Davis and Tom Milner Jr. had moved the #21 car from 33rd to the lead! Again, great driving and great teamwork. Nearing the conclusion of the race however, we were short on fuel.  It was time to roll the dice again. Pit for fuel and concede the lead? Or, try to run it out. We stayed out. We ran out. With minutes to go, the #21 car’s tank ran dry and we retired from the contest.

That left our 3rd car. Our customer car. Piloted by KONI Challenge rookie Keith Carroll and pro-driver Ryan Eversley, this car was the little engine that could. Keith ran for nearly ½ the race.  Respectable times from start to finish. Ryan took over and was one of the quickest drivers on track.

By the end, the #20 car was 11th. Frankly, better than we had expected. And, good enough to restore the smiles to the team.

We came prepared. We did our jobs, but luck was against us. We weren’t alone… 96 cars started this race, 70 finished. We’ll be back.

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