PONTIAC GTOs DOMINATE WATKINS GLEN!

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (September 24, 2005) -- After watching their TRG teammates win in the No. 64 Pontiac GTO.R last time at Watkins Glen in August and the last race at Phoenix, Andy Lally and Marc Bunting knew it was only a matter of time before their brand-new No. 65 GTO.R crossed the finish line first in class. Fittingly, Lally crossed the stripe just ahead of Jan Magnussen in the No. 64 machine to take the GT victory in the Crown Royal 250 at The Glen.
In a race that saw six full-course cautions, Bunting and Lally avoided major trouble to log their second GT victory of the season--and ninth top-10 finish--but their first win in the GTO.R they debuted at Daytona International Speedway in July. However, it wasn't completely smooth sailing for the No. 65 duo, as Bunting slid off-course in Turn 9 and scraped the tire wall on the first lap.

"It was a busy start, there was a lot of traffic, and there were a lot of people trying to get by," Bunting said. "I got forced off-line by someone and they got me into the marbles. We had some contact with the tire wall. Fortunately the Pontiac is built strong. When I hit that wall, I didn't expect to be here at the end of the race. The car was good for Andy and it was good for me."
Bunting spent the remainder of his stint making up positions before handing the car over to Lally on Lap 15 for what would be an eventful double stint. Just after making his final pit stop of the afternoon under full-course caution on Lap 41, Lally found his way past a slowing Magnussen for second place at almost the same time as five cars tangled in Turn 4.

It would become the decisive pass in the race, as a late pit stop by leader Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 36 Ajilon Consulting/TPC Superchargers Porsche GT3 Cup handed the lead to Lally. Despite Magnussen's best efforts in the closing laps, he would come no closer than three-tenths of a second at the finish, and Bunting and Lally made it three wins in the last four races for a Pontiac GTO.R. Even more importantly, the victory moved Lally and Bunting to within just five points (323-318) of GT championship leader Craig Stanton with two races remaining on the schedule.

"We had it set up where Magnussen wasn't going to take too many chances," Lally said. "I saw Spencer Pumpelly coming and he was coming fast, so we just held it on. Jan watched my back a little bit, and they knew where we were in the points. I have to say thanks to them, it was a whole team effort and these guys did really good job. It was a solid effort by all. It has turned our points championship around."

For Magnussen and Edwards, it was their third top-two finish in their past four starts, and was their fourth top-five showing in the five Rolex Series races they've run this season. A late-race caution was the only thing that slowed TRG's two Pontiac GTO.Rs from cruising to the finish line of the historic Watkins Glen track and to the cars' third GT win in six weeks of Rolex Series competition - a run that has included nine top-five results in 11 finishes.

"I was in the car for an hour and 40 minutes and I think I did 10 green laps," said Magnussen. "It was actually a pretty easy race. Paul and the guys did a good job testing last week and it showed right from the first session, and the car was noticeably better."
"I was glad to see the No. 65 guys win the race," Edwards added. "For us, it was a great TRG result. We're looking forward to going to the next race."

Pumpelly and co-driver Randy Pobst wound up third in the No. 36 TPC Racing Porsche, followed by Ian James and Chris Gleason in the No. 22 BMW Financial Services M3 for BMW Team PTG. Kelly Collins and RJ Valentine made it two PTG machines inside the top five with a fifth-place outing in the No. 17 F1 BMW M3.

Aside from Bunting and Lally, it was a tough day for the front runners in the GT driver standings. No. 16 F1 Air BMW M3 driver Joey Hand slipped from sole possession of second place in the standings to a tie for fourth with David Murry, following a 13th-place class result. Hand joined the race several laps down after co-driver Justin Marks crashed in Turn 11 on Lap 4.
Stanton, meanwhile, started 10th in class in the No. 80 Synergy Racing Porsche GT3 Cup 10th and remained in position to score solid points before handing the car over to co-driver Murry on Lap 28. Murry found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, as he was involved in a five-car accident on Lap 44. However, Murry was able to limp the car back to its pit and returned to the track for a 12th place class finish and kept Stanton atop the points table.