Alton, Va. With very little seat time, Guy Cosmo started the No. 19 Playboy/Uniden/Palms Ford Crawford from the pole for Sunday's Grand American Series VIR 400 at Virginia International Raceway. Michael McDowell--who won Saturday's inaugural Daytona Prototype qualifying race at VIR--and co-driver Guy Cosmo earned the team fourth place in Sunday's race.

“At the start of the race all I wanted to do was keep the car in the lead pack and hand it over to Michael (McDowell) as close to the front as possible,” said Cosmo, who is sitting in for injured driver, Memo Gidley. “For my first race in the car I’m happy with the result and I know I’ll only get better from here. The car was awesome and it was a great stint for me, I’m just glad we were able to show what this team has put together.”

“That was a pretty good run for us today,” added McDowell. “Guy did a great job and held his own. This was a lot to ask of someone, to get in the car without much practice and than start from the pole but he rose to the challenge. The car was great on the wet but we just missed a bit on the dry set-up."

Cosmo ran in second place right up to the first caution, all the while keeping the leader in sight.

"I went into turn one in a pretty tight bunch of cars," observed Cosmo. "Being unfamiliar with a lot of the Grand Am drivers, it was hard to predict who would go where. I suddenly found myself with no where to go and got passed on the inside. You can bet that won't happen again."

Cosmo, who is sitting in for the injured Memo Gidley, did a thirty lap stint before turning over the car to Michael McDowell. McDowell crossed the finish line in the fourth position giving the team their second top-five finish of the weekend.

Guy Cosmo's extensive background with open-wheel formula cars and sports prototypes has earned him a reputation as one of the most successful and versatile young racing drivers in North America. The 2005 American Le Mans Series Rookie of the Year ranks among the top-level road racers in the world. He has earned overall racing titles and major successes in many disciplines including karting, Formula Ford, Formula 2000, Star Mazda, Toyota Atlantic, Grand American and American Le Mans. You can learn more about Guy Cosmo at www.guycosmo.com.

The Grand American Road Racing Association was established in 1999 to return stability to major league sports car road racing in North America. As the organization begins its sixth season of competition in 2005, Grand American is universally regarded as one of the world’s fastest-growing motorsports organizations. The team will next compete in the U.S. Sports Car Invitational at the beautiful Laguna Seca Raceway on Sunday, May 7th.

The No.19 Playboy/Uniden/Palms team will next compete in the U.S. Sports Car Invitational at the beautiful Laguna Seca Raceway on Sunday, May 7th.