photo by John Thawley Spirit of Daytona Racing's at-track development of the No. 09 V8 Porsche-Coyote program maintains its forward momentum this week as Guy Cosmo and the Florida based team are home for the Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Round 9 of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

In preparation for the race, the team had a chance to test last Monday at the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as part of a Rolex Series test day. The team acquired lots of new data while actually turning better times than they had reached during the Mid-Ohio race weekend. The team qualified 8th for Saturday's EMCO Gears Classic.

"The test at Mid-Ohio went exceptionally well," Guy said. "Fortunately, the conditions were dry and much more predictable than what we experienced during the EMCO Gears Classic on Saturday. The team made several changes to the No. 09 V8 Porsche-Coyote and found a lot more speed and grip. I think what we learned will translate well for this weekend's Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona."

The Mid-Ohio test provided valuable track time coming into this short one day event at Daytona.

"The other advantage of the Mid-Ohio test session," Cosmo noted, "is it will help us offset the short duration of this week's Daytona event. The Brumos 250 is a one day deal where we practice that day and race that night. Even though it's the same for everyone, track tIme is scarce."

Treacherous Conditions Left Cosmo Out in the Rain at Mid-Ohio

Guy Cosmo's weekend met an early demise during Saturday's EMCO Gears Classic presented by Key Bank at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for round seven of the Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. With the green flag dropping, clouds gathered and immediately opened up over Mid-Ohio. Within 7 laps, the course was completely immersed in water..

In addition to a soaked track, strong winds made conditions challenging for all. Despite it all, Cosmo managed to push and keep the 8th place qualifying No. 09 Coyote running firmly in the lead pack. Unfortunately, while passing for position, Cosmo was forced into a spin causing contact with the wall. The day was done for the V8 Porsche Coyote.

Other than his frustration, Cosmo walked away from the incident without injuries.

"Everything's okay, just a bit of headache," said Cosmo after the incident. "It was really challenging out there, and I'm disappointed because I enjoy driving in the rain. We were in a good spot and I think the strategy that Spirit of Daytona had in place for our driver change to get Mark (Camirand) into the car would have played out perfectly. Unfortunately though, we didn't get the chance. I'm sorry for the team but I was going around another Daytona Prototype, and I must have got just an inch of wheel on that track sealant, and from there, there was nothing I could do and the car just took off once it hit the grass."

The two-and-a-half hour (or 70 laps/250 miles) Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Round 9 of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 takes the green flag at 8:12 p.m. Thursday (SPEED, Live at 8 p.m.), with practice and qualifying earlier in the day.

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, which operates and sanctions the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 and the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series, is the premier road racing organization in North America. The 15-race 2008 Rolex Series and the 11-race KONI Challenge Series calendars deliver professional sports car racing to key markets throughout North America in addition to being televised in the United States and Canada on SPEED and distributed globally through ESPN International. Learn more about Grand-Am at www.grand-am.com.