Every race is important, but Saturday afternoons Brumos Porsche 250 was a particularly big moment for Spirit of Daytona Racing, as the team deployed a two-car Daytona Prototype entry in the 70-lap sprint for round seven of the 2009 Rolex Sports Car Series season.

The one-day race weekend was key for the team as it marked the Rolex Series competition debut for the newest-specification Porsche V8-powered Coyote with drivers Antonio Garcia and Buddy Rice behind the wheel of the No. 90 machine.

Despite the schedule of the Brumos Porsche event being an intense affair, with practice, qualifying, and the race start all taking place within five hours, the new Coyote didn’t miss a beat as the team soaks up every bit of data, driver impression, and feedback that the car has to offer as it sees development time during the heat of Rolex Series battle.

Rolex 24 At Daytona Champ Buddy Rice qualified the machine on the seventh row, and despite having to make an extra pit stop to evaluate a vibration early on, was a threat to the top-ten thorough out his stint. Garcia then took over the controls, but before he could work his way forward, the Boy Scouts of America machine was off-course with damage after an apparent tire failure, which ended the day on lap 36 for the No. 90.

“I heard a sound and felt it bottom out, and then it turned, immediately,” said Garcia, who had been hoping to visit victory circle as he had in January’s Rolex 24. “This track is different from the others, so it was good to get some miles here with the new car. We just need to keep working, and learning this car step by step, learning all we can and looking ahead. We know it is a big challenge, but the car was already getting faster through the race.”