Spirit of Daytona realized they had their work cut out for them heading into Round 9 of the GRAND-AM Rolex season at New Jersey Motorsports Park, but they now find themselves facing a new and different set of challenges. Following what was likely the most difficult race the team has seen this season, the crew has much to accomplish in a short time.

Heading into NJMP, the Spirit of Daytona expected challenges. The team had limited success in their previous two races at New Jersey, their #09 car finishing in 11th place both years. 2010 marked the first time for the new #90 Porsche V8 Coyote on Thunderbolt Raceway. It also was driver Buddy Rice’s first visit. Despite the handicaps, the team was confident of their chances. The #90 had not finished out of the top ten in their last seven races, recently earning their first DP
podium. Results seen in pre-race sessions added to that level of optimism. The #90 finished no lower than 4th place in any of those practice rounds, even posting the fastest lap in one. Buddy Rice qualified the car, but a spin during the qualifying session allowed limited chance to get back up to top speed as the #90 finished in 9th position.

Rice started the race and worked his way up to 7th quickly, but the day’s troubles began early on. The #9 Action Express car, driven by Terry Borcheller, had brake failure on the 13th lap. Unable to slow, he hit the rear of the Spirit of Daytona car, pushing it off track where it stalled. The incident brought out the first full course caution of the race. When Rice was able to get back underway, the #90 had fallen back to 12th place, now down several laps.

While the Action Express #9 was in the pits for lengthy repairs, Borcheller exited the car to walk to the #90 pit to assure Spirit of Daytona team owner/manager Troy Flis that the contact was unintentional. As Flis explained, “Terry apologized and told us that his brakes had failed and he couldn’t avoid hitting Buddy. As the Action Express car came in to pit immediately after the incident and was there for a long time, it was obvious something was seriously wrong. Then they finally got back out, and came back in again soon, so they definitely had problems. It is a real shame for both the Porsche V-8’s. We were certainly in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Before their day was done, the Spirit of Daytona team was dealt yet another blow. In the final ten minutes of the race, fire broke out in the rear of their car. In for his second stint, Rice immediately pulled off track and was able to exit unharmed. Although the fire was quickly extinguished, the damage was done and the #90 was sidelined until the race had ended, finishing the trouble-filled day in 10th place. The cause of the fire was later determined to be due to damage from the earlier hit. That impact damaged the oil cooler bracket. When the piece later broke off completely, it allowed oil to leak onto the hot engine and it then caught fire. While there was significant damage to the wiring harness, the team is now hard at work making the necessary repairs to get the #90 back in action for their upcoming race.

The Rolex Series will now head back to Watkins Glen for a 2 hour sprint race and the Spirit of Daytona team looks forward to their return. The Glen was the scene of their podium finish earlier this year, and the entire team will do their best to see the Spirit of Daytona make a repeat appearance in Victory Lane. The Crown Royal 200 at the Glen will take place on Saturday, August 7th, with a start time of 6:00 PM ET, and will be covered live on SPEED TV.