Armed Forces 250, Infineon Raceway – Preview
AIM Aims For A Hat Trick

After totally dominating the last round of the Grand-Am Rolex Series on the Watkins Glen short course, AIM Autosport duo Mark Wilkins and Brian Frisselle will be looking to make it three in a row at Saturday’s Armed Forces 250 in Sonoma and continue a remarkable upswing in form after an unremarkable first half to the season.

If they do win the 250 mile race this weekend, they will be the first team to get three in a row since Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney managed it last season (Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio and Daytona) in the #99 GAINSCO Bob Stallings Pontiac Riley, in what turned out to be their championship year. Such an eventuality is not possible for the #61 duo in 2008 – mathematically, it is, but the set of results required just isn’t credible – although third place in the championship is very much within their grasp.

This year’s title race is still led by Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in the #01 TELMEX Chip Ganassi racing Lexus Riley and, even though the gap to the #99 was reduced to 49 points at the Glen, they would have to try hard to lose the title now. Three top-twelve finishes is all they require, even if Fogarty and Gurney win all of the remaining races.

"It's been nothing short of a fabulous year for us," said Pruett. "The crew, Memo, all the Ganassi guys and the whole organization has been fabulous. There are two things coming into Infineon. One, with the way we've been running, we're looking forward to that and more so, it's my home track. I'll have a lot of friends and family here, along with a lot of Scott Pruett fans."

"We are not conceding anything," countered Fogarty. "Watkins Glen was a great event and that track seems to be good to us. Infineon has also been one of our better tracks so if we can put together another podium or win, we can still stay in this thing."
 
They could take the title this weekend, but it would require them to win and for the #99 to retire within the first 30 minutes (after which point they would be eligible for points); again, a very unlikely situation.

So the chances are that we can look forward to another hard-fought encounter, with multiple potential winners.

Despite finishing on the podium five time out of the last six races, Darren Law and David Donohue still haven’t made it to the top step in the #58 Brumos Racing Porsche Riley . They and the team fully deserve – and will certainly be striving for – at least one victory, although they could yet finish as runners-up in the series without one.

"I think our team as a whole has really gelled and in our hearts we've already won one; it's just that nobody really knows it yet," said Donohue. "There is no entry in the record book to show the effort this team has put in. We have a lot of resolve and I think that it just makes us even more motivated, and as I said, in our hearts and minds we have already won. It's just that 10 years from now, no one will ever recall that we had that dramatic finish and almost won, so that's the heartbreaking part, but that just makes us want it all the more."

It’s a similar story for their team mates in the #59 car. Joao Barbosa and JC France lie in fourth, only 14 points further back, although their finishing record hasn’t been as consistent of late.

"I have never raced at Infineon, so I will need to get up to speed quickly and be competitive to make sure we can continue the momentum Brumos has shown," said Barbosa. "We have had a good result in most of the races so far, and I want to continue to show the same pace here, even if I'm not familiar with the track in the beginning. I know we have a very good shot at being on the podium - that's definitely my goal!"

The Cheever racing duo of Christian Fittipaldi and Antonio Garcia look to be gelling well in the #16 Pontiac Coyote – finishing the last two races in the top six – and could be in real contention for at least a podium visit this weekend; and expect to see Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand mixing it at the front end in the rejuvenated #23 AJR/Ruby Tuesday Porsche Riley.

"I love racing at Sear's Point [Infineon]," Hand, who resides in nearby Sacramento, said. "It's my home track. In fact, I started my racing career there. They call Sear's Point a driver's track and I'd like to think that Bill and I are two of the best out there. And, with the way we've been running, I don't think there is a better track to take our momentum to. If we can get the set up close right out of the trailer, we are going to be very tough to beat."

 
"I have had some really good success there," Auberlen said. "I really want to win this race and I think we have the car to do it. Alex [Job], Greg [Fordahl] and all of the guys have been giving us a perfect car. Now, we just have to go out and get it done."

Track activity begins late on Thursday afternoon with practice; with qualifying on Friday and the race on Saturday afternoon. The race will be shown tape-delayed on Speed on Sunday.