PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY HOSTS INAUGURAL SUN AUTOMOTIVE 200

The second round of the Grand American Road Racing Association took place April 20-22, 2000 at the Phoenix International Speedway in Phoenix, Arizona. Set at the base of the beautiful Estrella Mountains in the picturesque Sonoran Desert, the newly renovated raceway is now the largest sporting facility in Arizona with a seating capacity of over 78.000 fans. The facility annually hosts major Championship motorsports events including the NASCAR Winston Cup series since 1988. This was the inaugural year for Grand-Am to participate.

The Sun Automotive 200 was won by The Robinson Racing/Informix/Line X/74 Ranch Resort Team. Despite the illness and last minute replacement of a driver and the installation of a new Judd engine, borrowed from the Doran Lista Team, just hours before the race, overcame all the odds to gain first place just three laps before the finish. Jack Baldwin and Irv Hoerr, who was called to replace team owner, George Robinson, drove the car to victory lane.

"It was an interesting spot to be in," said Hoerr, "because I had only run a couple of laps in the car before I got in to raceŠI did a couple of practice lapsŠand blew the motor. The crew did a great job of putting a new one in before the race. The things we've gone through this weekend shows the confidence the team has in me, to put me in the car without too much practice."

"During the race we ran hard tires, that was our strategy. We were going for only one pit stop. I know Dyson (#16) got a flat, I don't know if it was because he ran softer tires, remarked Baldwin. " We've all got flats before. Sometimes they work for you and sometimes they work against you. This was a real tough week for us. We went out in practiceŠ(and) we pulled the motorŠthen we had transmission problemsŠThen George got sick, but that's okay. We got IrvŠYea, we got a break, but we deserved it."

The Sportscar category dominated the 200 mile race, taking the first seven places over all, in contrast to GTU cars Dodge Viper and Chevrolet Corvette, who placed first and second overall in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

One of the brightest spots for the new series with a new car in the newly created AGT class was the win by Craig Conway and Doug Goad in #09 "The Spirit of Daytona" as they breezed through their very first out of Florida race. They are looking forward now to Homestead with renewed confidence in the team and the car.

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