It was a beautiful day at Virginia International Raceway for the Rolex Grand-Am Series Bosch Engineering 250. The hot sunny weather and a highly competitive field of 38 race cars helped pack the infield with 30,000 eager spectators.

After a dramatic qualifying session, driver Rob Finlay started the No. 2 Getleman Jack Pontiac Crawford DP08 in 12th position. Making a great start, Finlay completed the first lap in 10th place and was menacing the cars ahead for further gains. It was only a lap later that Finlay became the innocent victim of a spinning Guy Cosmo, who clipped the No. 2 and caused damage that would have consequences later in the race.  As a result, Finlay dropped four spots in the running order, but green-flag racing continued.

"I got a great jump at the green flag," said Finlay. "We picked up a couple of spots on the first lap, and I was feeling confident about picking off the next few cars ahead when Guy Cosmo had an incident and, while spinning, clipping my right front, forcing me off course. I lost most of the spots I had gained but the car still felt good and I was able to continue."

A full-course caution on lap eight gave the team the opportunity to get the first pit stop out of the way with a quick stop for fuel only.  The move allowed Finlay to get on with the task of moving up throught the field only to have a second caution slow the filed again.  At this moment, the slight damamge of the contact with Cosmo became apparent, as Crew Chief Catherine Wallace noticed on the telemetry the loss of pressure in the right-front tire. This situation, unfortunately, came exactly as the race went back to green, so Finlay was called in immediately to pit and change all four tires while under green. He was sent on his way to begin a third climb through the field.

Another caution on lap 24 gave the team the window of opportunity to call Finlay back onto pit lane to put Andy Wallace in the car, sending him on his way with only one more pit stop required. This excellent strategy paid dividends as other teams were required to make another stop and, by lap 48, Wallace found himself at the head of the field. It was a position he's very familiar with and was driving hard to maximize the gap to the rest of the field before making his final pit stop. 

"Rob handed over the car in great shape after an impressive drive," said Wallace, "and through a great car and clever team strategy, we fought our way into the lead. Team strategy dictated the final pit stop and we knew we could then run hard to the finish, with the likelihood, if the race stayed green, cars ahead of us needing a final 'splash and go' pit stop."

Resuming in the seventh spot after his last pit stop, Wallace really put the hammer down, pressuring those ahead that he knew were on a very marginal fuel situation. He was in great position for a top-five finish when a terminal mechanical failure forced retirement in the final minutes of the race.

"It's a shame because we seemed to have overcome our early setbacks and were looking at a good finish.  Everyone has worked so hard to get us into this position, " said Wallace. " I know our sponsor "Gentleman Jack" had executives at the track today, and it's thanks to their support and commitment that we're competing, so I hope they enjoyed the time we had the Gentleman JackPontiac Crawford in the lead. I'm glad to see that our engine partner was still able to get the race win."

"It was a disappointment for the whole team," said Finlay. "The car, the team and the strategy were excellent today but we just didn't get the breaks.  All the pieces are in place and we'll be back for more next week."

Childress-Howard Motorsports Co-owner, Rick Howard said "Our team was fantastic today. We had a series of opportunities but Rob (Finlay) and Andy (Wallace) drove their hearts out to get the Gentleman Jack Pontiac Crawford into the lead. The team performed wonders with the strategy and pitstops. For it all to end as it did is hard but we're fighters and will be back for more next week at New Jersey. VIR and Grand-Am provided excinting racing and a spectacular event or this huge crowd of fans.

"i'm very pleased with the progress out team has made between Daytona and now," stated Richard Childress, Team Co-owner. "They worked their way to the lead and showed the strength we knew we were capable of when we put this program together. The good thing is that we can now take this momentum to the race next weekend in New Jersey."

The Rolex Sports Car Series returns next Sunday, May 3, at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey. Live coverage on Speed begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Andy Scriven