SCC: Daytona: ICY/Phoenix Racing race repot

Subaru Factory Team Suffers "Yellow Flag Fever" at Daytona

Phoenixville, Pennsylvania - January 25, 2008 - Eleventh and twelfth place finishes were ultimately the places in which ICY/Phoenix Racing's Subaru Legacy 2.5GT Spec.B Sedans finished in Friday's Grand-Am KONI Challenge series three-hour road race at Daytona International Speedway. The simple reason: bad luck-of-the-draw on when full-course caution flags came out.

"Our cars were in fifth and sixth places with 45 minutes to go," said team co-Principal Joe Aquilante, of Phoenixville, Pa.

"We needed a refueling stop to make it to the finish, and no sooner did we complete it for both cars than somebody crashed and the safety car came out. We pitted while the cars were running at full speed, and our competition did it while the field was at reduced speed. It was a deficit that no one could have overcome."

"Our finishes weren't the fault of our great Subaru cars or fault of the drivers. It was something we couldn't control," added Dave Rosenblum of Langhorne, Pa., Aquilante's partner and one of the drivers on the Subaru Road Racing Team.

"I'm happy the team accurately determined the proper qualifying set-up and gave us competitive cars for the race," he added. "When we get to the next event in Lime Rock over Memorial Day, our Street Tuner class cars will be running separately from the Grand Sports field, so it'll be an even fight."

Finishing 11th were Kris Skavnes, Sparta, N.J., and Chuck Hemmingson, Des Moines, Iowa.

In 12th place, as Rosenblum's co-driver, was 20-year old Andrew Aquilante, driving his first professional race in a Subaru. "This was fun," said Andrew. "If you forget the yellow flag situations, I think both of our cars were top three material."

"I'm proud of the team and drivers, and happy with the mechanically trouble-free weekend the Subaru cars gave the team," noted James Han of Subaru of America, Inc. "The entire team performed well. Today, we were just passengers in the odd things that happen in racing. To give you an idea how consistent our cars and drivers are, late in the race, the fastest single race laps recorded by both team drivers were separated by only two-thousands of a mile per hour. Simply amazing."

-credit: icy/pr