Fast Car, Not Enough Luck for Nissan Motorsports-Doran Racing NISMO 370Z at Indy

SPEEDWAY, Indiana – It was a day of ups and downs at America's most famous speedway for the Nissan Motorsports-Doran Racing NISMO 370Z. The team netted its third top-ten finish in only five starts, but once again had a much faster car than results indicate.

It was amazing the car even had a chance to race. Just three weeks ago, the NISMO 370Z was nearly destroyed in a heavy crash after leading the Continental Challenge race at Watkins Glen, NY. The Doran team worked hard to get the car straightened and the front end rebuilt and painted to race at the Brickyard. The Nissan not only made it to the race; it became the first production sports car ever to take a pole position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday morning.

At the start of Friday afternoon's Brickyard Sports Car Challenge event, trouble struck early. GT Academy winner Bryan Heitkotter was running near the front when he spun out on lap two, rejoining the race in 30th place. With plenty of time left and a fast car, Heitkotter picked off spot after spot until he had the car in third position. Around halfway through the 2 ½ hour race, light rain started falling, and radar showed some heavy storms in the area. The Doran team changed to wet compound tires during the driver change.

Veteran racer BJ Zacharias quickly edged his way into the lead as the rain got heavier with about an hour left in the race. The Nissan team's luck ran out, however, as the storm picked up intensity and forced a red flag condition, forcing the field to stop on track. As the sun came out and the track dried, the field restarted in sunshine with a nearly dry surface. Rain tires are very slippery on a dry, hot surface, so with only about 30 minutes left in the race, the team had no choice but to bring the car in to change back to racing tires.

Zacharias was able to move up three places into 10th, but once again multiple caution flags in the final half hour did not allow enough racing time for the team to make the podium.

"The guys overcame a ton of adversity today," said Ron Stukenberg, Senior Manager of Motorsports for Nissan North America. "Bryan, BJ and the whole Doran team did a great job. They made all the right calls, but we didn't get any luck with weather. This Nissan Motorsports 370Z is a winning car and we'll get to victory lane soon."

Watch the Nissan Motorsports-Doran Racing NISMO 370Z in action at the inaugural Brickyard Sports Car Challenge on SPEED TV, Sunday, August 5 at 1:00 p.m. Central.

 For more information and the latest news about Grand Am Racing and the Continental Challenge, follow the series online at http://www.grand-am.com

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Contact:

Steve Yaeger
Nissan Motorsports
615-427-9172
http://www.Facebook.com/NissanPerformance