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Banner Pontiac GXP.R Wins At Barber Collins And Edwards Win From Pole Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards posted their first Rolex Series GT victory today in the No. 07 Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R in the Bradley Arant 250 Presented by Porsche at ...

Edited: Jul 22, 2007, 7:00 PM

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Banner Pontiac GXP.R Wins At Barber
Collins And Edwards Win From Pole

Kelly Collins and Paul Edwards posted their first Rolex Series GT victory today in the No. 07 Banner Engineering Pontiac GXP.R in the Bradley Arant 250 Presented by Porsche at Barber Motorsport Park. Teammates Leighton Reese and Tim Lewis Jr. came home in fourth in the No. 06 Pontiac GXP.R in round ten of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve.

Collins started the two-hour-and-forty-five minute race from pole position and quickly sped out to a commanding lead before the 45-minute compulsory pit stop. The Californian then turned the wheel over to Paul Edwards who set fast lap of the race and won by a margin of more than 30-seconds.

"We found a great balance and could run the same times that we could in practice," Edwards said. "The car really never fell off. There wasn't one misque with the car all race. Kelly had some issues with the tires, the guys made some tire pressure adjustments for me and it worked out. It was perfect, pole, fast lap and the win. This win is a long time coming. Everything just fell into place today.

Leighton Reese and Tim Lewis Jr. were having some trouble with the 96-degree heat as the cool suit in their No. 06 Banner GXP.R was not working. Lewis managed to maintain his focus and make a last turn, last lap pass on the No. 70 to take fourth on the day.

"The car was loose, it had some over and some under steer," Lewis said. "It was hot, the cool suit was not working and it was a chore to maintain concentration. I was able to keep the pressure on the 70 and pass him in the last turn coming to the checker. The guys in the pits did a great job. I think they made up three positions for Leighton and two for me when we came in, just a great job by the Banner crew today.

The No. 30 Racers Edge Motorsport Pontiac GXP.R had a strong run at the hands of Drew Staveley and Eric Lux. Staveley was able to bring the car back up to the front and eventually finish sixth after falling back to ninth.

"I couldn't get any water after that last caution and it was hot," said Staveley. "I was having trouble getting off of the corner, but no trouble getting in. I tried to put a move on the 06 going into turn three and went off. That cost me some time, but I was able to recover. Toward the end I was on his bumper, but he was faster in some sections and I was fast in others, just evenly matched. It was a good run for the Racers Edge team today."

-credit: gm racing

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