Grand-Am

Laguna Seca: TRG qualifying report

fast start TRG owner Kevin Buckler will start the No. 88 Comfort Systems USA Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car second on the GT grid for the Rolex Sports Car Series race at Laguna Seca Raceway on Sunday. Buckler, who shares the car with Steve Johnson, ...

Published: May 1, 2005, 5:58 PM

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fast start

TRG owner Kevin Buckler will start the No. 88 Comfort Systems USA Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car second on the GT grid for the Rolex Sports Car Series race at Laguna Seca Raceway on Sunday. Buckler, who shares the car with Steve Johnson, turned a fast lap of one minute 32.867 seconds on the 2.238-mile road course.

"That was fun! We have a good car for the race," Buckler said. "The track's great right now, but the traffic is a nightmare. I don't know how we're going to get through it without some major carnage. Staying out of trouble is going to be more important than lap times."

passing strategy

Passing is always tricky with more than one class of cars on track, but the slippery Laguna Seca surface makes it even more challenging. Marc Bunting has his eye on the Rolex Series GT championship, so he plans his strategy accordingly.

"Sometimes you've got to give up a couple of tenths [of a second] to give a prototype a clean pass. You might give up a half-second on one lap, but you're going to be there the next lap. You have to pick and choose your times to be aggressive," he explained. "We're trying to stay competitive and go as fast as we can, but at the same time be a little bit cautious and think about the big picture."

local lore

Dan Pastorini started racing in northern California -- at his father's restaurant. "My dad built a little quarter-midget race track outside the restaurant to attract people. It was called the Purple People Eater," he recalled. "We had about six kids around town who had souped-up quarter-midgets and we used to race out there on Friday and Saturday nights."

After a successful career as quarterback for the Houston Oilers, Pastorini returned to his California roots, working with his nephew at Data Works Plus, based in the Bay Area. The company sells digital photo-management systems to law-enforcement agencies.

-trg-

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