Watkins Glen II: Magnus Racing race report

Relief for Magnus Racing -- to get out of Watkins Glen

August 9, 2010 (Watkins Glen, NY) -- Magnus Racing drivers John Potter and Craig Stanton entered Saturday's Crow Royal 200 at the Glen with hopes of finishing the race as they felt they should have finished June's Sahlen's Six Hour of the Glen -- on the podium.J Their hopes, however, fell apart along with the right rear tire on the team's No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the early stages of the two-hour contest. A second failed tire, as well as persistent braking problems in the latter stages of the race, meant that Stanton drove the car back to the team trailer and into retirement before the race was over -- capping a frustrating season at the track and ruining Stanton's hopes of seeing Potter do pushups in victory circle.

"We had a phenomenal car here in June, and for some reason we just couldn't find the magic here this weekend," said Stanton. "The guys worked so hard all weekend -- we threw everything we had at it -- and it's one of those deals where things just didn't go right at all. We're all really scratching our heads about it, but having two tire failures is something that you can't recover from on the short course at the Glen. It's bizarre that we had all these problems, but this is the best crew in the GRAND-AM pits and I know they will make the car perfect for Montreal."

The struggles that his team faced this weekend have left team owner John Potter contemplating new strategies for the coming races in Trois-Rivieres, Montreal, and Utah.

"Someone in upstate New York put a curse on green cars," said Potter. "We started with a rough time in qualifying and ended with a bad time in the race. The only good thing was I avoided Craig challenging me to do pushups after the race. We must not have enough New Yorkers on our team. Thankfully, we have plenty of Canadians, but we'll get more for Trois Rivieres and Montreal. I'm from Salt Lake City, but I'll have to make sure that half of the city is out there for the GRAND-AM finale and they are all wearing green."

Potter will team with Leh Keen for next weekend's Continental Sports Car Challenge race at Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche Cayman. The duo has a best finish in 2010 of second, at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course. Following that will be the Rolex Sportscar Series event in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, followed by the GRAND-AM season finale at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.

-source: magnus racing