Starting off the weekend right - quick times in the morning!

Once again, Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty put the GAINSCO Auto Insurance machine right where it belongs - up in the top ranks of the Grand-Am field. We're at the beautiful and historic Watkins Glen International, and in this morning's opening practice session, Alex held P1 for much of the way before being bumped off late in the going by teams that threw on fresh tires just to get fast laps. We ended up fourth - just two-tenths of a second behind the leader. The 99 car has become a fixture on the scoreboard, and we'll look for another strong qualifying run this afternoon.

Both Alex and Jon complained of an understeering car, though both agreed that tweaks made by Kyle Brannan helped somewhat. The hard-working GAINSCO boys are at work as we speak to improve the GAINSCO machine for the second, 45-minute practice session coming up in about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Jon and Alex are talking things over with Kyle to help him determine what changes need to be made - a little bit softer shocks, perhaps, or a tad more front downforce. All sorts of adjustments are available to make the 99 a dream to drive.