Darren Law - We Were So, So Close

August 2, 2008 — Montreal, Quebec, Canada — 

CDOC World Team Driver Darren Law expected to be excited following his third-place finish in Friday's Montreal 200. It marked the fourth podium finish for himself and David Donohue in the No. 58 Brumos Porsche Riley. Out of the top 20 in points only a few weeks ago, the result also moved the pair to a tie for fifth in the Daytona Prototype championship standings.

If one saw the finish, though, they would realize Law's disenchantment with the results from Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

"Honestly, that was the most disappointing podium I ever had," Law said. "We had run so hard. David did an excellent job on his stint, and we earned our way to the front. Then, we led the last 30 minutes or so.

"Heck, I could see the finish line," Law added. "I just missed it. It was so close. To lead it all the way to the last 50 feet is just the worst feeling."

Only feet from the finish, Law's Porsche stumbled from fuel starvation. Antonio Garcia, who was running second in Eddie Cheever's No. 16 Crown Royal Cask No. 16 Pontiac Coyote, swerved to the right. Seeing the lane blocked, Garcia passed Law to the left. Mark Wilkins, who had taken the white flag in fourth, made his move to the right and passed both Garcia and Law, winning the closest finish in Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Cask No. 16 history. Wilkins edged Garcia by .064 seconds. Law was third, .654 seconds behind in the closest 1-2-3 finish in series' history.

"Everything went right," Law said. "We had a great car. With two laps to go, they told me on the radio that Joey Hand was starting to run out, so I switched my engine mapping.

"On the last lap, it died in the horseshoe, but I got it going again," he continued. "It started sputtering on and off on the whole back straight. I was hoping to hold on, but I knew it would be close. It was barely running when I crossed the line.

"If we ran out with five laps remaining, you could say we screwed up," he added. "But we were so, so close."

While Law held on for third, Hand failed to finish in Alex Job's No. 23 Ruby Tuesday Porsche Riley. GT also saw Porsche lose a 1-2 lead on the last lap, when both Farnbacher Loles Porsche GT3s ran out of fuel.

"Porsche could have been 1-2 in both Daytona Prototype and GT," Law said. "Instead, the best we could do was third."

Sunday, Law was back home in Phoenix, spending time with the family and beginning preparations for his upcoming trip to Watkins Glen, N.Y. The Daytona Prototypes will be back in action Friday night in the Crown Royal 200, part of Watkins Glen International's monster weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.

"We would love to get it at The Glen," Law said. "That's where Bob Snodgrass grew up, and he was always excited to go back there. The Glen would be a great place to do it.

After a slow start, the Brumos team finished fifth in the fifth race of the season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. They followed that with back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen and at Mid-Ohio. A fifth-place finish was followed by another runner-up finish at Barber Motorsports Park, where Law charged and nearly caught Scott Pruett in what was - at the time - the fourth-closest finish in Rolex Series history.

The Montreal finish would be even closer.

"The first four races this season, we almost didn't finish any of them," Law said. "Since then, though, we've dug ourselves out of the hole and are back into contention. Heck, we're only 18 points out of second (in the team standings). With a little luck, we might even catch the GAINSCO guys."

Joining Law and Donohue in the top 10 in the driver standings are Brumos teammates JC France and Joao Barbosa, who are tied for ninth on the strength of six straight top-10 finishes.

"We've got two cars in the top five in the team points," Law said. ‘We're knocking on the door. The Glen would be a great place to win."

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