The GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Team announced today they will compete in the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge racing series. The famed No. 99 livery will return with GAINSCO Auto Insurance as the primary sponsor; however, a new “Red Dragon” will be born, as the team enters a Hyundai Genesis Coupe in the fast-growing and highly competitive GTS category.

Bob Stallings Racing entered the professional sports car scene in 2005 with American co-drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty. They quickly became one of the most successful American teams of all time earning 16 victories, 31 pole positions and two Daytona Prototype Sports Car championships in 112 races over nine seasons.

Fogarty to join the effort

Four-time racing Champion Jon Fogarty will return to the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing squad to drive the No. 99 Hyundai. “I am especially happy to have Jon Fogarty back as the driver of the Red Dragon, along with Terry Wilbert as Team Manager and John Ward as our Technical Director. Our Team has been committed to winning races and Championships since 2005 and having the guys back in place makes it more likely we will continue in our winning ways,” said Bob Stallings. “The Pirelli World Challenge series is very competitive, and winning will not come easy. Our ambition is to learn how to win here in 2015 and give 2016 a very strong effort for a Championship.”

Fogarty holds the record for most pole positions in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car series (25) and won the Toyota Atlantic Championship in 2002 and 2004 before earning his two Sports Car Championships with co-driver Gurney in 2007 and 2009. “I am super excited to be back racing again with GAINSCO and the Bob Stallings team. The chance to run again with the group that has been such a huge part of my career is great and I am looking forward to adding to the history of the team and the Red Dragon,” said Fogarty.

A familiar place

“I know there will be a learning curve with a new car, new format and new series, but part of me feels as though I am returning to a place I am very familiar with - sprint format races. The shorter race distance and the fact that we will have a GT only field will be much like my Atlantic days, combine that with the fact that we will be running alongside IndyCar and I will have big time déjà vu ! Although it’s always challenging to build a new brand new race car, I am confident the Hyundai Genesis Coupe will be quick and I am grateful to be on a team that will do what is necessary to make sure we are capable of winning.”

“The past 10 years have been an incredible journey as we have used the No. 99 race car to build our brand with employees, our customers and especially our thousands of Independent Insurance Agent partners,” noted Andy Jordan, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “We did our research to find the best fit for the future, and I am excited that we are moving forward with a new race car and a new series that will allow us to stay relevant and capitalize on new activation opportunities.”