Co-drivers Memo Gidley and Guy Cosmo took another big step forward with the # 77 Feeds the Need/Doran Racing Kodak DORAN JE4 Ford in the EMCO Gears Classic at Mid-Ohio.

Running as high as 7th, with cars from top teams such as Krohn and Ganassi in his sights, Gidley brought the car into the pits at the 45-minute mark for a pit stop required by the rules.  After quick service from the Doran crew, he re-joined the race in the same position he left it.

“In my first stint, Max Papis in the Krohn car was right ahead of me and holding me up a little bit,” said Gidley.  “The car was feeling like a top-5 runner right up until the halfway mark when it suddenly became inconsistent under braking and in the corners.”

The reason became apparent when the sidewall of a rear tire exploded, forcing him to limp around almost a full lap at 30 mph and dropping the car a lap and a half off the pace.  After an unscheduled pit stop, the duo re-joined the race in 16th place and moved up to finish 13th at the end.

“We had the same problem here that we ran into in the previous race at Watkins Glen, a leaky rim,” said Gidley.  “That’s obviously something we’ve got to take a close look at, but aside from that, this was the third weekend in a row that we rolled off the truck with a good race car, made progress in practice and ran competitively with much larger and more well-funded teams.  We’re knocking on the door of being consistently competitive and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming race at Daytona.”

Gidley and the team have some reason to feel optimistic about their chances at Daytona. Earlier this year, at the 45th annual Rolex 24 at Daytona, Gidley qualified the #77 Feeds the Need/Doran Racing JE4 15th, ran as high as 4th, spent most of the race in the top-10 and eventually finished 7th.  The Doran team is currently 11th in the 2007 Grand Am Rolex Series championship battle with 133 points.

Gidley, Cosmo and the Doran team race the # 77 Feeds the Need/Doran Racing Kodak DORAN JE4 Ford, a car designed and built by Doran Enterprises and Doran Designs.  The car weighs 2,135 pounds, is powered by a 500 horsepower Ford engine built by NASCAR legend Yates Racing, and has a top speed of 190 mph.

The next event on the 2007 Grand-Am schedule is the Brumos Porsche 250 at the 3.56-mile Daytona International Raceway road course.  The race is scheduled to start at 8:00 pm ET, and will be broadcast live on the SPEED Channel.  For more information, visit Grand-Am.com.