Auto racing Grand-Am less than two years after sustaining critical injuries in a testing accident, former CART Champ Car World Series Champion and Formula 1 veteran Cristiano da Matta will make his official return to competitive driving in a second GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley he will co-drive with Jimmy Vasser at the upcoming Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, May 17.

The highly anticipated announcement was made by GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing DP team owner Bob Stallings and GAINSCO Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing Andy Jordan in a press conference at Homestead-Miami Speedway on the Friday of last month's GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami/GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 double-header weekend. The news came one week after da Matta turned in an impressive performance in his first laps in a race car during a special test with the GAINSCO team at the new Eagles Canyon race track near Dallas.

"After the test it became very clear that we should run Cristiano," Stallings said. "He did so well that we decided to field a second car. We already have Jimmy Vasser who helps us on the longer races, so putting him together with Cristiano was a natural. Cristiano gave great feedback to Kyle [Brannan, team engineer] throughout the test. His insight into the car was great. He said that he liked the car and his times proved that. I said to Kyle that we have to find a sponsor and run him, because I don't want to compete against him."

The Laguna Seca round will be the first race for da Matta since he finished second in the Grand Prix of San Jose Champ Car World Series race in July of 2006. Just a few days later, he was testing his RuSPORT Champ Car at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on August 3, when he hit a wandering deer at full speed. Da Matta suffered severe injuries and after making it through the first critical days and nights after the accident, the 2002 CART Champ Car Champion persevered through several surgeries and months of grueling rehabilitation to literally rebuild himself back into racing shape. It showed at the Eagles Canyon test.

"It was important test in many ways," da Matta said. "After waiting a year and a half to get back behind the wheel of a race car it really tested my patience. It felt good to me right away. After three or five laps it really came back to me. It was a big relief in that I could still go fast and still had the feeling for the car. It was also a big relief to know that I could continue my career in racing. I have to thank Bob and his team. A lot of teams talked to me about driving again, but Bob made it happen."

Da Matta and Vasser will race the No. 98 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley, the same race car he used for the Eagles Canyon test. The team has used No. 98 as a test car the last couple of months - always with No. 99 decals - but the Pontiac Riley is race-prepped and ready to go for da Matta and Vasser at Laguna Seca.

Both drivers, who are good friends and former teammates on the KV Racing Champ Car team, have won Champ Car races at Laguna Seca in the past and look forward to their first race together as co-drivers. Vasser, who is the "V" in KV as one of the principals of the team that now runs in the unified IndyCar Series, was on-hand for the Miami announcement.

"It will be great to be a part of Cristiano's comeback," Vasser said. "I was in constant contact with the team during the test. It was great that it all went well. I introduced Cristiano to Bob and Linda (Stallings) and through socializing at the track he got to know everyone. When Cristiano was cleared to drive by the doctors, Bob offered to test him in the GAINSCO car. It will be great to help Cristiano make his comeback to competitive racing at Laguna Seca and I hope we can run a few more races together this year as well."

As a Champ Car and Formula One veteran, da Matta has had little time in sports cars and he and the GAINSCO team had no previous experience on the new 2.5-mile Eagles Canyon track prior to the March test. Nearly two full days of rain also washed out the first pair of test days and left the race track in less than ideal shape. The facility's operations crew did a good job drying the track and clearing the mud, however, and da Matta was able to consistently pick up the pace throughout the test on the steadily improving track.

"After the test, I realized ‘I still know how to do this, I remember this very well,'" da Matta said. "The biggest thing I felt after the test was just a sense of relief. For me, it was a big, big relief, bigger than big. Even though I had opinions and approval from the best doctors and I felt great in go-karts and even on video games as far as my skills, I still had that last little question mark on my mind. That worried me quite a lot. After being away for so long, and driving being my work and something I like, I was concerned that I would not be able to do it as well. Even driving a new car for the first time, that was something that I was able to quickly do, to figure out how it worked, what I need to do, just everything with getting familiar with a new car. I have the same type of feeling I have always had before and I know exactly what I have to do to get better. The lap times were there and consistent. It was all there for me."

Also there for da Matta at the test was team owner Stallings, reigning Grand-Am Rolex Series Co-Champions Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty and the entire GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing team, including Engineer Kyle Brannan, Team Manager Terry Wilbert and Crew Chief Link Smith. Da Matta's parents Toninho and Maria were also in Texas to see their son's return to driving and the relief the younger da Matta felt was reflected by his father.

"I feel lighter now," the younger da Matta said. "It was worrying me more than I thought, and for my Dad, it was even bigger. The way I saw my Dad when we finished the test, it was a big relief for him too. The test changed everything."

Gurney, who has a very close relationship with his parents Dan and Evi Gurney and several brothers, picked up on the significance of the test for the entire da Matta family and the GAINSCO team.

"It was a special moment for everybody on the team to see Cristiano take to the race track again after his accident from a year and a half ago," Gurney said. "Both his Mom and Dad were there and you could see how much it meant to them. It was great to get to know Cristiano and his family a little bit better these past couple of days. After a few outings on the race track, it also became obvious to all of us that he had lost none of his speed. If and when a deal comes together, he will make a great addition to this team."

From a business standpoint, Stallings is already looking beyond Laguna Seca.

"If we can put together the right sponsor package, we can run him full time," Stallings said. "Ideally, we will find a sponsor to finish out the 2008 season and contend for a championship in 2009."