TOOELE — A day after teammate Jon Fogarty claimed his fourth consecutive pole position in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, it fell upon Alex Gurney's shoulders to make sure that advantage Fogarty gained was not frittered away in the late stages of the Utah 250.

Gurney needed to hold off a late charge that saw the top four drivers separated by less than a second at one point. But he managed to hang onto the lead and eke out the tandem's first series victory since mid-July on Saturday afternoon at Miller Motorsports Park. He passed the checkered flag a scant 1.264 seconds ahead of runner-up Max Angelelli.

"Once we got going, we had a tiny bit of pace on them, and that made all the difference," Gurney said. "We rolled off the truck yesterday just crazy fast, and we were trying to not mess it up."

Driving in his No. 99 Gainsco Pontiac Riley, Gurney had to survive a tense stretch following a pair of caution laps late in the race. With 20 minutes remaining in the nearly three-hour affair, less than a second separated Gurney from the next three drivers behind him.

But Gurney managed to stay composed and increased his lead over second-place finisher Angelelli just enough to prevent being overtaken in the final laps. By lap 50, Gurney had staked out a 1.566 second advantage and kept it mostly intact when the checkered flag came down six laps later.

The only time that either Fogarty — who led the first 16 laps — or Gurney relinquished the lead at any point in the race was when they changed drivers. Timo Bernhard then led for 13 laps until Gurney reclaimed the lead for good during the 30th lap.

Gurney said that Fogarty's penchant for earning pole positions proved valuable at Miller, given the length and tightness of the track.

"Jon getting a pole is always a big help, especially around here where it's difficult to pass," Gurney said. "So it's nice to convert — especially on a day where the pressure was really on with one race to go."

Pressure won't be a problem for Fogarty and Gurney heading into the Grand Prix of Miami next month. Because the duo now has an eight-point lead in the points standings, they can finish as low as fourth and still claim the 2009 season championship.

Fogarty thought a good showing in qualifying served as a precursor to performing well in the actual race.

"We had a great weekend," Fogarty said. "Getting a pole was indicative of our pace. For the second driver, that always gives you a bit of a confidence boost knowing the car is good. It definitely puts you in a better mindset at the start of the race, and we capitalized on it today."

Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato were the top finishers in the GT class. They placed 12th overall — a full lap behind Fogarty and Gurney. Segal seized the GT lead in the second-to-last lap after previous leader Robin Liddell was forced to the pits. Contact between Liddell and Dirk Werner caused Liddell to get a flat right front tire.

Segal quickly gained ground once out in front and, by the time he passed the checkered flag, had a 3.290 second lead on GT runner-up Andy Lally.

For Segal and Assentato, their down-to-the-wire victory capped off an amazing climb from last place to first. Their Speedsource Mazda RX-8 started out the race as the 24th out of 24 cars on the starting grid.

"We fought back and, at the end, we were really on a tear," Segal said.

e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com