Espenlaub Earns First Career SPEED TC Pole In Cleveland
ESPENLAUB GRABS FIRST CAREER SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE TOURING CAR POLE All Mazda Front Row CLEVELAND (June 25, 2005) - Charles Espenlaub, of Lutz, Fla., will start from the U.S. Air Force Reserve Pole position for this afternoon's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Five race, as part of the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank weekend. Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., and point leader Peter Cunningham, of West Bend, Wis., will start second and third, respectively. Espenlaub, piloting his brand-new No. 97 Sparco/Oakley/Tindol Mazda 6, recorded his fast lap of 1:23.835 (90.834 mph) early in the qualifying session. He turned just one lap en route to winning his first career pole in 44 World Challenge starts. Not only did Espenlaub demonstrate how fast he was on the course today, but demonstrated how prophetic he was by "calling his shot" prior to qualifying. After being fast in both practice sessions yesterday, Espenlaub said that it would take a 1:23.8 to win the pole. And, that's just what he did on his first and only lap of the session. "It was just a guess," Espenlaub said regarding 'calling his shot.' "Knowing how much quicker this car can be on a fresh set of tires, then really laying it down and take a little more risk than you normally would, it was just a good guess. Maybe I ought to play the lottery tonight. It feels great. With the field that we have, I feel quite honored to be up here [up on the podium]." "As soon as I heard that we were coming here for the race, I've been thinking about how the start is going to go here," Espenlaub said of how difficult it is to make it through turn one at the start of the race. "Driving a front-drive Mazda 6, we are not quite as good coming out of the hole as some of the rear-drive or all-wheel drive cars. I have a little bit of a concern with how wide [turn one] it is at the start. And, I know some of the all-wheel drive cars will have a pretty clean shot toward the front, so we'll definitely have to be watching our mirrors. I will have a spotter through turn one and I hope I will get through." Driving the No. 73 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsport Mazda 6, Pobst helped put Mazda firmly on the front row alongside Espenlaub with a lap of 1:23.950 (90.310 mph) around the 10-turn, 2.106-mile temporary circuit. This is Pobst's first race at Burke Lakefront Airport since winning the 1997 North American Touring Car Privateer Class race. Three-time World Challenge Drivers' Champion Cunningham will start third in his No. 42 A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX, after recording a qualifying lap of 1:24.056 (90.197 mph). This will be Cunningham's first race on this circuit since winning the 1997 North American Touring Car Championship race. Pobst's teammate Dino Cresentini, of Malibu, Calif., will start fourth, while Cunningham's teammate rookie Brandon Davis, of Huntington Beach, Calif., will start fifth. Local drivers Freddy Baker, of Bedford, Ohio, and five-time World Challenge Drivers' Champion Michael Galati, of Olmsted, Ohio, will start 12th and 21st, respectively. Matt Richmond, formerly of Shaker Heights, but now resides in North Carolina, will start 11th on the grid. The Round Five SPEED Touring Car race is set 5:45 p.m. this afternoon, as part of the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank weekend. This afternoon's race can be seen on SPEED Channel at 4 p.m. (EDT) Sunday, July 26. For all weekend information, including live timing and scoring, visit www.world-challenge.com. - 30 - Attached: Image of Charles Espenlaub in his Mazda 6 at Cleveland. Image may be reproduced with proper credit (c) 2005 Jimmy Sykes. CLEVELAND - Starting lineup for Saturday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Five race, part of the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank at Burke Lakefront Airport, with position, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour. 1, (97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, 1:23.835, 90.434. 2, (73), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Mazda 6, 1:23.950, 90.310. 3, (42), Peter Cunningham, W. Bend, Wis., Acura TSX, 1:24.056, 90.197. 4, (74), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:24.097, 90.153. 5, (44), Brandon Davis(R), Huntington Bch, Calif., Acura TSX, 1:24.151, 90.095. 6, (43), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 1:24.398, 89.831. 7, (98), Bob Stretch, Dallas, Texas, BMW 325Ci, 1:24.598, 89.619. 8, (72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 1:24.781, 89.425. 9, (45), Eric Curran, S. Deerfield, Mass., Acura RSX, 1:24.835, 89.368. 10, (36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 1:25.109, 89.081. 11, (37), Matt Richmond, Mooresville, N.C., BMW 325i, 1:25.208, 88.977. 12, (18), Freddy Baker, Bedford, Ohio, Audi A4, 1:25.597, 88.573. 13, (24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci, 1:25.819, 88.344. 14, (26), Michael Flynn, Orlando, Fla., Subaru WRX, 1:25.884, 88.277. 15, (38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 1:25.958, 88.201. 16, (03), Peter Lockhart, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Mercedes C230, 1:25.989, 88.169. 17, (19), Rick Maki, Los Angeles, Calif., Audi A4, 1:26.463, 87.686. 18, (34), Nick Esayian, Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 1:26.632, 87.515. 19, (16), Phil Parlato, Commack, N.Y., BMW 325i, 1:26.726, 87.420. 20, (6), Scott Bradley, San Jose, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:27.084, 87.060. 21, (02), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Mercedes C230, 1:27.092, 87.052. 22, (68), Leo Capaldi, Lenox Twp, Mich., Ford Focus, 1:27.097, 87.047. 23, (78), Jon Prall, Los Gatos, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:27.515, 86.632. 24, (22), Hugh Stewart, Massapequa, N.Y., Dodge SRT-4, 1:27.900, 86.252. 25, (95), Charles Kothe(R), Indianapolis, Ind., Mazda Protege, 1:29.026, 85.161. 26, (93), Rick Snyder(R), Arvada, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 1:29.072, 85.117. 27, (48), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Ford Focus, 1:31.979, 82.427. 28, (7), Mark German, Monroeville, Pa., Mazda 6, no time. 29, (49), Branden Peterson(R), Breckenridge, Colo., Honda Civic Si, no time. _______________________ Eric Prill Director of Communications Sports Car Club of America SCCA Pro Racing/SPEED World Challenge 785-357-7222, 785-232-7228 fax 800-770-2055 toll free 785-250-7920 mobile eprill@scca.com www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com> , www.sccapro.com <http://www.sccapro.com> , www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com>