Herr Earns First Air Force Reserve Pole For Denver SPEED Touring Car
DENVER (Aug. 13, 2005) - Chip Herr, of Litiz, Pa., tried to play it off as just another qualifying session, but the more he talked, the more it became apparent that winning the first Air Force Reserve Pole Position of his career Saturday morning in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car portion of the CENTRIX Financial Grand Prix of Denver Presented by PacifiCare had lifted a sizable weight off of his shoulders. Herr's time of 1:20.683 (73.933 mph) came well into the 25-minute session on the 1.657-mile circuit as he turned the quick time on the ninth lap in his No. 48 US Air Force Reserve Ford Focus, which gave Ford its first SPEED Touring Car pole in Touring Car history. Tri-Point Motorsport drivers took the next two spots as Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., will start on the front row this afternoon with Herr in the No. 73 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsport Mazda 6, while SPEED Touring Car practice leader Dino Crescentini, of Malibu, Calif., will start third in the No. 74 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsport Mazda 6. "I wish all the courses were street courses right now," said Herr, whose previous best qualifying effort was a fourth in an Audi A4 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., in Round Two earlier this season. "We're really excited. The team is working really well together, and it has been a great move for me. "We're looking forward to today's race, and also the rest of the year." In a continuation of the year-long battle between the Tri-Point Mazdas and RealTime Racing Acuras, RealTime took the next two spots behind Tri-Point as Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek, Fla., qualified fourth in the No. 43 A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX, and Eric Curran, of South Deerfield, Mass., will start fifth in the similarly sponsored No. 45 Acura RSX. The standing start of the Round Nine SPEED Touring Car race is set for Saturday at 6:15 p.m. (MDT). The SPEED Touring Car portion of the CENTRIX Financial Grand Prix of Denver Presented by PacifiCare will be broadcast on SPEED Channel Sunday, Aug. 14 at 2 p.m. (EDT). To follow this evening's race action live, or for other information, visit www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com/> . -30- Attached: Image of Chip Herr's US Air Force Reserve Ford Focus en route to his first-career pole at Denver. Image may be reproduced with proper copyright information (c) 2005 Mark Weber/SCCA. DENVER, Colo. - Starting lineup for Saturday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Nine Race, part of the CENTRIX Financial Grand Prix of Denver Presented by PacifiCare, with position, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour. 1, (48), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Ford Focus, 1:20.683, 73.933. 2, (73), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Mazda 6, 1:20.790, 73.835. 3, (74), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:20.952, 73.688. 4, (43), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 1:20.995, 73.649. 5, (45), Eric Curran, S. Deerfield, Mass., Acura RSX, 1:21.043, 73.605. 6, (97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, 1:21.119, 73.536. 7, (72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 1:21.226, 73.439. 8, (42), Peter Cunningham, W. Bend, Wis., Acura TSX, 1:21.438, 73.248. 9, (44), Brandon Davis(R), Huntington Bch, Calif., Acura TSX, 1:21.463, 73.225. 10, (36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 1:21.520, 73.174. 11, (02), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Mercedes C230, 1:21.717, 72.998. 12, (98), Bob Stretch, Dallas, Texas, BMW 325Ci, 1:21.985, 72.759. 13, (38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 1:22.455, 72.345. 14, (37), Matt Richmond, Mooresville, N.C., BMW 325i, 1:22.469, 72.332. 15, (34), Nick Esayian, Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 1:22.585, 72.231. 16, (26), Michael Flynn, Orlando, Fla., Subaru WRX, 1:22.625, 72.196. 17, (93), Rick Snyder(R), Arvada, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 1:23.017, 71.855. 18, (99), Kevin McKee, San Francisco, Calif., BMW 325i, 1:23.976, 71.034. 19, (96), Charlie Putman(R), Mills, Wyo., Mazda Protege, 1:24.096, 70.933. 20, (6), Scott Bradley, San Jose, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:24.294, 70.766. 21, (49), Branden Peterson(R), Breckenridge, Colo., Honda Civic Si, 1:26.204, 69.198. 22, (60), Manny Matz, Somers, N.Y., BMW 325is, 1:28.902, 67.098. 23, (03), Peter Lockhart, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Mercedes C230, 8:22.782, 11.864. ______________________ www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com> , www.sccapro.com <http://www.sccapro.com> , www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com>