Cunningham Readies For Title Run, Paces SPEED Touring Car Practice At Laguna
For Immediate Release CUNNINGHAM READIES FOR TITLE RUN, PACES SPEED TOURING CAR LAGUNA PRACTICE MONTEREY, Calif. (Oct. 14, 2005) - Needing a fourth-place or better finish to secure his fourth SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Championship, Peter Cunningham, of W. Bend, Wis., showed his hand early, pacing the opening SCCA SPEED Touring Car practice session at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Driving the No. 42 A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX, Cunningham turned a blistering lap of 1:37.410 (82.710 mph) around the 2.238-mile circuit, leading a sextet of drivers eclipsing the current qualifying record of 1:38.261 (81.993 mph) set by Pierre Kleinubing in 2004. Cunningham holds a 12-point advantage over Randy Pobst and a 13-point advantage over teammate Kleinubing entering the final race of the season, meaning he needs to finish fourth or better regardless of how many bonus qualifying or race points either of his protagonists score. Dino Crescentini, of Malibu, Calif., was second fastest in his No. 74 Mazdaspeed/Centric Parts/TriPoint Mazda 6 with a fastest time of 1:37.786 (82.392 mph). RealTime Racing teammates Kleinubing, of Brazil, and Brandon Davis, of Denver, were third and fourth, respectively in their Acura TSXs. Two-time defending race Champion Jeff Altenburg, of Ellicott City, Md., was fifth in his Mazda 6. Acura and Mazda are battling one another for the Manufacturers' Championship Presented by RACER Magazine, with Acura currently holding a two-point advantage. Acura will clinch the Championship if it finishes in front of or right behind the first Mazda in Sunday's race. Final practice is set for Friday afternoon at 5:10 p.m. (PDT) and qualifying for the final Air Force Reserve Pole Position is set for Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. (PDT). Sunday's finale is scheduled for 10:55 a.m. (PDT) Sunday morning and will air on SPEED Channel at 3 p.m. locally, 6 p.m. (EDT). To follow every session online via live timing and scoring, please visit www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com/> . -30- Attached: Image of Peter Cunningham in practice at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo Credit: © 2005 Mark Weber/SCCA MONTEREY, Calif. - First practice session times for this weekend's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT season finale, part of the Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with position, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour. 1, (42), Peter Cunningham, W. Bend, Wis., Acura TSX, 1:37.410, 82.710. 2, (74), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:37.786, 82.392. 3, (43), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 1:37.803, 82.377. 4, (44), Brandon Davis(R), Denver, Colo., Acura TSX, 1:37.896, 82.299. 5, (72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 1:38.094, 82.133. 6, (98), Bob Stretch, Dallas, Texas, BMW 325Ci, 1:38.228, 82.021. 7, (73), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Mazda 6, 1:38.350, 81.919. 8, (78), Jon Prall, Los Gatos, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:38.469, 81.820. 9, (45), Eric Curran, S. Deerfield, Mass., Acura RSX, 1:38.568, 81.738. 10, (48), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Ford Focus, 1:38.569, 81.737. 11, (34), Nick Esayian, Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 1:38.622, 81.693. 12, (27), Nic Jonsson, Buford, Ga., BMW 325Ci, 1:38.865, 81.493. 13, (17), Memo Gidley, Novato, Calif., Audi A4T, 1:38.946, 81.426. 14, (37), Matt Richmond, Mooresville, N.C., BMW 325i, 1:39.036, 81.352. 15, (36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 1:39.273, 81.158. 16, (19), John Angelone(R), Bridgewater, N.J., Audi A4T, 1:39.296, 81.139. 17, (97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, 1:39.857, 80.683. 18, (99), Kevin McKee, San Francisco, Calif., BMW 325i, 1:40.194, 80.412. 19, (22), Hugh Stewart, Massapequa, N.Y., Dodge SRT-4, 1:40.387, 80.257. 20, (18), Freddy Baker, Bedford, Ohio, Audi A4T, 1:40.874, 79.870. 21, (38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 1:41.265, 79.561. 22, (24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci, 1:41.349, 79.495. 23, (25), Christian Miller(R), Fremont, Calif., Volkswagen Jetta, 1:41.555, 79.334. 24, (87), Manny Matz, Somers, N.Y., BMW 325i, 1:42.471, 78.625. 25, (88), Andrie Hartanto(R), San Francisco, Calif., Honda Civic Si, 1:43.311, 77.985. 26, (92), David MacDonald(R), N. Canton, Ohio, Mazda Protege, 1:43.925, 77.525. 27, (93), Rick Snyder(R), Arvada, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 1:44.034, 77.444. 28, (95), Johnny Kanavas(R), Laguna Niguel, Calif., Mazda Protege, 1:44.230, 77.298. 29, (49), Branden Peterson(R), Breckenridge, Colo., Honda Civic Si, 1:46.625, 75.562. 30, (96), Randy Hale, Haddam, Conn., Mazda Protege, 1:47.258, 75.116. 31, (86), Kenny Yim(R), South El Monte, Calif., Honda Civic, 1:47.862, 74.695. 32, (91), Ken Dobson, Carmel Valley, Calif., Mazda 6, 2:01.319, 66.410. 33, (66), Dan Aweida(R), Boulder, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 2:08.024, 62.932. 34, (21), Seth Neiman, Woodside, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 2:53.767, 46.365. 35, (6), Scott Bradley, San Jose, Calif., Mazda 6, no time. 36, (54), Ross Thompson, Phoenix, Ariz., Mazda Protégé ES, no time. 37, (02), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Mercedes C230, no time. 38, (03), Peter Lockhart, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Mercedes C230, 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.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com/>