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Cunningham Inches Toward Championship With Laguna SPEED TC Pole



MONTEREY, Calif. (Oct. 15, 2005) - Peter Cunningham, of W. Bend, Wis.,
moved even closer to his fourth-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World
Challenge Drivers' Championship Saturday, earning his first Air Force
Reserve Pole Position of the season for the SCCA SPEED Touring Car
season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Cunningham's chief rival in
the Championship, Randy Pobst, will start second.

 

Driving the No. 42 A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX, Cunningham turned a
record-setting lap of 1:37.008 (83.053 mph) to capture his record
29th-career pole position, but his first of 2005. The pole gave
Cunningham two bonus Championship points and a 13-point lead over Pobst,
meaning the Acura drive need only finish sixth or better to clinch the
title.

 

"We've been working hard all year to have the best cars possible, but I
think I can attribute our car's speed this weekend to a little somethin'
somethin' we found last weekend here in testing," Cunningham, who has
led every session this weekend, said. "Historically, Laguna Seca is a
very sandy track. This weekend, try as [the track workers] might to keep
the track clean, there were some people putting more sand on the track
with their cars than they could if they had a shovel and a wheel barrow.
Because of what we found here in testing a few weeks ago, we seemed to
stumble onto something that helped our cars on the slippery stuff."

 

On the first flying lap, Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., took the
provisional pole in his No. 73 Mazdaspeed/TriPoint Racing Mazda 6 with a
time of 1:37.015 (83.047 mph). However, Cunningham's second lap was just
0.007-second faster, meaning Pobst could collect only one bonus point
for his second-place qualifying effort.

 

"In general terms, the first lap can be the quickest," Cunningham added.
"But you still get a second lap on the [series spec Toyo] tires before
they degrade just that little bit. There were changing conditions. The
Formula Mazdas went out this morning and were way off the pace, and then
the Spec Miatas started their session off the pace, so I wasn't ready to
just throw it around and take too many risks on that first lap."

 

The front row not only represents the battle for the Drivers'
Championship, but the Manufacturers' Championship Presented by RACER
Magazine, which Acura presently leads Mazda by two points. If the lead
Acura finishes right behind the lead Mazda, or better, the crown is
clinched by Acura.

 

"We'll try to win the race if we can, but we're not going to be stupid,"
Cunningham said of the Championship scenario. "We don't like to let
Mazdas win, especially at Mazda Raceway. I'm sure the Mazda guys will be
doing the same."

 

Bob Stretch, of Dallas, was third in the No. 98 Wheel's America/P5
Wheels BMW 325Ci with a fastest time of 1:37.484 (82.647 mph), The
Winning Team Racing Apparel Rookie of the Year Brandon Davis, of Denver,
Colo., was fourth in his No. 44 A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX with a
lap of 1:37.628 (82.526 mph). Fellow rookie John Angelone, of
Bridgewater, N.J., will start a career-best fifth in his No. 19 Pit Bull
Energy Drink/Stand 21/STaSIS Engineering Audi A4 Turbo with a 1:37.664
(82.512 mph).

 

Pierre Kleinubing, who is currently third in points with his
A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura, still holding an outside chance at his
fourth title, will start sixth. 

 

Cunningham's pole time broke Kleinubing's 2004 track record of 1:38.261
(81.993 mph).

 

Sunday's Round 11 finale from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will make its
standing start at 10:55 a.m. (PDT). The race will air on a same-day tape
delayed basis at 3 p.m. locally, 6 p.m. Eastern.


MONTEREY, Calif. - Starting lineup for Sunday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED
World Challenge Touring Car Round 11 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, 1:37.008, 83.053.

2, (73), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Mazda 6, 1:37.015, 83.047.

3, (98), Bob Stretch, Dallas, Texas, BMW 325Ci, 1:37.484, 82.647.

4, (44), Brandon Davis(R), Denver, Colo., Acura TSX, 1:37.628, 82.525.

5, (19), John Angelone(R), Bridgewater, N.J., Audi A4T, 1:37.644,
82.512.

6, (43), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 1:37.701,
82.463.

7, (27), Nic Jonsson, Buford, Ga., BMW 325Ci, 1:37.717, 82.450.

8, (72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 1:37.786, 82.392.

9, (74), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:37.862, 82.328.

10, (45), Eric Curran, S. Deerfield, Mass., Acura RSX, 1:38.136, 82.098.

11, (78), Jon Prall, Los Gatos, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:38.199, 82.045.

12, (17), Memo Gidley, Novato, Calif., Audi A4T, 1:38.344, 81.924.

13, (18), Freddy Baker, Bedford, Ohio, Audi A4T, 1:38.420, 81.861.

14, (37), Matt Richmond, Mooresville, N.C., BMW 325i, 1:38.569, 81.737.

15, (34), Nick Esayian, Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 1:38.703, 81.626.

16, (97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, 1:38.863, 81.494.

17, (36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 1:38.895, 81.468.

18, (38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 1:39.152, 81.257.

19, (91), Ken Dobson, Carmel Valley, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:39.478, 80.990.

20, (02), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Mercedes C230, 1:39.821,
80.712.

21, (03), Peter Lockhart, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Mercedes C230, 1:39.947,
80.610.

22, (22), Hugh Stewart, Massapequa, N.Y., Dodge SRT-4, 1:40.204, 80.404.

23, (54), Ross Thompson, Phoenix, Ariz., Mazda ProtegeES, 1:40.236,
80.378.

24, (92), David MacDonald(R), N. Canton, Ohio, Mazda Protege, 1:40.465,
80.195.

25, (99), Kevin McKee, San Francisco, Calif., BMW 325i, 1:40.719,
79.992.

26, (95), Johnny Kanavas(R), Laguna Niguel, Calif., Mazda Protege,
1:40.853, 79.886.

27, (93), Rick Snyder(R), Arvada, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 1:40.956, 79.805.

28, (25), Christian Miller(R), Fremont, Calif., VW Jetta, 1:41.297,
79.536.

29, (21), Seth Neiman, Woodside, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:41.789, 79.152.

30, (88), Andrie Hartanto(R), San Francisco, Calif., Honda Civic Si,
1:41.899, 79.066.

31, (66), Dan Aweida(R), Boulder, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 1:42.408, 78.673.

32, (48), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Ford Focus, 1:42.523, 78.585.

33, (49), Branden Peterson(R), Breckenridge, Colo., Honda Civic Si,
1:42.597, 78.528.

34, (87), Manny Matz, Somers, N.Y., BMW 325i, 1:42.879, 78.313.

35, (96), Randy Hale, Haddam, Conn., Mazda Protege, 1:43.273, 78.014.

36, (86), Kenny Yim(R), South El Monte, Calif., Honda Civic, 1:45.408,
76.434.

37, (6), Scott Bradley, San Jose, Calif., Mazda 6, no time.

38, (24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci, 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/>