Archer Aces First SCCA SPEED GT Practice at Infineon

For Immediate Release

 

Archer Aces First SCCA SPEED GT Practice at Infineon

 

SONOMA, Calif. (June 23, 2006) - Banking on experience from previous
excursions on the shortened Infineon Raceway, SCCA Pro Racing SPEED
World Challenge GT driver Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn., cruised to a
quick practice time of 1:19.175 (90.483 mph) in his No. 5
c3controls/Dodge Motorsport Dodge Viper SRT to lead the SPEED GT field
in advance of Saturday's Round Five Race, part of the Dodge/Save Mart
350 weekend.  Mike McCann, of North Canton, Ohio, was second behind
Archer with a 1:19.425 (90.198 mph), and Cadillac's Johnny O'Connell, of
Flowery Branch, Ga., was third with a 1:19.678 (89.911 mph).

 

Archer wasted little time assuming the lead position, leaping to the
front early on in the 20-minute session with a 1:19.986.  While other
spots shuffled periodically behind him, Archer maintained his position,
eventually improving his top time to the fast mark.

 

Afterward, Archer said memory served him well in his pursuit of a fast
practice time.

 

"Yes," Archer said when asked if he had run the 10-turn, 1.99-mile
configuration in the past.  "It was in NASCAR trucks, and it has been a
few years, but elephants don't usually have bad memories."

 

Pachyderm similarities aside, Archer said that his Viper seemed to do
well despite his thought that smaller cars were better-suited to
Infineon Raceway.

 

"We've been coming here the past two years with the Viper," Archer said.
"And even though I've always considered this a small-car track, I think
that it is also a difficult track.  And what I've noticed over the years
is that on a difficult track, the more difficult it is, the better I do.


 

"There are some corners here that scare people.  There are a lot of guys
here who don't have a lot of experience on this track.  This is my 25th
year coming here.  I'm very comfortable at this venue.  The new [track]
layout is a little bit different for this car, but I only had to learn
one turn, everything else I knew pretty well."

 

Where Archer was up front early, McCann came on late, first moving into
fifth before jumping up to second in his No. 82 McCann Plastics/K&N
Filters Dodge Viper just before the session closed.

 

McCann passed up the No. 16 XM/Mobil 1/Motorola/On Star Cadillac CTS-V
driven by O'Connell, who held the second spot for much of the session.  

 

O'Connell's Cadillac teammate, Andy Pilgrim, of Boca Raton, Fla., was
fourth in the No. 1 Cadillac CTS-V with a 1:19.857 (89.710 mph), and
Ricardo Imery, of Caracas, Venezuela, was fifth (1:20.039 - 89.506 mph)
in his No. 64 AXA Financial/Cavenas Elevators Porsche 911 GT3. 

 

The second and final SPEED GT practice session is set for 2:10 p.m.
(EDT) this afternoon.

 

To follow practice, qualifying and race action live via live timing,
visit www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com/> , select
the Infineon event homepage and click on the SCCA Pit Board Presented by
SRT, which provides real-time lap notes and timing information.

 

For other information, visit www.world-challenge.com
<http://www.world-challenge.com/> .

 

-30-

 

SONOMA, Calif. - Results from first SCCA Pro Racing SPEED WORLD
CHALLENGE GT practice session in advance of Saturday's Round Five race,
part of the Dodge Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway, with position, car
number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and
speed in miles per hour.

 

1,(5), Tommy Archer, Duluth, Minn., Dodge SRT Viper, 1:19.175, 90.483.

2,(82), Mike McCann, N. Canton, Ohio, Dodge Viper, 1:19.425, 90.198.

3,(16), Johnny O'Connel, Flowery Branch, Ga., Cadillac CTS-V, 1:19.678,
89.911.

4,(1), Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V, 1:19.857, 89.710.

5,(64), Ricardo Imery(R), Caracas, VN, Porsche 911 GT3, 1:20.039,
89.506.

6,(56), Ritch Marziale, Tempe, Ariz., Dodge Viper Comp Coupe, 1:20.177,
89.352.

7,(14), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3,
1:20.291, 89.225.

8,(11), Mike Davis, Huntington Beach, Calif., Saleen SR, 1:20.342,
89.168.

9,(28), Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, Texas, Chevrolet Corvette C6, 1:20.482,
89.013.

10,(31), Sonny Whelen, Old Saybrook, Conn., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
1:20.771, 88.695.

11,(13), Bob Woodhouse, Blair, Neb., Dodge Viper, 1:21.079, 88.358.

12,(17), Rob Foster(R), Phoenix, Ariz., Dodge Viper, 1:21.110, 88.324.

13,(83), Kyle Foster, N. Canton, Ohio, Dodge Viper, 1:22.372, 86.971.

14,(77), Brett Pearson(R), Orlando, Fla., Dodge Viper, 1:22.742, 86.582.

15,(40), Greg Weirick(R), Malibu, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette C6,
1:22.868, 86.450.

16,(26), Claudio Burtin, Atlanta, Ga., Chevrolet Corvette C6, 1:22.879,
86.439.

17,(96), Skip Sauls(R), Longmont, Colo., Dodge Viper, 1:24.004, 85.281.

18,(29), Eric Olberz(R), La Canada Flintridge, Calif., Porsche 911 GT3,
1:24.540, 84.741.

19,(18), Mark Anderson, Anaheim, Calif., Prosche 911 GT3, 1:24.989,
84.293.

20,(67), Kevin Chambers, Hollister, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette C5,
1:25.709, 83.585.

21,(00), Al Becera(R), San Jose, Calif., Dodge Viper, 1:26.203, 83.106.

22,(76), John Bourassa, Jupiter Island, Fla., Porsche 911 Turbo,
1:31.775, 78.060.

23,(15), John Dearing(R), Mission Viejo, Calif., Dodge Viper GTS, no
time.

24,(30), Peyton Sellers, ,   , Chevrolet Corvette C5, no time.

25,(34), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette C6, no
time.

26,(46), Rob Rodriguez(R), Danville, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette C5, no
time.

27,(66), Lawson Aschenbach(R), Gaithersburg, Md., Porsche 911 GT3, no
time.

28,(68), Keith Videtto, San Ramon, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette C5, no
time.

29,(69), Igor Sushko(R), Kiev UKR,   , Nissan Skyline GT-R, no time.

 

Photo Credit: Mark Weber/SCCA (c) 2006

Photo Caption: Tommy Archer (pictured) led the first of two SPEED GT
practices at Infineon Raceway.

 

Curt K.
_______________
Curtis Kitchen
Public Relations Manager
Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Inc.
ckitchen@scca.com  
800-770-2055