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Kleinubing Takes Pole, RealTime Goes 1-2 in SPEED Touring Car at Infineon

For Immediate Release

 

Kleinubing Takes Pole, 

RealTime Goes 1-2 in SPEED Touring Car at Infineon

 

SONOMA, Calif. (June 24, 2006) - Pierre Kleinubing, of Coconut Creek,
Fla., earned the 28th pole of his SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge
career at Infineon Raceway Saturday morning, turning a fast lap of
1:22.786 (86.536 mph) in his No. 42 Acura Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime
Acura TSX to take the top spot for the SPEED Touring Car portion of the
Dodge/Save Mart 250 weekend.

 

The pole moved Kleinubing to within one of all-time poles leader Peter
Cunningham, of Grafton, Wis., who will start alongside his RealTime
teammate in the No. 1 Acura Certified Pre-Owned Acura TSX after turning
a lap of 1:23.636 (85.656 mph). 

 

As expected, Kleinubing's fast time came early on, during his first
flying lap on the 1.99-mile road course.  Cunningham followed suit, also
turning his quick time on the same lap, as did third-fastest Charles
Espenlaub, of Lutz, Fla., who turned a 1:23.647 (85.645 mph) in his No.
97 Sparco/Oakley/Tindol Motorsport Mazda 6.

 

Having never run on the abbreviated Infineon configuration, Kleinubing
said that he preferred it to the regular course.

 

"I like this course better because it allows me to carry a little more
speed, which is fun," Kleinubing said.  "I got a perfect lap.  I'd love
to go that fast during the race, but, of course, it was just a
qualifying setup."

 

Drawing closer to his teammate, and boss, Cunningham for the all-time
lead in poles was something that Kleinubing said keeps things fresh in
the RealTime paddock.

 

"We go back and forth with that," said Kleinubing, who, at age 31, is
now in his 10th year of SPEED World Challenge competition. "I had the
lead in that category a few years ago, and then Peter took it back.
It's a friendly rivalry."

 

Tied atop the SPEED Touring Car Driver's point standings with Kleinubing
coming into the Infineon weekend, Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., will
start fourth in his No. 73 Mazdaspeed/Tri-Point Motorsports Mazda 6
after posting a 1:23.710 (85.581 mph), and Eric Curran, of East Hampton,
Mass., made it three RealTime Racing entries in the top five with a
1:23.752 (85.538 mph) in his No. 43 Acura Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime
Acura RSX.

 

Practice leader Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., qualified seventh, however,
he will start at the back of the field in his No. 17 STaSIS
Motorsports/Clear Capital Audi A4 after having his times removed
following post-qualifying technical inspection.  Herr's Audi suffered a
boost control failure, which meant the car was unable to control a
compliant level of turbo boost. 

 

The SPEED Touring Car race is set for this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. (PDT).

 

To follow the 40-minute timed race via Live Timing and Scoring Presented
by SRT and lap notes, visit www.world-challenge.com
<http://www.world-challenge.com/> , select the Infineon event page and
click the SCCA Pit Board.

 

-30-

 

SONOMA, Calif. - Starting lineup for Saturday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED
WORLD CHALLENGE Touring Car 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,(42), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 1:22.786,
86.536.

2,(1), Peter Cunningham, Grafton, Wis., Acura TSX, 1:23.636, 85.656.

3,(97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, 1:23.647, 85.645.

4,(73), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Mazda 6, 1:23.710, 85.581.

5,(43), Eric Curran, East Hampton, Mass., Acura RSX, 1:23.752, 85.538.

6,(72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 1:23.852, 85.436.

7,(12), Justin Hall(R), Davis, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:23.876, 85.411.

8,(38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 1:24.166, 85.117.

9,(11), Jon Prall, Los Gatos, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 1:24.396, 84.885.

10,(34), Nick Esayian, Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 1:24.566, 84.714.

11,(25), Christian Miller(R), Newark, Calif., Volkswagen Jetta,
1:24.737, 84.544.

12,(37), Matt Richmond, Greensboro, N.C., BMW 325i, 1:24.748, 84.533.

13,(74), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Mazda 6, 1:24.812, 84.469.

14,(06), Kuno Wittmer, Montreal, Canada, Mercedes-Benz C230, 1:24.927,
84.354.

15,(99), Jeff Courtney(R), Slinger, Wis., Audi A4, 1:25.043, 84.239.

16,(18), Freddy Baker, Bedford, Ohio, Audi A4, 1:25.048, 84.234.

17,(36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 1:25.143, 84.140.

18,(24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci, 1:25.731, 83.563.

19,(96), Charlie Putman(R), Mills, Wyo., Mazda 6, 1:25.893, 83.406.

20,(20), Brandon Davis, Denver, Colo., Acura TSX, 1:25.907, 83.392.

21,(13), Brian Smith(R), Simpsonville, S.C., Dodge SRT-4, 1:26.234,
83.076.

22,(39), Paul Goldman, Menlo Park, Calif., BMW 325i, 1:26.620, 82.706.

23,(67), Robb Holland(R), Denver, Colo., Ford Focus, 1:26.712, 82.618.

24,(94), Mary Katharine(R), Delray Beach, Fla., Mazda Protege, 1:27.630,
81.752.

25,(88), Andrie Hartanto(R), San Francisco, Calif., Honda Civic Si,
2:17.732, 52.014.

26,(86), Kenny Yim, Hong Kong China,   , Honda Civic Si, 2:20.564,
50.966.

27,(6), Lance Stewart, Coconut Grove, Fla., Mazda 6, no time.

28,(17), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Audi A4, 1:23.874, 85.413.

 

Photo Credit: Mark Weber/SCCA (c) 2006

Photo Caption: Pierre Kleinubing (pictured) earned the 28th pole
position of his SPEED World Challenge career Saturday morning at
Infineon Raceway.

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