Herr Nabs Quick SPEED Touring Car Practice Time in Final Lap at Miller Motorsports Park

Herr Nabs Quick SPEED Touring Car Practice Time in Final Lap at Miller Motorsports Park

TOOELE, Utah (July 13, 2006) – Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., lurked for much of the day and then stole the quick time of the day in the final moments of the afternoon practice session in preparation for Saturday’s SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship Round Five race, part of the Larry H. Miller Dealers Utah Grand Prix at the brand new, 4.486-mile Miller Motorsports Park. Peter Cunningham, of Grafton, Wis., and Brandon Davis, of Denver, Colo., completed the top three.

Driving his No. 17 STaSIS Engineering/Clear Capital Audi A4, Herr was sixth in the opening practice session and hovered just outside of the top 10 of the second 30-minute session. Beginning his final lap, just before the checkered flag flew on the 30-minute late afternoon session, Herr cracked off a fast time of 3:09.218 (85.349 mph)—0.634-second ahead of Cunningham.

“When I went out [early in the session], I was basically trying to find my smooth line and at the end [of the session] I put it all together,�?? Herr said of his fast lap. “Each lap before that, I made a mistake or I blew one turn. But, at the end, I was able to put together an absolutely flawless lap. This STaSIS team is pretty excited.�??

Cunningham was fastest in the early session, with a quick time of 3:10.181 (84.917 mph) in his No. 1 Acura Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime Racing Acura TSX. It appeared he would lead the afternoon as well as the only car in the 3:09 range with a time of 3:09.852 (85.064 mph). However, Herr’s quick time bumped the defending series Champion back to second.

Davis also turned his quick time in the afternoon session in his No. 20 Acura Certified Pre-Owned/RealTime Racing Acura TSX, with a lap of 3:10.520 (84.766 mph). Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., was fourth quick on the day in his No. 73 Tri-Point Motorsport/Mazdaspeed Mazda 6 with a fastest lap of 3:10.541 (84.757 mph).

Eric Curran, of South Deerfield, Mass., made it three RealTime Acuras in the top five, turning a fast time of 3:10.713 (84.680 mph) in his RSX model.

Qualifying for Saturday’s Round Five race is scheduled for Friday at 12:15 p.m. (MDT). To follow along with SCCA’s live session notes and Live Timing and Scoring Presented by SRT, please visit the SCCA Pit Board through the event home page on www.world-challenge.com <http://www.world-challenge.com/> .

TOOELE, Utah - Combined SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship practice session times for this weekend’s Larry H. Miller Dealers Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports Park with position, car number in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time, and speed in miles per hour.

1, (17), Chip Herr, Lititz, Pa., Audi A4, 3:09.218, 85.349.

2, (1), Peter Cunningham, Grafton, Wis., Acura TSX, 3:09.853, 85.063.

3, (20), Brandon Davis, Denver, Colo., Acura TSX, 3:10.520, 84.766.

4, (73), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Mazda 6, 3:10.541, 84.756.

5, (43), Eric Curran, East Hampton, Mass., Acura RSX, 3:10.713, 84.680.

6, (72), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda 6, 3:10.745, 84.666.

7, (06), Kuno Wittmer, Montreal, Canada, Mercedes-Benz C230, 3:10.998, 84.553.

8, (74), Dino Crescentini, Malibu, Calif., Mazda 6, 3:11.221, 84.455.

9, (97), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda 6, 3:11.280, 84.429.

10, (38), Seth Thomas, Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 3:11.286, 84.426.

11, (42), Pierre Kleinubing, Coconut Creek, Fla., Acura TSX, 3:11.943, 84.137.

12, (36), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 3:11.970, 84.125.

13, (13), Brian Smith(R), Simpsonville, S.C., Dodge SRT-4, 3:12.935, 83.704.

14, (25), Christian Miller(R), Newark, Calif., Volkswagen Jetta, 3:13.096, 83.635.

15, (99), Jeff Courtney(R), Slinger, Wis., Audi A4, 3:13.245, 83.570.

16, (34), Nick Esayian, Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 3:13.341, 83.529.

17, (18), Freddy Baker, Bedford, Ohio, Audi A4, 3:13.420, 83.495.

18, (11), Jon Prall, Los Gatos, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 3:13.535, 83.445.

19, (67), Robb Holland(R), Denver, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 3:13.592, 83.420.

20, (66), Dan Aweida(R), Boulder, Colo., Dodge SRT-4, 3:13.860, 83.305.

21, (39), Paul Goldman, Menlo Park, Calif., BMW 325i, 3:15.059, 82.793.

22, (95), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Mazda 6, 3:15.977, 82.405.

23, (24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci, 3:16.019, 82.388.

24, (96), Charlie Putman(R), Mills, Wyo., Mazda 6, 3:16.061, 82.370.

25, (94), Mary Katharine(R), Delray Beach, Fla., Mazda Protege, 3:18.369, 81.412.

26, (49), Branden Peterson, Breckenridge, Colo., Honda Civic Si, 3:21.886, 79.993.