REVISED: Saini Closes MX-5 Cup Season At Road America With First-Ever Win

Saini Closes MX-5 Cup Season At Road America With First-Ever Win

 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sept. 24, 2006) - Jason Saini, of Fort Worth, Texas,
held on to capture his first-career SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite
Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Hankook win in the season's final race
at Road America. Ara Malkhassian, of Houston, Texas, and Drew Staveley,
of Walnut, Calif., completed the top three.

 

Saini started second in his No. 28 MER/specmiata.com/Autobarn Mazda
Mazda MX-5 and traded the lead with teammate Jim Daniels, of Germantown,
Tenn., at least 11 times (seven times at the stripe) in the first 15
laps before Daniels No. 76 saferacer.com/Team MER entry had a mechanical
failure of some sort and crashed in the high-speed kink. Already crowned
the series Champion at the penultimate round, Daniels (No. 76
saferacer.com/Team MER) was shaken up in the incident, but released from
track medical after a quick checkup.

 

Once by himself, Saini cruised to the win by 27.127 seconds, averaging
90.872 mph in the 17-lap, 68.815-mile race.

 

When the two cars were battling for the lead, the margin between first
and second was rarely over 0.1-second and never more than 0.2-second at
the timing line.

 

"Jim [Daniels] already won the Championship and I hadn't won a race yet
so we may have looked like we were just playing out there, but we were
playing for keeps," Saini said. "I really wish we could have raced to
the finish today and I hope Jim is okay. He had a big, scary crash out
there. Nobody likes to see anybody crash in the kink."

 

Driving the No. 11 Alara Racing/DriverSource Mazda MX-5, Malkhassian
scored his career-best finish after a race-long battle with Staveley.
The duo was part of an early four-car battle for the lead, but when the
two Team MER cars hooked up and worked together, they were able to gain
separation from the group.

 

"We tried to work together to keep up with Daniels and Saini and when
that didn't work, we figured 'what the heck, let's have some fun,'"
Malkhassian said. "So we started just racing and battling each other in
every corner. It was just awesome!"

 

Staveley, who also recorded his career-best finish in the No. 2
AJSRacing.com Mazda MX-5, echoed Malkhassian's sentiments.

 

"We were within inches of each other over half of the last lap, it was
great racing with Ara [Malkhassian]," Staveley said. "We both had a lot
of trust in each other to go in so deep into corners and it paid off for
both of us."

 

Deborah Loth, of Fort Worth, Texas, was a career-best fourth in her No.
23 Team MER/Loth Endodontics Mazda MX-5 and was named the Sunoco Hard
Charger after advancing from 18th on the starting grid.

 

Ben Hohn, of Easton, Conn., completed the top five in his No. 40
P1-Motorsports.com/Hale Motorsports Mazda MX-5, a career-best for him as
well.

 

In addition to his maiden win, Saini also took home the Hawk Hot Lap
award for the fastest race lap of 2:38.713 (91.818 mph).

 

Polesitter Payton Wilson, of Chantilly, Va., finished 21st, five laps
down, in his No. 59 BSI Racing/Miami Dade Health entry after pitting for
hub repairs after just a couple of laps.

 

Daniels, who clinched the inaugural MX-5 Cup title after his win a
Miller Motorsports Park, finished with 226 points. Saini moved into
second after his win, with 163 points. Todd Buras, who limped home to a
22nd-place finish after sustaining crash damage early, finished third,
with 145 points, followed by Malkhassian and Loth, with 140 each.

 

All SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by
Hankook races will be broadcast on SPEED Channel on Saturdays this
December at 4 and 4:30 p.m. (Eastern).

 

For more information, please visit www.mx-5cup.com
<http://www.mx-5cup.com/> .

 

-30-

 

Attached: Image of Jason Saini leading Jim Daniels in the race.

Credit: (c) 2006 Juha Lievonen

 

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. - Results from Sunday's 17-lap, 68.815-mile SCCA Pro
Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Hankook Round
Eight race, part of the Champ Car World Series at Road America weekend
with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver,
hometown, car, laps, distance behind winner and reason out (if any).

1. (2), Jason Saini, Fort Worth, Texas, Mazda MX-5, 17.

2. (5), Ara Malkhassian, Houston, Texas, Mazda MX-5, 17, -27.127.

3. (10), Drew Staveley, Walnut, Calif., Mazda MX-5, 17, -27.411.

4. (18), Deborah Loth, Fort Worth, Texas, Mazda MX-5, 17, -50.291.

5. (7), Ben Hohn, Easton, Conn., Mazda MX-5, 17, -50.419.

6. (8), Carlo Sparacio, Federal Way, Wash., Mazda MX-5, 17, -51.194.

7. (9), Larry Webster, Ann Arbor, Mich., Mazda MX-5, 17, -53.714.

8. (12), Ben McCrackin, Corpus Christi, Texas, Mazda MX-5, 17, -59.323.

9. (13), John Kuitwaard, Wantagh, N.Y., Mazda MX-5, 17, -1:09.496.

10. (14), Barry A. Fromberg, Plano, Texas, Mazda MX-5, 17, -1:20.059.

11. (16), Tim Probert, Houston, Texas, Mazda MX-5, 17, -1:27.876.

12. (22), Tim McQuiston, Hartford, Wis., Mazda MX-5, 17, -1:30.533.

13. (15), Burt Levy, Westchester, Ill., Mazda MX-5, 17, -1:39.061.

14. (23), Randy Hale, Haddam, Conn., Mazda MX-5, 17, -1:47.646.

15. (21), Dale Alexander, Tampa, Fla., Mazda MX-5, 17, -1:55.633.

16. (20), Steve Bottom, Newport Beach, Calif., Mazda MX-5, 17,
-2:17.950.

17. (3), Pratt Cole, Salt Lake City, Utah, Mazda MX-5, 16, -1 lap.

18. (17), Mike Dalton, Evanston, Ill., Mazda MX-5, 16, -1 lap.

19. (4), Jim Daniels, Germantown, Tenn., Mazda MX-5, 15, Crash.

20. (6), Brad McAllister, Portland, Ore., Mazda MX-5, 13, -4 laps.

21. (1), Payton Wilson, Chantilly, Va., Mazda MX-5, 12, -5 laps.

22. (11), Todd Buras, Melbourne, Fla., Mazda MX-5, 3, -14 laps.

23. (19), Weldon Munsey, Huntington Beah, Calif., Mazda MX-5, 2,
Mechanical.

Time of race: 45 minutes, 26.225 seconds.

Average speed: 90.872 mph

Margin of victory: 27.127 Seconds

Lap leaders: Laps 1-4, #76 Jim Daniels; laps 5-6, #28 Jason Saini; laps
7-7, #76 Jim Daniels; laps 8-8, #28 Jason Saini; laps 9-10, #76 Jim
Daniels; laps 11-12, #28 Jason Saini; laps 13-13, #76 Jim Daniels; laps
14-17, #28 Jason Saini

Hawk Hot Lap: #28 Jason Saini, 2:38.713 (91.818 mph)

Fastest qualifier: #59 Payton Wilson, 3:08.298 (77.392 mph)

Sunoco Hard Charger: #23 Deborah Loth

Cautions: None

 

 

Erin Cechal

SCCA Public Relations Specialist

800/770-2055

ecechal@scca.com