Caddell's Morning Time Stands in Portland MX-5 Cup Practice

PORTLAND, Ore. (July 25, 2008) – The morning practice time of Andrew Caddell, from Graham, Wash., remained the fastest SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup practice time of the day at Portland International Raceway, site of the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland. Brad Rampelberg, of San Jose, Calif., was second fastest of the day, followed by Portland’s Brad McAllister, who set the quickest time of the afternoon session.

Defending race winner Caddell remains the man to beat at PIR, as his fastest morning session time stood throughout the 30-minute afternoon practice session as well. The No. 30 Hooverspeed/Victory Lane Data MX-5 driver laid down a 1:27.674 (81.178 mph) in the first session of the day.

“We’ve got Hooverspeed helping us out this weekend, so that’s helping us out a lot,” Caddell said. “We tried a lot of things in the last session to try and get the car hooked up. We had a pretty good day. Hopefully we’ll go out and get the pole tomorrow.”

After missing the opening two rounds of the 2008 MX-5 Cup season, Caddell has returned to the series to contest his home race. Although he took his first MX-5 Cup victory here last year, the 20 year-old remains modest about his chances this weekend.

“I have some confidence here, because it’s my hometown track, but they’ve made a few changes and repaved it, so it’s a little different. The competition is so tight in this series, I didn’t know what to expect. I told my parents this was like bringing a knife to a gun fight, coming back for just one race. We’re doing alright though and it always helps to have a team like Hooverspeed working with you.”

Caddell’s Hooverspeed colleague Rampelberg was second quick in both the morning and afternoon session, which, appropriately enough, put him second in the combined practice times. Rampelberg’s morning time of 1:27.785 (80.665 mph) in the No. 14 Hooverspeed MX-5 was the faster of the two times.

Portland driver Brad McAllister topped the afternoon session, but was only third fastest of the day with a 1:27.842 (80.613 mph), set in the morning session. The polesitter for last year’s Portland round was having a blast being back at his home track in the No. 39 Wired Motorsports/ACE Surgical MX-5.

“I always love coming out to PIR,” McAllister said. “We were having so much fun out there, it didn’t even feel like practice. Everything hooked up really nice. The Kumho tires were great and you gotta love these Mazdas. A big thanks to my sponsors: H&M Motorsports, ACE Surgical Supply and Portland Implant Dentistry for getting me here.

“I know Andrew’s running strong, so we’re hoping to hook up together [in qualifying] and we’ll see. I hope to be up there, but most important is getting on the podium and having a good finish. That’s what we’re looking for this weekend.”

Current point leader Eric Foss, of Fort Worth, Texas, was fourth fastest of the day in the No. 28 Team MER/Autobarn Mazda MX-5. In his first visit to PIR, Foss entered a 1:27.858 (81.008 mph) in the morning session.

Winner of the most recent round at Mosport International Raceway, Robert Huffmaster, of Clarkston, Mich., completed the top five in his No. 27 Team MER/Huffmaster Companies MX-5. Huffmaster’s morning time of 1:27.896 (80.973 mph), was his personal best for the day.

Ryan Schimsk, Todd Buras, Robert Michaelian, Elivan Goulart and Christian Franck completed the top ten.

Qualifying for Round Three of the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup will take place Saturday, July 26, at 11:30 a.m. (PDT). The race is set for Sunday, July 27, at 12:30 p.m. Live timing and lap notes are available at www.mx-5cup.com.