Lamb Scores Fourth-Consecutive MX-5 Cup Pole

BIRMINGHAM, July 18, 2009: Todd Lamb, of Birmingham, Ala., earned his fourth-consecutive SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup pole in qualifying for Sunday’s Round Five race at Barber Motorsports Park, part of the Porsche 250 Presented by Legacy Credit Union weekend. Current point leader Marc Miller, of Holland, Mich., qualified second.

Driving the No. 84 AMG/Traqmate/Luna-C Racing MX-5, Lamb took some time to get up to speed on the 17-turn, 2.38-mile track. After coming in to make some adjustments to the car, Lamb ripped off a 1:43.072 (83.126 mph) to set the fastest time of the 30-minute qualifying session.

“The track is really slippery,” Lamb said. “It got really slick in the last practice session yesterday, so we actually made a bunch of changes to adjust for it. We went a little too far, but fortunately, we were able to these BFGs going for the first couple of laps to get a flyer in, and then came in to make some changes that made the car even better.

“We wanted to keep the heat cycles on the tires to a minimum, so we tried to keep the tires hot. We’d go out and run a half-lap, making the out-lap the same as the in-lap, then make a couple changes, go out and keep doing that over again pretty much the whole session. We just kept making small changes and the car feels really good now.”

This marks the fourth-consecutive pole for Lamb and the Atlanta Motorsports Group team, an unprecedented feat in MX-5 Cup. Lamb has also won each of the last three races from pole, putting him on target to tie 2006 MX-5 Cup Champion Jim Daniels’ record of four-consecutive race wins.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the AMG guys,” Lamb remarked. “(Team owner) Jason [Hoover] and I work really well together. It’s a neat relationship, because we think very similarly in terms of car setup. We pretty much agree on everything, so it makes it easy to work with the team. They’re willing to make any changes we need to go fast, so we’re all very happy right now.”

Out to spoil Lamb’s streak and maintain his Championship lead is Miller in the No. 28 Team MER/MOCA/RaceNowforAutism/MMP MX-5. After sitting in the fourth-spot for the majority of the qualifying session, Miller ramped up his efforts in the closing minutes. A lap of 1:43.321 (82.926 mph) was good enough to move him into second.

Completing a mirror image of both the Round Three and Round Four podiums, Justin Piscitell, of Patterson, N.Y., followed Lamb and Miller on the time sheets. Driving the No. 89 ALARA Racing/DAMG Racing/Mazdaspeed MX-5, Piscitell entered a 1:43.379 (82.879 mph) to qualify third.

Zach Ply, of Joliet, Ill., qualified a career-high fourth. Ply clocked a 1:43.433 (82.836 mph) in the No. 27 Team MER/Insight Beverage Co. MX-5.

Ara Malkhassian, of Sonoma, Calif., completed the top five in the No. 11 ALARA Racing MX-5, turning a 1:43.487 (82.793 mph).

Nick Mancuso, Lyonel Kent, Mark Jenkins, Robert Michaelian and Jeff Mosing completed the top 10.