SCCA NEWS: Archer Nabs Pole, SPEED GT Track Record at Miller Motorsports Park

Photo by John Thawley TOOELE, Utah (May 18, 2007) – Tommy Archer, of Duluth, Minn., set a new series lap record at Miller Motorsports Park on his way to pole position for Round Three of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship, part of the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix. Eric Curran, of East Hampton, Mass., will start second.

It only took Archer one lap around the 4.486-mile, 24-turn road course to set his pole-winning time of 2:54.986, a new SCCA SPEED GT record at Miller Motorsports Park. Driving the No. 5 MOPAR/Autohaus Motorsport Dodge Viper, the pole is Archer’s first of the season and sixth of his career.

“The run went fantastic,” Archer said. “I worked the car real hard, really hard through the high speed right-hander, which looks like where I was making up most of my ground. We know what we want to do to our car. We tested it all day yesterday and we took a chance to go a little bit quicker today by changing something on the setup, because we knew qualifying was only going to be a one or two lap deal. We put it on the car and it worked.

“Tomorrow, I don’t have launch control, so the start is going to be the hardest part for me. Then, on this track I don’t know what the percentage is, but you’ve got to be 70 percent of the time in turns here, so it’s really hard on tires even though the track is smooth. Consistency and being smooth will be important, but that’s usually my driving style anyway, so I think I’ll be okay.”

Current point leader Curran will line-up next to Archer on the grid. Driving the No. 30 Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Corvette, Curran’s time of 2:55.464 (92.039 mph) was also under the previous lap record, but was not enough to catch the Viper. Although Curran has won both races this season, he has yet to start on pole.

Defending race winner and holder of the previous track lap record, Lou Gigliotti, of Dallas, Texas, will start third for Saturday’s race. The No. 28 LG Pro Long Tube Headers Chevrolet Corvette was quickest in yesterday’s practice and found some more time in qualifying to turn in a lap of 2:55.844 (91.840 mph).

Sebring polesitter and Gigliotti teammate Doug Peterson, of Bonita Springs, Fla., will start fourth on the grid in his No. 87 3-Dimensional Services/LG Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette after clocking a 2:56.001 (91.758 mph). Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., completed the top five in his No. 22 K-PAX Racing LLC/Jim Haughey Porsche 911 GT3 with a time of 2:56.673 (91.409 mph).

Michael Galati (Porsche 911 GT3), Lawson Aschenbach (Cadillac CTS-V), James Sofronas (Porsche 911 GT3), Sonny Whelen (Chevrolet Corvette) and Michael McCann (Dodge Viper) completed the top ten.

Saturday’s 14-lap race is scheduled to commence at 9:45 a.m. (MDT). The race will be broadcast on SPEED, Sunday, May 27 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT).

For all the latest news, live timing and lap notes from Miller Motorsports Park, visit www.world-challenge.com

TOOELE, Utah - Starting lineup for Saturday's SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT race, part of the 2007 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, (5), Tommy Archer, Duluth, Minn., Dodge Viper, 2:54.986, 92.290.

2, (30), Eric Curran, East Hampton, Mass., Chevrolet Corvette, 2:55.464, 92.039.

3, (28), Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, Texas, Chevrolet Corvette, 2:55.844, 91.840.

4, (87), Doug Peterson, Bonita Springs, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette, 2:56.001, 91.758.

5, (22), Randy Pobst, Gainesville, Ga., Porsche 911 GT-3, 2:56.673, 91.409.

6, (23), Michael Galati, Olmsted, Ohio, Porsche 911 GT-3, 2:57.461, 91.003.

7, (1), Lawson Aschenbach, W. Palm Beach, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V, 2:57.498, 90.984.

8, (14), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., Porsche 911 GT-3, 2:57.679, 90.892.

9, (31), Sonny Whelen, Old Saybrook, Conn., Chevrolet Corvette, 2:57.811, 90.824.

10, (82), Michael McCann, North Canton, Ohio, Dodge Viper, 2:58.142, 90.655.

11, (12), Brian Kubinski(R), Plainfield, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette, 2:58.173, 90.640.

12, (17), Rob Foster, Phoenix, Ariz., Dodge Viper, 2:58.233, 90.609.

13, (56), Ritch Marziale, Tempe, Ariz., Dodge Viper, 2:58.245, 90.603.

14, (8), Andy Pilgrim, Boca Raton, Fla., Cadillac CTS-V, 2:58.311, 90.569.

15, (13), Bob Woodhouse, Blair, Neb., Dodge Viper, 2:58.600, 90.423.

16, (99), Jeff Courtney, Slinger, Wis., Dodge Viper, 2:58.742, 90.351.

17, (2), Cindi Lux(R), Aloha, Ore., Dodge Viper, 2:58.888, 90.277.

18, (05), Jason Daskalos(R), Albuquerque, N.M., Dodge Viper, 2:59.281, 90.079.

19, (34), Tony Gaples, Libertyville, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette, 3:01.320, 89.066.

20, (15), Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette, 3:01.615, 88.922.

21, (20), Dane Moxlow(R), Grosse Ile, Mich., Pontiac GTO, 3:01.639, 88.910.

22, (57), Stu Frederick, Del mar, Calif., Dodge Viper, 3:01.857, 88.803.

23, (55), Thomas Glenn(R), Phoenix, Ariz., Dodge Viper, 3:02.350, 88.563.

24, (24), Robb Holland, Denver, Colo., Porsche 911, 3:02.822, 88.335.

25, (29), Eric Olberz(R), La Canada Flintridge, Calif., Porsche 911 GT-3, 3:03.772, 87.878.

26, (6), Jeffrey Robbins(R), Southfield, Mich., Dodge Viper, 3:04.373, 87.592.

27, (3), Scotty B. White, Puyallup, Wash., Dodge Viper, 3:13.135, 83.618.