Wittmer, Kleinubing, Cunningham 1-2-3 in points
- Tooele, Utah
RealTime Racing Acura TSX drivers may not have won their third race in a row today to start the 2008 SPEED Touring Car Championship, but they did manage to secure the next three positions in the finishing order to extend their Drivers' Championship points lead.
Round Three of the 10-race series took place at the wide-open expanses of Miller Motorsports Park, about 20 minutes west of Salt Lake City, Utah. Touring Car rookie Jason Saini qualified his Mazda6 on the pole and led every lap, although not without feeling pressure every step of the way from four-time series Driver's Champion Pierre Kleinubing in his Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles Acura TSX. RealTime teammates Kuno Wittmer and Peter Cunningham followed close behind in third and fourth.
Kleinubing finished 1.402 seconds behind Saini and remains second in driver points. Wittmer, fresh from his victory at VIRginia, went into the race leading the points and goes to the next race at Lime Rock Park with a 317-305 lead over Kleinubing. Cunningham sits third with 269.
Most important, however, Acura still holds the advantage in the Manufacturers' Championship. After three races, Acura leads with a nine-point margin over Mazda, 26-17.
When the checkered flag fell, Wittmer was third by 18.435 seconds, leading a tight battle between himself, Cunningham, and Mazda drivers Charles Espenlaub and Jim Daniels. RTR's fourth driver, Dino Crescentini, qualified 11th and finished 9th on the day in his Acura TSX.
Even as the victory celebrations were continuing at the podium, the RealTime crew was tearing into the cars one-by-one as they cleared post-race technical inspection, to prepare for next weekend's doubleheader clear across the country. It was well after midnight before the last of the cars was secured in the matching transporters to begin their 2,247-mile trek to Lime Rock Park, Connecticut.
Four days from now, the Touring Car circus will set up its tents once again, this time for a pair of races at the challenging seven-turn, 1.53 mile bullring. Round Four will take place on Saturday, and after a day off, Round Five will be contested on Memorial Day. By the time the holiday weekend is over, the 2008 championship will be 50% complete!
The Miller Motorsports race was televised by SPEEDtv and will air Wednesday, May 28, at Noon Eastern time.
The RealTime Acura team is sponsored by Acura, Acura Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Red Line Oil, Eibach Springs, buyBrakes.com, Sparco, Hawk Performance, Brembo, A-SPEC, BOSCH, Total Auto Body, PACT and A-YES.
