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Constantine, Wittmer Claim Poles
for Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Fresh From Florida 200
DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. (January 24, 2008) – Fall-Line
Motorsports driver Tommy Constantine put together a strong two-lap
effort in Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series qualifying Thursday evening at
Daytona International Speedway, coming away with the pole for
Friday’s three-hour Fresh From Florida 200, which starts at
2:15 p.m.
Constantine
took the No. 46 Playboy/Vervel/TASER/Palms BMW M3 to a best lap time of
2:05.085 (102.458) over the 15-minute qualifying session, cruising to
the pole more than a half second ahead of outside front row starter
Andy Hauck III. The effort, which came in light rain, marked the first
KONI Challenge pole for Constantine, who debuted in the series in 2006.
“We
saw the rain coming and we knew that we had to get a fast lap in right
away,” Constantine said. “We really went for it
right away on cold tires, knowing that the track was getting wetter and
wetter. There were actually a couple of corners that were slightly wet,
even on the first lap, so we knew that would affect the lap time. We
went for it everywhere we could, until it got worse and everybody had
to stop.
“It’s
great to be here, because we had such a bad year last year, with bad
luck and mechanical problems,” Constantine continued.
“We were just happy that the car started this year, and the
Fall-Line guys have done an amazing job. For us to be as good as we are
here on a high-horsepower track, we are looking to the shorter tracks
that suit this car even more.”
Hauck, in
the No. 23 Wright Motorsports Porsche 997, set a time of 2:05.734
(101.929 mph) in his two-lap effort, and signaled luck as a sign of
garnering second on the starting grid.
“First
of all, it was really wet,” Hauck explained. “We
got lucky. We got the car together after we had a pretty big incident
on the last day of the test session a few weeks ago. The crew worked
hard the last two weeks to get it back together. We’re just
happy to be here, and we took advantage of the situation.”
Rounding
out the top five were Jon Miller in the No. 99 Automatic Racing Fresh
From Florida/Imported Car Store BMW M3, Tim Traver in the No. 83 BGB
Motorsports Performance Drink/Toro Viejo Motorsports Porsche 997 and
Bret Seafuse in the No. 37 JBS Motorsports Trumansburg ShurSave Ford
Mustang GT.
In ST
competition, Kuno Wittmer led a front row sweep for i-MOTO Racing,
winning the pole with a time of 2:09.312 (99.109 mph). Wittmer turned
in three laps in the No. 32 Acura/Cobalt Friction Acura TSX just before
the rain hit.
“Winning
the pole is all thanks to the i-MOTO team,” Wittmer said.
“They really put a good car together. This race car is really
well balanced. The brakes are awesome, thanks to Cobalt Friction
Brakes. I think we’re going to have a great start to the race
tomorrow, and my teammate, Peter Cunningham, is going to take over. He
has tons of experience and he’s also my boss. I think we
could put this car pretty close to the front. We’re
definitely shooting for the victory, 1-2 for the team.”
Car owner
Glenn Bocchino toured the 3.56-mile, 14-turn track just tenths of a
second slower at 2:09.580 (98.904 mph) in the sister No. 31
Acura/Cobalt Friction Acura TSX.
“It
was a great effort by the team,” Bocchino said.
“The car felt very good, it was the best it ever felt. It was
totally hooked up. I’ll drive with Nick Wittmer in the
race.”
The
remainder of the ST top five is John Schmitt in the No. 22 HART Red
Line Oil Honda Accord, Toby Grahovec in the No. 86 Classic BMW-Plano
BMW Z4 and Jamie Holtom in the No. 01 Georgian Bay Motorsports
Chevrolet Cobalt.
Final KONI
Challenge Series practice is scheduled for 10 a.m. before the
three-hour Fresh From Florida 200, starting at 2:15 p.m. Friday.
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