Lamb Takes Road America MX-5 Cup Win for Record Sixth-Straight
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. - Todd Lamb, of Atlanta, Ga., captured his record-extending sixth-straight SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup win in the final race of the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase weekend at Elkhart Lake's Road America. Marc Miller, of Holland, Mich., and Zach Ply, of Joliet, Ill., completed the podium.
Todd Lamb held off a hungry MX-5 Cup field to take his sixth win of the season at Road America (Weber image).
Lamb started second in the
No. 84 AMG Racing/Traqumate/Luna-C Racing MX-5 and spent the first portion of
the 17-lap, 84.416-mile race trading the lead with Miller and polesitter Justin
Piscitell, of Patterson, N.Y. Those three were also joined by Stan
Wilson, of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., and Ply to complete a five-car
breakaway from the field.
On lap 11, Lamb took the
lead for good and held off one last attempt by Wilson"s No. 92 Hale
Motorsports/NetEvidence/Alliance 1 MX-5 in Turn Five on lap 12. Three laps
later, Wilson and Miller made contact in Turn Six, with Miller going into
second and Wilson
dropping to fifth. The battle allowed Lamb to break away from the pack and
cruise to his sixth series win in his sixth attempt.
"The start was kind of what
we expected,” Lamb said. “The cars on the inside helped each other. The outside
line didn’t go as fast as we hoped, but we knew we were going to get shuffled
toward the back a bit. I just waited to come back around for the first lap,
then passed a couple guys and got back to the front.
“To stay up front at a track
like Road America,
you’ve got to hit every corner perfectly. My biggest help was being able to get
a gap out of the Carousel and through the Kink, down into Canada Corner. That
kept the cars behind me far enough back on the front straight as well. That was
the key for us.
“AMG had the car set up
beautifully as usual, and we just kept getting faster and faster as the race
went on. I think we turned some of our fastest laps at the end.”
Lamb hypothesis was correct;
he turned the fastest lap of the race, a 2:40.901 (90.570 mph) on lap 15.
Miller started third in the
No. 28 Team MER/MOCA/Race Now for Autism/MMP MX-5 and never fell out of the top
five. The point leader entering the weekend, Miller shuffled to the front and
back of the lead pack as he found the right drafting partners.
“The car was fantastic, but
you’ve got to have teammates here to work with,” Miller said. “Nick [Mancuso]
was with me for a little bit, but he fell out. Then, Zach [Ply] worked his way
up and was really helpful toward the end of the race. Justin [Piscitell] worked
really well with us, he always does, but he made a mistake in five and I went
to the inside of him.”
On the final lap, Miller
held off his drafting partner to finish second, keeping a perfect podium record
in MX-5 Cup competition. Miller was pleased with his finish in the physical
race, but disappointed he didn’t get a chance to challenge Lamb for the win and
extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship.
“It was like bumper cars out
there,” recalled Miller. “There were a lot of late-braking maneuvers and
contact that wasn’t necessary. I feel lucky to come away with a second-place
finish, but unfortunately it let Todd get away for the win. Overall, this is
the type of racing we have at Road America. We knew that coming in.
It’s a real barn-burner, drafting track. You just have to come in with an open
mind and work well with people.
“I’ve got to thank the MER
team. I definitely had a winning car today. Zach and Nick both had winning
cars, but when it comes down to it, you need luck and when you don’t have the
luck, you end up second. I’m still leading the points, but didn’t get enough
points to really be happy with the weekend.”
Ply started his No. 27 Team
MER/Insight Beverage Co MX-5 10th, but was in the top five by lap three.
“I had a great start,” Ply
said. “The second the green flag came out, I got my car to the left and saw a
lane to go down. I tried to get past as many cars as I could before Turn One. I
slotted in and ran a smart race from there. Luckily, I was with some teammates,
so we all worked together and one-by-one, I was working my way to the front.”
On the final lap, the
four-car battle for second heightened and Ply delivered a healthy bump to
teammate Miller in Turn Five. They pair continued to complete the podium.
“We were all trying to go as
deep as we could on the last lap,” Ply said. “I went to the inside. I saw a
lane open. My pedal went pretty much to the floor and I held on for dear life.
I gave Marc a tap. I though I would have had a run on him up the hill, but I
said 'Marc, let’s go! Let’s Go! Let’s finish this out!’ I followed him to the
finish line and it made for an exciting race.”
Ply’s run from 10th to third
garnered the Carbotech Hard Charger award for the most positions gained in a
race.
Wilson showed his prowess in the deep Road America brake
zones to finish fourth. Inches off his bumper at the finish was Piscitell, who
brought the No. 89 ALARA Racing/DAMG Racing/Mazdaspeed MX-5 home fifth.
Jamie Slone finished sixth
in his first MX-5 Cup race, followed by Tim Probert, Keith Verges, Mark Jenkins
and Nick Mancuso.
Miller’s lead over Lamb in
the Drivers’ Championship has shrunk to 21 (404 to 383). Piscitell remains
third with 367 points. All MX-5 drivers will get to drop their lowest scoring
race from their final point total. If dropped races were factored in following
Round Seven at Road America,
Lamb would be leading the points.
Today’s race will air on
syndicated cable and satellite networks. A full schedule is available at www.mx-5cup.com.
The series has a healthy
break before Round Eight when it heads to Miller
Motorsports Park
in Tooele, Utah, Sept. 17 – 19. For more information
visit www.mx-5cup.com.
