Matt Plumb, of Newport, R.I., earned his first-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car win from the pole today at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but it wasn’t anything easy on the technically challenging road course. Sweden’s Nic Jonsson and Peter Cunningham, of West Bend, Wis., completed the top three.

Starting from the pole, Plumb didn’t quite get the start he had expected. Jonsson, who had started on the outside of row one, got an excellent jump at the start and led the first 15 laps. On lap 16, Jonsson had some temporary engine problems that allowed Plumb to pass him in turn seven to hold on for the win. Driving the No. 43 RealTime Racing/SANZ/Sun Microsystem Acura TSX, Plumb won by 2.269-seconds at a record average speed of 84.172 mph on the 2.258-mile circuit.

“At the start of the race, he [Jonsson] got such a nice jump and had a pretty good gap,” Plumb said of the start. “I was doing everything in my power to try to stay with him. He was pushing very, very hard. So, I tried my best to keep my calm and not let him [Jonsson] get too far away. But, when Nic had his problem he was kind enough to give me a little room to get by.”

“We had some electronic glitch or something,” Jonsson said describing why Plumb was able to get by him. “The engine just cut out for about three or four seconds. I had to recycle the fuel pump and the ignition and luckily it came back on. Luckily enough it was just Matt that was able to get by, because Bill and P.D. [Cunningham] were right there. It felt like we were five wide at one time. But, it worked out okay. I was able to get back up running and I tried to put as much pressure as possible on Matt.”

Plumb’s start from the pole and his win were both firsts for the Acura TSX in SPEED Touring Car competition.

Despite engine troubles, Jonsson turned in a solid second place performance for the second straight race, while setting a new fast race lap record of 1:35.838 (84.818 mph) in his No. 27 Lectric Air/Tecmark Corporation BMW 325Ci.

Cunningham, who started third in his No. 4 Nissan/NISMO/TeamRTR Nissan Sentra SE-R, dropped to fourth early in the race and spent most of the race battling SPEED Touring Car point leader Bill Auberlen (who was running third at the time) and former teammate Brazilian Pierre Kleinubing (who was running fifth) for position. On lap 22, with lapped traffic in front of them heading into turn six, Cunningham out braked Auberlen heading into the turn and was able to slip by holding on for his second third place finish of 2004.

“At the end of the back straight, traffic played a little bit of a factor,” Cunningham said of his pass on Auberlen for third. “I think Bill thought he would have to fall in behind [the lapped traffic], so I just stuffed it in there and made it stick. The Sentra was very consistent the whole time. The NISMO handling was fantastic and we just went to the end.”

Gunning for his fourth consecutive SPEED Touring Car win, dating back to the last race of the 2003 season (Puerto Rico), Auberlen, of Rolling Hills, Calif., brought his No. 1 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 325i home in fourth, while Kleinubing was fifth in his No. 42 A-SPEC/Real Time Racing Acura TSX.

Fred Pignataro, of East Northport, N.Y., won the B&M Holeshot award for advancing seven positions on the first lap of the race. Peter Schwartzott, of Freeville, N.Y., won the Sunoco Hard Charger of the Race award for advancing 15 positions throughout the race.

Auberlen leads the SPEED Touring Car Drivers’ Championship with 92 points, followed by Jonsson (78 points), Matt Plumb (73), Cunningham (64) and Justin Marks (62).

BMW leads the SPEED Touring Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by Racer Magazine with 25 points, followed by Acura (18), Nissan (10) and Mazda (five).

The series next heads to the Infineon Raceway July 16-18 for Rounds Four and Five of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship.

Results from Saturday’s 27-lap, 60.966-mile SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Round Three race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, class, car, laps, distance behind winner and reason out (if any).


1. (1), Matt Plumb, Newport, R.I., Acura TSX, 27.
2. (2), Nic Jonsson, Buford, Ga., BMW 325Ci, 27, -2.269.
3. (3), Peter Cunningham, W. Bend, Wis., Sentra SE-R, 27, -3.473.
4. (4), Bill Auberlen, Rolling Hills Est, Calif., BMW 325i, 27, -4.672.
5. (5), Pierre Kleinubing, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Acura TSX, 27, -7.073.
6. (7), Jeff Altenburg, Ellicott City, Md., Mazda Protégé ES, 27, -10.575.
7. (6), Shauna Marinus, Folsom, Calif., Mazda Protégé ES, 27, -11.237.
8. (9), Justin Marks, Chico, Calif., BMW 325i, 27, -21.203.
9. (11), Charles Espenlaub, Lutz, Fla., Mazda Protégé ES, 27, -36.871.
10. (8), James Sofronas, Newport Beach, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 27, -37.245.
11. (13), Matt Richmond, Mooresville, N.C., BMW 325i, 27, -38.165.
12. (14), James Clay, Blacksburg, Va., BMW 325i, 27, -38.394.
13. (18), Chip Herr(R), Lititz, Pa., Mazda Protégé ES, 27, -52.591.
14. (17), Scott Fredricksen(R), Gastonia, N.C., Mazda Protégé ES, 27, -58.883.
15. (21), Ryan Pilla(R), Amagansett, N.Y., Mazda Protégé ES, 27, -1:0.26300.
16. (12), Dino Crescentini(R), Malibu, Calif., BMW 325i, 27, -1:24.005.
17. (15), Scott Galaba(R), Chicago, Ill., BMW 325Ci, 27, -1:38.499.
18. (36), Peter Schwartzott, Freeville, N.Y., Acura RSX, 26, -1 laps.
19. (24), Jim Osborn, Ooltewah, Tenn., BMW 325Ci, 26, -1 laps.
20. (28), Nick Leverone(R), Worchester, Mass., BMW 328i, 26, -1 laps.
21. (30), Seth Neiman(R), Woodside, Calif., BMW 325Ci, 26, -1 laps.
22. (19), Seth Thomas(R), Cumming, Ga., BMW 325i, 26, -1 laps.
23. (20), Nick Esayian(R), Encinitas, Calif., Acura RSX, 26, -1 laps.
24. (31), Kird Azemar(R), Westbury, N.Y., BMW 325, 26, -1 laps.
25. (26), Leo Capaldi, Lenox Twp., Mich., Ford Focus, 25, -2 laps.
26. (27), Brandon Peterson(R), Breckenridge, Colo., Honda Civic Si, 24, -3 laps.
27. (34), A.J. Ashley, Queens City, N.Y., BMW 325, 22, Fuel.
28. (25), Scott Bradley, Mountain View, Calif., Mazda Protégé ES, 15, Engine.
29. (10), Bob Stretch, Dallas, Texas, BMW 325Ci, 12, Fuel.
30. (16), Victor Gonzalez(R), San Juan, Puerto Rico, Acura RSX, 7, Mech.
31. (22), Fred Pignataro, E. Northport, N.Y., BMW 328is, 6, Mech.
32. (29), Hugh Stewart, Massapequa, N.Y., BMW 325, 2, Mech.
33. (35), Phil Parlato, Commack, N.Y., BMW 325i, 0, DNS.
34. (23), Scott Poirier(R), Deerfield, Fla., Mercedes C230, 0, DNS.
35. (32), Peter Lockhart, Canada, Mercedes C230, 0, DNS.
36. (33), Mark German, Pittsburgh, Pa., Mazda 626, 0, DNS.


Time of race: 43 minutes, 27.490 seconds.

Average speed: 84.172 mph, RECORD
Margin of victory: 2.269 Seconds
Lap leaders: Laps 1-15, #27 Nic Jonsson; laps 16-27, #43 Matt Plumb
Fastest race lap: #27 Nic Jonsson, 1:35.838 (84.818 mph), RECORD
Fastest qualifier: #43 Matt Plumb, 1:34.160 (86.329 mph), RECORD
Cautions: None
B&M Shifters Holeshot Award: #60 Fred Pignataro improved six positions on lap one
Sunoco Hard Charger: #41 Peter Schwartzott improved 15 positions in the race


SCCA SPEED Touring Car Point Standings

Ps, Driver, Car, Pts (Wins)
1, Bill Auberlen, BMW 325i, 92 (2)
2, Nic Jonsson, BMW 325Ci, 78
3, Matt Plumb, Acura TSX, 73 (1)
4, Peter Cunningham, Sentra SE-R, 64
5, Justin Marks, BMW 325i, 62
6, Jeff Altenburg, Mazda Protégé ES, 61
7, James Sofronas, BMW 325Ci, 61
8, Pierre Kleinubing, Acura TSX, 58
9, Shauna Marinus, Mazda Protégé ES, 53
10, Chip Herr(R), Mazda Protégé ES, 34


SCCA SPEED Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by Racer

Ps, Manufacturer, Points (wins)
1, BMW, 25 (2)
2, Acura, 18 (1)
3, Nissan, 10
4, Mazda, 5

*SpeedArena