Lewis wins pole for the ST class in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge
Leading off the qualifying under the lights for the Grand Prix of Kansas on Friday was Corey Lewis, who won the pole for the ST class for the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge on Friday.
Lewis races a Porsche Cayman for Rebel Rock Racing and captured his first pole of his professional career.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” he said. “It’s one of those feelings you won’t ever forget. We set the pace early and sat for five minutes and it was long five minutes after that.”
Lewis said he just wanted to get out there and set a pace for the other drivers.
“It worked out that way,” he said. “I didn’t really have a plan going in. I was just trying to get the drifts right for the gaps.”
Lewis beat out Adam Isman by 0.04 seconds.
Wilson takes GS pole
In the second Continental Tire qualification, the GS class, Kris Wilson, a veteran of the sport, won the pole with his Aston Martin. It was his first with the Aston Martin as he turned in a 1 minute, 21.953 second lap time.
“I thought the times would be faster,” Wilson said. “The last session everyone was doing exactly what I was doing for pole. I was thinking with the cool weather, I thought the time would be faster so I was surprised.”
Nick Longhi qualified in second place for the GS. Kurt Rezzetano finished in third place with a time of 1:22.161.
Duerson, Cumming are quick
In the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites L1 class, Craig Duerson of Performance Tech Motorsports grabbed the pole with a time of 1:16.183 after it initially appeared Andrew Novich of Comprent Motor Sports had the top spot with a time of 1:16.308.
Matthew McMurray finished third with a best time of 1:16.393.
The final qualifying for the day was the Cooper Tires TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, with Chris Cumming sitting on the pole after many of the places continued to change hands.
“I know this would be tough competition and I knew Sean Rayhall is pretty hard to beat,” Cumming said. “The RSR car the guys gave me was fantastic.”
His 1:11.839 lap time edged out Frankie Montecalvo.
Sean Rayhall finished off the top three with a time of 1:11.989.
Dalziel gets weekend ride
Ryan Dalziel might have had the weekend off. Instead he’s filling in for Sam Bird and will be racing in the Prototype Challenge and Prototyle Lites race for Starworks Motorsport. He will be paired with Martin Fuentes.
“The road course ovals are a little bit unique,” Dalziel said of the 2.37-mile track at Kansas Speedway. “We go from the highest speeds we see to some of the lowest speeds.”
And while he likes night racing, he also has a criticism.
“Night time racing is cooler for the fans and always cooler on TV,” he said. “In my honest opinion it’s too bright these days. We light up too much of these tracks.”
Braun is quick
Colin Braun ran the fastest lap in the practice for the Prototype challenge, 1:11.715 at 118.971 mph.
From Indy to KCK
Indy 500 driver Alex Tagliani will be racing the No. 08 RSR Racing OREC FLM09 with Chris Cumming in the Prototype class of the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship.
Tagliani finished 13th at Indianapolis on May 25.
Freiberg hopeful
Ashley Freiberg, Shelby Blackstock’s teammate, was the first woman to win the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge at Dayton International Speedway.
She’s excited with the start, but hopes it leads to more good finishes.
“With the win it’s really gone above and beyond my expectations to start the year,“ she said.
Saturday’s schedule
TUDOR United SportsCar Championship
The race: Grand Prix of Kansas
The track: 2.37-mile, six-turn road circuit
The time/day: 10:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge
The race: Grand Prix of Kansas
The track: 2.37-mile, six-turn road circuit
The time/day: 6:15 p.m. on Saturday.
This story was originally published June 6, 2014 at 9:37 PM with the headline "Lewis wins pole for the ST class in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge."