Scott Speed captures pole for Round One

Under ideal track conditions, Star Mazda Series newcomer Scott Speed captured the pole for Round One of the Star Mazda Series North American Championship at Sebring International Raceway.  Times dropped dramatically in the early morning session with Speed improving his personal best for the weekend by over a second as he clocked a fast lap of 2:09.105.

“This session went really well, Speed said.  “We made a few changes after qualifying that we thought would work and they were perfect.  The Valley Motor center crew has given me a great car to drive this weekend and I’m looking forward to the race.”

Tim Jennings, who had set the fastest time in each of the previous three practice sessions dropped down to second place despite going over half a second faster and was hoping to make a run for the pole when his car started running out of fuel. "We were trying to go for it but Scott did a great job this morning,” Jennings said afterwards.  “The track was really good this morning with a lot of grip but the conditions are going to change as the other groups get out there and lay down there rubber so we’re looking to get a good race setup and go after them.”

Forty-three cars will take the green flag at 5:15pm for the Round One of the Star Mazda Series North American Championship.  For more information please visit www.starmazda.com  

Qualifying Notes

Ian Henderson, #84 Velocity Motorsports, qualified 27 after rebuilding his left rear suspension due to an accident in the final practice session on Thursday.

Mishael Abbott, #36 Pro-One Motorsports, will carry one of two in-car cameras for the event.  She was the first woman to win a 125cc shifter kart race in the United States and will also compete in select World Challenge races this season.

Paul Dallenbach, #99 Racers Edge Motorsports, is a former Atlantic rookie of the year and brother to Winston Cup driver Wally Dallenbach.  He returns to road racing after driving ASA stockcars.

Doug Peterson, #87 Lightspeed Motorsports, is the 2000 Star Mazda Series Masters Champion, and has also driven and won in Ferrari Challenge. 

Michael Stephens, Robert Noell and Ashley Milam all had their qualifying times disallowed for non-compliant parts in post-qualifying impound and will be moved to the back of the grid.