Phoenix: TRG GT qualifying report

Paul Edwards Gets First Pontiac GTO.R Pole in GT at Phoenix

Phoenix, Arizona -- The TRG Pontiac GTO.R driven by Paul Edwards will sit on pole position for tomorrow's running of round eleven of the Grand American Rolex Series race to be run at Phoenix International Raceway. The pole position marks the first for the GTO.R and the first for Edwards in the series. Teammate Marc Bunting was able to qualify his GTO.R in eighth.

Under the lights at the desert modified oval Paul Edwards drove a calculated qualifying session to post a time of 1:02.506 good enough for P1 in GT. The California resident took six laps to bring in his Hoosier tires and get a gap in traffic to head the field to the green for tomorrow's 250-mile race.

"When I went out we had some traction issues and they worked themselves out," said Edwards. "I wanted to take it easy on the tires and bring them up to temperature slowly so I could get a good balance. We have a good setup under the car for the race, it is very comfortable in the oval, and we are able to carry a lot of speed around there as that is the most critical part of the circuit. Tire management will be an issue tomorrow; the more you try to push around the oval the more you are going to abuse your tires. We have the setup to make them last. My last pole was in 2001, so this is a nice reward for TRG, Pratt & Miller, Pontiac and all of the GM Racing family." Edwards is partnered with Dane Jan Magnussen, the duo will be looking to add win number two to the GTO.Rs resume.

Marc Bunting will start his number 65/TRG/Pontiac GTO.R from the fourth row. Bunting posted a qualifying time of 1:03.353, he and co-driver Andy Lally are in the thick of the GT series points battle, just 23 down from first.

"I had trouble getting a clean lap in qualifying," commented Bunting. "The car has a good setup that will be easy on tires and good for the race. The focus has been to get out of turn nine clean and carry as much speed around the banking and into the braking zone in turn one as possible. We have a little push through the banking, but that is typical of this place. Andy and I have a good race car and will be looking to be very competitive tomorrow."

"Paul did a great job to get the first pole for the GTO.R," said team owner Kevin Buckler. "He was able to pull it out at the last moment by a tenth. Marc did a good job in the 65 car; he and Andy are taking a measured approach to these weekends and are a definite factor for the GT series championship."

Round eleven of the Grand American Rolex Series will be run at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday, September 9th for GT and Saturday, September 10th at 7:00 p.m. for the Daytona Prototypes. The races will be televised on the Speed Channel at on Friday starting at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday for the DPs starting at 7:00 p.m. EST.

-trg-