SCC: Homestead: Automatic Racing qualifying notes

Automatic Racing Qualifies Ninth for the Grand-Am Cup 250 at Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla.- Automatic Racing qualified ninth overall and in the Grand Sports class for the Grand-Am Cup 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jep Thornton drove the No. 09 Automatic Racing BMW M3 in qualifying, completing a lap of the 2.3-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway road course in 1:30.447 (91.545 mph).

"It went really well," commented Thornton. "We were kind of in the middle of the pack for a while in practice, and then I got ninth in qualifying. We're looking forward to a good race tomorrow. We've got a good car and it's in good shape. We're really excited. Our goal was a top ten and we got it."

Thornton will be joined by co-driver David Russell in the race. The goal for the race, said Thornton, is to be clean and consistent. "This is going to be interesting. We have 56 cars, a small track, and a tight track. There's going to be a lot of attrition. The guy that does well is going to be the guy that stays consistent; that's going to be the key."

Automatic Racing will take the green flag along with the rest of the Grand-Am Cup field on Sunday, March 28, at 12:30 pm EST.

More information about Automatic Racing can be found on the web at www.AutomaticRacing.com. Audio updates from Thornton and Russell can be downloaded for a first-hand look at the team's race weekend.

-ar-