| MX-5 Cup - Rampleberg wins closest finish in series history |
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| Written by Brian Bielanski, Editor |
| Sunday, 25 April 2010 20:40 |
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DANVILLE, Va. (RacingWire) - Kevin Harvick wasn't the only one to make a pass in the last few yards to win a race by inches on Sunday. The Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup race at Virginia International Raceway produced the closest finish in series history.
Brad Rampleberg, of San Jose, Calif., traded the lead with Dean Copeland (Bowie, Md.) more than a dozen times before slipping past Copeland for the final time as the two came to the checkered flag.
Rampleberg's .020 second victory was the closest in the 4-year-old series' history.
“Dean was better through Oak Tree coming onto the back straight,” Rampelberg said. “I felt like I was a little better on the last turn. I thought if I could get a good run on the white flag lap coming out of Oak Tree, I could hold him off. That was my only goal on that lap. When he came out of there right on my bumper, I thought it was over. He passed me and I got on the radio and told my guys we lost the race. Then I thought to myself, I’ve got one more shot at this, laid back going through Hog Pen [turn 17] and rolled right through onto the front straight.
“Dean raced me so clean. He could have driven me off on the outside of the track and he didn’t. It was a hard race, we probably passed twice a lap for 10 laps and never touched. It was a great race.”
The entire race was fantastic for the fans at VIR with a six car train trading places lap after lap.
The race also featured the last three Mazda ladder series shootout winners. Rampleberg won the shootout in 2007, 4th place finisher Justin Piscitell (Weston, Conn.) won the shootout in 2008 and the 5th place finisher Nick Evans (Powell, Ohio) is the defending shootout champion.
The win is Rampleberg's 3rd MX-5 Cup win. Copeland and 3rd place finisher Michael Cooper (Syosett, N.Y.) were making their rookie debut in the series.
The next stop for the MX-5 Cup Series is April 30 and May 1 at Road Atlanta.
DANVILLE, Va. - Results from Sunday's 20-lap 65.4-mile SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup race, part of the Bosch Engineering 250 at Virginia International Raceway, with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out (if any).
1. (1), Brad Rampelberg, San Jose, Calif., MX-5, 20. 2. (4), Dean Copeland, Bowie, Md., MX-5, 20, -.024. 3. (2), Michael Cooper, Syossett, N.Y., MX-5, 20, -.348. 4. (3), Justin Piscitell, Weston, Conn., MX-5, 20, -.543. 5. (8), Nick Evans, Powell, Ohio, MX-5, 20, -.909. 6. (7), Mathew Pombo, Atlanta, Ga., MX-5, 20, -14.544. 7. (11), Jesse Combs, Houston, Texas, MX-5, 20, -17.301. 8. (9), Mark Carpenter, Charlotte, N.C., MX-5, 20, -24.492. 9. (12), Jeff Mosing, Austin, Texas, MX-5, 20, -54.290. 10. (19), Brian Audet, Alexandria, Va., MX-5, 20, -1:05.652. 11. (10), Harrison Williams, Houston, Texas, MX-5, 20, -1:14.666. 12. (15), Jimmy Burke, Suwanee, Ga., MX-5, 20, -1:15.397. 13. (13), Richard Picut, Garwood, N.J., MX-5, 20, -1:25.287. 14. (16), Michael Vitarelli, Brooklyn, N.Y., MX-5, 20, -1:41.103. 15. (17), Richard Watson, Hingham, Mass., MX-5, 20, -1:47.828. 16. (18), Kristine Craine, Portland, Ore., MX-5, 19, -1 lap. 17. (14), David Walker, Dallas, Texas, MX-5, 19, -1 lap. 18. (5), Ara Malkhassian, Houston, Texas, MX-5, 1, Crash. 19. (6), Lyonel Kent, Knoxville, Tenn., MX-5, 0, Crash.
Time of race: 45 minutes, 41.207 seconds. Average speed: 85.889 mph Margin of victory: .024 Seconds Lap leaders: Laps 1-4, #4 Brad Rampelberg; laps 5-6, #7 Dean Copeland; laps 7-8, #4 Brad Rampelberg; laps 9-9, #7 Dean Copeland; laps 10-10, #4 Brad Rampelberg; laps 11-12, #7 Dean Copeland; laps 13-13, #4 Brad Rampelberg; laps 14-14, #7 Dean Copeland; laps 15-15, #4 Brad Rampelberg; laps 16-16, #7 Dean Copeland; laps 17-20, #4 Brad Rampelberg Fastest race lap: #01 Mathew Pombo, 2:15.306 (87.002 mph) Fastest qualifier: #4 Brad Rampelberg, 2:28.796 (79.115 mph) |
