Bell on Pole Once Again At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Bell on Pole Once Again At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

MONTEREY, Calif. (8 July 2011) – Following up a run to victory lane in the most recent round of GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition, Matt Bell scored the pole position at his home track of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with a fast lap time of 1:36.049 seconds in the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GS.R.

The young Californian, who along with co-driver John Edwards scored the first victory of the season for Stevenson Motorsports two weeks ago at Road America, now gives the team its first pole of the season as well.

The pole position marks Bell’s seventh top-10 starting position in eight races at the controls of the Camaro GS.R as he is set to lead the 54-car combined class grid to the green flag in tomorrow’s 2.5-hour race.

“The team set up a good car and it was a good, solid pole,” said Bell. “This team works very strategically and we save a lot of time. Luckily, on the home race, I’m on pole. This is an awesome feeling. Now, when my friends roll in to the track this weekend and want to know where I am, I can just tell them ‘up front!”

Bell will have many friends and family on hand as he and Edwards look to remain at the front and go for their third straight podium result.

In addition to the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race, Bell will also jump behind the wheel to race the No. 23 Michael Shank Racing Daytona Prototype entry after qualifying the Ford-Riley on the outside of the fourth row with a time of 1:22.342 seconds in his third Daytona Prototype start of the year.

“It’s tough going back and forth between the cars, just from a logistical point of view,” said Bell of his double-duty weekend. “I was putting my helmet on and chasing my Daytona Prototype car to get ready to go in it for practice! But, I’m figuring it out and now that the Daytona Prototype has given me the input that I need, I feel more comfortable. I think during the race, I’ll figure it out more. The team did an awesome job figuring out what the next step is and I’ll try to improve it with my driving, so I am cautiously optimistic for the race tomorrow.”

Bell and Michael Shank Racing co-driver James Davison will look to move forward in tomorrow’s 2.75-hour race as each make their first race start at the California road course behind the wheel of a Daytona Prototype.

The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race is set to begin at 10:45 AM PDT with the Rolex Series Sports Car race slated for a 2:30 PM PDT start time. Both races can be followed with live timing and scoring at www.grand-am.com.

The Rolex Series race will broadcast on Sunday, July 10 at 4:00 PM (ET) on SPEED. The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race coverage will be shown on SPEED July 17 at 1:00 PM (ET).

Matt Cleary
Sunday Group Management
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http://www.sundaymanagement.com
317.908.2975 (m)


Based in Indianapolis, Sunday Group Management is a leading motorsports management and communications consulting firm.

Sunday Group Management works with clients in a variety of motorsports categories, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver AJ Allmendinger, Riley Technologies, GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series organization Michael Shank Racing, Continental Tire, and several teams and drivers in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

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