SHEARS LEADS CHAMPIONSHIP, DOWNS LOOKS TO CONTINUE SUCCESS IN UTAH TOOELE


Anonymous

July 6, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Diane Swintal
dswintal31@yahoo.com
949.439.7871
www.prototypelites.com

UTAH JULY 6 – The battle for the championship of the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites
Championship continues in Rounds 7 and 8 at the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix at Miller
Motorsports Park.
Charlie Shears, driving the #21 Inspire Motorsports/US Builders Élan DP-02, extended his Championship
lead with a victory and a third place in New Jersey. In 95 degree F heat and humidity in New Jersey, he
conserved his tires in qualifying and passed boss and polesitter Jonathan Bennett (#54 Inspire
Motorsports/Composite Resources) with two laps to go in Round 5. Round 6 saw Matt Downs take his
#12 Eurosport Racing/Hormel Bacon Bits Élan DP-02 home for his first win of the season.
While Downs hopes to repeat his success here last year (earning a win and a third place finish in the two
Rounds at Utah in 2009), he doesn’t expect to be the fastest Downs on the track.
“I enjoy driving the outer loop course at Miller Motorsport Park, it’s really a first class facility,” says
Downs. “That being said, I don't expect to be the fastest Eurosport driver, as my brother Lucas is typically
faster than me here!”
In Lites 2, John Weisberg and Lee Alexander swapped positions all weekend with Alexander (#23 Factory
48 Motorsports West WX10) taking Round 5 and Weisberg (#75 BERG Racing/REDCOM West WR1000)
putting a late race pass on Alexander for the Round 6 win. Weisberg holds a slim three point lead on
Alexander in the Championship - which is sure to change, as Weisberg is not entered in Utah.
Two promoter test sessions for Lites will be held on Thursday, July 8, with two more practice sessions on
Friday. Qualifying will begin on Saturday, at 8:00 am. The green flag will drop for Round 7 at 1:00 pm,
with Round 8 on Sunday at 12:45 pm.
The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship features racing between two sports racer prototype
classes, Lites 1 and Lites 2, presenting a dimension of competition as drivers must be aware of classes
with distinctly different speeds as they navigate the race track. This is the same challenge faced by the
drivers of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón.
Miller Motorsports Park is a state-of-the-art road racing facility for automobiles, motorcycles and karts
located just 35 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City in Tooele, Utah. Opened in 2006, Miller
Motorsports Park hosts many of the world's most significant racing series. Miller Motorsports Park is
unique in that it offers spectators almost 100% sightlines of the entire track from any viewing location,
while providing up-close viewing of prime race-action zones.
The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship continues July 23 - 24, with Rounds 9 and 10 held in
conjunction with the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville,
Connecticut. Please visit www.prototypelites.com for the latest schedule and updates.

Keywords: imsa

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