RealTime Racing Acuras Carry Momentum Into Season’s Homestretch
• Acura TLX GT has scored five consecutive top-five finishes in World Challenge
• Ryan Eversley climbs to fifth in series driver points
• Acura in top five in Manufacturer’s Championship with five races to run
• Eversley leads the series in points scored over last six races
MARYSVILLE, Ohio – (August 11, 2016) – The Acura TLX GT machines of RealTime Racing have found the fast way around the tracks of the Pirelli World Challenge over the last month, but there is more work to be done as the 2016 season heads into its final five races.
Second-year PWC driver Ryan Eversley has taken his blue-and-white RealTime Acura TLX to top-five finishes in each of the last five races, allowing the Georgia-born driver to climb to the fifth spot in the season GT standings. Meanwhile his new teammate Spencer Pumpelly has taken up the mantle from team owner Peter Cunningham, aiding Acura’s move into fifth place in the competitive Manufacturer’s Championship.
This weekend, the RealTime Acuras head to the newly-renamed Utah Motorsports Campus (formerly Miller Motorsports Park) in Tooele hoping to keep the momentum going as the end of the season approaches.
“After another strong run at Mid-Ohio we hope to continue the momentum in Utah. Ryan’s string of good finishes has pushed him and Acura up the points charts,” said Senior Program Engineer Lee Niffenegger of Honda Performance Development. “Spencer clearly showed he was on form in Race 2 at Mid-Ohio. He should be a formidable competitor for the tough GT field in Utah as well. Our main goal is to finish the 2016 season on a high note with the TLX GT program while everyone is working hard for the future as well.”
Eversley followed up his two wins at Road America with second- and fifth-place finishes at Mid-Ohio two weeks ago, but is cautiously optimistic about his chances on the 3.048-mile UMC course, where he finished ninth a year ago.
“Coming off our podium at Mid-Ohio, at a track that doesn’t traditionally suit the TLX I’m not really sure what to expect in Utah,” Eversley said. “I really enjoy the layout we use at UMC and I think we’ll have a strong car come race time.”
The RealTime team has a wealth of experience on the UMC layout, including PWC victories in 2006 and 2010, but Pumpelly has not visited the flat terrain of the Utah layout in a few years but is ready to get to work in his new mount after finishing eighth at Mid-Ohio.
“It’s been a while since I raced in Salt Lake City so I’m excited to return to the track and get back in the RealTime Acura TLX,” Pumpelly said as he prepares for his second event with the team. “Mid-Ohio was a promising start with the team but we ended up on the wrong side of the luck equation so hopefully we can continue to have great cars this weekend, as well as some luck.”
Pirelli World Challenge qualifying takes place Saturday at 10:45 ET with Round 16 getting underway at 6:00 p.m. Round 17 takes place Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET. The 50-minute race broadcasts can be viewed live on the Internet at www.world-challengeTV.com. The tape-delayed race broadcast can be seen August 21 at 2 p.m. ET on the CBS Sports Network.