Acura Team Penske Takes Front Row Spot in Petit Le Mans Qualifying
• Ricky Taylor qualifies second for Saturday’s season-ending race
• Dane Cameron qualifies fourth as Acura Team Penske closes in on championship
• Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evos will start fourth and fifth in their GTD title chase

BRASELTON, GA (Oct. 11, 2019) – Closing in on the three major 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship titles, Acura Team Penske will start its pair of ARX-05 prototypes from second and fourth in Saturday’s season-ending Petit Le Mans, following qualifying action today at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Chasing the GTD Drivers’, Team and Manufacturers’ championships, the Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evos will start fourth and fifth in tomorrow’s 10-hour endurance contest.

Acura Team Penske ARX-05
Ricky Taylor, partnered with co-drivers Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, will start from the outside of the front row, second, and by taking the green flag will secure Acura’s first Manufacturers’ Championship since entering DPi competition last year.

Teammates Dane Cameron, Juan Pablo Montoya and Graham Rahal will start from fourth in their Acura ARX-05. A finish of eighth or better will secure the 2019 DPi Drivers’ and Team championships for Cameron and Montoya, regardless of the finishing position of title rivals Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr in their #31 Action Express Cadillac.

Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
GTD championship leaders Trent Hindman and Mario Farnbacher will clinch the 2019 GTD Drivers’ Championship at the start of Saturday’s race, and will also lock down the Team title for Meyer Shank Racing, after third driver Justin Marks ended GTD qualifying fourth in the class.

Driving the #57 Heinricher/MSR NSX, Christina Nielsen will start fifth, after a strong qualifying run in the car she will share with Katherine Legge and Bia Figueiredo. In the final major IMSA championship battle for the GTD Manufacturers’ Championship, Acura is one point behind season rival Lamborghini. To secure the title, at least one of the MSR Acuras must finish ahead of the best-positioned Lamborghini at the checkers.

Where to watch
Live network television coverage from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta begins at 12 p.m. Saturday, October 12, for three hours on NBC. Coverage will resume from 5:30 p.m. EDT to the finish on the NBC Sports Network.

Quotes
Ricky Taylor (#7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05) qualified second overall and in DPi: “This field is so tight, starting on the front row is always a great accomplishment. Of course, we would like the pole, but the #31 [Action Express] car has been fast all weekend. It’s a long race, so we’ll just keep our heads down and hopefully, we’re there when the sun goes down [for the final hours of the race].”

Christina Nielsen (#86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) will start fifth in GTD”: “A top five [qualifying result] is always nice. I’ve been fighting for this championship before and the secret to winning it is to always run in the top five. So, of course we want to be higher, but I’m quite happy with the result, I think it’s a good starting position for us. I’m excited for the 10 hours. I think our focus is now to have a good race car, and that’s what we’ve been working towards all weekend.”