RSR’s Cumming Surprises to Score Pole in Kansas

Chris Cumming has secured the Prototype Challenge pole position in qualifying for Saturday’s Grand Prix of Kansas, which featured an abnormal qualifying format compared to most other TUDOR United SportsCar Championship rounds.

Per the event supplementary regulations, each team’s Silver or Bronze-rated driver qualified, and will race in race one of the two 45-minute segments on Saturday evening. The Gold or Platinum-rated driver takes over for Saturday’s second 45-minute race.

As it was, the rapidly developing Cumming came relatively out of nowhere to lay down a flier of 1:11.839 in the No. 08 RSR Racing Oreca FLM09. This marks his first pole in the TUDOR Championship. Cumming’s Canadian countryman, Alex Tagliani, will take over for race two.

RSR Racing also captured the pole with Bruno Junqueira in the sister No. 09 car at the last two races, Sebring and Monterey. While RSR is yet to win this season, Cumming won the last three PC races of 2013, then co-driving with Kyle Marcelli.

Frankie Montecalvo qualified second in the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports entry at 1:11.878 with Sean Rayhall third in the No. 25 8Star Motorsports entry at 1:11.989. Montecalvo will hand off to Gunnar Jeannette for race two; Rayhall to Luis Diaz.

Duncan Ende took the second RSR entry to fourth on the grid, the No. 09 first of those in the 1:12 range at 1:12.541. Jon Bennett qualified the No. 54 CORE autosport entry, the practice pace-setter in the hands of Colin Braun, fifth at 1:12.597.

Meanwhile, Craig Duerson snatched the IMSA Cooper Tire Prototype Lites pole position in the final moments of the 20-minute session, with a best time of 1:16.183 in the No. 27 Performance Tech Motorsports Élan DP-02.

Duerson, a Masters class driver at age 50, is the first such driver to win overall pole since September 2012.

The last-lap flier bumped Andrew Novich to second 1:16.334 in the No. 61 Comprent Motorsports entry. Meanwhile 16-year-old Matt McMurry in his No. 16 Performance Tech Motorsports car ended third at 1:16.393.

Saturday’s first of two 45-minute races will go green at 5:15 p.m. ET, with the second occurring after a long break at 11:15 p.m. ET.

RESULTS (PC): Qualifying

RESULTS (Prototype Lites): Qualifying