BRASELTON, Ga. (March 22, 2009) – Tony Ave, of Maiden, N.C., captured his first-career Muscle Milk SCCA Trans-Am Series pole position Sunday for this afternoon’s Round One race, part of the Atlanta Region SCCA National/Pro-IT Weeeknd at Road Atlanta. Tomy Drissi, of Los Angeles, Calif., was second.

Driving the No. 10 Tony Ave Racing Ford Mustang, Ave turned a record-breaking 1:20.950 (112.959 mph) around the 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit, eclipsing the previous mark of 1:22.398 set in 2002 by Butch Leitzinger.

“It feels great to be on the pole, I’m glad the series is back,” Ave said. “I thought we’d go faster after I came in and bled the tires down, but I probably over drove a little bit. We’re going to make a shock change for the race to settle the car a bit. I’ll put it off if I drive like that during the race.

Ave turned a 1:20.8 in practice on Friday and was well clear of the field, but Drissi closed the gap considerably in qualifying, turning a 1:21.391 (112.347 mph) in the No. 5 X-Men Origins – Wolverine Jaguar XKR

“I knew they’d get faster,” Ave said. “[Drissi and Greg Pickett] have been doing this for a long time so I knew they’d be quick. I expected we’d go faster but we backed up a bit really, sliding around.”

Picket qualified his No. 6 Muscle Milk Jaguar XKR third with a lap of 1:21.649 (111.992 mph). Joining him in the second row is Rookie R.J. Lopez in the No. 06 Wabash Power.com/Mobil 1/Goodyear Chevrolet Corvette after turning a 1:22.085 (111.397 mph).

Cliff Ebben will line his No. 67 McMahon Group Ford Mustang up fifth on the grid this afternoon after turning a 1:22.598 (110.705 mph).

Amy Ruman (Corvette), Simon Gregg (Corvette), John Schaller (Camaro), Jeff Emery (Monte Carlo) and Jon Leavy (Camaro) completed the top 10.

Today’s race will conclude activities at Road Atlanta at approximately 4:00 p.m. Results will be available at www.sccatrans-am.com after the race.

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BRASELTON, Ga. - Qualifying results and starting lineup for today’s Muscle Milk SCCA Trans-Am Series race at Road Atlanta with position, car number in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car, fastest lap time and speed.
1, (10), Tony Ave, Maiden, N.C., Ford Mustang, 1:20.950, 112.959
2, (5), Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, Calif., Jaguar XKR, 1:21.391, 112.347
3, (6), Greg Pickett, Benicia, Calif., Jaguar XKR, 1:21.649, 111.992
4, (6), RJ Lopez (R), Bal Harbour, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:22.085, 111.397
5, (67), Cliff Ebben (R), Applenton, Wis., Ford Mustang, 1:22.598, 110.705
6, (23), Amy Ruman (R), Kent, Ohio, Chevrolet Corvette, 1:22.773, 110.471
7, (59), Simon Gregg, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:23.660, 109.3
8, (8), John Schaller, Fort Myers, Fla., Chevrolet Camaro, 1:24.216, 108.578
9, (15), Jeff Emery (R), Longwood, Fla., Chevrolet Monte Carlo, 1:25.075, 107.482
10, (18), Jon Leavy, Tamarac, Fla., Chevrolet Camaro, 1:25.836, 106.529
11, (8), Daniel Ramoutarsingh (R), La Romain, Trinidad, Jaguar XKR, 1:26.039, 106.277
12, (30), Richard Grant (R), Germantown, Tenn., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:26.817, 105.325
13, (17), Rob Foster, Phoenix, Ariz., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:27.205, 104.856
14, (77), Glen Jung (R), Osteen, Fla., Mazda RX-7, 1:27.632, 104.345
15, (7), Jerry Kinn, Anchorage, Alaska, Chevrolet Corvette, 1:28.003, 103.906
16, (7), Blaise Csida (R), Stouffville, Ontario, Canada, Chevrolet Corvette, 1:28.481, 103.344
17, (66), Denny Lamers (R), Applenton, Wis., Ford Mustang, 1:29.154, 102.564
18, (35), Bob Monette (R), Milton, Ga., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:29.464, 102.209
19, (70), Michael Skeen (R), Charlotte, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:46.478, 85.877