Pumpelly Wins Round 4 Pirelli World Challenge GTS Race at St. Petersburg

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Spencer Pumpelly, of Atlanta, GA, won the Round 4 GTS class Streets of St. Petersburg race, as part of the Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Pumpelly, an accomplished veteran that has competed at the top levels of sportscar racing for over a decade recorded his first career win in Pirelli World Challenge.                       

Off of the standing start, pole sitter and Round 3 winner Dean Martin, of Westland, MI, in the No. 50 Rehagen Racing/Picture Cars East Ford Mustang Boss 302 led second on the grid Kurt Rezzetano, of Phoenixville, PA, in the No. 37 Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302 through turn 1 with Pumpelly, who had qualified fourth in close pursuit.                       
 
                        With Rezzetano battling to pass Martin through turns 4 and 5 on lap 1, both Mustangs ran wide allowing Pumpelly to cut underneath and move into first. Martin held onto second over Rezzetano. Pumpelly won the Cadillac ATS-V Move of the Race with the pass for first.                       
 
                        The race went full-course yellow on lap 3 after the No. 33 Gear Tie/Nite Ize Ford Mustang Boss 302 of Dan Martinson made contact with the concrete barriers through turns 4 and 5 and sat wounded. Debris from the No. 33 car lay on the track.                       
 
                        On the lap 8 restart, Pumpelly maintained his lead over Martin, while Rezzetano was passed by teammate Andrew Aquilante, of Chester Springs, PA in the No. 32 Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302 for third. Pursuing in fourth was Round 1 winner Kris Wilson, of Monument, CO in the No. 07 Orion/Royal Purple/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin Vantage GT4 while Round 2 winner Michael Cooper, of Syosset, NY in the No. 10 Blackdog Speed Shop  Chevrolet Z28 held fifth. Cooper won the Optima Batteries Best Standing Start Award gaining six positions off of the standing start.                       
 
                        On lap 10, Aquilante was closing the gap on Martin while Pumpelly opened up a 10-car lead in first. On lap 11, it was Pumpelly leading over Martin, Aquilante, Rezzetano, Wilson and Cooper. On lap 18 Martin went wide on turn 1 leaving the door open for Aquilante to take second. Rezzetano followed suit and passed Martin as well.                       
 
                        By lap 26, Pumpelly had opened up a gap of over 2.5 seconds on Aquilante. When the checkered flew on lap 33, Pumpelly scored a dominating three-second win. Aquilante finished second, while teammate Rezzetano finished third. Rounding out the top 5 were Martin in fourth and Cooper in fifth.                        
 
                        “We learned a lot yesterday,” said Pumpelly. “One of the things we learned was to really attack on the start. We did that today. This got me off good and moved me into third. Once there I saw that the two in front began to drift wide. And again it’s a street course. When they went went wide I went for it and was able to use the momentum to get in front. I chock it up to some luck. It’s good to be back and have success this weekend. I have to thank the guys for the  effort on the Mustang. This win is up there with my other big wins and it is a really special deal.”                        
 
                        “Thank you to the guys on the team who had to make some changes in the drive line to my car to be ready for today,” said Aquilante. “It was a really good race. It was good for Ford and the manufacturer points to go 1-2-3 because this may impact the weight of the Mustang at the next race. The ability of the Mustang and its torque to drive off so many of the 90 degree corners is a big advantage here, especially with the live rear axle keeping all four Pirelli  tires on the ground. We felt we would be able to be strong and we were.”                       
 
                        “I am really happy for this weekend,” said Rezzetano. “Also, thank you to Pirelli World Challenge for the professionalism and fun we had this week. St. Petersburg is an interesting place to race because as Spencer said it is tough to pass. I got a good start and tried to get past Martin but Spencer slipped by. It is so important to have the traction and use the torque and that separated us this weekend.”                       
 
                        Of note, Buz McCall, of Boca Raton, FL in the No. 72 RESET-MD Porsche Cayman was awarded the Invisible Glass Clean Pass of the Race Award for his pass of Preston Calvert, of Potomac, MD in the No. 35 Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302 on lap 25. The VP Racing Fuels Hard Charger Award also went to McCall for gaining six positions during the race.                        
 
                        Results are provisional until posted final. GTS teams and drivers now head to Barber Motorsports Park April 24-26 and Rounds 5 and 6. Watch GTS Rounds 3 and 4 from St. Petersburg on CBS Sports Network on April 5, at 5pm Eastern.
Adam Sinclair
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