JOLIET, Ill. (July 31, 2010) 聙聯 Leading a MAZDASPEED Driver Development Shootout sweep of the podium, Brad Rampelberg, of San Jose, Calif., earned his third SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup win of the season in the first race of the weekend at Autobahn Country Club, part of the Harrah聙聶s Autobahn Grand Prix presented by Mazda. The 2008 graduate of the manufacturer program that provides its winners with a seat in the MX-5 Cup, Rampelberg led current program winner Nick Evans, of Powell, Ohio, and 2009 winner Justin Piscitell, of Weston, Conn., to the podium. Rampelberg, driving the No. 4 AMG Racing/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes Mazda MX-5, started from the pole and launched from the standing start to lead the field into the first corner of the 19-turn, 3.56-mile road course. Holding their starting positions and remaining just behind were Evans and Piscitell. On lap two, Evans聙聶 No. 28 Team MER/Mazda/Sparco MX-5 had slipped past Rampelberg and onto the point, with Piscitell still behind Rampelberg. Morning rains had left the racing line mostly dry, but wet spots remained around the track and certainly in the grass just off the racing surface. Evans found one of those muddy corners on lap four and spun, with Rampelberg slipping by but Piscitell, in the No. 89 Team MER/DAMG Worldwide MX-5, nearly being collected by his teammate. Both went off track, with Piscitell rejoining the race in fifth position and Evans gathering to rejoin in seventh. Rampelberg, now running alone, continued to stretch a lead that would reach more than five seconds on lap eight before Evans, who had climbed back to second, began closing the distance. To begin lap 10 of the 17-lap race, Rampelberg led by 3.366-seconds, a gap that would fall to 1.394-seconds to begin lap 13. By lap 14, Evans was back to the tail of Rampelberg and battling for the lead. The 21-year-old Evans, searching for his first MX-5 Cup win, fell 0.365-second short of Rampelberg at the checkered flag. Rampelberg completed the 60.52-mile race in 47:40.987, averaging 76.152 mph. 聙聹The AMG guys gave me a car that was capable of winning today,聙聺 Rampelberg said. 聙聹It wasn聙聶t pretty, but we聙聶ll put the 聙聵w聙聶 in the column. The kids were fast today, but once they got up on me, they couldn聙聶t get past me. They both made the same mistake in the same corner when they hit the mud and slid out. I saw it and didn聙聶t make that mistake, and that聙聶s really the only difference between the win and the loss today.聙聺 The early race incident clearly cost Evans, who methodically closed the gap to Rampelberg through the middle stages of the race. Even so, only mechanical issues during the first of two races at New Jersey Motorsports Park have kept Evans off the podium during the last four races after a best finish of fifth in the opening three rounds. 聙聹I spun on some mud in the back of the esses because the track was still wet,聙聺 Evans said. 聙聹Brad was being a little bit tentative around some areas that I thought I might be able to gain a gap if I got around him. That聙聶s what I was doing and I ended up spinning. Afterward, I just kept thinking 聙聵Danny Sullivan, spin and win, that聙聶s all I聙聶ve got to do.聙聶 I came close, but didn聙聶t quite get it. 聙聹This track is difficult to pass. There聙聶s not a lot of clean areas to do it and you聙聶ve got to force the issue. Especially when the track still has mud and water, it聙聶s a real big risk and I wasn聙聶t sure if I was willing to take that risk. We聙聶ve got plenty for tomorrow, we聙聶ve been fast all weekend and Team MER will give us a great car again.聙聺 Championship leader Piscitell also missed an opportunity to battle for a win after his off course excursion. The No. 89 machine turned the fasted lap of the race with a time of 2:45.707 (77.341 mph). 聙聹Nick and I went through that corner and found mud, and Brad didn聙聶t,聙聺 Piscitell explained of the incident. 聙聹Nick got loose and went sideways and I was afraid he was going to come back across the track. So as I was sliding in the mud, I straightened out and thought 聙聵well, I聙聶ve got to enter the track at some point.聙聶 I drove through a sign [alongside the track] and ended up right behind Carpenter, who gave me plenty of room to reenter. From there, it was a matter of racing everyone back down at that point. I think we turned a few good laps. 聙聹We聙聶d catch up to Brad, hit some mud, and fall back again 聙聯 so it was really frustrating. The cars are good, though, and we聙聶ll see how we do tomorrow. Hopefully there won聙聶t be so much mud.聙聺 Behind the lead pack was a pair of Rampelberg聙聶s AMG teammates 聙聯 Michael Cooper, of Syosset, N.Y., and Mark Carpenter, of Charlotte, N.C. Cooper聙聶s No. 84 AMG Racing/Bromante Landscaping & Design MX-5 won round six at New Jersey Motorsports Park but was just off the pace of the lead pack in Saturday聙聶s round seven. Carpenter started eighth in the No. 14 AMG Racing/GGS Technical Publications MX-5, but climbed to sixth on the first lap and ran inside the top five after the lap four incident that dropped Evans and Piscitell back in the field. Ara Malkhassian was the top-finishing ALARA Racing driver in the No. 11 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions MX-5. Malkhassian struggled in qualifying and started the race in 13th position, but improved four positions from the standing start through the first lap and was in sixth by lap 11, where he held through the race. Jeff Mosing earned his best finish of the season, taking the checkers seventh in the No. 30 Team MER/Frank聙聶s International/Race Now For Autism MX-5. Dan Bender and Richard Fisher used their local track knowledge to earn top-10 finishes in their first MX-5 Cup races of the season. Both are members of the Autobahn Country Club, with Bender finishing eighth in the No. 18 Team MER/Autobarn Mazda Countryside MX-5 and Fisher ninth in the No. 24 Team MER/Autobarn Mazda Countryside MX-5. Jesse Combs (No. 77 ALARA Racing/Coolgas.com MX-5) completed the top 10. The win helped Rampelberg, who sits third in the Drivers聙聶 Championship, close to just 18 points behind Piscitell for the season lead. Piscitell (376 points) leads Cooper by just four points, followed by Rampelberg (358), Combs (322) and Evans (308) through seven of 11 races. The race doesn聙聶t end Saturday聙聶s on-track sessions for the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup field, who qualify at 5:55 p.m. (CDT) on Saturday afternoon in preparation for Sunday聙聶s second race of the weekend. To follow each session聙聶s notes and timing, please visit . Follow the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup on Twitter @ MazdaMX5Cup.聽