BRASELTON, Ga. (April 30, 2010) 聙聯 Mat Pombo, of Atlanta, Ga., earned the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup pole at his home track of Road Atlanta on Friday, part of the Classic Motorsports Mitty presented by Mazda. Joining Pombo on the front row for Saturday聙聶s race is Justin Piscitell, of Weston, Conn., with Lyonel Kent, of Knoxville, Tenn., starting third. Pombo turned a fast time of 1:40.220 (91.239 mph) in the No. 01 PFM Pombo Racing/Range of Motion ATL/Carbotech Mazda MX-5 on his second lap around the 12-turn, 2.54-mile road course. Pombo聙聶s first MX-5 Cup pole also set a new track record, bettering the existing qualifying record of 1:40.763 (90.747 mph), set by Eric Foss in 2008, by over half a second. 聙聹I聙聶ve got to thank PFM Pombo Racing, Range of Motion, and the whole crew,聙聺 Pombo said. 聙聹They聙聶ve done a lot of work the past week, we聙聶ve been battling overheating problems and it all kind of came together today. I got a big draft down the backstraight and that really helped me. 聙聹It feels good to get a pole at my home track in front of my home crowd. I聙聶ve got a few laps around Road Atlanta in my career, and that helps. All of our sponsors are here, and we want to put on a good show for them. But I get to sleep at home in my own bed, and that聙聶s a real advantage.聙聺 Piscitell was quickest in both practice sessions on Thursday, and also turned his fast lap of 1:40.689 (90.814 mph) in the second lap of the 25-minute session to qualify second. The 20-year-old, driving the No. 89 DAMG Worldwide/Team MER Mazda MX-5, paired with Team MER teammate Nick Evans in the No. 28 Team MER/Mazda/Sparco MX-5 to draft around the circuit. 聙聹The track is a whole lot hotter today than it was yesterday,聙聺 Piscitell said. 聙聹Nick and I worked really well together on the draft, and the DAMG/Team MER car was what we needed it to be. In qualifying, you get one lap to work and that聙聶s the trick.聙聺 With high hopes, Piscitell is already looking forward to Saturday聙聶s race. 聙聹It聙聶s always nice to have a teammate behind you for moral support going into turn one on the race, and hopefully we聙聶ll just get a four car breakaway and play it smart,聙聺 Piscitell continued. 聙聹Then we can really duke it out the last three or four laps and put on a great show.聙聺 Evans will start fourth after Kent broke up the Team MER train on his 13th and final lap, which he completed as the checkered flag flew to end the session. Kent聙聶s lap of 1:40.760 (90.750) just edged Evans聙聶 time of 1:40.782 (90.730 mph) to put Kent into third position. 聙聹I would have rather had the pole, but starting P3 here isn聙聶t too bad,聙聺 Kent said. 聙聹We should have a good inside line on the start. The ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions car ran flawlessly right out of the box this weekend after a lot of damage just four days ago [from a first lap crash at VIR]. The crew was on a 72-hour sprint to put the car back together, and I think we聙聶ll be in good shape for the race.聙聺 Kent was the lone driver in the top five who didn聙聶t turn his quickest lap early in the session, instead waiting on the car to come to him. 聙聹On the first lap, we got boxed in and I had to make a pass going into turn one,聙聺 Kent explained. 聙聹That cost probably half a second, or that would have been my fastest lap. We just stuck with the draft and kept getting faster through the session.聙聺 Mark Carpenter completed the top five behind the wheel of the No. 14 AMG Racing/GGS Technical Publication Mazda MX-5, with a fast time of 1:40.963 (90.567 mph), also on his second lap. ALARA Racing聙聶s Ara Malkhassian will start sixth in the No. 11 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions MX-5. A pair of AMG teammates, Michael Cooper (No. 84 AMG Racing Bromante Landscaping & Design MX-5) and championship leader Brad Rampelberg (No. 4 AMG Racing/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes MX-5) will start seventh and eighth. Jesse Combs (No. 77 ALARA Racing/Coolgas.com MX-5) and Jeff Mosing (Team MER/RaceNowForAutism/Frank聙聶s Int MX-5) will start the race from row five. The SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup races on Saturday afternoon at Road Atlanta at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) in a 45-minute race. 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.