BRASELTON, GA  (September 30, 2011) – With a championship on the line, it was expected that today’s last round of the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship would be a wild finish to the season. But as Ricardo Vera secured the Lites 1 title in his rookie year, two teenagers conducted an 18-lap shootout for the race victory that had fans on the edge of their seats, in Round 14 of the Lites championship, part of the Petit Le Mans weekend at Road Atlanta.

In the end, 16-year-old Atlanta native Sean Rayhall had the lead when the checkered came out, having exchanged that lead with 15-year-old Tristan Nunez no fewer than four times. In Lites 2, Level 5 Motorsports’ Scott Tucker won from the pole for the fourth straight race, with Michal Chlumecky second to clinch the third spot in the L2 driver’s championship.

Rayhall, driving the #77 Comprent Motorsports/SCCA Élan DP02, has driven Road Atlanta often – local knowledge that helped him win yesterday’s event going away. But Nunez, behind the wheel of the #8 Performance Tech entry, wasn’t letting Rayhall get any kind of a gap today.

“Wild is an understatement,” said Rayhall. “It was controlled chaos. But it was a lot of fun - Tristan gave me a run today. Comprent gave me a great car, though I was having problems with the RPMs that affected my shifting. But it’s all about how you bounce back, and we bounced back hard today! It was a great debut for me. It was great racing against Tristan – I can’t wait to race with him again like that!”

“I started P2 and was able to get a run on him going into turn two,” said Nunez. “But then the first caution came out and I knew it would be close with him right behind me. He made a pop in turn one on the restart and I was fighting hard to keep up with him. We got up to a lapped car and I was able to get around him in turn one, until we caught another lapped car and he got me on the outside in turn 10 – which is pretty impressive. It was a great race.”

For the 18-year-old Vera, the championship brings many awards, not the least of which is a test session in the Dyson-Mazda LMP car. To win the title in his rookie season means a great deal to the youngster.

“The team gave me a great car all year,” said Vera. “I’m really happy to have won the championship! I knew that with the lead I had, all I had to do was finish near the top. It’s been great racing against everyone this year.”

Tucker, driving the #5 Level 5 Motorsports West WR1000 heading out immediately to jump into his LMPC car for the ALMS morning practice, appreciated that chance to get into the Lites 2 car and experience the tight racing the series is known for.

“That was a close one,” said Tucker. “Mike was coming on strong and I knew I didn’t have anything for him. I’m fortunate for the result – this is great racing. It’s a good concept, a good format and we’re really pleased to be a part of it.”

Chlumecky (#30 6^th Gear Racing) finished ahead of teammate Max De Angelis to take the third spot in the title chase ahead of De Angelis. Rookie Alan Wilzig (#15 Wilzig Racing) finished fourth on the day and second in the driver championship.

The Prototype Lites mission is two-fold: present an opportunity for semi-professional race car drivers to compete in a world-class environment while also providing an avenue for drivers to move up the ladder into the LMPC or LMP classes in the American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patrón. The series is divided into two classes: Lites 1, featuring the Élan DP02 chassis, powered by a 2.3-liter, four-cylinder Mazda MP2 engine; and Lites 2, utilizing the West WX10 and WR1000 chassis, with either a Kawasaki ZX10R or a Suzuki GSXR motor.

Visit www.prototypelites.com for news and updates throughout the off season.

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Photos: Darren Pierson/dPerceptions.com