Sixteen-year-old Brett Smrz, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, captured pole for tonight’s opening round of the SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup at the Grand Prix of Houston. Teammate Jason Saini, of Fort Worth, Texas, will complete the front row.
In his first-ever Mazda MX-5 Cup appearance, Smrz, who just turned 16 in February, climbed to the top of the timing sheets early in the 25-minute qualifying session. The former karting champion wheeled his No. 29 AutismSpeaks.org/SafeRacer.com Mazda MX-5 to a time of 1:24.177 (71.977 mph) at the 10-turn, 1.683-mile JAGFlo Speedway at Reliant Park.
“It feels awesome,” Smrz said of his first pole. “We tested with Team MER a lot at MSR and testing went great. We struggled a little bit in the beginning [here], but ended up pulling it out.
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