July 20, 2002 ? Washington, DC

They held a 50-minute street fight for race cars in a Washington, DC parking lot, but RealTime Racing driver Peter Cunningham drove a smarter race than many and moved two points closer to the SPEED World Challenge GT championship.

Cunningham drove the RTR Acura NSX SC; marking the 100th time he has taken the green flag in World Challenge series competition. No driver in the 13-year history of the series has driven in as many races.

With a fourth place finish, Peter remains second in the Drivers' points, now 17 points behind Audi driver Michael Galati. A one-two finish by Porsche and a third by BMW keeps Acura third in the Manufacturers' Championship points, 13 points shy of the lead for manufacturer bragging rights.

Peter qualified the #42 NSX an uncharacteristic seventh fastest, two seconds off the pole. All 19 cars were seeing the new 1.661-mile temporary circuit outside RFK Stadium for the first time.

?I knew both Randy Pobst and Johannes van Overbeek would be fast in their Porsches, and they were. The Porsches and the BMW are allowed 'racing' transmissions in our series, and even though we were allowed a 50-pound weight break because we choose to run the NSX with a stock gearbox, we just didn't have what it takes on a 'point & squirt' track like this. In the end, I really wasn't surprised that Randy, Johannes and Jeff McMillin (BMW M3) ran the full race in qualifying order.

?In fact, RealTime entertained many attending Acura NSX owners before the race, and I accurately predicted the finish of the first four cars, in order. I wish I had been wrong,? he added.

In the race, Cunningham passed Derek Bell's Audi S4 Comp on the second lap to take sixth place, and jumped to fourth on lap five when he passed both John Young?s Saleen SR, and points leader Michael Galati?s Audi S4 Comp, who spun going into the first turn.

Peter finished the race 14.262 seconds out of the lead, with no chance to move to third, but well clear of the fifth place car.

?There was a lot of bumping and banging going on, as we had expected,? Cunningham said. ?One of the Porsches that out-qualified us spun all on his own after the standing start in Turn One, causing quite a roadblock. I got hit from behind by Boris ?Low Eyes? Said, and ended up with some rear end damage, but luckily, it didn?t damage any of the mechanical components back there. I really don?t blame Boris, especially considering he had just muscled his way to a strong third in the TransAm race an hour before the start of the GT event. And when I say muscled, I?m referring to the fact he lost his power steering 10 laps in!?

As usual in the GT championship, the top-three finishers will now be required to add 40, 30, and 20 pounds, respectively, while Cunningham?s Acura NSX will neither gain nor lose weight under SCCA Pro Racing?s R.E.W.A.R.D.S. System.

The next race is August 2-4 on another street circuit, this time in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, home to some of the most enthusiastic racing fans anywhere. Cunningham has raced there on eight occasions, winning twice ? 1995 in a Honda Prelude Si, and 1997 with the Acura NSX. Compared to the inaugural DC event, where no one had prior track knowledge, he hopes to use his experience to renew the fight for the 2002 points battle.

The Washington GT race will debut on the SPEED Channel on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 5pm EST.