Peter Cunningham (racing driver)
| Peter Cunningham | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
1 July 1962 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Pirelli World Challenge career | |
| Debut season | 1990 |
| Current team | RealTime Racing |
| Car no. | 42 |
| Starts | 232 |
| Wins | 43 |
| Poles | 50 |
| Previous series | |
| 2002–2008 2004 1999—2000 1998-1999 1999—2004 1996—1997 1995-1996 1992-1993 1990 1989—1990 1988 1987 1985—1989 1986-1994 1991—1998 |
IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Rolex Sports Car Series Canadian Auto Sports Club Motorola Cup American Le Mans Series SCCA U.S. Road Racing Championship Speedvision Cup North American Touring Car Championship IMSA Endurance Championshiop SCCA ProRally Truck Guard/Shellzone Challenge International Ice Racing Association SCCA Corvette Challenge Pro Ice Endurance Championship SCCA/Escort Endurance Championship IMSA Exxon GT |
| Championship titles | |
|
2012 2010 2008 2005 2002 1997 1995 1993 1990 1990 1989 1989 1988 1987 |
World Challenge GTS World Challenge GTS World Challenge Touring Car World Challenge Touring Car World Challenge Touring Car World Challenge T1 World Challenge Class C SCCA ProRallyProduction IIRA GT Endurance Champion Truck Guard/Shellzone Challenge IIRA Modified 4x4 SCCA/Escort Endurance Championship Class B SCCA/Escort Endurance Championship Class B PRO Ice GT Endurance |
Peter "P.D." Cunningham (born July 1, 1962 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a decorated American race car driver and owner of RealTime R&L, Inc., currently competing in the Pirelli World Challenge GT Championship. His name and his team, RealTime Racing, have become synonymous with the Honda and Acura brands. Through 2013, he has claimed 91 professional race wins across 12 different North American road racing series and holds numerous World Challenge records.
As a recent high school graduate in June 1980, Cunningham happened upon an autocross, a driving contest held in a parking lot around a pylon-defined course against the clock. After winning his class on that first day, he became enamored and engulfed in the sport. Over the next several years, he won numerous regional and national titles in SCCA Solo II competition.
Cunningham’s driving talent then evolved into road racing where he raced a number of Showroom Stock cars from 1982-1984. Attempting to balance college classes with his desired career path wasn’t working for him, and despite the disappointment of his family, he quit school to chase his dream. In 1984, he won the June Sprints and a handful of other races on his way to winning the SCCA CEN-DIV SSC Championship in a SAAB 99 GLi.
In 1985, Cunningham joined the professional ranks of the sport, competing in the inaugural SCCA/Escort Endurance Championship piloting an SSA Toyota Supra for MPS Motorsports. The following year he and the team entered the championship with an SSGT Nissan 300ZX Turbo before stepping up to the top class in a SS-category Chevrolet Corvette in 1987.
In 1988, MPS entered the SCCA Corvette Challenge, earning Cunningham eight top-10 finishes, including a podium at his home race at Road America.
He became a force to be reckoned with in 1988 after switching to a Honda CRX Si and partnering with co-driver Lance Stewart for John Torok’s Team GRR. Cunningham earned five race wins and finished outside the top-two only once that season. He followed it up with six consecutive race wins in 1989 once again behind the wheel of a Honda CRX Si, this time driving with Scott Gaylord.
In 1990, he gave trucks a try, entering the SCCA Truck Guard/Shellzone Challenge. Driving a Mazda B2000 for Team GRR, he finished on the podium six times, including a win at Laguna Seca.
In January 1987, Cunningham competed in a Honda for the first time, driving a first generation CRX Si in the PRO Ice Endurance Championship with an effort that would soon become RealTime Racing. This successful venture continued in 1989 with a second generation CRX Si and a modified 4WD Civic Wagon in a pair of International Ice Racing Association series. RealTime returned in 1990 with a Civic Si for the GT Endurance category and a turbocharged 4WD Civic Wagon for the Modified 4x4 class. His love of non-asphalt category motorsports continued in 1992 – 1993 with two seasons of SCCA ProRally competition. There, Cunningham collected six race wins in an Acura Integra GSR.
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