LEXINGTON, Ohio (May 15, 2021) – Michael Carter (No. 08 Carter Racing Enterprises) earned his third-straight Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires pole position on Saturday.

He will lead the field to the green flag at 11:15am ET today’s Round Seven race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Carter was on pole for both Round Five and Round Six at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He came away with two podium finishes, including a win in Round Six. This is the first time Carter has earned a Mazda MX-5 Cup pole at Mid-Ohio.

“That was a crazy session,” Carter said. “I think I got a fairly decent lap early. I could see the scoreboard in Madness [Turn Eight] and I knew what time I needed. Through the middle part of that session there must have been four or five laps where I was just running around, trying to find a draft and a good group of cars. That lap was pretty unexpected. I thought my AIM [lap time display] was lying to me. It was a hectic session but turned out good in the end. This is crazy. I don’t usually qualify on pole but now I’ve got three in-a-row.”

Carter is the current Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship leader with 1,930 points over Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) who has 1,800.

Each driver’s second-fastest lap is used to create the Round Eight grid. Carter will start second in Sunday’s Round Eight race. He will line up next to Wagner on the front row.

Today’s Mazda MX-5 Cup race goes green at 11:15am ET and will be streamed live on IMSA.com/TVlive and NBC Sports Gold TrackPass. Sunday’s race is set for 11:45am ET and will be streamed live on the same platforms.