SCCA: Seven More Champions Crowned at Mid-Ohio

11 October 1998

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Oct. 10, 1998)-Day two of the 1998 SCCA Valvoline Runoffs, presented by NAPA Auto Parts, came to a close as seven more Sports Car Club of America Club Racing National Champions were crowned on the 2.4-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In related news, the SCCA and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course jointly announced today that the Valvoline Runoffs will continue to be held at Mid-Ohio for the next three seasons, through 2001.

Adam Malley, of Conyers, Ga., opened the day by charging from his fifth-place start to narrowly beat Chester Niemczyck, taking his second-consecutive National Championship in H Production. The GT-5 race followed with Kirk Olson, of Lakewood, Colo., scoring an impressive win over Joe Huffaker, of Petaluma, Calif., as Olson led flag to flag to also score his first Valvoline Runoffs win. Paul Bonaccorsi, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif, fought off several early bids for the lead by Ken Payson, of Worchester, Mass., to win the Showroom Stock C title to cap-off an exciting morning of competition.

The close competiton continued into the afternoon with the Formula Vee race where Brad Stout, of Stl Louis, Mo., diced with five-time National Champion Bill Noble, of Manhattan, Kansas, and Denver's Bill Wallschlaeger to earn his first National Championship. Wilson Wright, of Stockbridge, Mass., won the GT-4 National Championship with a next-to-last lap pass of Peter Mumford, of Richmond, Vt. The American Sedan race was a flag-to-flag win by pole-sitter Ross Murray, of Marina Del Ray, Calif., over Keith Mitchell, of Darien, Conn. Rounding out the day was the Spec Racer Ford race, where Warren Stilwell, of Hartville, Ohio, won his fifth consecutive National Championship, the third longest winning streak in Valvoline Runoffs history.

The final day of competition begins Sunday, Oct. 11, with the final eight national championships to be decided.