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SCCA: Nissan Motorsports has strong presence at 1999 SCCA National Championships

6 October 1999

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

GARDENA, Calif. - Nissan Motorsports hopes to add a few more names to its list of 77 National Championships at the 1999 SCCA Valvoline Runoffs Presented by NAPA Auto Parts. Although Nissan is far ahead of the competition-with 26 more sports car racing championships than the next best, General Motors-the determination to reach victory circle is as strong as ever.

Over fifty drivers in nine different sports car classes will attempt to win a National Championship in a Nissan this year. These drivers earned an invitation to the SCCA Valvoline Runoffs by finishing in the top eight of their class in one of the eight Sports Car Club of America divisions.

In total, nearly 600 racers from across the country will converge at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio from Oct. 4 to 10 to compete for the prestigious title of National Champion in one of the 24 designated classes.

One of those drivers, Hubert Duprez, an automotive mechanic in Atlanta, Ga., has been to the Runoffs over ten times and has won two SCCA National Championships for Nissan in 1991 and 1993. Duprez has been SCCA club racing for 22 years-15 of those years with a Nissan.

"I used to race a Mini Cooper and the Nissan's always use to whip me, so I switched," Duprez said. "Now I drive a Nissan because I like the Nissan family and the cars are very competitive."

Duprez heads to the Super Bowl of amateur road racing with the same goal as always-to win. He is a favorite for the GT4 Championship in his #00 Nissan 200SX, having won five out of six National events in the Southeast Division.

Like Duprez, there are 54 other stories about Nissan racers heading to Ohio from all corners of the United States. The 1999 Nissan line-up includes 14 current divisional champions, six past National Champions, and a number of Runoff rookies.

Over the past 32 years, Nissan (and Datsun) has been the dominant automotive manufacturer at the Runoffs, claiming a record 77 National Championships-quite an achievement considering the long racing histories of other marques such as Porsche, BMW, Ford and General Motors. In fact, Nissan has more than double the National Championship wins earned by Toyota and Honda combined.

Nissan's of every imaginable size and shape have participated in this record-breaking performance, including early Roadsters and 510s all the way up to recent 240SX and 200SX models. Additionally, Nissan's list of SCCA National Championship drivers reads like a "whose-who" of sports car racing, including such legendary names as John Morton, Bob Sharp, Jim Fitzgerald, Don Devondorf, Elliott-Forbes Robinson, Paul Newman, Rob Dyson and Scott Sharp.

The 1999 SCCA Valvoline Runoffs Presented by NAPA Auto Parts begin with practice on Monday, Oct. 4 and continue with qualifying from Tuesday, Oct. 5 to Thursday, Oct. 7. The SCCA National Championship races take place from Friday, Oct. 8 to Sunday, Oct. 10 and will be televised live on Speedvision starting at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) each day.

Nissan Entrants
1999 SCCA Valvoline Runoffs Presented by NAPA Auto Parts

Production Category - Series produced cars which are allowed some performance modifications but which retain their original design, structure and drive layout. E-Production (EP) cars have 175 to 200 bhp, while G-Production (GP) cars have 100 to 125 bhp.

EP

*Marshall Atherton (Tigard, Ore.) No. 61 Nissan 240SX, White

Don Bunt (Poplar Grove, Ill.) No. 99 Datsun 240Z, Red

Jon Gray (Darlington, Pa.) No. 27 Nissan HL510, Red/Blue

*Norman Nelson (Anoka, Minn.) No. 40 Nissan Sentra SER, Black

Grayson Upchurch (Alpharetta, Ga.) No. 6 Datsun 240Z, Red

GP

Scott Culbertson (Portland, Ore.) No. 8 Datsun 510, White

*Kevin Dennis (Rochester, N.Y.) No. 80 Nissan 510, Red/White/Blue

Greg Masters (Sterling, Va.) No. 69 Datsun 510, White

Karl McColl (Broomfield, Colo.) No. 03 Nissan 510, Red

*Paul Thomas (Lilburn, Ga.) No. 19 Datsun 510, Red

*Jeff Winter (Arvada, Colo.) No. 30 Datsun 510, Red Grand Touring Category - Purpose-built, highly modified silhouettes of series-produced sport sedans. GT cars are permitted tube-frame chassis with performance being equalized by allowing cars with smaller engines to compete at a lighter weight. GT1 through GT5 cars get progressively lighter and less powerful (GT2 - 300 to 350 bhp, GT3 - 225 to 275 bhp, GT4 - 200 to 225 bhp, and GT5 150 to 175 bhp).

GT2

Jeff Beckenbach (Walworth, N.Y.) No. 83 Nissan 280Z, Red/White/Blue

Lee Feineigle (Findlay, Ohio) No. 34 Datsun 280Z, Red/White

Terry Gilles (Avon Lake, Ohio) No. 69 Nissan 300ZX, Yellow

Tony Giordano (Blue Springs, Mo.) No. 60 Nissan 280Z, Red/Yellow/Black/Grn

*Jim Goughary (Houston, Texas) No. 46 Nissan 300ZX, Red/Yellow

April Jacques (Flushing, Mich.) No. 7 Nissan 280ZX, Red/White

Robert Lentz (Vienna, Va.) No. 64 Nissan 280ZX

Bud Matakaetis (West Haven, Conn.) No. 31 Nissan 240SX

Roger Welling (Dowingtown, Pa.) No. 78 Nissan 280ZX, Purple/White

GT3

Richard Allen (Chickasha, Okla.) No. 8 Nissan 240SX, White/Orange/Black

*Jerry Bartolomucci (Export, Pa.) No. 2 Nissan 240SX, Yellow

John Black (Olympic Valley, Calif.) Nissan 240SX

Mac Russell (Redmond, Wash.) No. 10 Nissan 240SX, Red

John Saurino (Tulsa, Okla.) No. 57 Nissan 240 SX, White/Blue/Orange

Terry Watson (Quebec, Canada) No. 29 Nissan 240SX, White/Red/Black

*Fletcher Williams (Lilburn, Ga.) No. 21 Nissan 240SX, Red/White/Blue

GT4

Tex Arnold (Parker, Colo.) No. 42 Nissan Sentra, Green/Gold

*Hubert Duprez (Atlanta, Ga.) No. 00 Nissan 200SX, Blue/Pink

*Richard Grant (Germantown, Tenn.) No. 10 Nissan 200SX, Purple/White

Dale Mills (Midlothian, Texas) No. 31 Nissan 200SX, Purple

*Jim Nealon (Campbell, Calif.) No. 12 Nissan Sentra, Yellow

John Olsen (Monterey, Calif.) No. 3 Nissan 200SX, Red

John Teaby (Monterey, Calif.) No. 88 Nissan 510, Red/White/Blue

Wilson Wright Jr. (Stockbridge, Mass.) No. 7 Nissan 200SX, Orange

GT5

James Burke (Alpharetta, Ga.) No. 23 Nissan 200SX, Purple

James Gould (Pittsfield, Mass.) No. 61 Nissan 1200, Pale Yellow

Curt Holliday (Brighton, Mich.) No. 20 Nissan 1200, White

Brad Lewis (St. Louis, Mo.) No. 63 Nissan 1200, Blue

Weber Manning (Memphis, Tenn.) No. 83 Nissan B110, Silver/Red

*Daniel Minkler (Canton, Ohio) No. 26 Nissan 200SX, Yellow

Jim Rauck (Grove City, Ohio) No. 80 Nissan 200SX, White

Hal Snyder (Shepards Town, W.Va.) No. 21 Nissan 210, Red

David Vestrand (Oakland, Mich.) No. 99 Nissan 1200, White

Andre Zawislak (Monroe, N.Y.) No. 14 Nissan Sentra, White/Blue

Peter Zekert (Manchester, Mo.) No. 67 Nissan 1200, Green

Showroom Stock Category-Late model, mass-produced street cars. No modifications are allowed except for a bolt-in roll cage and safety equipment. No car can be more than five years old. Each class has over 30 cars eligible to compete based on performance potential. Showroom Stock B (SSB) features cars such as the Nissan 240SX, Acura Integra, and BMW Z-3 and Showroom Stock C (SSC) includes cars such as the Nissan 200SX, Mazda Miata, and Dodge Neon.

SSB

Terry McCarthy (Mountain View, Calif.) No. 23 Nissan Maxima

Chad Melnik (Tallmadge, Ohio) No. 25 Nissan Maxima, Tan

*Wiley Timbrook (Goldon, Colo.) No. 22 Nissan Maxima, Blue

SSC

Barry Brown (Lorton, Va.) No. 09 Nissan 200SX, Green

Don Caldwell (Silver Springs, Md.) No. 27 Nissan 200SX, Black

Paul Lerman (St. Louis, Mo.) No. 89 Nissan 200SX, Green

Michael Liebl (Keene, N.H.) No. 21 Nissan 200SX, Red/White

*Ken Payson (Sun City Center, Fla.) No. 5 Nissan 300SER, Red

Touring Category-High performance production vehicles which are allowed some modifications. Extensive range of cars including the Nissan 300ZX, Camaro/Firebird, Mustang GT, BMW M3, and Honda Prelude.

T2

Richard Kulach (Coppell, Texas) No. 05 Nissan 300ZX, Blue/White

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