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SCCA: Eight champions crowned on opening day of Valvoline Runoffs

7 October 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

LEXINGTON, Ohio--Under mixed weather conditions, day one of the 2000 Valvoline Runoffs had eight new National Champions crowned.

Considered the Olympics of Motorsports, the 2000 edition of the Valvoline Runoffs began under damp and cold conditions. First on the track was T1. Starting from pole, Fred Baker, of Bedford, Ohio, in a Porsche 996, fell as far back as third before grabbing the win ahead of defending champion, Jeff Altenburg, of Baltimore, Md., in Chevrolet Corvette and David Farmer, of Albermarle, N.C., in a Chevrolet Corvette. The win is Bakers fourth National Championship.

Race two of the day, H Production, was run in wet conditions. Like in race one, the polesitter, Ron Bartell, of Madbury, N.H., in a MG Midget, captured the win after falling back at the start. Completing the top-three was Dan Collishaw, of Noblesville, Ind., in a Austin Healy Sprite and Anthony Chiles, of Hopkinsville, Ky., in a Austin Healy Bugeye.

In the third race of the day, T2, competed on a drying track, Thomas Oates, of Chester Springs, Pa., won. Oates, took the win after starting second in a Chevrolet Camaro Z. Kumar Viswalingam, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in a Ford Mustang and Michael Patterson, of Plano, Texas, in a Chevrolet Camaro, completed the top-three.

The fourth race of the day, Showroom Stock B, proved to be the rather exciting. Starting third, J. Randolph Saucier, of Oklahoma City, driving a Mazda Miata grabbed the win. Moving up to finish second, from 11th place on the grid, was T.C. Kline, of Hilliard, Ohio, in a BMW Z3, while teammate Shauna Marinus, of Folsom, Calif., finished third.

Race five of day was Formula 500. Aaron Ellis, of New Palestine, Ind., used his front-row starting position to capture the win. Moving up to the front, following a first- turn incident, Jim Schultz, of Philadelphia, Pa. and Rusty Cook, of Stone Mountain, Ga., completed the top-three.

In race six, GT4 took to the track. Out dueling the two-time National Champion, John Olsen, of Monterey, Calif. captured the win. Driving a Nissan 200SX, the win gave Nissan 80 National Championships, the most of any major manufacturer. Completing the top-three was polesitter and defending champion Wilson Wright Jr., of Stockbridge, Mass., in a Nissan 200SX and Russ Theus, of Southfield, Mich., in a Toyota Tercel.

The largest field of the day took to the track for race seven, E Production. Following numerous on-course incidents, John Baucom, of Charlotte, N.C. won in a Fiat Spider. Roger Cook, of Zephyrhill, Fla., in a Mazda Miata and John Schmitt, of Sunbury, Ohio, in a Honda Prelude finished second and third respectively.

The final race of the day was GT5. Leading flag-to-flag Joe Huffaker, of Petaluma, Calif., in a Huffaker Mini grabbed the win. The win is Huffakers fifth National Championship, and first in GT5. Completing the top-three was Doug Petersen, of Rescue, Calif., in a Fortech Mini and Jack Baumgardner, of Mansfield, Ohio, in a Austin Mini S.

Day two of the Valvoline Runoffs at Mid-Ohio begins with race nine, Formula Mazda, at 10:15 a.m. (ET). All results are provisional.

Text Provided By Allan Craighead

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