Veteran Sets Record, Rookie Rolls on First Race Day at 2005 SCCA National Championship Runoffs

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 23, 2005) - The weather at Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course had been nearly perfect since Monday, so, of course, the skies on
Friday - the first day of racing at the 2005 SCCA National Championship
Runoffs(r) Presented by Kohler - were overcast and damp with fog and the
2.258-mile course wet with early morning rains.  

 

A little water didn't stop the Runoffs, however, and the first eight
champions were crowned, led by veterans Kent Prather, of Wakarusa, Kan.,
who won a record sixth Production class title when he won G Production,
and John Heinricy, of Holly, Mich., who won his fifth-consecutive
Touring 1 Runoffs championship - a streak not seen since Warren Stilwell
won seven Spec Racer Ford titles from 1994-2000.  It was Heinricy's
eight title overall, which moves him to third all-time in SCCA Runoffs
history.

 

Not to be outdone, Runoffs rookie Graham Rahal, set a new race lap
record and took top honors in Formula Atlantic - exactly 30 years after
his father, Bobby, won the Formula B Championship in 1975.

 

Eight more races are on tap for Saturday, with Formula 500 set to wave
the green flag at 10:05 a.m. (EDT) following warm-up sessions that begin
at 8 a.m.  To watch all race action via live timing and scoring, visit 
www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com/> , where complete schedule
information and results are located.

 

Recaps of all eight races from Friday:

 

Race 1: H Production

Tom Feller, of Clarkston, Mich., became the first SCCA National
Championship Runoffs(r) Champion of 2005 Friday morning, taking the H
Production race by more than six seconds.

Chris Crisenbery, of Parma, Mich., and Dan Collishaw, of East Orleans,
Mass., finished second and third, respectively.


Feller began the race on the pole in his West Michigan Imports/DJ Race
Triumph Spitfire, but Crisenbery, in his Rascal Racing Triumph Spitfire,
jumped past him to open a sizable lead on the wet 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course. As the course dried, however, Feller's speed
continued to climb, eventually wiping out Crisebery's nine-second
advantage and catching him on Lap 12 of the 20-lap race.


The two battled each other while dodging lapped traffic for the next
three laps, before Feller made his move on the inside of Crisenbery at
Turn 9 on Lap 15. From there, Feller drove away, winning his
second-consecutive H Production Championship and the second Runoffs
title of his career.


"I dropped back to fourth in the first turn and spent the first few laps
just learning the rain line," Feller said. "I figured it out where my
car was loose and where it was pushing. Then I stayed with the same line
and followed Chris (Crisenbery). I followed his line through the water
to keep my tires cool. The track dried quickly and I was sliding around
quite a bit. I caught Chris and we were side by side. It was very clean
racing."


Matt Brannon, of Columbus, Ohio, started 10th and finished fourth on the
strength of turning the race's fast lap (1:49.175) on Lap 21. Greg
Feller, of Sylvania, Ohio, completed the top five.

 

Race 2: C Sports Racing

Arnie Loyning, of Portland, Ore., captured his first National
Championship Friday, taking the C Sports Racing class win at the 2005
SCCA National Championship Runoffs(r) Presented by Kohler at Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course. Eric Vassian, of Atlanta, Ga., and Bill Goldkind, of
Holbrook, N.Y., completed the top-three.


Driving the No. 27 Loyning Engine Service Swift Viking, Loyning and
polesitter Jacek Mucha went side-by-side into the opening turn. Making
contact, Loyning continued, holding the lead ahead of Jeremy Treadway,
who moved up from his seventh place starting position. Battling for
position, the duo ran nose-to-tail for several laps, before Treadway
took the lead on lap four. After briefly falling back, Loyning closed
the gap and began looking for a way past Treadway. Entering the esses on
lap 10, Loyning got alongside Treadway and retook the lead. Immediately
after relinquishing the lead, Treadway slowed and pulled off-course.
With a lead of over the 20 seconds, the best battle on course was for
second between Mike McGinley and Richard Cottrill. Having secured the
position, McGinley spun off-course on lap 17 and making contact with the
tire barrier. Unchallenged to the checkered flag, Loyning crossed the
start/finish winning by 37.969. 

"I think that I left enough room for him and then I looked in my mirrors
and saw cars all over the place," said Loyning discussing the first turn
incident. "I was chasing Jeremy Treadway and I knew I could get past
him. He was all over the track. He was strong on the straightaway, but I
was faster in the corners. He was using all the road. My engine cut out
a couple times during the race, but it always restarted. I don't know
what was wrong. There were some lights on my dash, but I don't know what
they meant! I hoped that my engine would not blow up it a ball of
fire----I would have to say that my gearbox broke! It would not have
been good for business." (Note: Loyning builds and sells race engines.)


Cottrill, of Longmont, Colo., finished fourth, and Jim Downing, of
Atlanta, Ga., completed the top-five.

 

Race 3: Showroom Stock B

Starting on the pole for the second time in three years, Toby Grahovec
managed to finally put together a full weekend as he won his first SCCA
National Championship Showroom Stock B Championship Friday morning at
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Jack Tippens, of Woodstock, Ill., finished
second, 6.691 seconds behind Grahovec, and 2003 SSB Champion Harry
Manning, of Racine, Wis., finished third.


Getting away from the field early with a clean start in his Hoosier/Red
Line/Classic BMW 2003 BMW Z4 (the same car that earned 2004 Champion Jim
Leithauser his SSB title), Grahovec was never seriously challenged in
any of the 20 laps on the 2.258-mile course. While he may not have
needed it, he received a gift from then third-place Tippens, who was
denied in his bid for the SCCA Chicago Region Triple Crown, and
second-place David Nielsen, of Galena, Ohio. 

Battling as they entered the Esses on Lap 9, Tippens' Dora/Fall Line
Motorsports/Anderson BMW 2004 BMW Z4 briefly contacted the back end of
Nielsen's Nielsen Environmental Field School 2003 BMW Z4, causing both
drivers to spin. Both recovered quickly, but were well out of Grahovec's
reach.


"I had a sweet start and then I just put my head down and concentrated
on my lead," Grahovec said. "When the cars started bumping behind me I
got a real nice lead. Then I saw Harry [Manning] in my mirrors and we
were just matching lap times. Then I was happy to see a clear track in
my mirrors when Harry and Jack [Tippens] had some trouble. I finally
took a checker!"

After recovering from the incident with Tippens, Nielsen went on to
finish fourth, while Ken Simonson, of North Ridgeville, Ohio, completed
the top five.

 

Race 4: Sports 2000

Marc Walker, of Oldsmar, Fla., captured his first National Championship
Friday, taking the Sports 2000 class win at the 2005 SCCA National
Championship Runoffs(r) Presented by Kohler at Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course. Bart Wolf, of Elkhart Lake, Wis., and Terrence Garrett, of
Fishers, Ind., completed the top-three.


Getting the green flag on the back straight, Walker, Wolf and John
Fergus went three-wide across the start/finish. Making light contact,
Fergus spun across the track and was hit by fourth place starter
Alexander Smith. Avoiding the incident, Walker led Wolf through the
opening turns. Attacking the course on cold tires, Walker and Wolf
immediately began building a gap on Garrett in third place. Despite
racing in close formation, the top-five remained unchanged until lap
six, when Michael Bautz passed Garrett to move into third place. Bautz
maintained the position until lap nine, when Garrett retook third place.
Behind the lead trio, the battle for fourth soon became a heated affair,
as Fergus, who had fallen to 14th place at the start, began to challenge
Mercer and Mark Hardymon for position. Making his way past the duo,
Fergus quickly closed the gap on Garrett. Holding off challenges from
Wolf and Fergus during final two laps, Walker and Garrett retained first
and third place respectively. Leading flag-to-flag, Walker captured his
first Sports 2000 National Championship by 1.128.


"The start was critical," said Walker. "The track was slick. It wasn't
wet, yet it was slick. Plus there were two places where 'weepers' had
water on the track. I hammered it at the green and got nudged in the
back in the first turn. I looked in my mirrors and saw Fergus off on the
grass and Smith up against him. Then I saw Fergus sideways behind me. I
went into the next turn and saw Bart [Wolf] right behind me and thought
that I had to do something about that. I had to try to run perfect laps
to keep him behind me. Every now and then I would bobble a bit and he
would get right up to me but then he would do the same the next lap."


Fergus, of Powell, Ohio, finished fourth, and Mercer, of Aurora, Colo.,
completed the top-five.

 

Race 5: Grand Touring Lite

Warren Montague, of Manakin Sabot, Va., capped off a fantastic GT Lite
week at the 2005 SCCA National Championship Runoffs(r) Presented by
Kohler by going flag-to-flag and winning the class' inaugural title.
Jimmy Burke, of Cumming, Ga., and Doug Ruthroff, of Phoenix, Ariz.,
finished second and third, respectively.


Montague, who won his only other Runoffs Championship in 1996 in GT-4,
ran away with the win from the very start, running the race's fast lap
on Lap 2 with a 1:36.770 (84.001 mph) in his TRD/Toyota
Motorsports/Pella VA Toyota Tercel. Using that lap as a slingshot,
Montague bolted away, building on his lead lap after lap and eventually
taking the win in the 20-lap race by 19.590 seconds over Burke's
Goodyear/Red Line/Moton/Motec Nissan Sentra. Burke moved up to second
early on as second-qualifier Joe Kristensen, of London, Ont. (Can.),
pulled into the pits after just one lap with mechanical problems in his
Kristensen Racing Honda CRX. 

"The car has been fast all week. It was fast out of the box and fastest
in the first practice and qualifying. It got a little slower after that,
but I was still on pole," Montague said. "My crew chief, Scott Ritchie,
could not be here this week as he is home with an ill wife. But I called
him at least twice each day and he told us over the phone how to adjust
and set up the car. I lost fourth gear on the 10th lap and had to go
from third to fifth after that. I drove as smooth as I could, I got
lucky, and was able to maintain the lead."


Bill Davidson, of Dexter, Mich., started last in the GT Lite field, but
marched his way through the field in his Goodyear/Davidson Motorsports
Ford Fiesta to finish fourth. Dan Robson, of Moore, S.C., also had an
impressive drive, starting 12th before finishing fifth.

 

Race 6: Touring 1

John Heinricy, of Holly, Mich., captured his eighth National
Championship Friday, taking the Touring 1 class win for the fifth
consecutive year at the 2005 SCCA National Championship Runoffs(r)
Presented by Kohler at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Scotty B White, of
Puyallup, Was., and Lance Knupp, of Fenton, Mich., completed the
top-three.


Starting from the pole position, White got a great jump at start,
holding lead into the first turn. Behind White, the lead group went
multi-car abreast through the esses, with Philip Croyle and Chris Ingle
moving into second and third respectively. Midway through the opening
lap, the full-course caution was displayed for oil on the racing line in
turn one. When racing resumed on lap four, White once again held the
lead into the esses. Battling for third place Heinricy and Ingle made
light contact, with Heinricy taking the position. Pushing his car to the
limit, Heinricy quickly caught Croyle and passed for second on lap five.
Within two corners, Heinricy caught White, passing for the lead as the
duo crossed the start/finish to commence lap six. Once out front, the
reigning National Champion steadily built a gap on the White and the
27-car field. The top-five remained unchanged until lap 16, when Croyle
slowed exiting turn one and pulled off-course. Despite a late challenge
by White, Heinricy led the remainder of the race to capture his fifth
consecutive Touring 1 Runoffs win by 1.649 seconds.


"I was really asleep at the start," said Heinricy. "I wasn't even
looking at the flag when Scotty [White] floored it. I ended up fourth by
the second turn. I then had to pick them off one by one. This was the
first race for this chassis. It was just built up as a brand new race
car. Life is good!"

Andrew Aquilante, of Chester Springs, Pa., finished fourth, and Cindi
Lux, of Beaverton, Ore., completed the top-five.

 

Race 7: G Production

In what was perhaps the most exciting race of the day, Kent Prather, of
Wakarusa, Kan., survived an action-packed G Production race at the 2005
SCCA National Championship Runoffs(r) Presented by Kohler to win his
sixth Production class title, making him the all-time leader in that
category. Chuck Mathis, of Saint Jacob, Ill., finsished second, and
Woody Deatherage, of Cleveland, Ohio, was third.

Prather started second on the grid in his Prather Racing/Victoria
British MGA and dropped to fourth on the first lap of the race before he
started his comeback over then-leader and polesitter Kevin Dennis, of
Rochester, N.Y.


Dennis, in his Nissan,Goodyear/Red Line/CDA Nissan 510 appeared to be
well in control of the race, running the fast lap on Lap 10 with a
1:40.412 (80.954 mph) and extending his lead over Prather, who had moved
back up to second, to 1.306 seconds. It took Prather little time to make
up the difference, however, as Dennis slowed on the next lap. The two
jostled for position and Prather dropped to third behind Deatherage as
the lead pack weaved through passed traffic. 

With the leaders in front and a lapped car between them on Lap 15,
Prather made a bold move to the inside of all three cars, slashing his
way to the front of the field - a move that seemed to catch everyone
off-guard.


From there, Prather held his spot and earned his sixth Production class
win - all in G Production - making him the all-time Production Class
Championship leader.


"We're going down the backside, Woody got ahead of me, and I'm thinking,
'Well, huh, what am I going to do now,'" Prather said. "So I pulled into
the inside, and there was a back-marker there. There was a little-bitty
spot on the inside, and I dove right into it. I said 'It's now or never'
and dove in there and somehow ended up in the front.


"From there, it was just a matter of running qualifying laps and keeping
these guys behind me and not making any mistakes."


After the dust settled, Dennis wound up fourth, and Larry Gallagher, of
Thornville, Ohio, was fifth.

 

Race 8: Formula Atlantic

Graham Rahal, of New Albany, Ohio., captured his first National
Championship Friday, taking the Formula Atlantic class win at the 2005
SCCA National Championship Runoffs(r) Presented by Kohler at Mid-Ohio
Sports Car Course. Dan Selznick, of Phoenix, Ari., and David Wilcox, of
Lake Dallas, Texas, completed the top-three.


Having led every session and set a new lap record in qualifying, Rahal
entered the race as the odds on favorite to win. In what would prove to
be the most difficult part of the race, Rahal's car misfired at the
start, causing the 17 year-old to lose several positions entering the
esses. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Selznick led Mirl Swan through
the opening turns. Quickly recovering from the poor start, Rahal moved
into second on the second lap, passing Swan on the back straight. Having
fallen back to third, Swan's race ended later in the lap, when he spun
off-course. Posting lap times up to two seconds quicker than any other
driver, Rahal soon caught Selznick, passing for the lead on lap five.
Steadily pulling away from Selznick, David Wilcox and Keith Lively, the
battle for fifth became the most heated amongst the leaders. Having
moved into fifth, Bernie Sunier went off-course on lap nine, allowing
Ben Beasley to take the position. Two laps later, Beasley spun exiting
Thunder Valley, becoming stuck in the grass, relinquishing fifth place
to Ryan Spencer-Smith. On lap 17, the final change in top-five occurred,
when Lively pulled into the pits and retired with a mechanical failure.
Setting a new race lap record, Rahal crossed the start/finish 43.01
seconds ahead of Selznick, to capture his first SCCA National
Championship Runoffs win, 30-years after his father, racing legend Bobby
Rahal won the Formula B National Championship.


"I had a misfire at the start," said Rahal. "When I came out of the
paddock the car misfired, but it cleared up right away. At the start it
did it again and I thought, 'oh, no!', but it cleared up again and we
were OK. I definitely had the fastest car out there and I knew that I
could keep up. I took my time and caught up to Dan. I got a good run on
him and passed into the Keyhole. Then I just kept careful, building my
lead and trying to stay out of trouble."


Spencer-Smith, of Nappa, Calif., finished fourth, and Burke, of Rumson,
N.J., completed the top-five.

 

-30-

 

Photo Credit: Steflik/SCCA Image (c) 2005 

Photo Caption:  Kent Prather (bottom) and family celebrate following
Prather's record-setting sixth G Production Championship at the SCCA
National Championship Runoffs.

 

LEXINGTON, Ohio - Top five finishers from the first eight 45.16-mile
races of the 2005 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Kohler
at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with finishing position, starting position
in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.

 

Race 1, H Production

1, (1), Tom Feller, Clarkston, Mich., Triumph Spitfire, 20

2, (2), Chris Crisenbery, Parma, Mich., Triumph Spitfire, 20

3, (3), Dan Collishaw, East Orleans, Mass., A-H Sprite, 20

4, (10), Matt Brannon, Columbus, Ohio, Fiat Bertone X 1/9, 20

5, (8), Greg Feller, Sylvania, Ohio, MG Midget, 20

Time of Race: 38 minutes, 40.968 seconds

Margin of Victory: 6.772 seconds

Average speed: 70.046 mph

Fastest race lap: Matt Brannon, 1:49.175 (74.457 mph)

 

Race 2, C Sports Racing

1, (2), Arnie Loyning, Portland, Ore., Swift Viking, 20

2, (4), Eric Vassian, Atlanta, Ga., Radical SR3-06, 20

3, (9), Bill Goldkind, Holbrook, N.Y., Toyota Viking, 20

4, (11), Jim Downing, Atlanta, Ga., Ralt RT-41, 19

5, (15), Joe Hovarth, Mentor, Ohio, SCCA SR, 19

Time of Race: 30 minutes, 6.891 seconds

Margin of Victory: 37.86 seconds

Average speed: 89.975 mph

Fastest race lap: Arnie Loyning, 1:24.751 (95.914 mph)

 

Race 3, Showroom Stock B

1, (1), Toby Grahovec, Palos Park, Ill., BMW Z4, 20

2, (3), Jack Tippens, Woodstock, Ill., BMW Z4, 20

3, (5), Harry Manning, Racine, Wis., Mazda Miata, 20

4, (2), David Nielsen, Galena, Ohio, BMW Z4, 20

5, (6), Ken Simonson, N. Ridgeville, Ohio, Mazda Miata, 20

Time of Race: 36 minutes, 0.111 second

Margin of Victory: 6.756 seconds

Average speed: 75.262 mph

Fastest race lap: Jack Tippens, 1:45.720 (76.890 mph)

 

Race 4, Sports 2000

1, (1), Marc Walker, Oldsmar, Fla., Lola 89/90, 20

2, (2), Bart Wolf, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Carbir CS2.5, 20

3, (6), Terrence Garrett, Fishers, Ind., Lola SR-71 F, 20

4, (3), John Fergus, Powell, Ohio, Carbir CS2, 20

5, (8), Mark Mercer, Aurora, Colo., Carbir CS2, 20

Time of Race: 30 minutes, 19.658 seconds

Margin of Victory: 1.128 seconds

Average speed: 89.344 mph

Fastest race lap: Marc Walker, 1:27.471 (92.931 mph)

 

Race 5, GT-Lite

1, (1), Warren Montague, Manakin Sabot, Va., Toyota Tercel, 20

2, (3), Jimmy Burke, Cumming, Ga., Nissan Sentra, 20

3, (9), Douglas Ruthroff, Phoenix, Ariz., Honda CRX, 20

4, (28), Bill Davidson, Dexter, Mich., Ford Fiesta, 20

5, (12), Daniel Robson, Moore, S.C., Mazda MX-3, 20

Time of Race: 33 minutes, 21.079 seconds

Margin of Victory: 19.59 seconds

Average speed: 81.224 mph

Fastest race lap: Warren Montague, 1:36.770 (84.001 mph)

 

Race 6, Touring 1

1, (2), John Heinricy, Holly, Mich., Chevrolet Corvette, 20

2, (1), Scotty B. White, Puyallup, Wash., Dodge Viper, 20

3, (5), Lance Knupp, Fenton, Mich., Chevrolet Corvette, 20

4, (6), Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., Dodge Viper, 20

5, (4), Cindi Lux, Beaverton, Ore., Dodge Viper, 20

Time of Race: 36 minutes, 18.714 seconds

Margin of Victory: 1.649 seconds

Average speed: 74.620 mph

Fastest race lap: Scotty B. White, 1:33.340 (87.088 mph)

 

Race 7, G Production

1, (2), Kent Prather, Wakarusa, Kan., MGA, 20

2, (5), Chuck Mathis, Saint Jacob, Ill., Volkswagon Rabbit, 20

3, (3), Woody Deatherage, Cleveland, Ohio, Suzuki Swift GT, 20

4, (1), Kevin Dennis, Rochester, N.Y., Nissan 510, 20

5, (6), Larry Gallagher, Thornville, Ohio, Nissan 510, 20

Time of Race: 34 minutes, 26.521 seconds

Margin of Victory: 1.346 seconds

Average speed: 78.671 mph

Fastest race lap: Kevin Dennis 1:40.412 (80.954 mph)

 

Race 8, Formula Atlantic

1, (1), Graham Rahal, New Albany, Ohio, Swift 014, 20

2, (2), Dan Selznick, Phoenix, Ariz., Swift 014, 20

3, (4), David Wilcox, Lake Dallas, Texas, Swift DB4, 20

4, (5), Ryan Spencer-Smith, Napa, Calif., Swift 014.a, 20

5, (10), John Burke, Rumson, N.J., Ralt RT40/41, 20

Time of Race: 27 minutes, 2.229 seconds

Margin of Victory: 42.95 seconds

Average speed: 100.21 mph

Fastest race lap: Graham Rahal 1:16.890 (105.719 mph)