TOYOTA COMPETITORS EARN PODIUM SWEEP AND NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS
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Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. · 19001 South Western Avenue · Torrance, CA 90509-2991
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOYOTA-POWERED COMPETITORS SWEEP ONE PODIUM AND WIN TWO NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS AT THE "SUPER BOWL" OF CLUB ROAD RACING
TOPEKA, Kan. (Oct.15, 2006) - Mirl Swan and Hans Peter earned the title of
"National Champion" in each of their respective classes at the 2006 Sports Car Club of
America (SCCA) Runoffs ®, Oct. 13-15. Often referred to as the "Olympics" or "Super
Bowl" of club road racing, the Runoffs is repeatedly named by Car and Driver magazine as
one of the "10 Best Motorsports Events." This year marked the 43rd running of the SCCA
National Championship Runoffs ®and the first year ever it has been hosted at Heartland
Park Topeka. Over 650 entrants qualified and competed in 25 different classes of amateur
road racing.
Rain did not stop the show for Topeka, Kan. native Swan who won his first Formula
Atlantic (FA) National Championship in his No. 88 Toyota-powered Swift 008, by 2.302
seconds. After starting third on the rain-soaked 2.5 mile, 14 turn road course, Swan led all
18 laps and almost registered a 15 second lead on lap 10. Swan had the fastest race lap of
1:54.081 and averaged speeds of 65.66 mph.
"This is my neighborhood, I'm not only from Topeka, but I grew up five miles from
here, so it feels pretty good to win the first (FA) National Championship here. It was cold,
the visor was fogging over constantly, and the track was very, very slick, but the car was
hooked up thanks to the fantastic crew I have for this car."
Brothers David and Keith Grant of Germantown, Tenn. finished second and third
respectively giving Toyota a podium sweep in the FA class. D. Grant qualified third and
finished second in his No. 12 Toyota-powered Swift .014a and recorded a fastest lap of
1:54.809. K. Grant started the race on the pole in the No. 40 Toyota-powered Swift 014a
and registered his fastest lap at 1:55.804.
Peter, Triple Crown winner and five-time Midwest Division Champion captured the
checkered flag in the C Sports Racing class and earned his first SCCA National
Championship in his No. 66 Swift (Toyota). In addition to starting the race as the pole
winner, Peter took the lead coming out of Turn Six on lap four and led each lap thereafter.
Peter registered a fastest lap time of 1:32.449 and recorded a margin of victory of 1.826
seconds, while averaging speeds of 94.744 mph.
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. · 19001 South Western Avenue · Torrance, CA 90509-2991
"I thought that I made a good start but maybe they caught me during a shift. So I
just tucked in behind both of them (Carter and Jaremko) and waited for something to
happen."
In addition to earning the 2006 Midwest Division Championship, Peter scored seven
starts, seven poles and seven wins this season, including June Sprints and Watkins Glen
and set six track records, two of which were overall track records. The five-time Midwest
Division Champion has also been recognized twice as the Kansas City Region Driver of the
Year.
After leading the first three laps of the race, Wade Carter of Woodinville, Wash.,
another Toyota-powered racer, eventually earned a third place podium finish in the CSR
class. Carter qualified second and finished third and registered a fastest lap time of
1:33.090 in his No. 74 Toyota-powered Viking. Carter also earned the 2006 N. Pacific
Division Championship.
"We've been struggling with this cold weather all week. When you get out here you
do not know how to deal with 30 degree days. I was not going to leave here without being
on the podium."
Heartland Park Topeka will host the SCCA National Championship Runoffs ®
through 2008 and is the fifth venue in the Runoffs' history to host the signature event.
Each of the 25 races will broadcast again on a tape-delayed basis, in hour length
segments beginning Tuesday, November 7. Each show will again be produced by Mullin
Production Group and will include all the racing action, interviews and features (all times are
EASTERN).
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Noon SCCA Runoffs
1:00 pm SCCA Runoffs
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Noon SCCA Runoffs
1:00 pm SCCA Runoffs
2:00 pm SCCA Runoffs
# # #
Contact: Kym Strong, Toyota Motorsports Public Relations
(310) 468-5017 or kym_strong@toyota.com
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. · 19001 South Western Avenue · Torrance, CA 90509-2991
Toyota-Powered Racers Finishing Positions - Heartland Park Topeka
Formula Atlantic (FA) GT-2
1st - Mirl Swan (No. 88/Swift)* 11th - Paul Baynard (No. 20/Toyota Celica)*
2nd - David Grant (No. 12/Swift 014a)
3rd - Keith Grant (No. 40/Swift 014a) GT-3
4th - Kyle Kelly (No. 33/Swift 014a) 5th - Michael Cyphert (No. 76/Toyota Celica)*
5th - David Wilcox (No. 70/Swift DB4) 6th - Pete Peterson (No. 98/Toyota Celica)
6th - Dan Selznick (No.49/Swift 014)* 19th - Mark Ward (No. 44/Toyota Celica)
7th - Fabio Castellani (No. 92/Swift 008) 21st - Milton Grant (No. 75/Toyota Celica)*
8th - John Thompson (No. 22/Swift 014) DNF - Wolfgang Maike (No. 15/Toyota Paseo)
9th - Mark Nixon (No. 15/Swift 008a)
10th - Michael Mallinen (No. 11/Ralt RT-41) GT- LITE
12th - J. R. Walker (No. 93/Swift 014)* 4th - Arnstein Loyning (No. 22/Toyota Tercel)
13th - William Goldkind (No. 16/Ralt RT-41)* 7th - Roy Lopshire (No. 96/Toyota Tercel)
DNF - Patrick Witherspoon (No. 0/Swift 008) DNS - Chad Bacon (No. 18/Tercel)
DNF - Bernie Sunier (No. 19/Ralt RT4)
DNS - Tom Natasi (No. 23/Swift 014) G Production (GP)
DNS - Charles Duncan (No. 98/Swift DB4) DNS - Keith Church (No. 57/Toyota Corolla)
C Sports Racing (CSR) Touring 2 (T2)
1st - Hans Peter (No. 66/Swift Viking)* DNS - Steve Valentinetti (No. 2/Toyota Supra)
3rd - Wade Carter (No. 16/Swift Viking)*
8th - William Goldkind (No. 76/Viking)
DNF - Ken Davis (No. 64/Ralt RT1)*
DNF (Did Not Finish); DNS (Did Not Start)
* 2006 Division Champion
For a complete listing of the event results, log-on to:
http://www.scca.com/Event/Event.asp (Race results are listed by day and class)
# # #
Contact: Kym Strong, Toyota Motorsports Public Relations
(310) 468-5017 or kym_strong@toyota.com
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