SCCA RUNOFFS (TOPEKA) - First Nine SCCA National Champions Crowned
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Race One: Fergus Wins Fifth Sports 2000 National Championship
John Fergus, of Powell, Ohio, captured his fifth Sports 2000 SCCA National Championship with a last lap pass on Nick Mancuso, of Libertyville, Ill., at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Mancuso would go on to finish third, behind Marc Mercer, of Aurora, Colo.
Starting second, Fergus took the lead from polesitter Mercer on the start and led the first three laps in his No. 0 Carbir CS-2, with the No. 06 Lola 91/90 of Mercer and the No. 61 Lola T90190 of Mancuso in tow. Fergus relinquished the lead to Mercer on lap four with a spin going into Turn 10.
"Mark bobbled at the start and I was able to get by," Fergus said. "I thought that this was going to work out just fine. I got this big lead and then I made a mistake going into the chicane. I went wide and out into the grass and Mark got by. Then, a few laps later, I screwed up going into two and Nick got a flyer and got by me."
Once in the lead Mercer was able to open up a 3.308-second lead by lap 13. Then, it was Mercer's turn to make a mistake, spinning and relinquishing the lead to first-time Runoffs competitor Mancuso, followed two laps later by Fergus.
On the white-flag lap, the three entered the final corners in a tight pack. Contact between the nose of Fergus and the bumper of Mancuso sent the No. 61 into a spin in Turn 14.
"We came into the last lap and were real close," Fergus said. "I was as surprised as Nick was, but my tapes will show and so will my data that I was at the same speed in the corner as I had been. I don't know what happened, but we were out of the turn past the apex when he just slowed. Then pop, we got together; I just can't explain it, it just happened. It was an unfortunate end to what had been a fabulous race."
Fergus recovered to take his fifth S2000 National Championship, while Mercer, who took evasive action to avoid the incident ahead of him, was able to come home second. Mancuso got it straightened out quick enough to cross the finish line in third. Michael Bautz, of Machesney Park, Ill., and Jay Messenger, of Muleshoe, Texas, finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Rick Johnson, of Bend, Ore., was the Sunoco Hard Charger, advancing four positions during the race.
Race Two: Bovis Drives Flag-to-Flag To Capture First GT-Lite National Championship
Local driver Chris Bovis put on an impressive driving display in front of his hometown fans to win his first GT-Lite National Championship at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Joe Kristensen, of London, Ontario, finished second, while Peter Zekert, of Maryland Heights, Mo., was third.
In the second race of the morning under overcast skies, Bovis grabbed the early lead from the polesitter Kristensen heading into Turn One, followed by Zekert. Driving the No. 18 Goodyear Honda CRX, Bovis used his home track knowledge to keep both Kristensen and Zekert behind him early.
On lap four, Zekert motored his No. 45 BOOBLE/RedLine/Goodyear Nissan 200SX past Kristensen for third place, while Bovis opened up nearly two second lead. By lap six, the leaders were more than 22 seconds ahead of the field.
For the next two laps, Zekert and Kristensen were locked in an intense battle for position until Kristensen drove his No. 24 Kristensen Auto Development Acura Integra deep into Turn Three retaking second place.
With his sights set on the leader, Kristensen managed to cut Bovis' lead to under a second with three laps left in the 18-lap race. Unfortunately for Kristensen, the first and only caution of the race came out on lap 17 to remove Dan Hall's No. 77 Dan Hall & Auto Machine Shop Nissan 200SX from the Turn 14 wall.
The race ended under caution giving Bovis his first SCCA National Championship.
"Our strategy was to push Joe and wear his tires out, but we got by him at the start and then Joe was pushing me trying to get me to wear my tires out," Bovis said. "Things looked good in the mid part of the race, but towards the end, I was getting a little bit slower and we were going the same speed unfortunately. It got awful tight. The yellow flag came out and it is hard to say if I could have held him off. Joe was running awful fast and I want you to know that he raced me totally clean. I have to thank him for that."
Zekert, who had run up front most of the race, fell off the pace late in the race due to a broken gear box leaving him with only the first three gears.
Four-time SCCA National Champion Jim Dentici, of Oconomowoc, Wis., was the Sunoco Hard Charger. He advanced 25 positions throughout the race, from 29th to fourth. William Pintaric, of Youngstown, Ohio, finished fifth.
Race Three: Heinricy Takes Showroom Stock C SCCA National Championship
John Heinricy, of Royal Oak, Mich., captured his 11th Sports Car Club of America National Championship today, his first in Showroom Stock C, at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Joel Lipperini, of Pittston, Pa., and Joe McClughan, of New Braunfels, Texas, completed the top three.
Driving the No. 32 Phoenix Performance/Hoosier Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Heinricy started second and moved past early leader and polesitter Lipperini on lap eight. Heinricy's run to his 11th title was not easy, though, as Lipperini's No. 81 Hankook Tire/RaceShopper.com Honda Civic Si attacked him for the duration of the 18-lap, 45-mile race around the 2.5-mile circuit.
On the race's final lap, Lipperini slid wide in turn nine giving Heinricy a small gap. Two corners later, Heinricy clipped the inside of the curb and went up on two wheels, allowing Lipperini to gain back some ground. In the end, Heinricy's Cobalt beat Lipperini's Honda to the finish by 0.922-second.
"It was a great run," Heinricy said. "We had the Chevy Cobalt set up great for the race. The whole team did a really good job. All I had to do was the driver stuff when I got in, but boy, did Joel and Joe make me do it!
"I have trouble even remembering where I made the pass for the lead. I made an earlier pass, I think Joel got a bit wide in 12, but he got back past me into 14. Then, a few laps later, I got a great run out onto the front straightaway and was able to get enough of a run into the first turn. Then it was a matter of keeping it, but that was hard."
Heinricy now has 11 National Championships in 14 attempts, with a record career winning percentage of 78 percent.
"This win ranks up at the top with just one or two others because it was such a close and hard fought win. Tight racing, close wheel to wheel, and tight racing all the way."
McClughan admitted that he backed off a bit after being a part of the lead battle for the first eight laps in his No. 36 Mazdas/Hankook Tires/Mazdaspeed MAZDA3 to try to make a run at the finish. However, he was never able to close the gap.
Ali Naimi, of San Jose, Calif., and Luke Russell, of Fort Myers, Fla., completed the top five.
John Saucier, of Oklahoma City, Okla., earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award for advancing four positions during the race.
Race Four: Feller Captures Fourth-Consecutive H Production National Championship
TOPEKA, Kan. (October 12, 2007) - Tom Feller, of Atlanta, Ga., took his fourth-consecutive H Production National Championship at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T after a race-long battle with Brian Linn, of Hermosa Beach, Calif. Ron Bartell, of Madubry, N.H., finished third.
A light sprinkle began to fall on the H Production field as the cars made their way onto the course. When the green flag few, it was the No. 28 MG Midget of Don Barrack, of Waterloo, S.C., who zipped into the lead down the front stretch. By the exit of Turn Two, however, polesitter Feller was back in the lead, followed by Bartell and Linn.
After making quick work of Bartell's No. 4 MG Midget, Linn set to work on Feller's No. 71 Triumph Spitfire. On Lap three, the pair began an epic battle of side-by-side racing, exchanging the lead numerous times throughout the 18-lap race.
"Really, I think I only knocked off his tail light in Turn 12 once and that was unintentional," Feller said. "From my perspective, that's one of the best Production races I've ever seen between two people. It was just tooth and nail the whole time. It was great."
"On the last lap, going through eight, there was lapped traffic right on the line and [Linn] had to jig to the right. I could draft, surprisingly, and pulled to the inside. He was in the middle of the track and I drove him in deep enough into 10 and figured 'something's got to happen'"
And something did happen. As Linn led Feller into Turn Ten on the final lap, Linn got too distracted by the yellow Spitfire filling his mirrors and spun into the grass.
"I just ran out of talent," Linn said. "Tom looked inside and distracted me a little bit. I got offline a little bit and it was pretty greasy. I just looped it off and did some doughnuts in the grass before I got it going again."
Feller breezed by and continued to the checkered flag for his fourth-consecutive H Production National Championship.
"It feels really spectacular to win four in a row and to have good luck that many times," Feller said. "Every year, something's gone my way. It feels really good to be in that group of six."
Bartell finished third, followed by Loren Moore, of Springfield, Ohio, and Matthew Brannon, Columbus, Ohio. Andrew Aldred, of East Troy, Wis., was the Sunoco Hard Charger, advancing eight positions during the race.
Race Five: Peter Cruises to Second C Sports Racing National Championship
Hans Peter, of Overland Park, Kan., nearly lapped the field en route to winning his second-consecutive C Sports Racing National Championship at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Jacek Mucha, of Laval, Quebec, and Ken Davis, of Escondido, Calif., completed the top three.
Peter, a Chicago Region SCCA Triple Crown (r) winner who was heavily favored to win, did not quite get the jump he thought he did at the start as Jason Miller shot around Peter heading into turn one. Though Miller powered his No. 3 Kohler/Millenium/Goodyear WynnFurst West by Peter in turn one, he could not make the move stick. Two corners later, Peter put his No. 66 Phenix Label/Hoosier Swift 014 Viking to the inside of Miller in turn three and from there, cruised to his second National Championship by 1:24.531.
"I was really surprised at the start because I thought that I had a great start," Peter said. "I looked into my mirrors to see where [Rennie] Clayton was because I got a good jump on him. I thought to myself that this was going to be easy. And then, Jason Miller went past me into turn one. He really pulled me into the turn and then he was weaving around because he had so much speed so I was able to get a good run on him coming out of two and into the Carousel. There is no way that somebody can pass on the outside there so I just went inside and got past him. He tucked in behind me and then three or four turns later I looked into my mirrors and saw that I was pulling away. I backed off two or three seconds a lap and brought it home."
Although Mucha qualified fifth in his No. 07 PHOENIX-INNOTECH INC. Swift JMS, he had to start from the rear because he was late to the starting grid. Undaunted by his starting position, Mucha maneuvered his way through 16 cars to finish second.
Driving the No. 64 Davisstone inc/Speed Dynamics Ralt Viking, Davis spent most of the race battling then third place driver William Goldkind, of Holbrook, N.Y., until the last lap of the race. Coming out of the final corner, Goldkind spun allowing Davis to earn his first Runoffs podium finish.
Despite the spin, Goldkind finished fourth and Vance Gaddini, of Mi Wuk Village, Calif., finished fifth.
James Smith, of Alvin, Texas, was the Sunoco Hard Charger for advancing six positions throughout the race, from 12th to sixth.
Race Six: Aquilante Storms to Touring 1 Win, First SCCA National Championship
Andrew Aquilante, of Chester Springs, Pa., earned his first-ever SCCA National Championship with a win in Touring 1 at the 44th SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. John Buttermore, of Pontiac, Mich., and Mike McGinley, of Overland Park, Kan., completed the top three.
It was the perfect end to a perfect Runoffs for 20 year-old Aquilante, who led every qualifying session, eventually taking the pole by nearly half a second, then leading the 18-lap race from start to finish to take his first-ever SCCA National Championship. Completing all 18-laps without incident, Aquilante's No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette crossed the finish line 7.110 seconds ahead of No. 52 Corvette of John Buttermore.
"I think just about everything went according to plan, leading all four days of qualifying and leading flag-to-flag for victory," Aquilante said. "It is what I had hoped and worked for all year. The first few laps I was pretty nervous, making sure I was hitting all my marks, then I kind of settled into a rhythm. John Heinricy came over the radio and told me that Lance Knupp was out and that kind of eased away some of the pressure. John [Buttermore] was behind me but he began to fade back and then I couldn't see him in my mirrors coming out of the corners. That took the pressure away so I eased off and brought it home."
After the No. 37 Corvette of Lance Knupp, from Fenton, Mich., dropped out of the race on lap two with ABS failure, McGinley's No. 50 Corvette moved into the third spot, where he remained unchallenged throughout the race.
Phillip Croyle, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Michael Tracy, of Morton Grove, Ill., completed the top five, both in Chevrolet Corvettes. Russ Snow, of Eden, N.C., in the No. 20 Corvette was the Sunoco Hard Charger, advancing seven positions during the race.
Race Seven: Robinson Earns Second Formula Ford SCCA National Championship
Polesitter John Robinson, of St. Cloud, Fla., earned a hard-fought second Formula Ford National Championship at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Tony Coello, of Palmyra, Calif., finished second, while Steve Oseth, of Leesburg, Va., was third.
Starting from the front row, Coello powered his No. 17 Van Dieman RF-01-2 to the early lead and continued to lead for the first six laps before relinquishing it to Robinson. Driving the No. 19 Cricket Farm Motors/Goodyear/Lee Racing, Robinson did everything he could to shake Coello from his rearview mirrors, but unfortunately for Robinson, Coello regained the lead on lap 14.
"I got conservative and started making a few mental mistakes," Robinson said of Coello's lap 14 pass. "He [Coello] caught up to me. The track was colder than it had been all week and that affected the race. If the sun had come out, things may have been different. I went off at nine - just went straight off - and I figured 'just keep it straight and don't hit anything,' As it was, I only lost two car lengths to him. I figured that was the race. I figured that second was better hitting the wall."
With one lap remaining, Coello looked well on his way to winning his first National
Championship until he drove off course coming out of turn six and gave the lead back to Robinson for good. Robinson won the 18-lap event by 2.105-seconds over Coello.
"This was about as much fun as I have had in a long, long time," Coello said. "Near the end of the race, I broke my own cardinal rule - run your own pace and don't do anything crazy when you get into a lead. John had gotten in the dirt and had gone off the track and I opened up a little lead. I got conservative. I hadn't gone through that turn that slow all week. I got the revs too low and when I got the revs up to where they should have been, they just spun the rear tires. I did everything I could just to keep it out of the wall and to keep it from spinning. I gave the lead to John, just a bad move on my part."
"I was really surprised to see Tony go off there," Robinson said.
Piloting the No. 36 Hoosier Tire/DBM Racing Citation FF-94, Oseth spent the entire race battling eventual fourth place finisher Ethan Shippert, of Petaluma, Calif.
Timothy Kautz, of Geneva, Ill., finished fifth after starting 14th. Mark Blythe, of Edwardsville, Ill., won the Sunoco Hard Charger for advancing 12 positions throughout the race, from 23rd to 11th.
Race Eight: Peterson Scores Sixth SCCA GT-3 National Championship
Pete Peterson, of Lumberton, N.C., came back from an opening lap incident to claim his sixth GT-3 National Championship at the 44th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Heartland Park Topeka. Larry Hansen, of Eureka, Calif., and Tom Thrash Jr., completed the top three.
Peterson grabbed the lead early in his No. 98 Toyota/Redline/Goodyear Toyota Celica, but polesitter, John Black in the No. 17 Nissan 350Z stuck with Peterson through the opening corners. The pair collided in Turn Five, sending both into the grass. Peterson would continue, while Black remained parked in Turn five, hoodless.
Peterson fell back to sixth, but made quick work of the field, moving into third by lap four and into the lead, around the No. 76 RedLine/Toyota Motorsports/TRD Toyota Celica of Michael Cyphert, on lap seven in Turn Ten.
"I got a good start, got [John] Black at the start." Peterson said. "We went up the hill side-by-side and touched. That must have knocked a wheel bearing or something, because after that I had no brakes for the rest of the race.I used the gearbox to slow down. It was a pretty wild ride. For a minute I thought that I was through, but I was only down a few seconds and the fellows ahead were sliding around so I decided that I would give it a whirl."
As Peterson pulled away for his sixth GT3 SCCA National Championship, Cyphert appeared to have the second spot wrapped up, but spun on his own in Turn Four, allowing the No. 90 Nissan Motorsports/TCM Goodyear Nissan 350Z of Hansen to move into second.
Throughout the closing laps of the race the No. 16 Cars Houston/Mazda/Goodyear Mazda RX7 of Thrash Jr., and the No. 91 St. Clair Data Systems/Robinson Racing Nissan 200SX of Steve Spiers, from Marietta, Ga., had a spirited battle for fourth, which began a battle for third after Cyphert dropped out. The pair exchanged spots several times in Turns One and Ten, before Thrash Jr. took over the spot for good on lap 14. Spiers finished fourth, followed by Jeff Fleming, of Dallas, Texas.
Jeffrey Winter, of Arvada, Colo., earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for advancing 11 positions during the race.
Race Nine: Novak Wins First Formula 500 SCCA National Championship
TOPEKA, Kan. (Oct. 12, 2007) - Brian Novak, of Dearborn, Mich., led all 18-laps to win his first Formula 500 National Championship at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Jason Knuteson, of Danville, Ind., and Jim Libecco, of Bedford, Ohio, completed the top three.
Novak, a Chicago Region SCCA Triple Crown winner, got a good jump at the start in his No. 66 Hoosier Tire/HRP Motorsports NovaKar J360 heading into turn one and never looked back. He led the entire 18-lap race winning by 4.576-seconds.
"It's unbelievable considering how many years I've had something go wrong at the Runoffs," Novak said of his first win. "I think I've finished the Runoffs three times out of six tries. But, it was finally good to have everything go right. I was trying to run a conservative race. This feels pretty good. It's been a long time coming."
Starting from the pole in the No. 92 Hoosier Racing Scorpion S1, Knuteson fell to fifth on the start but managed to work his way through traffic and was up to second by lap six. From there, Knuteson tried to stay within striking distance of Novak with the hopes of challenging for the lead late in the race. But, in the end, Knuteson settled for a solid second place finish.
Libecco put together one of the best performances of the day after starting 19th and finishing third. His effort in the No. 98 Sonny's SpeedShop/QRE KBS MKV earned him the Sunoco Hard Charger for advancing 16 positions.
Robert Giesen, of Sherwood, Wis., and Steve Jondal, of Somerset, Wis., finished fourth and fifth respectively.
Racing resumes Saturday at 10:00 a.m. (CDT), with Touring 3. Live timing, lap notes, streaming audio and complete results are available at www.scca.com .
The SCCA National Championship Runoffs(r) Presented by AT&T, The Pinnacle of American Motorsports, will crown Sports Car Club of America's Club Racing National Champions for the 44th-consecutive year in 2007. The best amateur drivers from across North America convene on Heartland Park Topeka's 2.5-mile road course each fall in what is considered the "Olympics" of motorsports. This year's event begins with four days of qualifying, Oct. 8-11, and concludes with three days of racing, Oct. 12-14.