SCCA RUNOFFS (TOPEKA) - Five Champions Successfully Defend Titles in Final Day of SCCA Runoffs
 |
TOPEKA, Kan. (October 14, 2007) - The final eight Champions were crowned at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T. Despite looming cloud cover, nary a raindrop fell on Heartland Park Topeka, bringing a dry end to the event.
Kansan Jesse Prather (F Production), Wayland Joe (GT-2), Mike Miserendino (Spec Racer Ford), Stephen Oseth (Formula Vee) and James Goughary Jr. (Formula Mazda) each successfully defended their SCCA National Championships on the final day of competition.
Newly crowned Touring 1 Champion Andrew Aquilante, of Chester Springs, Pa. was awarded the President's Cup by the Stewards of the event for demonstrating ability, competitiveness and success at this year's Runoffs. Brian Linn, of Hermosa Beach, Fla., who finished runner-up in both F Production and H Production, was presented with the Mark Donohue award for outstanding performance, sportsmanship and competitiveness in SCCA road racing.
Race 18: Wayland Joe Wins Second Consecutive GT-2 SCCA National Championship
Wayland Joe, of South Barrington, Ill., won his second consecutive Valvoline GT-2 National Championship at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Jim Walsh, of Redmond, Wash., and Jeff Moore, of Houston, Texas, finished second and third, respectively.
Polesitter Joe got a great start coming down the front straight heading into Turn One and took the early lead in his No. 1 Porsche GT-3. But, behind him there was a three-car incident involving Tom Patton's No. 50 Sunbeam Tiger, Tony Rivera's No. 52 Panoz GTS and Mark Plummer's No. 31 Panoz GTS, which brought out a five lap caution to extract those machines from the course. All three drivers were able to get out of their cars.
When the race resumed on lap seven, Joe immediately put some distance between himself and then second place Jim Goughary. Goughary spent most of the race trying to catch Joe in his No. 46 Nissan/RedLine Oil Nissan 350z, but sustained a flat right side tire on lap 14 ending his day. From there, Joe was never challenged for the lead. He won by 3.401-seconds over Walsh.
"I am honored to win the National Championship again," Joe said. "I got a good jump on Jim at the start, but you don't know what those cars have. We know what Porsches have, but not the Nissan, the Sunbeam, or the Panoz. Patton is a great driver, Goughary is, Tony [Rivera] is, so I anticipated a hard race. The track conditions had changed, I was off the pace by three seconds. I was just hoping that others were running at the same pace as the track was wet and muddy. It was cold. I hit a mud patch once in Turn 10 and got a little sideways. I just tried to keep a gap to second place. I was keeping about five seconds and then he was out. I am very happy and honored."
At the start, Walsh, who started fifth in his No. 96 Microsoft Live Search/Yokohama Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, managed to avoid the three-car melee and put together a consistent drive to earn his first-career Runoffs podium finish.
With his third-place effort, Moore also piloted his No. 32 Driversource Competition Panoz GTS to his first-career Runoffs podium finish.
Andrew Hauck III, of Cincinnati, recorded a fourth-place finish in his No. 41 Prather Racing Porsche 996, while Paul Baynard Jr., of Southlake, Texas, finished fifth in his No. 22 AutoComp Racing Toyota Celica.
Tony Giordano, of Overland Park, Kan., was the Sunoco Hard Charger for advancing seven positions during the race. He started 19th and finished 12th.
Race 19: Knowles Crowned Touring 2 Champion at SCCA Runoffs
Don Knowles, of Pittsboro, N.C., won his fourth SCCA National Championship by dominating the Touring 2 race at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T. William Ziegler, of Stamford, Conn., and Edward Zabinski, of Hallandale Beach, Fla., finished second and third, respectively.
Second-starting Zabinski had a great start in his No. 79 theracingcoach.com Pontiac Solstice, but polesitter Knowles powered his No. 35 Phoenix Performance/Iracing.com/Hoosier Pontiac Solstice into the lead by Turn One. From there, it was no looking back for Knowles, who steadily pulled away from the rest of the field. He finished the 18-lap race with a 3.112-second margin of victory, after slowing down for a victory wave to his crew.
"It has been a long nine days," Knowles said. "The weather was difficult, and then we blew the turbo in this morning's warmup. We only had two and a half hours until the race and we had to change it. We took a turbo off a street car, replaced the race car turbo with it, performed all the checks and made sure all the hoses were on. Meanwhile, while this was going on, I was over in the corner throwing up. I really wasn't stressed about it for the race though. I figured that on the pace lap it would either be right or it would blow up-nothing I could do about it. I got through Turn One alright and figured everything was okay, so I just focused on the race."
It was the first Touring 2 SCCA National Championship for Knowles, who is a three-time Showroom Stock B Champion.
Zabinski held down the second spot for most of the race before traction control issues allowed him to be reeled in by Ziegler's No. 05 Swisher/Phoenix/Hoosier Pontiac Solstice. After hounding Zabinski for several laps, Ziegler made his move into second on lap 16. Zabsinski held with him, but was unable to challenge and settled for third. It was still an impressive result for Zabinski considering his first laps in the car were on Thursday after he made the decision to switch from a Lotus to a Solstice on Tuesday.
David Schotz, of Chandler, Ariz., and Ken Dobson, of Sonoma, Calif., completed the top five. Michael Sanos, of San Lorenzo, Calif., won the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for advancing six positions during the race in his No. 16 worksEvo.com/Hoosier Mitsubishi Evo.
Race 20: Thrash Wins First E Production SCCA National Championship
Thomas Thrash Jr., of Houston, Texas, lead all 18-laps of the E Production race to claim his first SCCA National Championship at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T. Tony Rivera, of Missouri City, Texas, and Bob Neal, of Harbor City, Calif., completed the top three.
After starting on pole and finishing second last year in E Production, Thrash took no chances in 2007, grabbing the EP lead from polesitter and defending Champion Lawrence Loshak at the start. Loshak's No. 02 Enginetrans.com Honda Prelude remained in Thrash's mirrors and ready to pounce as Thrash's No. 67 Mazda/Goodyear/Lucas Racing RX7 began to get loose on lap five. Two laps later, Loshak went for the lead in Turn 10, but ran wide and through the mud, giving the lead back to Thrash.
The off-course excursion cut the right-rear tire on Loshak's car and his gap to Thrash began to increase with each lap. On lap 15 Loshak came into the pits, handing over second place to Rivera, who was now 16.766 seconds behind Thrash. With only three laps to go, nothing could stop Thrash from taking his first-ever SCCA National Championship.
"I have to give Lawrence (Loshak) a lot of kudos," Thrash said. "He was pushing me hard, especially through the middle part of the race. I was coming through eight and I was not getting through there fast enough, maybe there was something on the track, and he was catching me. We went down into Turn Ten and we were side-by-side and he went really deep and he went off a little bit. He must have lost a tire or something then. That was it for him, unfortunately, because we were really stuck in a tough battle. After that, I was just driving around trying to keep the pace up. This is a wonderful feeling; we have been working so hard."
Rivera moved from fourth on the grid to third at the start in his No. 52 ESCP/Hoosier Tire Mazda RX-7 and inherited the runner-up spot with Loshak's pit stop, equaling his best-ever Runoffs finish. Neal in the No. 08 MazdaTRIX/Performance Solutions Mazda RX7 finished third for the second year in-a-row.
Aaron Downey, of Corona Del Mar, Calif., and David Lemon, of Signal Hill, Calif., completed the top five.
Michael Sturm, of Grafton, Wis., won the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for advancing nine positions during the race in his No. 48 Honda City/Shorewest Realty Honda Prelude Si.
Race 21: Oseth Captures Second Consecutive Formula Vee SCCA National Championship
Steve Oseth, of Leesburg, Va., used a late last lap pass to win his second-consecutive Formula Vee National Championship at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Michael Varacins, of Burlington, Wis., and Bob Neumeister, of Pueblo, Colo., completed the top three.
Oseth, who is the defending Formula Vee National Champion, led only one lap in the chase for the Formula Vee crown - the last lap. Driving the No. 72 Hoosier Tire/DBM Racing Vortech 07, Oseth spent most of the race mired in second place, trying to chase down then race leader Varacins. Oseth finally caught and passed Varacins on the last lap going into Turn Alpha and never looked back winning by a slim 0.239-second over Varacins.
"The truth is, I probably couldn't have caught Mike if it hadn't been for the lapped traffic," Oseth said of his win. "It seemed to me that his car went off about five laps or so before the end. It seemed that the back end was starting to slip out a little bit. My car was good all the way to the end. He was faster than me through the fast stuff. It was really tough keeping pace with him early on. There aren't many opportunities, so you take them where you can. Last year, we had two braking areas where you could take somebody, but those don't exist anymore, so you are pretty much left to drafting. I think that I got a better run on him coming out of the last turn and I picked up a car length or so on him as we were exiting, and that let me by him."
Polesitter Varacins got a great jump at the start in his No. 65 Speed Sport Eng./Veetech/Hoosier Speed Sport AM-5 and led the first 17 of the 18-lap race. In fact, at one point Varacins led by more than two seconds until he caught lapped traffic, allowing Oseth to narrow the gap to less than a second with two laps to go. Varacins did everything he could to keep Oseth behind him, but could not hold the lead with only 14 corners remaining in the race. This was Varacins' second consecutive second-place finish in the Formula Vee National Championship race.
Starting on the outside of front row, Neumeister dropped to fifth at the start in his No. 94 Hoosier Tire/RedLine Vortech Vortech. Undaunted by his early loss of position, Neumeister methodically worked his way back into the top three by lap 12, which is where he finished. This was Neumeister's first-career Formula Vee National Championship podium finish.
Brad Stout, of Webster Groves, Mo., finished fourth in his No. 35 Goodyear/Noble/LRE/BRP ACI Vorech 2005. Steven Davis, of Powder Springs, Ga., piloted his No. 80 Butler Engines/Goodyear/Valvoline Racer's Wage to a fifth-place finish.
Warren Holcomb, of Denver, was the Sunoco Hard Charger for advancing 14 positions during the race.
Race 22: Miserendino Takes Second Consecutive Spec Racer Ford National Championship
Mike Miserendino, of Los Angeles, captured his second-straight Spec Racer Ford title at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T. Brian Schofield, of Lakeland, Fla., and John Black, of Olympic Valley, Calif., completed the top three.
Miserendino grabbed the lead immediately at the start in his No. 11 MBI Racing Spec Racer Ford. But, before the entire 37-car field could even cross the start-finish line at Heartland Park Topeka, several cars came together on the front stretch. Two cars made contact with the wall, leaving debris and three cars stranded on the front stretch. The race immediately went full-course yellow and after one lap of caution, race officials brought the field into pit lane to allow a faster cleanup of the front stretch.
The race resumed with a single-file restart and Miserendino promptly pulled away from the rest of the field, while Schofield, Jordon Gore, of Vero Beach, Fla., and Black commenced a fight for the final podium spots behind him. With a battle raging behind him, Miserendino cruised to his second-consecutive Spec Racer Ford National Championship, winning the 14-lap race by nearly five seconds.
"My car was really strong the first couple laps," Miserendino said. "I really wanted to make it into Turn One first, because I knew I could pound out some real good laps and hopefully the guys behind would start to battle and allow me to get away. My car handled really well and I was able to drive consistently and hit the marks every lap and build the gap a little bit. On the restart, I was able to get another good start and to hold them off into one."
Gore put heavy pressure on Schofield's No. 61 PM Racing Spec Racer Ford throughout the race, but also had a mirror full of Black's No. 17 Spec Racer Ford. On the final lap, Gore took a look to the inside of Schofield in Turn One, but couldn't make it stick. The lost momentum allowed Black by and into third, but Gore was glued to his bumper. As the pair exited the final corner, Gore pulled alongside Black and it was a drag race to the checkered flag. Black just edged Gore and filled the final SRF podium spot. Cliff White, of Vail, Colo., completed the top five.
Nick Evans, of Hilliard, Ohio, was the Sunoco Hard Charger, advancing 12 positions in his No. 91 Jay Motorsports/BWS/Cedar Ent. Spec Racer Ford.
Race 23: Prather Wins Second F Production SCCA National Championship
Local driver Jesse Prather and Brian Linn, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., put on one of the most exciting races of the weekend at Heartland Park Topeka, when Prather narrowly beat Linn by 0.898-second to win his second-consecutive F Production National Championship at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T. Harold Flescher, of West Palm Beach, Fla., finished third.
The side-by-side battle between polesitter Prather and Linn began just seconds after the green flag dropped on the F Production race. Prather grabbed the early lead in his No. 1 Prather Racing Mazda Miata. Linn, driving the No. 31 Hoosier/RedLine Oil MG Midget, briefly took the lead for the first time from Prather on lap five. Unfortunately for Linn, Prather regained the lead one corner later. For the next 13 laps of the 18-lap race, Prather and Linn raced each other hard exchanging the lead several times before Prather finally took the lead for good on lap 16.
"Last year when I came into this room I said that I had never driven harder in my life," Prather said. "This year, guess what? It was ten times as hard! Brian is a phenomenal driver. It was a great race. He had a better handling car, I had a little more power, and we went back and forth. It was very interesting, the way I could pull him on the straight and he would pull up on me and he was killing me in one and two. I didn't think that I could go much faster through one and two without going off. We went side by side through three, then four, then five, then six, then seven. You know, when you race with a clean driver like that, it is a pleasure. The side-by-side was such fun, I adjusted my shifts, and I could hear his engine, he could hear my engine, that was such fun. That was the best race of my career, for sure."
"The first few laps I did not know if I could catch him," Linn said. "He was maintaining a gap to me and I was starting to get concerned. Then it seemed that his tires began to go off a little bit before mine did and I was able to close up on him. I was faster through two and three and he was faster down the straights. We had a very good battle. It was very clean. For as many times as we were side-by-side through multiple corners. We made it through them all. One time one guy would be off line in the marbles and the next corner the other would be. It was incredible how even it was. It was really fun racing."
Flescher drove an impressive race in the No. 93 C.A.R.S. /RedLine/Goodyear Austin Healey Sprite to finish third. Flesher's F Production Runoffs podium finish was the eighth of his career.
Eric Prill, of Topeka, Kan., finished fourth in his No. 7 800-Fight-MS/Hoosier/Prather Lotus Super 7. Joe Walker, of Richland, Mich., piloted his No. 5 Walker Racing Lotus Super 7 to a fifth-place finish.
Driving the No. 89 C. W. Horton General Contractor MG Midget, Charles Horton, of Hayward, Calif., was the Sunoco Hard Charger for advancing 10 positions during the race.
Race 24: Race Osborne Cruises to D Sports Racing National Championship
J.R. Osborne, of Castle Rock, Colo., led flag-to-flag at Heartland Park Topeka to capture the D Sports Racing National Championship at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T. Mark Jaremko, of Spokane, Wash., and Jean-Luc Liverato, of Alpharetta, Ga., finished second and third, respectively, after an exciting late-race shootout.
Starting from the pole, Osborne was untouchable in his No. 83 Equinox Land/Rilltech/GodSped Inc. Stohr WF-1, holding off his competitors in Turn One and never looking back. At the conclusion of the caution-free, 18-lap race, Osborne had built an 11.726-second lead to claim his first SCCA National Championship.
"It's just a relief to finish," Osborne said. "I've always run into issues my whole racing career. The only luck I have is bad luck, so to finally put one together that means something significant and have everything come together means the world to me right now. This is affirmation that this is what I need to keep doing.
"The race was perfect. It probably wasn't fun to watch, but it was a perfect race for me. I got a good jump, put my head down and tried to go as hard as I could for about five or six laps to build that gap up. Then, I just ran consistent times and I was hoping the guys behind me were doing just what they were doing, battling and slowing each other down. That allowed me to save my tires, save my brakes and make sure the car was going to make it to the end. It was the perfect race for a racer - uneventful. I'm thrilled to finally get a National Championship."
All the action was unfolding behind Osborne, where the No. 2 Loynings/Goodyear/Redline Stohr WF-1 WSL of Jaremko and the No. 8 Expanded Tech/KWS/Hoosier Stohr WF-1 of Liverato were dueling for the runner-up spot. Liverato got a great start, going from fourth to second by Turn One, while defending Champion Jaremko slotted into third.
Jaremko cranked up the pressure on Lap 12, then made his move a lap later through Turn Six. Liverato hung with Jaremko through the closing laps and when Jaremko hit lapped traffic in the chicane, Liverato shot by to take the runner-up spot. Jaremko was unphased, retaking the position into Turn 10 and holding the position to the checkered flag. Liverato's chase for the SCCA Chicago Region Triple Crown ended with a third-place finish.
Joshua Held, of San Carlos, Calif., and Dorian Foyil, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Roy Maxwell, of Arlinton, Texas, was the Sunoco Hard Charger, advancing seven positions during the race in his No. 55 Racing Engine Service Mystery III.
Race 25: Goughary Cruises to Formula Mazda SCCA National Championship
James Goughary, of Jupiter, Fla., cruised to his second-consecutive Formula Mazda National Championship in the final race of the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Sam Stuard, of Shippensburg, Pa., and Juan Marchand, of South Haven, Mich., completed the top three.
Under overcast skies, polesitter Goughary grabbed the lead heading into the Turn One on the start and was never really seriously challenged for the lead. Goughary powered his No. 72 RedLine Oil Star Formula Mazda to a 3.495-second win over first time Runoffs competitor Stuard. With the win, Goughary also won the Chicago Region SCCA Triple Crown (r).
"From where I was sitting, it wasn't an easy race," Goughary said. "I thought I threw it away that first lap. The cold tires and green race track caught me a little bit off guard. I turned in slightly late going into Turn Eight going straight off the outside and then to the inside of Nine. I came back across and hit a big curb and got about three or four inches in the air and hit my right front so hard that I though I'd knocked the wing off the car. I thought for sure my race was over.
"I saw Sam behind me and I just tried to concentrate on running smooth, consistent laps the best I could and try to build any sort of a gap. I think once I pulled away a little bit, he lost the draft and he was done.
"I was waiting for something to break the whole race. The car was vibrating and shaking the whole race. When the race was over and I pulled in and the crew told me I broke the right front shock right off the car. I'm very fortunate to be sitting here right now.
"This gives me a shot at the Mazda shootout for the MX-5 Cup car again, which I got to do last year, but left without it. Maybe this time I'll be able to take the prize. I also got the Triple Crown, which is a big thing for me personally. My career has been primarily with SCCA over the past 20 years and the Triple Crown is a pretty unique thing. I'm so glad I was able to do that this year."
At the race start, Stuard dropped one spot from second to third. Fortunately for Stuard, he was right on the rear bumper of Marchand and was able to slip by him on lap three. Now riding in second, Stuard did everything he could in his No. 48 RamTech/Ski Motorsports Star Formula Mazda to chase down Goughary. But, in the in end, he did not quite have enough. Stuard finished second recording his first-career Runoffs podium finish in his first try.
Starting third, Marchand made a nice move at the start and moved up to second in his No. 45 JRM Motorsports@GingerMan Star Formula Mazda. Once Stuard passed him, Marchand tried to stay with Stuard. But, unfortunately, Stuard proved too much for Marchand to handle and he had to settle for a third-place finish.
Jack Wilfley, of Carbondale, Colo., finished fourth in his No. 06 Star Formula Mazda. He was also the Sunoco Hard Charger for advancing five positions during the race. Jaime Slone, of Tucson, Ariz., drove his No. 6 sloneracing.com Star Formula Mazda to a fifth-place finish on course, but race officials docked Slone a position following the race, handing the fifth spot to Doug Peterson, of Bonita Springs, Fla.