SCCA: Stillwell's Goal 7th Title in Valvoline Runoffs
18 September 2000
Posted By Terry
Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
What driver has earned the title "Mr. Mid-Ohio"? No, not Bobby Rahal.
It's Warren Stillwell. The Hartville, Ohio resident (about 90 minutes from the track) and home builder will be trying for his seventh consecutive Spec Racer Ford class SCCA national championship in the Oct. 2-8 Valvoline Runoffs at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The Valvoline Runoffs are known as the "Olympics of amateur road racing" with national titles determined in 24 classes featuring over 600 competitors.
Stillwell's Mid-Ohio winning streak is actually 10, including six Valvoline Runoffs and four regular-season races. "I go to other tracks and get beaten by the same guys," said Stillwell, 34. "I think it's the fact there are a lot of different turns (15) and the way you've got to approach the track is not give up on any one of them. You're not going to beat anyone in any one turn, but don't give up any ground in any of them, and hopefully your lap time is a couple of tenths ahead of the next guy who might not be doing one turn as aggressively as he should. The other thing is there's some creativity in the driving. Some tracks it's nothing but 90-degree turns. You stomp on the brakes, turn, and stomp on the gas. Mid-Ohio is a lot of balance work and that suits my style.
"That said, the competitive guys are familiar with the track. After six in-a-row, everybody is trying really hard to beat me, and that gets on you. I'm friends with a lot of these guys, but they become pretty determined to knock me off, and I'd just as soon not have all that pressure. In the back of my mind, I know I'm going to get beat sometime, but I just tell myself, 'Do the best you can but don't give up at all.' If I lose, it will be a big issue, which I would rather it not be. But I suppose that adds to the fun!"
With success in one class, why not move up the ladder? "At 20, I was thinking Indy Cars, but the realization came after about four years of struggling, that racing takes a lot of luck and money. There's a lot of competitive young people coming through the ranks that have some money behind them. I got burned out beating my head against the wall trying to get sponsors, trying to talk somebody into a Formula Continental ride, but I also came to the realization that this is a fun hobby. We have a bunch of good guys, and spend 13-14 races a year competing against each other like it is at an Indy Car level, but then we can put it away and go to our jobs. I'm in racing for the fun and am willing to let the fame and glory go to the other guys."
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