SCCA: Nissan Racers Prepare For The Olympics of Motorsports, The Valvoline Runoffs
28 September 2000
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
GARDENA, Calif.-- As the summer Olympics in Australia come to a close, another intensely competitive event, often called the "Olympics of Motorsports," will kick off during the first week of October.
Nissan will have a strong presence at the event, officially known as the Valvoline Runoffs, with a contingent of almost 50 drivers to defend its position as the winningest automotive manufacturer at the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) National Championships.
The Valvoline Runoffs, which will be held Oct. 2-8 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, feature the best drivers in amateur auto racing battling for the prestigious title of SCCA National Champion. Nearly 700 racers from the United States and Canada will compete in the 37th annual Runoffs.
Just 24 drivers will leave the event with a SCCA National Championship, earned by winning one of the 20-lap sprint races for each of the 24 classes.
Nissan drivers in eight production car classes will attempt to win the manufacturer's 80th national title. These drivers earned an invitation to the Valvoline Runoffs by finishing in the top eight of their class in one of the eight SCCA Divisions. The 2000 Nissan lineup includes five past national champions, 10 current divisional champions, and several Runoff rookies.
During the past 33 years, Nissan (and Datsun) has been the dominant automotive manufacturer at the Runoffs, claiming a record 79 SCCA National Championships-quite an achievement, considering the long racing histories of other marquees such as Porsche, BMW, Ford and General Motors. In fact, Nissan has more than twice the SCCA national titles earned by Toyota and Honda combined.
Nissans of every imaginable size and shape have participated in this record-breaking performance, including early Roadsters and 510s all the way up to recent 240SX and 200SX models. Additionally, Nissan's list of SCCA National Champions includes such legendary names as John Morton, Bob Sharp, Jim Fitzgerald, Don Devondorf, Elliott-Forbes Robinson, Paul Newman, Rob Dyson and Scott Sharp.
Here is a brief look at Nissan's dominating history at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs:
1985, 15 Years Ago
Actor and race-car driver Paul Newman won Nissan's 50th championship in a 300ZX Turbo. Newman qualified on the GT1 pole position at Road Atlanta with a record-breaking time in a Z car owned by Bob Sharp. He led the entire 18-lap race, followed closely by teammate Jim Fitzgerald in an identical Nissan 300ZX. Pepe Pombo, who drove a Nissan 300ZX in the Showroom Stock A class, also won a championship for Nissan in similar style-by qualifying on pole position and leading the entire race.
1970, 30 Years Ago
John Morton won the first national championship for the Z car by starting his Datsun 240Z on pole position and winning the C-Production race after taking the lead on lap seven. Fellow Datsun drivers Bob Sharp and John McComb followed him to the checkered flag-making it a clean 1-2-3 sweep for the Z car. Also winning in 1970, Jim Fitzgerald won Nissan's third SCCA National Championship in an exciting come-from-behind drive in his Datsun SRL311. By lap ten of the 18-lap race, Fitzgerald was battling nose-to-tail with a driver in a Triumph GT. By the final lap, racing side-by-side, he made a bold move on the last turn of the Road Atlanta track. His opponent got sideways, and Fitzgerald held on to win by half a second.
The 2000 Valvoline Runoffs begin with practice on Monday, Oct. 2, and continue with qualifying from Tuesday, Oct. 3, to Thursday, Oct. 5. The 24 SCCA National Championship races take place from Friday, Oct. 6, to Sunday, Oct. 8. Speedvision will feature same-day television coverage at 1 p.m. (EDT) on Oct. 6 and 7, and at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) on Oct. 8.
Text provided by Heather Handley
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