SCCA Race Results and Racing News - Sports Car Club of America

2003 SCCA PRO RACING SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE SCHEDULE SPEED GT AND TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Date	Venue, Location	With
March 12-15	Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Fla.	ALMS
May 16-18	Mosport International Raceway, Bowmanville, Ontario	Trans-Am
May 23-26	Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Conn.	Trans-Am
June 27-29	Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.	ALMS
July 25-27	Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.	ALMS
Aug. 8-10	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio	CART
Aug. 22-24	Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.	ALMS
Sept. 5-7	Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif.	ALMS
Oct. 15-17	Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.	ALMS
Oct. 24-26	San Juan, Puerto Rico	Trans-Am

Sports Racing Pro Series Atlantic Tour
Rounds 1-2	May 3-4	BeaveRun Motorsports Complex
Round 3	June 14-15	Virginia International Raceway
Rounds 4-5	June 28-29	Carolina Motorsports Park
Rounds 6	August 9-10	Virginia International Raceway
Rounds 7-8	August 30-31	Grattan Raceway

Sports Racing Pro Series Pacific Tour
Rounds 1-2	April 5-6	Phoenix International Raceway
Rounds 3-4	May 23-25	Buttonwillow Raceway Park
Rounds 5-6	July 5-6	California Speedway
Rounds 7-8	September 12-14	Pacific Raceway Park

North American Championship Event
	October 18-19	Heartland Park Topeka

2003 SCCA ProRally Championship Television Broadcast Schedule

Broadcast Date Event Event Date

May 1 Sno*Drift January 24-25
May 22 Rim of the World May 2-3
June 26 Susquehannock Trail June 6-8
July 14 Mid-Season Recap
July 31 Oregon Trail July 12-13
August 21 Maine Forest August 1-2
September 11 Ojibwe Forests August 22-23
September 25 Wild West September 6-7
November 6 Lake Superior October 17-18
December 4 SCCA Pro Rally Season Review

2003 SCCA Valvoline Runoffs Television Schedule

All races broadcast on Speed Channel, Times are Eastern. Only premiere broadcasts listed.

Class

Date

Time (ET)

Sports 2000

Sat., Nov. 22

12:00 PM

Showroom Stock B

Sat., Nov. 22

1:00 PM

F Production

Sat., Nov. 22

2:00 PM

GT-4

Sun., Nov. 23

12:00 PM

Touring 2

Sun., Nov. 23

1:00 PM

Formula Vee

Sun., Nov. 23

2:00 PM

American Sedan

Sat., Nov. 29

12:00 PM

H Production

Sat., Nov. 29

1:00 PM

Showroom Stock C

Sat., Nov. 29

2:00 PM

Formula 500

Sun., Nov. 30

12:00 PM

Spec Racer Ford

Sun., Nov. 30

1:00 PM

Touring 1

Sun., Nov. 30

2:00 PM

Formula Ford

Sat., Dec. 6

12:00 PM

GT-2

Sat., Dec. 6

1:00 PM

G Production

Sat., Dec. 6

2:00 PM

D Sports Racing

Sun., Dec. 7

12:00 PM

GT-5

Sun., Dec. 7

1:00 PM

C Sports Racing

Sun., Dec. 7

2:00 PM

Formula Mazda

Sat., Dec. 13

12:00 PM

GT-3

Sat., Dec. 13

1:00 PM

Formula Continental

Sat., Dec. 13

2:00 PM

E Production

Sun., Dec. 14

12:00 PM

GT-1

Sun., Dec. 14

1:00 PM

Formula Atlantic

Sun., Dec. 14

2:00 PM

SPEED GT DRIVER PAUL MUMFORD KILLED IN PLANE CRASH

TOPEKA, Kan. (Oct. 2, 2003) – Paul Mumford, of Yorba Linda, Calif., a rookie sensation in the SCCA Speed World Challenge GT Championship, was killed Wednesday afternoon in a private plane crash near the Chino, Calif. airport. He was 31.

In only his second SCCA Speed GT Championship start, Mumford drove to an impressive victory at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Sept. 9. He had previously raced at Road America, where he finished third after starting 22nd. Mumford was working toward running a full season in 2004 in his Dodge Viper Competition Coupe.

“We’ve lost one of our brightest young stars; one whom we’d only just met,” said Steve Johnson, SCCA, Inc. and SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul’s family and friends.”

Mumford was the pilot of his Piper Saratoga plane. He reportedly took off from the Corona Municipal Airport, heading for Oakland, and reported a cockpit fire. He was attempting an emergency landing at Chino when the plane went down into the dry Santa Ana River.

SPITZNER TO DEPART FROM SCCA® PERFORMANCE RALLY POSITION AFTER CLOSE OF 2003 SEASON

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 25, 2003) – The Sports Car Club of America, Inc. announced today that Performance Rally Department Director Kurt Spitzner will leave the organization at the conclusion of the 2003 SCCA® ProRallySM Championship season.

Spitzner managed the creation of, and has headed the department since April 2001, when he was promoted from his position of Rally/Solo Department Marketing and Media Manager.

“Kurt has gone above and beyond in his pursuit of elevating Performance Rally in the United States,” said SCCA President and CEO Steve Johnson. “I am very proud of Kurt’s achievements not only in the SCCA, but in the sport of rally. I am confident that whoever is lucky enough to land Kurt will experience these same types of results.”

“My six seasons with the SCCA have been some of the most gratifying and challenging of my career,” said Spitzner. “In 1998, we embarked on a journey, transforming what had been a hobby for a few, into a lifestyle for many. This exciting renaissance ensured that the sport of performance rallying in this country remained within reach of the grassroots enthusiast, while building considerable appeal for North American and overseas competitors whose careers are in ascendancy.

“I’m exceedingly proud to have served as the director of this transformation, and look forward to watching the program’s continued forward movement with the SCCA.”

Spitzner will continue his duties through the final round of the SCCA ProRally Championship at the Oct. 17-18 running of the Lake Superior Rally in Houghton, Mich. His replacement will be named during the off-season, with SCCA Performance Rally Department Manager Sue Robinson assuming interim responsibilities.

For more information regarding the SCCA Performance Rally program and the SCCA ProRally Championship, please visit www.scca.com.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: FINAL EIGHT CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT VALVOLINE RUNOFFS

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 21, 2003) – Collin Jackson finished first in the Grand Touring 3 race just as the western sun was starting its descent toward the horizon Sunday in middle Ohio.

The checkered flag flew as Jackson whizzed by, signaling the end of the 24th race and the end of the 40th SCCA National Championship Valvoline Runoffs® at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

In a week that saw appearances from almost 700 racers, thousands of fans and a Friday morning visit from Tropical Storm Isabel, 24 champions were crowned in recognition for their achievements, along with several other awards that were handed out Sunday evening at the awards banquet.

Among the awards handed out was the President’s Cup, the Runoffs’ most prestigious award, given to the driver who best demonstrates ability, competitiveness and success. The 2003 edition was awarded to first-time Formula Atlantic champion Rennie Clayton, of San Francisco, Calif., who had to rebuild his car with a lot of borrowed parts after crashing his car during qualifying earlier in the week.

Also recognized was 16-year-old Lauren Gurney, of Albuquerque, N.M., who earned Mechanic of the Year honors and Barney Powers, of Lebanon, Ohio, a member of the Cincinnati Region, was honored with the Richland County Sportmanship Award.

On the track, two drivers did what only three others had done before them since 2001. Rennie Clayton and American Sedan champion John Heinricy, of Holly, Mich., both completed the third and final leg of the Chicago Region Triple Crown®, which is awarded to competitors who are able to win the Kohler®/Chicago Region June Sprints®, a home-division point championship and the Valvoline Runoffs. They joined 2001 winners Formula Vee driver Brad Stout, of St. Louis, Mo., and Touring 2 competitor Brian Kelm, of Plymouth, Mich., and 2001 winner, Grand Touring 3 racer Mike Cyphert, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

For complete results and in-depth individual race recaps of Sunday’s races and the rest of the 2003 SCCA National Championship Valvoline Runoffs®, visit www.scca.com

SIXTEEN DOWN, EIGHT TO GO AS DAY TWO OF VALVOLINE RUNOFFS COMES TO AN END

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 20, 2003) – Day one set the standard. Day two maintained it as eight more champions were crowned at the SCCA National Championship Valvoline Runoffs® at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

H Production got the day started off on the right foot when it wowed the early crowds with a suspense-filled victory by Adam Malley, of Conyers, Ga., outlasted a determined Tom Feller, of Clarkston, Mich., who charged to the front to challenge before fading at the end of the “Carousel,” giving Malley the gold trophy by 0.555-second. Pole-sitter Robert Weber, of Kingwood, Texas finished third.

In Showroom Stock B, Randy Saucier, of Oklahoma City, Okla., captured his second SSB National Championship, taking advantage of some bad luck pole-sitter Toby Grahovec, of Palos Park, Ill., had halfway into the 20-lap race. Saucier never trailed again and finished about 1.3 seconds ahead of Harry Manning, of Racine, Wisconsin. John Phillips, of Sealy, Texas nabbed the bronze trophy.

Local racer and fan favorite Jonathan Dick, of Columbus, Ohio, overcame a seventh-place start and used some untimely misfortune by several race leaders to notch his first ever Valvoline Runoffs win. Brian Novak, of Dearborn, Mich., finished second, well behind the leader at 15.73 seconds, while Rusty Cook, of Stone Mountain, Ga., powered his way up the leaderboard from his 16th starting position to finish third.

John Heinricy, of Holly, Mich., never gave the rest of the Touring 1 field a chance as he stormed out of the pole position and led start to finish to capture his third consecutive T1 National Championship. Richard Gilhart, of Cincinnati, Ohio, finished second, and Thomas Oates, of Cape May, N.J. drove to a third-place finish.

It was Grand Touring 5’s turn next, and Doug Peterson, of Rescue, Calif., earned his sixth overall gold medal and first GT5 gold since 1989. He got some help as race leader Joe Huffaker, of Petaluma, Calif., suffered a broken throttle linkage and was forced to retire. Local racers Jack Baumgardner, of Mansfield, Ohio, and Jim Rauck, of Grove City, Ohio finished a distant second and third, respectively.

John Heinricy made it a perfect two-for-two on Saturday when he climbed out of his T1 Chevrolet Corvette and got his American Sedan Chevrolet Camaro across the finish line in first place two races later. Brian Wallace, of Grand Blanc, Mich., and Robin Burnett, of Clinton Township, Mich., finished second and third, respectively.

Justin Pritchard, of Granville, Ohio, won his second consecutive Formula Ford National Championship in convincing fashion, blitzing the field and winning by 4.536 seconds over silver trophy winner John Larue, of Muncie, Indiana. Jason Byers, of Livonia, Mich., finished third.

Mike Pinney, of Phoenix, Ariz., proved SportsCar Magazine right as it picked him to win Saturday’s final race, F Production. Pinney’s second National Championship was a fitting end to a 25-year racing career for Pinney, who announced his driving retirement at the post-race news conference. Harold Flescher, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., finished second and Charles Guest, of Brooksville, Fla., finished third.

The 2003 SCCA National Championship Valvoline Runoffs® wrap up tomorrow with the final eight races beginning at 10:00 a.m. For complete results, in-depth coverage of each race and live timing and scoring, visit www.scca.com

NEW WINNERS DOMINATE DAY ONE OF VALVOLINE RUNOFFS

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 19, 2003) – The SCCA National Championship Valvoline Runoffs® started in earnest on Friday, and with multiple first-time winners and the last race of the day, Grand Touring 2, coming down to the last turn on the last lap, no one left the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course disappointed.

Eight different winners were recognized on the first day of three, but Friday’s action only scratched the surface as 16 more fields of competitors watched the races and waited for their weekend turns at the 2.258-mile road course.

Remnants of Tropical Storm Isabel showed up early with breeze and showers, but moved on just before the start of the first race of the day, C Sports Racing.

In that race, John Mirro, of Bath, Pa., shot past both Canadian Jacek Mucha, of Laval, Quebec, and Keith Young, Jr., of Dallas, Texas as they connected and spun out during final lap 19 on the “Carousel,” the last turn of the caution-shortened race. It was the first championship for Mirro and his Banana Joe’s Ralt, which finished 1.718 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Dennis Pavlina, of Vancouver, Washington. Young, Jr. gathered himself fast enough after his spin in order to secure the bronze trophy.

In the day’s second race, Mike Kramer, of Franklin, Tenn., led start to finish from his pole position and took the checkered flag by more than three seconds over silver trophy winner John Fernandez, of Rochester, Michigan. Tom Long, of Raleigh, N.C., rounded out the top three. The win gave Kramer his first ever Runoffs Championship.

G Production got its winner from the Land of Oz as Kent Prather, of Wakarusa, Kan., took advantage of the tough “Keyhole” portion of the Mid-Ohio course and scooted by Kevin Dennis, of Rochester, N.Y., on the fifth lap to claim his fifth Runoffs crown. Dennis made a late charge but ended up with the second prize, 0.788-seconnd behind Prather. Kevin Allen, of Covington, Ga., jumped up from fifth to earn the bronze.

The first Chicago Region Triple Crown® winner of 2003 came out of Formula Atlantic as Rennie Clayton, of San Francisco literally drove his car to pieces in order to grab his first ever Runoffs FA championship. After a car-crushing blow in practice Monday which damaged all four corners and broke off his Ralt RT-41’s nose, Clayton rebuilt the car in time to qualify first and then dominate the race, winning by a whopping 22.11 seconds. Daniel Selznick, of Phoenix, Ariz., and Ben Beasley, of Painesville, Ohio, finished second and third, respectively.

Usually it’s a son following in a father’s footsteps, but not so in Touring 2 where Mark Sandridge, of Westfield Center, Ohio, won his first championship. His son, Jordan, won here last year. Sandridge qualified third and then took advantage of pole-sitter Frederick Baker’s opening lap mishap and his son’s race-ending flat-tire on lap seven.

Keith Grant came into the Grand Touring 4 race Friday as SportsCar’s pick to win the title and he didn’t disappoint as he blew away the competition from start to finish in his Nissan 200SX to win going away by more than 7.8 seconds. Grant, of Cordova, Tenn., finished ahead of runner-up J. Warren Montague, of Manakin Sabot, Va., and third place finisher Michael Mazziotti, of Wexford, Pennsylvania.

Formula Mazda also produced a first-time winner as Doug Peterson, of Bonita Springs, Fla., survived an early push from James Goughary, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and then cruised home after Goughary went off on lap 14. Chris Schanzle, of Damascus, Md., was the primary beneficiary of Goughary’s demise and finished second, 3.598 seconds behind Peterson. Robert Kaminsky, of Lockport, Ill., turned in some impressive lap times late, but they were too late and he finished third.

In the day’s final and most exciting race by far, Grand Touring 2 came down to three drivers and the final turn on the final lap. Coming out of the “Carousel”, barely 100 yards away from the checkered flag, race leader William Reid, of Knoxville, Tenn., and 12-time Runoffs winner Duane Davis, of Camas, Wash. made contact which sent both cars off course on the inside of the track and allowed James Goughary, Sr., of Houston, Texas, to sprint to the finish untouched and grab his first ever Runoffs win.

Eight more champions will be crowned on Saturday, starting with warm-up sessions at 8:00 a.m. The first race will be H Production at 10:00 a.m. For complete results, individual race recaps and other information concerning the SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, visit www.scca.com

Grids Are Set as Qualifying at Valvoline Runoffs Ends

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 17, 2003) – With an increasing chance of rain in the forecast for Friday, many racers turned up their intensity levels more than a notch on Thursday, the final day before races begin. While precipitation isn’t expected for either Saturday or Sunday, the drivers who will race then still pushed, trying to improve their spot on the grid.

In Showroom Stock B, the three BMW Z4’s came out firing Thursday, grabbing the top three spots on the grid for Saturday’s race. Jim Leithauser, of Westminster, Colo., torched the road course with the fastest class time of the week so far, with a 1:43.965. T.C. Kline, of Hilliard, Ohio, surged up the grid to second position after shaving his bet time from 1:45.471 on Tuesday to 1:44.522. David Nielsen, of Galena, Ohio, is third quickest heading into Saturday with a 1:44.660. No other entries in the class were able to break into the 1:44’s.

Kevin Dennis, of Rochester, N.Y., will be on the pole for the start of the G Production race on Friday. Running his best lap (1:40.520) on the last of the three-day qualifying period, Dennis’ Nissan 510 will start ahead of Kent Prather, of Wakarusa, Kan., whose Tuesday qualifying time of 1:40.916 placed him second on the grid. Karl McColl, of Arvada, Colo., will start third in his Nissan PL510 after qualifying with a time of 1:41.767.

Robert Weber, of Kingwood, Texas, stormed out of the gate on Tuesday and his 1:41.728 mark held up through the final two days of H Production qualifying leaving him out front for Saturday’s first race. His AH Sprite stayed just ahead of Ron Bartell, of Madbury, N.H., and his MG Midget. Bartell surged up into second on the grid Thursday after he sliced his qualifying time to 1:41.928 from his Tuesday time of 1:45.876. Daniel Collishaw, of East Orleans, Mass., consistently improved his times every day, finishing qualifying with the third quickest time at 1:42.017.

John Black, of Olympic Valley, Calif., grabbed the pole for Sunday morning’s Spec Racer Ford race. His Wednesday qualifying time of 1:39.173 puts him about a half-second ahead of second qualifier Richard Spicer, of Laurel, Md., who put forth his best qualifying effort on Wednesday as well (1:39.182). Joe Colasacco, of Greenwich, Conn., jumped from sixth to third position yesterday and will start there on Sunday as his 1:39.265 mark clipped the first-day run (1:39.330) put up by Mike Davies, of Houston, Texas, who will start fourth.

The grid is set for Sunday morning’s Sports 2000 race with Steve Johnson, of Deerfield, N.H., on the pole in his SR-71. Johnson never slid from the top spot after positng the fast time Tuesday (1:27.733). He ensured his front spot by running an even better 1:27.596 Thursday. John Fergus, of Powell, Ohio, moved up to second on the grid yesterday and stayed there after posting his best time over the past three days with a 1:27.877. Mark Mercer, of Aurora, Colo., jumped all the way to third on Thursday after knocking off more than 1.2 seconds from his previous best (1:29.356) to his final mark of 1:28.110.

Mike Kramer, of Franklin, Tenn., took control of qualifying session three, ran a quick time of 1:48.132 in his Saturn SC2 and snatched up the pole position for Showroom Stock C’s Friday morning race. His time flew him from third quickest to the top, ahead of John Fernandez, of Rochester, Mich., who had held the class’ top time (1:48.153) over the first two days. While Fernandez’ Dodge Neon will complete the front row, John Phillips III, of Sealy, Texas, will start third in his Honda Civic, qualifying with a Wednesday time of 1:48.483.

Three Ralt chassis will be at the front of the pack for the start of Friday afternoon’s Formula Atlantic championship. Keith Lively, of San Francisco, Calif., sped up his qualifying times each day before settling into the pole in his Ralt RT-41 with a 1:19.379. Rennie Clayton, from San Francisco, Calif., will start alongside Lively after exploding to the second spot from eighth after his Ralt RT-41 sprinted to a 1:20.692 Thursday. Ben Beasley, of Painesville, Ohio, will start third in his Ralt RT-40 after he turned in a qualifying time of 1:20.821 Wednesday.

Jacek Mucha, of Laval, Quebec, Canada, will start at the pole of the Runoffs’ first race, C Sport Racing, Friday morning at 10 a.m. Mucha’s time of 1:22.171, posted Tuesday in his Ralt JMS, appears untouchable as no other driver in CSR has been able to run anywhere faster. Jeffrey Miller, of Plymouth, Wis., will start on the front row in his Wynnfurst CSR with Mucha, as he posted the second fastest qualifying time (1:25.812) Wednesday. Jack Ruscilli, of Columbus, Ohio, will start third in his Ralt RT-5, his qualifying time a 1:26.949.

GT4’s Keith Grant, of Cordova, Tenn., will lead the procession at the start of Thursday afternoon’s race after his Nissan 200SX posted the three-day qualifying session’s fastest time (1:35.595) on Tuesday. Michael Mazziotti, of Wexford, Penn., will fill out the front row as his Honda CRX was second fastest on the course (1:35.980). J Warren Montague, of Manakin Sabot, Va., snuck into the third spot after his Toyota Tercel blasted out a time of 1:36.764 Thursday.

The grid is set for GT5’s Saturday afternoon championship run and Joe Huffaker, of Petaluma, Calif., will be on the pole as he made a significant improvement on his already class-low time. His Huffaker Mini Cooper punched out a 1:37.901 Thursday, down from his prior day’s 1:38.580. Doug Peterson, of Rescue, Calif., will be alongside Huffaker in his Mini Cooper S after his 1:38.596 Tuesday run left him second fastest. Kirk Olson, of Littleton, Colo., will lurk just behind the two front row competitors in his Honda CRX as his Wednesday qualifying time of 1:38.625 left him in the third slot.

Steven Davis will have the pole at the start of the Formula Vee race, slated for early Sunday morning. His Racers Wage model Vee captured the top spot with a 1:39.619 Wednesday. Poised just behind Davis are race favorites Steve Oseth, of Leesburg, Va. (1:40.026), and Brad Stout, of St. Louis, Mo. (1:40.200). Oseth and Stout battled it out at the Chicago Region June Sprints® in June and appear ready to challenge Davis and each other again.

Friday afternoon’s Formula Mazda race is shaping up to be a dandy as the top three qualifiers are all within four-tenths of one another. Pole-sitter Doug Peterson, of Bonita Springs, Fla., will lead the FM charge after he posted a 1:26.073 Thursday. James Goughary, of Pal Beach Gardens, Fla., reclaimed his spot on the front row (1:26.255) after briefly dropping to third after Wednesday’s runs. Kyle Kelley, of Huntington Beach, Calif. had jumped from 13th to second after day two and will start Friday’s championship run in third position (1:26.494) after slipping a spot due to Goughary’s Thursday run.

Mike Andersen, of Green Pond, N.J., will lead the 22-car, Formula Continental race on to the Mid-Ohio course Sunday afternoon after capturing the pole with a 1:24.410 qualifying time posted Tuesday. Dave Weitzenhof, of Bath, Ohio, will place his Citation 95SF alongside Andersen’s Van Diemen RF00 after posting a Tuesday qualifying time of 1:25.084. Philip Lombardi, of Nashua, N.H., grabbed the third position in his Van Diemen RF01 when his Wednesday mark of 1:25.194 held up.

John Heinricy, of Holly, Mich., snatched up the top spot in GT1 with a fast lap time of 1:33.606, which he ran Wednesday. He will be joined up front by Richard Gilhart, of Cincinnatti, Ohio, who punched out a 1:34.785 on Wednesday as well. Scotty White, of Puyallup, Wash., will start in the third slot. All three drivers compete in 2001 Chevrolet Corvettes.

In GT2, Frederick Baker grabbed the top spot early and never let it go during the three-day qualifying period. His Porsche Boxter flew through over the 2.258-mile course in a class best 1:39.903 on Tuesday. That time ended up being the only sub-1:40 time for any of the 28 cars in the field. Jordan Sandridge, of Westfield Center, Ohio, will start alongside Baker in his Pontiac Sunfire, after running a 1:39.976 Tuesday. Sandridge’s father, Mark, regrouped after falling back a spot Wednesday and regained the third spot in his own Sunfire after jetting out on Thursday and nailing down a time of 1:40.146.

Justin Pritchard, of Granville, Ohio, will be first in line when the Formula Ford championship race begins Saturday afternoon. His Piper DF5 smoked the course to the tune of a 1:28.816 Tuesday, the only time under 1:29 by anyone in FF. John LaRue, of Muncie, Ind., will roll through the start alongside Pritchard in his Citation thanks to his first-day run of 1:29.485. Thomas Schwietz, of Winchester, Va., ramped his way into the third position after posting a 1:29.709 during Wednesday’s run.

Monte Cowles, of Dumfries, Va., and his Ford Mustang are on the pole for American Sedan after Cowles’ Wednesday qualifying time of 1:37.736 went unmatched Thursday. John Heinricy, of Holly, Mich., qualified second in his Chevrolet Camaro (1:38.043), and Andrew McDermid, of Grand Ledge, Mich., wrapped up the third positon for Saturday’s race by running a 1:38.266 in his Ford Mustang on Thursday.

E Production’s grid is set with Jon Brakke, of Fargo, N.D., to lead the 44-car group on Sunday. His Mazda Miata ran a 1:35.070 Wednesday, which was almost half of a second faster than his front row counterpart, Grayson Upchurch, of Alpharetta, Ga., who posted his best time of 1:35.545 in his Nissan 240Z on Wednesday as well. Third position belongs to one of the race favorites, Dave Lemon, of Signal Hill, Calif., cruised through Thursday’s last qualifying run with a 1:36.651. However, his best time in his Mazda RX7 came on Wednesday also, when he ran a 1:35.840, good enough to start third.

Cliff Ebben, of Appleton, Wis., improved his top standing by almost three-tenths of a second Thursday. His 1:25.398 topped his Wednesday mark of 1:25.676 and ensured him the pole position for the Grand Touring 1 Sunday race. Ebben’s Chevrolet Corvette will be joined up front by another Corvette belonging to Bret Moyer, of Pittsburgh, Pa., who exploded up to the front row by running a 1:26.029 after hovering between the fifth and fifteenth spots after day two. Lew Larimer, of Hayward, Calif., dropped down a notch as a result of Moyer’s move up and will start third in his Oldsmobile Cutlass with a qualifying time of 1:26.311.

David Finch, of Ann Arbor, Mich., claimed the Grand Touring 2 pole in his Porsche 944 Thursday when he torched the field and posted the only sub-1:29 mark (1:28.965) which gave him the top spot. Duane Davis bounced back and forth between second and third in his Toyota Celica before settling alongside Finch in the front row with a qualifying time of 1:29.545. William Reid, of Knoxville, Tenn., drove his Celica to the third slot by running a 1:29.830 Wednesday.

Steve Sargis made doubly sure that he would be in the top spot going into F Production’s Saturday championship run by posting two qualifying times in the 1:37 range. He ran a 1:37.680 Thursday in his Triumph Spitfire, but it was his 1:37.470 Tuesday run that got him the pole ahead of Mike Pinney, of Phoenix, Arizona. Pinney’s MG Midget topped out at 1:38.345, about four-tenths of a second in front of Harold Flescher, of Palm Beach, Fla., who ran a third quick time of 1:38.788 in his A H Sprite.

In D Sports Racing, Mark Jaremko, of Spokane, Wash., is the heavy favorite in his Stohr 03D BPS after toasting the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio course in 1:23.503 and qualifying a whopping 2.3 seconds ahead of second qualifier Matthew Direnzo, of Medford, N.J., who ran a 1:25.805 in his Stohr 03D. Jay Lovett, of Deerfield, Ill., qualified third with a 1:26.734 Tuesday run in his Stohr DSR02.

Douglas Marsh, of Eastlake, Ohio, battled his way through the three days of Formula 500 qualifying in his Rocketech R2, consistently improved and snuck into the pole by one-hundredth of a second over the Novakar J7B driven by Calvin Stewart, of Novi, Michigan. Marsh’s 1:31.051 was a significant improvement over his 1:33.113, which he ran Tuesday and had left him in fourth after day one. Michael Brent, of Bethel, Conn., will start third in his Invader QC1 after posting a time of 1:31.584.

In the day’s and event’s last qualifying session, Collin Jackson, of Langley, British Columbia, Canada, secured the pole for Grand Touring 3’s Sunday race when his Nissan 240SX’s Tuesday qualifying time of 1:32.049 stood tall against Pete Peterson’s best time of 1:32.416. Peterson, of Lumberton, N.C., positioned himself beside Jackson in the starting row after Wolfgang Maike, of Santa Barbara, Calif., couldn’t lower his time from his 1:32.647 Tuesday mark.

The 2003 SCCA National Championship Valvoline Runoffs® get underway tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. with C Sports Racing following brief, 10-minute warm-up sessions for the classes running. For a complete schedule of races, results and live scoring and timing, visit www.scca.com.

Intensity Rises as Some Leaders Replaced During Day Two of Valvoline Runoffs

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 17, 2003) – Several competitors took advantage of absolutely perfect weather conditions on the second day of qualifying at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the site of the 2003 SCCA National Championship Valvoline Runoffs®.

Formula Continental was the first class on the track Wednesday, and Mike Andersen, of Green Pond, N.J., posted the quickest class time on the course for the second day in a row. While his Wednesday time of 1:24.523 in his Van Diemen RF-00 was a bit off from the 1:24.410 he had Tuesday, he still is the only driver in the class to nail down a time under 1:25. Dave Weitzenhof, of Bath, Ohio maintained his second qualifying spot in his Citation 95-SF even though he was slower as well. Philip Lombardi, of Nashua, N.H., did move up however, from. His 1:25.194 was a great improvement from the 1:25.896 he ran Tuesday in his Van Diemen RF-01. His time bumped him up to third position after he started the day sixth.

After being paired with the FC class on day one of qualifying, the Formula Mazda class got a chance to run solo on Wednesday. Doug Peterson, of Bonita Springs, Fla., remains on top of the 23 car field after being a touch slower (1:26.187) Wednesday than his class leading lap of 1:26.121 yesterday. Kyle Kelley, of Huntington Beach, Calif., made the huge jump of the day, coming all the way from 13th (1:29.599) to second (1:26.494) after he cut over three seconds from his Tuesday effort. James Goughary,, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., was bumped to third position as a result of Kelley’s improvement.

GT3 saw several of its drivers improve their times during their second runs. Collin Jackson, of Langley, British Columbia, Canada, was not one of those who did improve Wednesday, but still holds the top spot with his Tuesday effort (1:32.049). Pete Peterson, of Lumberton, N.C., was one of a couple drivers who broke into the 1:32 range with a time of 1:32.416. That time was good enough to bump him into the second slot and move Wolfgang Maike, of Santa Barbara, Calif., down to third (1:32.647). Paul Young, of Commerce Township, Mich., was the other competitor to break into the 1:32’s, with a 1:32.729, good enough for fourth currently.

John Heinricy, of Holly, Mich., took advantage of his second session, dropping his already leading fast lap from 1:34.959 to 1:33.606, while Richard Gilhart, of Cincinnati, Ohio, also put together a good run and moved his position from fifth to second when he posted a 1:34.785, down from his 1:36.278 Tuesday mark. Scotty White, of Puyallup, Wash., remains in the top three after dropping a spot as a result of White’s run, even though he lowered his time from 1:35.733 to 1:35.033.

In Spec Racer Ford, Joe Colasacco, of Greenwich, Conn., made a second-day leap into the top three after he managed to shave off almost a complete second off of his best lap time going from 1:40.092 to 1:39.265. His time puts him behind John Black, of Olympic Valley, Calif., who improved on Wednesday as well. Black knocked his class-leading time down to 1:39.173 from Tuesday’s 1:39.234. Richard Spicer, of Laurel, Md., moved up a spot to second, improving from 1:39.570 to 1:39.182.

The top qualifiers in D Sport Racing recorded much slower times on qualifying day two, which meant there were no changes from the Mark Jaremko, of Spokane, Wash, Matthew Direnzo, of Medford, N.J., and Jay Lovett, of Deerfield, Ill., top three. After running the second fastest lap time of any class yesterday (1:23.914), Jaremko hardly pushed at all in running a 1:29.605.

Times in Sports 2000 were also slower on the whole Wednesday. Steve Johnson, of Deerfield, N.H., ran about two-tenths of a second behind his class-topping 1:27.733. John Fergus, of Powell, Ohio, did improve enough to slide into the second position ahead of Marc Walker, of Oldsmar, Florida. Fergus lowered his best time to 1:28.059, ahead of Walker’s 1:28.127.

Monte Cowles, of Dumfries, Va., kept the heat on in American Sedan, as he became the first and only driver to break into the 1:37’s. His 1:37.736 was a large improvement from his already leading 1:38.574 and it kept him in front of John Heinricy, of Holly, Mich., who improved as well, turning in a 1:38.043 after a 1:38.633 showing on Tuesday. Andrew McDermid, of Grand Ledge, Mich., was the 39 car field’s biggest mover Wednesday after he blasted his first day time of 1:40.972 with a 1:38.629. The time shoved McDermid into the third slot after he began the day in 15th.

Current C Sports Racing qualifying leader Jacek Mucha, of Laval, Quebec, Canada, did not run Wednesday. Even so, his Tuesday lap time of 1:22.171 remains almost four full seconds ahead of the second fastest mark (1:25.812) which belongs to Jeffrey Miller, of Plymouth, Wisconsin. With his improvement, Miller is about three and a half seconds ahead of third qualifier Jack Ruscilli, of Columbus, Ohio.

Keith Lively, of San Francisco, Calif., posted the fastest time of any class so far this week in his second session run. Lively’s Ralt RT-41 zoomed around the 2.258 mile course in 1:19.953 and remains on top of the Formula Atlantic field. Ben Beasley, of Painesville, Ohio, was quick as well (1:20.821) and is in the second spot, barely holding that position in his Ralt RT-40 as Daniel Selznick, of Phoenix, Ariz., ran a 1:20.837 in his Swift 014.

In the morning’s last qualifier, E Production’s Jon Brakke, of Fargo, N.D., raced his Mazda Miata around the Mid-Ohio course in 1:35.070, tops in the class and an improvement on his Tuesday 1:36.049 mark. Grayson Upchurch, of Alpharetta, Ga., pushed just enough to move into the second spot with a run of 1:35.545, and Dave Lemon, a favorite for Sunday’s race, moved up a spot as well, from fourth to third, improving his time from 1:36.294 to 1:35.840.

The introduction of the 2003 BMW Z4 into Showroom Stock B has proven so far to be very good for Z4 drivers and not so much for the rest of the field. Jim Leithauser, of Westminster, Colo., remains on top of the 46 car class even though he was not as quick as he was on Tuesday as he posted a lap time of 1:44.970, down from the 1:44.656 he ran yesterday. David Nielsen, of Galena, Ohio, and T.C. Kline, of Hilliard, Ohio, remained in the second and third positions, respectively, as neither improved over their initial best runs. Toby Grahovec, of Palos Park, Ill., was second fastest on the road Wednesday in his Acura Integra, running a 1:45.591.

There were no changes in GT4’s top three on Wednesday, with each of the first five drivers recording slower fast lap times than those seen on Tuesday. Keith Grant, of Cordova, Tenn., drove his Nissan 200SX to a time of 1:36.939, about a second and a half off of his best lap overall, 1:35.595. Michael Mazziotti, of Wexford, Penn., sits second still after running a 1:37.592, which was almost two seconds slower than his best time, 1:35.980. Wilson Wright, Jr., of Stockbridge, Mass., stayed pat in the third position after running a 1:38.871, down from his earlier 1:36.985.

Unlike GT4, GT5 saw a complete reshuffling of the top three after qualifying day two. Joe Huffaker, of Petaluma, Calif., guided his Huffaker Mini Cooper to a slight improvement from 1:38.600 to 1:38.580, but that was all he needed to edge ahead of Doug Peterson, of Rescue, Calif., whose 1:38.596 time on Tuesday had been the time to beat. Peterson fell to second position after he was only able to muster a 1:40.321 on Wednesday. Kirk Olson, of Littleton, Colo., made up major ground after some opening day trouble. After posting a 2:21.610
Tuesday, Olson jumped up to third quickest after he punched out a 1:38.625 in his Honda CRX.

Steve Sargis, of Frankfort, Ill., and his Triumph Spitfire lead the F Production class after day two as no one was able to beat his fast lap time of 1:37.470 from Tuesday. Mike Pinney, of Phoenix, Ariz., and Harold Flescher, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., flip-flopped second and third as Pinney shaved off almost a full second his best time down to a 1:38.345, just ahead of Flescher’s day two improvement to 1:38.788.

In H Production, the top two spots remained unchanged as both Robert Weber, of Kingwood, Texas, and Daniel Collishaw, of East Orleans ran nearly identical times in their AH Sprites on Wednesday. Weber’s top time of 1:41.728, which he ran Tuesday, wasn’t in danger as no one in the class was able to break the 1:41 barrier during the second HP qualifying session. Collishaw inched closer, improving his time from 1:42.541 to 1:42.241. Adam Malley, of Conyers, Ga., overtook Tom Feller, of Clarkston, Mich., and moved into the third fastest spot by running a 1:42.467 in his Honda Civic. Feller’s Triumph Spitfire mustered a small improvement from 1:42.668 to 1:42.618, but it wasn’t enough to retain the third spot.

John Phillips III, of Sealy, Texas, took advantage of a large non-improvement by many of Showroom Stock C’s competitors on Wednesday and moved to second quickest behind John Fernandez, of Rochester, Michigan. Phillips improved his Honda Civic’s time to 1:48.483, just 0.330-second behind leader Fernandez. Phillips’ jump bumped Mike Kramer, of Franklin, Tenn., to third position and moved T.C. Kline down to fourth as neither Kramer nor Kline were able to improve upon their day one times.

The Formula 500 top three got a facelift Wednesday. Brian Novak maintained his Novakar J9’s top spot, but only by a scant 0.008-second, as Wesley Wilfong, of Charlotte, N.C., ran a sparkling 1:31.621 in his first qualifying run in his Sidewinder F500 after not taking part in the session on Tuesday. Douglas Marsh, of Eastlake, Ohio, slid his Rocketech R2 into third by cutting his time to 1:31.745 from 1:33.113. His surge meant one driver dropped out of the top three and that driver was Calvin Stewart, of Novi, Mich., who was unable to improve his Tuesday time of 1:31.796.

Justin Pritchard, of Granville, Ohio, holds the top Formula Ford spot after day two. His Piper DF-5 was a bit slower on Wednesday (1:29.746 to 1:28.816 Tuesday), but the same was true for many others in the class meaning Pritchard maintained the top spot. John Larue, of Muncie, Ind. kept his Citation in the mix, holding on to the second qualifier spot with his Tuesday 1:29.485 effort. Thomas Schwietz, of Winchester, Va., moved up to third quickest in his Van Diemen RF-99 after knocking off better than half a second and posting a time of 1:29.709. Jason Byers, of Livonia, Mich., slid to fourth quickest.

Cliff Ebben snatched up the top spot in GT1 Wednesday in his Chevrolet Corvette when he shook off almost a full second from his Tuesday time. His 1:25.676 knocked off Philip Simms, of St. Cloud, Fla., whose Corvette dropped all the way to third as Lew Larimer, of Hayward, Calif., passed him up in his Oldsmobile Cutlass. Larimer improved nearly two seconds from yesterday, running a 1:26.311 compared to 1:28.252 on day one.

A new leaderboard emerged in GT2 as well as the top three spots all changed. David Finch, of Ann Arbor, Mich., came out as the quickest car on Wednesday, running a 1:29.552 in his Porsche 944. William Reid, of Knoxville, Tenn., ran the only other sub-1:30 time in his Toyota Celica (1:29.830) and grabbed the second spot. Duane Davis, of Camas, Wash., who held the top spot prior to the second day, moved down to third even though he cut his top time from 1:32.806 to 1:30.265.

As much movement as there was in the qualifying session prior to, G Production saw no movement in the top three. Kevin Dennis, of Rochester, N.Y., Kent Prather, of Wakarusa, Kan., and Karl McColl, of Arvada, Colo. All three ran slightly slower times Wednesday, but no one behind them ran significantly faster either, meaning that Dennis’ 1:40.873 remains as the top qualifying time.

Stevan Davis, of Powder Springs, Ga., powered his Racers Wage Formula Vee to the class’ only sub-1:39 time (1:39.619) over the first two qualifying sessions and earned the top spot after day two, pushing Steve Oseth, of Leesburg, Va., and his Vortech ride down to second (1:40.051). Brad Stout, of St. Louis, Mo., remained in third in his own Vortech (1:40.244).

In the day two’s final qualifying session, Frederick Baker, of Bedford, Ohio, kept his Porsche Boxter on top of the Touring 2 class as no one was able to top his day one run of 1:39.903. Jordan Sandridge, of Westfield Center, Ohio maintained his second spot, while Stan Wilson, of Mount Juliet, Tenn., overtook Sandridge’s father, Mark, for the third spot, running a 1:40.264 compared to Mark Sandridge’s 1:40.268.

The third and final day of qualifying for the 2003 SCCA National Championship Valvoline Runoffs® starts tomorrow with SSB at 8:00 a.m. For complete results for all classes and live timing and scoring, visit www.scca.com

SCCA PRO RACING® SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE® GT DRIVER BORIS SAID RECEIVES POINT PENALTY

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 17, 2003) – SCCA Pro Racing announced today that Speed World Challenge GT driver Boris Said was penalized five Speed GT Drivers’ Championship points for an on-tack incident during the final lap of the Fry’s Electronics Sports Car Championships GT race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Sept. 7.

Pat diNatale, SCCA Pro Racing Chief Steward, levied the penalty citing Said’s violation of sections 1.7.23.3 and 1.7.23.5 of the SCCA Pro Racing Regulations.

Section 1.7.23.3 states that drivers should avoid contact with other drivers and section 1.7.23.5 addresses how drivers shall give other drivers “racing room” during a race.

For more information on the SCCA Speed World Challenge, visit www.world-challenge.com.

First Day of Valvoline Runoffs® Complete at Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 16, 2003) – It was a day of firsts at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as every class leader, all 24 of them to be exact, set a new course record. Of course, that was because the course being used for the 2003 SCCA National Championship Valvoline Runoffs® was modified by two turns, meaning that a brand new course was in effect and that every top qualifying time was a record. After the morning sessions ended, the afternoon groups took up the task of providing ultimate competition and action for drivers and fans.

In the first afternoon session, G Production started with a bang as Kevin Dennis, of Rochester, N.Y., stormed his way around the 13 turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course as he posted one of two sub 1:41 times. His Nissan 510 posted the top mark with a 1:40.873, which was 0.043-second faster than the time put up by Kent Prather, of Wakarusa, Kansas. In third position currently is Karl McColl, of Arvada, Colo., who turned in a time of 1:41.767 in his Nissan PL510.

Canadian Jacek Mucha, of Laval, Quebec, did absolutely nothing wrong in his first run on the track as he powered his C Sports Racer Ralt JMS to an outstanding 1:22.171, more than four seconds ahead of the second quickest driver, Jeffrey Miller, of Plymouth, Wis., who was driving his Wynnfurst CSR. Jack Ruscilli, of nearby Columbus, Ohio, was a distant third with a time of 1:26.949.

The Formula Atlantic class, which ran concurrently with CSR, saw Keith Lively, of San Francisco, Calif., who is a favorite in the class coming into this week according to SportsCar, backed that support up as he posted the only qualifying time under 1:21 with a 1:20.360 in his Ralt Rt-41. Jacek Mucha sits second in the class with a Ralt RT-40 and a time of 1:21.076, and Tom Nastasi, of Stamford, Conn., drove his Swift 008 to the tune of a 1:21.116 and a current third place position.

Steve Johnson, of Deerfield, N.H., streaked through his ninth and final lap and grabbed the early lead in his SR 71 with the only 1:27 time posted in the class, with a 1:27.733. He bettered Marc Walker, of Oldsmar, Fla., whose Lola 89/90 turned in its best time on the ninth lap (1:28.127), and John Fergus, of Powell, Ohio, who seized the current third position with a 1:28.344 in his Carbir CS2.

A bit of trouble surfaced in the Touring 1/Touring 2 qualifier in the middle of the afternoon session. Approximately 17 minutes into the 20 minute session, the no. 8 T2 car, driven by William Baten, of Indianapolis, Ind., went off course at turn eight, a ninety right, which resulted in a black flag/checkered flag. Baten’s car, a Chevrolet Camaro Z28, had to be towed out of the turn and off the course. In T1, John Heinricy, a large favorite this week, punched ahead of the competition in the 25-car, Corvette dominated class (only 1 car, a BMW driven by Bob Tunnell, of Superior, Colo., sits 17th currently). His 1:34.959 puts him almost approximately eight-tenths ahead of current second-place qualifier Scotty White, of Puyallup, Wash., and 1.5 seconds up on David Roush, of Shelby, Ohio.

In T2, Frederick Baker’s Porsche Boxter leads after day one, barely, after posting a fast lap time of 1:39.903. The Bedford, Ohio native leads Jordan Sandridge, of Westfield Center, Ohio by a meager 0.073-second. The distance between Sandridge’s Pontiac Firebird and another one, driven by his ??? Mark, is only about three-tenths of a second.

Robert Weber, of Kingwood, Texas, turned in the only sub-1:42 time in H Production with a 1:41.541. He leads Daniel Collishaw, of East Orleans, Mass., who turned in a 1:42.541. Both drivers are in an A H Sprite. Tom Feller, of Clarkston, Mich., is third currently, recording a best lap time of 1:42.668 in his Triumph Spitfire.

Formula Vee has had a full year celebrating its 40th birthday party at the Kohler SCCA Chicago Region June Sprints® at Road America this year and the tight battles that have waged within its boundaries this year. The Runoffs are shaping up to be no different. 2002 Valvoline ProVee champion Steve Oseth, of Leesburg, Va., grabbed the early pole by running a time of 1:40.051. His time out did Stevan Davis, of Powder Springs, Ga. (1:40.160), and three-time Runoffs champion Brad Stout, of St. Louis, Missouri (1:40.764). In all, the top five Tuesday qualifiers all posted times under 1:41.

E Production had some excitement of its own as a few cars spun out approaching the carousel. No one at the top of the 47-car class had any problems, including Jon Brakke, of Fargo, N.D., who put in a business-like effort in his Mazda Miata and consistency raised his lap times before posting his best on lap five at 1:36.049. Glen Jung, of Deltona, Fla., came out firing and at the end of the run, his Mazda RX-7 sat in second position with a time of 1:36.215. Grayson Upchurch, of Alpharetta, Ga., held the top spot for a few early laps before falling back and then rebounding, finally ending up in the third slot (1:36.266).

Another SportsCar pick made his way toward the top of the leaderboard after qualifying round one, this time in American Sedan. John Heinricy, of Holly, Mich., turned in a solid 1:38.633 in his Chevrolet Camaro, but the top spot in AS after first day action went to Monte Cowles, of Dumfries, Va., who topped Heinricy by 0.059-second in his Ford Mustang. Csaba Bujdoso, of Canfield, Ohio, who won the Runoffs last year but was disqualified due to an engine rules infraction, is third in his own Camaro.

In D Sports Racer, Mark Jaremko, of Spokane, Wash., exploded from the start and easily took qualifying day one in his Stohr 03D BPS, posting a mark of 1:23.914, almost two full seconds better than Matthew Direnzo, of Medford, N.J., who ran a time of 1:25.805 in his Stohr 03D. Jay Lovett, of Deerfield, Ill., brought his own Stohr DSR02 home in the third slot with a time of 1:26.734.

A couple of Californians made Mid-Ohio their own course in GT5. Doug Peterson, of Rescue, Calif., sped his Mini Cooper S to a time of 1:38.596, besting Joe Huffaker, of Petaluma, Calif., who encouraged his own Mini to turn the only other sub-1:39 time of the class at 1:38.600. Jim Rauck, of Grove City, Ohio, paced his Nissan 200SX to a time of 1:39.667, or about 1.1 seconds behind Peterson.

Justin Pritchard, of Granville, Ohio, jetted out to the lead and has the top spot by over half of a second in Formula Ford when he recorded best lap at 1:28.816. Pritchard’s Piper DF-5 beat out efforts from John Larue, of Muncie, Ind. and his Citation (1:29.485), along with Jason Byers, of Livonia, Mich., whose Van Diemen RF-99 clocked in at 1:30.036.

All 24 classes will be back on the track tomorrow after taking the evening and a bit of the day on Wednesday to adjust cars and plans of attack forthe Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Second rounds of qualifying begin with the FC class set to fire its engines up at 8:00 a.m.

For results from day one or other information concerning the Valvoline Runoffs, visit www.scca.com.

BROADCASTS OF THE SCCA PRO RACING® SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE® TOURING CAR AND GT RACES AT MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA AIR SEPT. 20

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 16, 2003) – The broadcast times for the SCCA Speed World Challenge Touring Car and Speed World Challenge GT Championship Round Eight races as part of the Fry’s Electronics Sports Car Championships Sept. 5-7 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will air at 2:00 p.m. (EDT) and 3:00 p.m. (EDT), respectively, Saturday, Sept. 20 on Speed Channel.

In SCCA Speed Touring Car, Bill Auberlen looks to clinch the Speed World Challenge Touring Car Drivers’ Point Championship Turner. Two-time Mazda Raceway winner Peter Cunningham, who is coming off an emotional win at Road America, is gunning for his second win of 2003 and his third win at Mazda Raceway.

In SCCA Speed GT, Mike Fitzgerald, who has two wins in the last three GT races, looks to return to victory circle for a third time in 2003. Rookie driver Paul Mumford, who is coming off a third-place run at Road America, looks to return to the podium for the second time in as many races.

The SCCA Speed World Challenge Championships are made-for-television series featuring some of the best drivers and production cars in the world, utilizing some of the best aftermarket parts the industry has to offer.

For a full broadcast listing of the SCCA Speed World Challenge and Speed Channel, visit www.speedtv.com. For more information on the SCCA Speed World Challenge, visit www.world-challenge.com.

Date
Class
Round
Time

Saturday, Sept. 20
SCCA Speed Touring Car
Round Eight
2:00 p.m. ET

Saturday, Sept. 20
SCCA Speed GT
Round Eight
3:00 p.m. ET

PASSEN JOINS SCCA PRO RACING® STAFF

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 16, 2003) – SCCA Pro Racing has named Shawn Passen as its Technical Manager of Pro Racing.

Passen joins the SCCA Pro Racing staff after nearly 10 years of building and racing cars. He began his racing career by crewing for a Formula Ford team when he was 17. And, over the past decade, he has been involved in SCCA Club Racing, IMSA, and the Speed World Challenge GT and Touring Car series.

“The experience Shawn adds to our Pro Racing staff will allow us to offer additional assistance and service to our drivers, teams and manufacturers, while utilizing his knowledge to help improve our programs,” said Mitch Wright, Vice President and General Manager of SCCA Pro Racing.

“Having been on the team side of racing for many years, I hope I can bring this insight into the technical department of the series,” Passen said. “I look forward to the challenges and possibilities this new job presents.”

Passen graduated from DeVry University in 1991 with a degree in business. He resides in Lewis Center, Ohio with his a wife, Jill, and children, Max and Olivia. He continues to race competitively, driving a BMW 325is D model car that is prepped with World Challenge trim, while he also continues to build and prep race cars with his father Ron Passen.

2003 CHAMPIONSHIP CLASS FINALIZED AS TIRE RACK SCCA SOLO II NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS END

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 12, 2003) – When the event started Tuesday, over 1100 visions of a national championship shimmered out on the warm tarmac of Forbes Field.

Over the next four days, some of those visions materialized into solid form as trophies were handed out to the first wave of competitors Wednesday night. Thursday saw rain and uncertainty as many drivers tiptoed through puddles, not wanting to end their chances prematurely.

On Friday, the sun reappeared and bathed the pyloned paths with slightly cooler temperatures, coaxing them into allowing drivers the chance to perform at a top level, a championship level. Many took advantage and then took home their vision.

Pat Salerno, of Danbury, Conn., beat out a Super Stock class that was every bit of its name. In his Lorenco Ind. Chevrolet Z06, Salerno turned in a second-run time of 55.829 seconds. With that, his combined time came out to 113.040, just 0.009-second faster than runner-up Chris Ramey, of Katy, Texas. Erik Strelnieks, of Austin, Texas, came into the final day on top of the field, but couldn’t break the 55 second barrier and finished with the bronze, falling short of winning the championship by only 0.014-second.

Matthew Braun, of Farmington Hills, Mich., and Jason Isley, of Avondale, Ariz., battled back and forth all year, so it wasn’t surprising when the two brought their competitive feud to Forbes Field. This week, however, Braun left no doubt who the top A Stock driver was this season, as his PowerPlug Chevrolet Corvette came from second position on Friday and won the AS championship. Isley’s sccaforums.com/Big-O Tires Corvette earned the silver trophy while Rob Falkner, of Clover, S.C., who started the day in first position, finished in third.

In B Stock, one of the larger classes with 60 drivers, regular trophy winner Jason Saini, of Lake Forest, Ill., took control of the field with his second run in his King Motorsports/Moton Honda S2000 Thursday and never looked back. Andrew McKee, of San Jose, Calif., tried to bump Saini at the very end when he sped his A.R.E./Auto RnD/Mid-Atlantic to the only class time under 50 seconds (49.942), but his best effort fell just short, 0.202-second behind Saini.

Ron Bauer, of Renton, Wash., knew Kevin Youngers, of Greeley, Colo., and Shawn Mundis, of Coraopolis, Pa., lurked in wait, hoping that their opportunity would come to pass him. He never let that happen though as he was just fast enough in his Kumho/Bauerspeed Racing Friday to capture the gold. Mundis finished 0.284-second behind Bauer, while Youngers, who was attempting to stretch his 11-event streak of top-two finishes, finished third.

In E Modified, Bill Fleig, of Carmichael, Calif., proved that a champion isn’t made the first day as he jumped from his Thursday fourth position to the win on Friday after motoring his Austin Healey 100/8 through the faster South course with a time of 46.092 seconds, almost nine-tenths faster than eventual runner-up Scott McQueen, of Humble, Texas. Steve Tamandli, of South Bend, Ind., couldn’t find the luck of the Irish and finished third after starting the day on top.

Keith Casey, of Somerset, Mass., began and finished Friday on top of Street Touring X in his Subaru WRX Wagon. His combined time of 115.589 was more than a second faster than Courtney Cormier, of Richmond, Va., who competed in his mini motorsport/KW/Helix Mini Cooper. Billy Brooks was a distant fourth after the first day of action, but used a subpar Friday performance from James Elterman, of St. Louis, Mo., to earn the bronze. Elterman dropped from third to 21st.

The Ladies’ classes had some of their own championship-caliber finishes and performances of their own.

Jennifer Isley, of Irvine, Calif., sat on top of A Stock Ladies after day one, and then had to sweat out a last ditch effort from Kim Bullis, of Lake In The Hills, Ill., in order to claim the win. Her Kumho Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette bested Bullis’ 5 Cams/RAFT Chevrolet ZR1 by 0.227-second, even with Bullis posting the fastest time on Friday by 0.109-second.

Karen Rafferty, of Irwin, Pa., took the wind out of the sails of the other drivers in SS Ladies on day one when she stormed out to a 2.2 second advantage in her Team Triage Chevrolet Z06. On Friday, she left them all stranded again by extending her final advantage to a whopping 3.779 seconds over runner-up Leslie Cohen, of Encinitas, California. Carolyn Feigenspan, of Austin, Texas, finished third.

Patty Tunnell, of Superior, Colo., was even better than Rafferty. In Street Modified Ladies, Tunnell drover her BimmerHaus/Hoosier/H&R BMW M3 to an unbelievable 4.271 second win over Cynthia Jansen, of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and Laurie Hyman, of Austin, Texas, who finished second and third respectively.

The week’s final champions will be honored at a banquet at the Kansas Expocentre Friday evening. All results from this week’s The Tire Rack® SCCA Solo II National Championships can be viewed at www.scca.com.

FIRST CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT TIRE RACK® SCCA® SOLO II NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 10, 2003) – Coffee drinkers everywhere have known for years that given time, the cream they poured into a hot cup of coffee would eventually find its way to the top.

Much the same, as the late August sunshine warmed Forbes Field into the upper 80s Wednesday afternoon, the cream of The Tire Rack® SCCA Solo II National Championships rose to top of their classes and captured the first of many top awards to be handed out this week.

Steve Telehowski, of Novi, Mich., held the C Stock lead after day one and left no doubt on day two as he posted the top time (57.332) on the more technical north course Wednesday in his 1999 Mazda Miata. His combined time was 107.798, 1.643 seconds ahead of silver trophy winner Joe Tharpe, of Marshalltown, Iowa. Darrin Disimo, of Coral Springs, Fla., finished third.

Jeff Cashmore, of New Berlin, Wis., took care of business during the second day and drove his E Stock Inacom Information Systems Toyota MR2 to the ES Championship. Ryan Buetzer, of Seneca, Kan., who started the day in fifth, made a valiant effort to move up the field Wednesday in his Buetzer Family Racing Toyota MR2, but fell just short of Cashmore, 1.080 seconds behind. Paul Brown, of Los Alamos, N.M. finished third.

A couple of northeastern competitors, Mike Johnson, of Rutherford, N.J., and Paul Kozlak, of Harleysville, Pa., battled throughout the first two days of the event, but in the end Johnson, in his Evolution Chevrolet Z-28, held off Kozlak’s Red House Racing Chevrolet 350 IROC-Z. Johnson held the lead over Kozlak after day one and extended his championship-winning lead to 0.366-second.

Sam Strano, of Brookville, Pa., snuck into third with a solid effort on Wednesday.

In H Stock, Mark Chiles, of Rocky Mount, N.C., led a parade of Mini Coopers to the top of the class, his Mini of Charleston Mini Cooper speeding to the top prize by 0.336-second. He beat out Karter Bollmann, of Texas City, Texas, who captured silver in his own Mini. In his Jim’s Detail Shop/MINIUSA.com Mini Cooper, Keith Brown, of Des Moines, Iowa, grabbed the bronze.

Tom Ellam, of Livermore, Calif., jumped out early and grabbed the lead in C Street Prepared and never gave it up on his way to a championship. In his Altamont Technical Sales Mazda RX-3, Ellam had the best time on Tuesday and then held off Tim Aro, of Richmond, Va., who ran the fastest time on Wednesday in his McGeorgeToyota.com/TRD/Pro Toyota MR2 Spyder. After the totals were added, Ellam came out just 0.196-second ahead.

The past 10 days were extremely kind to Mark Daddio, of Beacon Falls, Conn., who won a brand new Mazda6 sport sedan in the Mazda Rev It Up® competition in California, Aug. 31, and then capped off his run by capturing the C Modified class championship by an impressive 0.725-second. Competitive peers shook their heads in unbelief as Daddio drove his Small Fortune Racing Reynard FF 1600 to the win in his first CM National Championship appearance. Gary Godula, of Farmington Hills, Mich., took home the silver trophy and Peter Calhoun, of Westmont, Ill., finished third.

The closest championship final so far this year came today in A Modified, where George Bowland, of Tyron, N.C., squeezed out the win by a minute 0.032-second over Scott Nardin of Grandville, Michigan. After Bowland opened up a 0.129-second lead after day one, Nardin came storming back on Wednesday, but fell an eyelash short of the victory.

In Street Touring, east and west collided as Kenichi Motonishi, of Orange, Calif., bested Chris Shenefield, of Kingston, Pa., by a scant 0.067-second. Motonishi’s HART/Kumho/Jro/GT Honda Civic Si got off to a rough start with a first round DNF on the first run, but rebounded with a day-one best time. Shenefield’s RedShift Motorsports Honda Civic hung in there, but ultimately came up a bit short, giving Shenefield the silver trophy. Kevin McCormick, of Lincoln, Calif., finished third.

The second tier of The Tire Rack® SCCA Solo II National Championships competitors will begin competition after walkthroughs are completed Thursday morning with the event coming to a close Friday afternoon. For complete results, including all women’s finals and all other classes, and schedule information, visit the website at www.scca.com.

KANSAS TOP 10 FINISHERS:
(Name, Hometown, Class, Car, Finish)

NO FORCED INDUCTION FOR SCCA SPEED TOURING CARS IN 2004

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 10, 2003) – SCCA Pro Racing announced today that all SCCA Speed Touring Cars will remain naturally aspirated in 2004.

The decision comes after much debate over whether or not turbo charging and supercharging was a current viable option for the series. At this point, a change will not be made until 2005 at the earliest.

“Next year we are changing the series over to the Toyo RA-1 tires, which will be a pretty big change,” said Aaron Coalwell, Technical Director for SCCA Pro Racing. “Additionally, the majority of current Touring Car teams have asked us to look into reducing the cost of preparing a car. We have decided to focus our energies on those two issues. We feel that trying to introduce forced induction, while introducing a new tire and trying to reduce costs, would overextend our technical resources.”

Currently, Speed World Challenge Touring Cars race on Toyo Proxes T1-S street tires. In 2004, Speed Touring Cars will run on Toyo RA-1 race compound DOT approved tires.

According to Coalwell, it is believed that the introduction of cars with OEM forced induction systems would be a good addition to the Touring Car class, if it is done at the right time.

“If we decide to introduce forced induction into Touring Car at a later date, we may try to run a car or two for no points as a demonstration,” Coalwell said. “Additionally, we would like more time to work with the manufacturers to introduce strong support systems for the cars that would compete with forced induction.”

For more information on the SCCA Speed World Challenge, visit www.world-challenge.com.

SUBARU SWEEPS TOP SPOTS, HAGSTRÖM WINS IN FIRST ATTEMPT ON U.S. SOIL

Olympia, Wash. – Subaru Rally Team USA made it clear before the start of the Wild West International Rally that whoever they named as their second team would be able to make an impact immediately.

Pasi Hagström and co-driver Marko Taskinen, both of Finland, wasted no time in holding their end of the bargain by winning Round Eight of the 2003 SCCA ProRally Championship.

The pair held the lead for almost the length of the rally, the only exception being Special Stage 1, where Team Mitsubishi Motorsports America driver David Higgins, winner of six of eight events this season, held a 20-second advantage. However Higgins, and co-driver Daniel Barritt, were forced to retire shortly into the beginning of SS2 on Saturday after Barritt lost his battle against the flu. Hagström and Taskinen never looked back after that and, working together in a rally competition together for the first time, claimed their first win ever on American soil and Team Subaru’s second win of the season.

“That was the plan for the team, having both cars in the top two,” said Hagström, who turned in a time of 2:05:47. “So we made it and things are good. It’s nice to have a tight rally for everyone, competitors and fans because it keeps it exciting.

“Of course it is not so easy to have a big lead early because it is easy to lose your concentration and make a mistake. This was the first time for us to be together in a rally, but we have done notes for Tommi (Makenen – one of Team Subaru’s World Rally drivers) for about two years now. Marko has been reading the notes for me and we have tested other Subarus together, so we are quite familiar with each other.”

”Pasi is a professional driver,” said Taskinen. “I only had to tell him to back off a little bit when we were ahead at the end. We came here wanting to drive our own rally and not pay attention to other drivers. We were lucky and finished and we learned a lot this trip.”

Team advisor David Campion was visibly pleased with the Finnish effort and his team’s overall performance as Ramana Lagemann and co-driver Michael Orr finished second, posting a time of 2:09:13.

”We wanted to finish the year on a high after the year we’ve had,” said Campion. “It would have been our desire, shall we say, to finish on top. It was a bit disappointing that David (Higgins) retired so early on, it would have been fun to have a fight with him, but we’ll just have to wait for next time.”

Team Mitsubishi driver Lauchlin O’Sullivan and co-driver Christian Edstrom finished with another podium finish in third position (2:11:27), while FIA Group N competitors Shane Mitchell/Paul Donnelly (2:16:56) and Mark Utecht/Jeff Secor (2:19:08) finished fourth and fifth overall, respectively.

The battle for the John Woodner Cup (given to the top overall 2WD driver) intensified during the last stage Sunday. Mopar Performance Parts driver Doug Shepherd, with co-driver Pete Gladysz, charged through the end of the rally, catching both Eric Burmeister and Chris Whiteman during the last stage. Unofficially, if Shepherd finished second in Group 5, as is believed, when points are refigured, Whiteman, Shepherd and Burmeister, all from Michigan, will be tied for the Cup with a trip to the Lake Superior ProRally, in Houghton, Mich., in five weeks.

Complete results of the Wild West Rally will be released as they become available. For other information concerning the Wild West International Rally, visit www.scca.com or www.wildwestrally.com. The season finale is on tap for the 2003 ProRally Championship when the year comes to a close at Houghton, Mich., at the Lake Superior ProRally, Oct. 17-18.

MUMFORD SNAKES HIS WAY TO FIRST-CAREER SPEED GT WIN AT MAZDA RACEWAY

MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 7, 2003) – Paul Mumford, of Yorba Linda, Calif., captured his first-career SCCA Pro Racing Speed World Challenge GT win at the Fry’ Electronics Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. SCCA Speed World Challenge GT point leader Bill Auberlen, of Hermosa Beach, finished second and pole sitter Randy Pobst, of Gainesville, Ga., finished third.

Mumford piloted his No. 23 SP Tools/Magellan Financial Dodge Viper Competition Coupe to victory circle winning by a 0.745-second margin at an average speed of 78.303 mph for the 28-lap, 62.664-mile race. Mumford, who qualified third, passed race leader Pobst on lap three and he never looked back.

“I was gaining on them up in the corkscrew coming down the hill and I filled their mirrors at nine,” Mumford said about trying to run down Pobst and then second-place Michael Galati for the lead. “Which set them up for [turn] 10 and I got a big run out of 10. I went next to him (Pobst) at 11. I don’t think he even saw it coming. And, I got out in front.”

Mumford’s win was the first for a Dodge Viper in Speed GT competition since Bobby Archer’s win at Mosport International Raceway in 2000. It was also the first for the new-generation Viper Competition Coupe.

Auberlen, driving the No. 7 BMW Team PTG BMW M3, started eighth. On lap-13, he was riding 12.060-seconds behind in third, when a full course yellow flag came out for No. 25 Tony Gaples, of Lake Forest, Ill., who hit the tire wall at turn six. On the lap-16 restart, Mumford and Pobst went side-by-side deep into turn one, neither one wanting to lift, Pobst ended up in the turn one gravel, allowing Auberlen to slide into second. Auberlen did his best to run down new race leader Mumford, but the V10 powered Dodge Viper was too much for the light and nimble BMW M3.

“I was hoping Paul [Mumford] would just make any kind of mistake,” Auberlen said. “I watched him make only one mistake, and that was a missed shift. That was the only time I didn’t get pulled away from. He was as solid as could be.”

Pobst had to put his twin-turbo Champion Racing Audi RS 6 to the test, after dropping from second to 11th following the lap-16 restart.

“It [the race] went yellow and bunched the field,” Pobst said describing the restart. “That was the real turning point. I gave it all I had to try to beat him [Mumford] down into one and get the Viper between me and Billy [Auberlen]. And, I failed. I couldn’t get it stopped. I went out and through the dirt and fortunately I had quattro to get me through the gravel. I fell way back. And, actually, I had a really enjoyable and satisfying race from that point to come back from eighth or ninth to third.”

Hans Stuck finished fourth driving the No. 8 BMW Team PTG BMW M3. He was the Sunoco Hard Charger of the Race award winner for advancing seven positions throughout the race. Stuck was also awarded the Remus Power Move of the Race for passes on Galati in turn 11 and BMW Team PTG teammate Boris Said, of Carlsbad, Calif., in turn five.

Auberlen now has a 20-point lead in the Speed GT Drivers’ Championship, with 208 points, followed by Pobst (188 points), Phil McClure (163), Mike Fitzgerald (157) and Hans Stuck (157).

BMW maintains the lead in the Speed GT Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by Racer Magazine, with 50 points, followed by Audi (40 points), Porsche (29) and Chevrolet (27).

The SCCA Speed World Challenge GT and Touring Car Championships next head to Road Atlanta Oct. 15-18 for the Petit Le Mans in Braselton, Ga.

Today’s race will initially air at 3:00 p.m. (EDT) Saturday, Sept. 20 on Speed Channel.

MONTEREY, Calif. – Results from Sunday’s SCCA Pro Racing Speed World Challenge GT Championship Race, part of the Fry’s Electronics Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with finishing position, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car, laps complete, distance behind winner and reason out (if any).

15, (12), Victor Contreras(R), San Juan Puerto Rico, , Porsche 911 Cup, 28, -40.795.

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KANSAS TOP 10 FINISHERS: (Name, Hometown, Class, Car, Finish)

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KANSAS TOP 10 FINISHERS:
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