LEXINGTON, Ohio (September 23, 2016) – They’ve done battle on the racetracks at the professional level, and in the SCCA SafeRacer Club Racing program. On Friday at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB on Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Trent Hindman, of Ocean, New Jersey, came out on top of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania’s Andrew Aquilante to take the GT-2 class National Championship in a hard-fought race. Scotty White, of Auburn, Washington, finished third.
Hindman’s No. 70 Trim-Tex/Hoosier Tires/Fall-Line BMW M3 got the jump on the Tire Rack pole sitting No. 33 Phoenix/Hoosier/Hawk/Varsity Chevrolet Corvette of Aquilante at the green flag, and that pass unknowingly turned out to be the story of the race.
Aquilante stalked Hindman throughout the 2.258-mile course, lap after lap, looking for an opportunity to get into the lead. With two laps to go, a spin by Pete Peterson’s No. 98 Valvoline/Peterson Auto/Hoosier Porsche GT3 Cup forced Aaron Quine to spin his No. 69 Hoosier/ECC/Spillfix/DEI Chevrolet Camaro in an evasive action. Unfortunately, it also prevented Quine from restarting, and the stalled car forced a full-course caution, a safety car, and the checkered flag.
Under yellow, Hindman escaped with his first SCCA National Championship, leading each of the 22 laps of the race.
“You knew it was going to be a tough one, you knew it was going to be hot, you knew the cars were going to be tough to hang on to at the end of 40 minutes,” Hindman said. “At the end of the day, I’ll admit we certainly got lucky with that yellow. Andrew was right there the entire time. The Phoenix Performance guys know how to prepare a car, Andrew certainly knows how to drive it. We just got a bit lucky there at the end. It’s not going to happen very often, that’s for sure – I was certainly prepping for a hectic final lap.”
Aquilante narrowly missed his seventh National Championship.
“I told myself before this race, you can’t be too disappointed in second if we do the same thing we did in June,” Aquilante said, referencing a side-by-side battle in the U.S. Majors Tour race. “Other than a little bit of a lack of side by side stuff, we did, and you couldn’t be too disappointed in finishing second to Trent and to Fall-Line. We brought a couple of fast cars, prepped as best as they could be, driven as best as they could be, and that’s the race we got. In terms of big bore excitement, I don’t think you can top that one this weekend. We came up a little short, maybe the only disappointment I could have is the caution and when it fell.”
Though the pair have both seen success in the professional ranks, the SCCA Runoffs still sit as a benchmark for driving.
“It’s a different environment,” Aquilante said. “Even though there isn’t money, the Runoffs – you just want to win. Winning my first was a really big deal. Winning second, third, four, five six – it’s all a big deal. I’ll admit, I was nervous as all hell today, for exactly what happened.”
Hindman’s motivation was doubled by a near miss in 2013, against the same Andrew Aquilante.
“I’m very fortunate that I get to drive multiple championships, and different cars,” Hindman said. “I’m very blessed to do what I do, being given some great opportunities. But after 2013, and staring at the back of that Corvette for 20 minutes, I knew I didn’t want to do it again. Not saying that this is redemption, by any means, but I knew as soon as I got off the track three years ago that I wanted another crack at it. You look at the list of names that have won the Runoffs, you look at the prestige that the Runoffs has, even when it comes to finding rides in the IMSA environment. It’s always a nice thing to have on the resume, that you’ve competed and, fortunately for us, had some success in.”
While Hindman and Aquilante left the field in the dust, Scotty White came out on top of the battle for the final position on the podium. The No. 0 BFG/Knight Transport LLC/Hawk Dodge Viper Competition Coupe put White on the podium for the 5th time in his career, before hopping out of the car and immediately climbing into his Touring 4 machine for his second race of the weekend.
Taz Harvey, driving the No. 88 Dublin Mazda/Hoosier/Motul Mazda RX-8, and Dylan Doherty, in the No. 24 CPR Classic Sales/5 Star/Mobil 1 Porsche GT3 Cup, completed the top five.
Jorge Nazario drove from 16th on the grid to 11th at the finish in the No. 165 Followit.com/Brava Lubricants Chevrolet Corvette to earn the Sunoco Hard Charger during the GT-2 race.
The 53rd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB, the Pinnacle of American Motorsports, crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions this year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, from Friday, September 23 through Sunday, September 25.
While the live broadcast of all 28 National Championships is available live at SCCA.com, each race will be on demand in the coming weeks.
LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Provisional results for Friday’s SCCA GT-2 National Championship at the 53rd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.
1, (2), Trent Hindman, Ocean, NJ, BMW M3 (E46), 22.
2, (1), Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, PA, Chevrolet Corvette, 22.
3, (3), Scotty B White, Auburn, WA, Dodge Viper Comp Coupe, 22.
4, (4), Taz Harvey, Danville, CA, Mazda RX8 GT, 22.
5, (6), Dylan Doherty, Fallbrook, CA, Porsche GT3 Cup, 22.
6, (8), Mark Boden, Winnetka, IL, Porsche Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, 22.
7, (9), Tim Kezman, Franksville, WI, Porsche GT3 Cup, 22.
8, (5), Jonathan Start, Caledonia, MI, Dodge Viper ACR-X, 22.
9, (10), Tom Patton, Hamilton, OH, Sunbeam Tiger, 22.
10, (11), Pete Peterson, Lumberton, NC, Porsche GT3 Cup, 21.
11, (16), Jorge Nazario, San Juan, FL, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 21.
12, (15), Mike Henderson, El Cajon, CA, Dodge Viper, 21.
13, (17), Timothy Gray, Minneapolis, MN, Ford Mustang, 21.
14, (18), Jim Valdez, Denver, CO, BMW M3 (E46), 21.
15, (13), Jerry Onks, Murfreesboro, TN, Chevrolet Corvette, 21.
16, (20), Daniel Harding, Dover, OH, Porsche GT3 Cup, 21.
17, (7), Aaron Quine, Medina, OH, Chevrolet Camaro, 18.
18, (12), Mike McGinley, Overland Park, KS, Chevrolet Corvette, 18.
19, (21), Preston Calvert, Potomac, MD, Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport, 6.
DNS, (14), David Finch, Ann Arbor, MI, Porsche 944, .
DNS, (19), Jack Lewis, Atlanta, GA, Porsche 911, .
Overall Time of Race: 33:25.018
Average Race Speed: 89.193 mph
Margin of Victory: 0.828 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: #33 Aquilante, 1:26.847 (93.599 mph)
Sunoco Hard Charger: #165 Jorge Nazario
Lap Leaders: Lap 1-22, #70 Hindman
Photo: Trent Hindman leads Andrew Aquilante on his way to a title.
Credit: Mark Weber
