(Edited Sept. 25 to reflect a change in the final results)
LEXINGTON, Ohio (September 24, 2016) – The second day of racing ended Saturday at the 53rd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB with the B-Spec class, which became a display of complete dominance by David Daughtery, of Fortville, Indiana, in the No. 94 Carbotech/Honda/HPD/Hoosier/KTuners Honda Fit.
From the get-go, Tire Rack pole sitter Daughtery jumped to the lead with Chi Ho, of Orlando, Florida, tucked right behind in the No. 07 BFGoodrich/Oreca-gear.com/Ktuner Honda Fit. The two put some space immediately on the rest of the field as a few other competitors tangled at the second turn from the start.
Before the halfway point in the race, Daughtery had pulled away to what would become a 10-second lead at times. He was never pressured and never gave up the top spot, claiming his ninth Runoffs win and first in B-Spec.
“The car was awesome today,” Daughtery said. “Our goal was to go out like gangbusters right off the bat. I figured that would be my strong point because I’d be weaker toward the end.
“Mid-Ohio being Honda’s track, I wanted to come here with Honda to get my first win in a Honda,” Daughtery continued. “And I’m looking forward to next year, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, to doing the same thing.”
After Daughtery pulled away, Ho found himself falling back into the clutches of the chase pack consisting of John Phillips from Sealy, Texas, in the No. 43 PRP/Hoosier/Jacks Paint Place Honda Fit; John Heinricy, from Clarkston, Michigan, in the No. 35 Hoosier/Mobil/Hawk/Matick Chevy Chevrolet Sonic; and Ryan Hall, of New Haven, Connecticut, in the No. 03 IndianSummerRacing/AdvancedMonogram Mini Cooper. For several laps, those four had an exciting battle for the second podium position. Heinricy crossed the finish line in second place, but was relegated to third by the stewards for avoidable contact during the race.
“It was a lot of fun today,” Heinricy said. “There was a lot of racing going on in our pack. Ran as hard as I could pretty much the whole race.”
Ho, crossed the line in third place, but inherited second when Heinricy was demoted. It is his first podium finish in only a second appearance at the national championship.
“It’s an honor to run against these multiple Runoffs champions,” Ho said. “I just tried to be as consistent as possible, hit my marks every time, and hopefully give them a good fight at the end. Third place is good. It’s not the top of the podium, but I’m happy with it.”
Phillips crossed the line in fourth, but was moved to the last finishing position for contact during the race. Darren Seltzer, of Oviedo, Florida, inherited fourth in the No. 64 ORECA/BFGoodrich/KTuner Honda Fit, while Rob Piekarczyk's No. 09 Red E Vodka/HPD/Kryderacing/OTC Honda Fit was elevated to fifth.
Taking the Sunoco Hard Charger award was Jason Huepenbecker, of Winter Park, Florida, in the No. 23 Dynasty Automotive Honda Fit, finishing 7th from his 10th-place grid position.
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 Saturday’s SCCA B-Spec 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, (1), David Daughtery, Fortville, IN, Honda Fit, 22.
2, (2), Chi Ho, orlando , FL, Honda Fit, 22.
3, (4), John Heinricy, Clarkston, MI, Chevrolet Sonic, 22.
4, (6), Darren Seltzer, Oviedo, FL, Honda Fit, 22.
5, (7), Rob Piekarczyk, Brunswick, OH, Honda Fit, 22.
6, (8), Calvin Tam, Long Beach, CA, Honda Fit, 22.
7, (10), Jason Huepenbecker, Winter Park, FL, Honda Fit, 21.
8, (5), Ryan Hall, New Haven, CT, Mini Cooper, 12.
9, (3), John Phillips, Sealy, TX, Honda Fit, 22.
DNS, (9), Ted Sahley, Cleveland, OH, Mazda 2, .
Overall Time of Race: 40:08.415
Average Race Speed: 74.254 mph
Margin of Victory: 8.599 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: John Heinricy, 1:46.930 (80.967 mph)
Sunoco Hard Charger: #23 Jason Huepenbecker
Lap Leaders: Laps 1-22, #94 David Daughtery
Photo: David Daughtery took the B-Spec Runoffs win, his ninth national championship
Credit: Jay Bonvouloir
