CLUB RACING

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sept. 25, 2009) – Tom Sloe, of Newbury, Ohio, earned his first SCCA National Championship at the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Though he crossed the finish line in second in the American Sedan race, Sloe was later declared the winner, when the car driven by first place Andrew McDermid did not past post-race technical inspection. Brian Wallace, of Newbury, Ohio, and Philip Smith, of New Albany, Ohio, completed the American Sedan podium at Road America.

Starting from the pole in his No. 24 Felice Racing Engines/Hoosier/Lane Ford Mustang, McDermid crossed the finish line side-by-side with second-place starter Sloe, but had the lead firmly in hand by Turn One. McDermid then seemingly set his Mustang to autopilot, as he proceeded to open up a 16.458-second margin of victory over the course of the 13-lap, 52-mile race. McDermid took the checkered flag first, but SCCA technical inspectors took issue with a carburetor modification on his Mustang and disqualified him from the final results per GCR 9.1.6.D.1.A.3.

Sloe had briefly fallen behind Wallace in the opening laps before re-taking second place in his No. 74 Hoosier/Russell Automotive Center Ford Mustang. Sloe battle with his clutch throughout the race, but brought his Mustang home to the finish for his very first SCCA National Championship.

"I thought I had a shot at beating Andy [McDermid] into Turn One, but I missed a shift," Sloe said. "Brian [Wallace] took advantage of that, tucked underneath. We raced around and up the front straight. He tried to give me a block to let me know he was there, but I knew he was there! Then I had to go chase Andy. He’s tough around this place.

"We ended up burning up the clutch halfway through the race. I ran most of the race without a clutch. I did the best I could trying to keep up with Andy, but I think I made the Hoosier tires look bad by not being able to get some good setup time in.

"The clutch was all the way down on the floor. It cooled down and popped back up, but the whole time it was stuck on the floor, I was blipping the gas and double clutching and yanking it with two hands; anything to get it into gear!"

Sloe also set the fastest lap of the race, a 2:29.067 (96.601 mph).

Wallace, who returned to Runoffs competition for the first time since 2005, brought the No. 8 Hoosier/Wallace2Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro home for a second-place finish.

Philip Smith, of New Albany, Ohio, completed the podium in the No. 54 Chevrolet Camaro.

Tom Ellis, of Sunrise, Fla., finished fourth in his No. 51 Averitt/Steeda/Dawson Motorsports Ford Mustang Cobra.

Kenneth Lubash, of Stamford, Conn., completed the top five and took home the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for advancing five positions in the race.

The American Sedan National Championship race will be available on demand at www.speedcasttv.com/scca shortly after the 2009 SCCA National Championship Runoffs concludes.

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