MONETEREY, Calif., (Oct. 12, 2014) – Cliff White, of Huntsville, Alabama, won the Spec Racer® Ford race at the 2014 SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, by 0.065-second over Mike Miserendino, of Bakersfield, California. It was the closest SRF finish in Runoffs history. T.J. Acker, of Santa Clarita, California, completed the podium at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Starting from the Tire Rack Pole Position, Miserendino held his lead in the No. 11 MBI Racing Spec Racer Ford on the opening lap without issue. Behind him, however, a multi-car incident in Turn Two brought out the first of two full-course caution periods.
On the restart, Miserendino again had no issue holding the lead, but behind him, White was falling behind.
“I was having trouble with my second and third shifts coming out of 11 and Turn Two,” White said. “I missed the second to third shift. T.J. luckily missed me, but it was mostly driver error.”
White was back on it and working his way through the field, fighting with Scott Rettich, Todd Harris and Acker. The battle enabled Miserendino to pull a gap on the field. Once White was by Acker in the Corkscrew on lap five, he set his sights on Miserendino, who had a three-second lead.
“We had a fantastic car,” White said. “We worked on it all week. We knew Mike, T.J. and the guys at MBI were the guys to beat this week. I spent a lot of time doing laps by myself, not in traffic. As soon as I got through fourth, third and second, I was able to get in a rhythm and start chewing away at Mike’s lead. He was the carrot.”
A full-course yellow was exactly what White needed to erase the deficit to Miserendino. Though the two held their positions through the lap 12 restart, White’s No. 58 Cottage Senior Living/Valvoline Spec Racer Ford was filling Miserendino’s mirrors.
Four laps later, White made his move, passing Miserendino in the famed Corkscrew. The pass earned him the GoPro Hero Move of the Race Award.
“The lap before, he got really lose going into Turn Seven,” recalled White. “I was getting pretty good runs out of Turn Six and up the hill. I was showing my nose and I was able to sneak in there a little bit and the car stuck, luckily. He gave me enough racing room like we do up at the front of Spec Racer all the time.”
Miserendino was not letting White get off easy. Though he initially lost ground, Miserendino slowly reeled White back in and made his move to the inside on the last corner of the last lap.
“I moved down a little bit, but I tried to give him as much room as is reasonable,” White said. “I knew he was coming on the inside and that’s the only place you could pass there. I tried to get the car rotated and stomped on the gas. We drag raced down the front straightaway.”
That drag raced ended in a 0.065-second victory for White, the seventh-closest finish in Runoffs history since adopting transponders for scoring. It is the second SRF title for White.
Miserendino never got too comfortable with his lead through the first half of the race, knowing SRF was likely to have at least one more caution before the finish.
“In the back of my mind, I was always worried about that second full-course yellow and then it did come out,” Miserendino said. “That’s racing. It came out and I settled in and Cliff and I had a great end of the race battle going.
“I started to slide a little bit toward the second half of the race. He made a good move into the Corkscrew and was able to squeak by. I hung right there, but bobbled out of 11 on that same lap. He was able to get a good lead. I did my best to reel him back in and got him on the last lap. I sure wish this race was 21 laps!”
Starting third in the No. 62 MBI Racing/Cindescency Spec Racer Ford, Acker advanced to second in the first restart, taking advantage of White’s missed shift.
“I assumed Cliff had some kind of problem,” Acker said. “I found out he missed a shift. That’s what allowed me to get by him. I tried to help my teammate by being as big of a pain in the butt as I could possibly be and stay in front, but he caught up and got by me without much problem.”
From there on, Acker had his hands full with Rettich, John Black and Steve Fogg who all had their eye on the final podium spot.
“It was fairly exciting,” Acker said. “I was having a difficult time getting the car stopped at the bottom of the hill going into Turn Two. Other than that, I thought I was doing pretty well and had the rest of the corners covered. I just had to keep it going straight and get through that corner without getting dive-bombed. Everyone was gracious enough to not do that to me.”
Rettich, of Columbus, Ohio, and Black of Olympic Valley, California ended up completing the top five.
Joseph Wolf, of East Nassau, New York, was awarded the Sunoco Hard Charger, advancing from 35th on the grid to 20th at the finish.
The 51st SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, The Pinnacle of American Motorsports, will crown Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Friday, October 10 through Sunday, October 12. The live broadcast of all 27 National Championship races is available live at SCCA.com, along with live timing and notes. Each race will be on demand at a later date on SpeedcastTV.com. MONTEREY, Calif. -- Provisional results for Sunday’s Spec Racer Ford National Championship at the 51st SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with finish position, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car and laps complete. 1, (2), Cliff White, Huntsville, AL, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 2, (1), Mike Miserendino, Bakersfield, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 3, (3), TJ Acker, Santa Clarita, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 4, (6), Scott Rettich, Columbus, OH, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 5, (7), John Black, Olympic Valley, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 6, (5), Steve Fogg, West Linn, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 7, (8), John Tipton, Lake Oswego, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 8, (17), Perry Richardson, Los Gatos, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 9, (14), Darryl Wills, Houston, TX, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 10, (16), Michael Keller, Napa, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 11, (19), Bill Booth, Cupertino, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 12, (10), Scott Monroe, Seabrook, TX, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 13, (18), Paul Marino, Chatsworth, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 14, (13), Mark Ballengee, Shafter, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 15, (11), Robert Breton, San Francisco, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 16, (24), Mark Vultaggio, Swiftwater, PA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 17, (21), Lee Douglas, Portland, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 18, (22), Michael Boyle, Santa Clara, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 19, (29), Ricky Lee, Murray, UT, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 20, (35), Joseph Wolf, East Nassau, NY, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 21, (28), Paul Goudy, Portland, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 22, (25), Daniel Halloran, Portland, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 23, (27), Tom Miserendino, Los Angeles, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 24, (30), JoJo Saunders, Mill Valley, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 25, (26), Paul Raby, Las Vegas, NV, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 26, (38), Denny Fosdick, Riverside, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 27, (40), Phil Fogg Sr, Tualatin, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 28, (34), David Kay, Los Gatos, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 29, (39), Dan Brooks, Colorado Springs, CO, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 30, (37), Peter Jankovskis, Lisle, IL, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 31, (41), Matias Bonnier, New Albany, OH, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 32, (43), Benjamin Brinn, Lafayette, IN, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 33, (44), Denny Wright, Portland, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 34, (42), Roy Hillenburg, Friendswood, TX, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 20. 35, (32), Matt Gray, Chaska, MN, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 19. 36, (4), Todd Harris, Portland, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 14. 37, (9), Jonathon Allen, Laguna Beach, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 8. 38, (31), Mark Hutchins, Lincoln, NE, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 8. 39, (15), Umberto Milletti, Hillsborough, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 7. 40, (12), Lee Fleming, Lake Forest, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 6. 41, (20), Jonah Rhodehamel, Oakland, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 0. 42, (23), Bob Gardner, Sunnyvale, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 0. 43, (33), Gary Manchester, Portland, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 0. 44, (36), Court Cardinal, Carson City, NV, SCCA Spec Racer Ford, 0. Overall Time: 39:06.815 Average Speed: 68.662 mph Margin of Victory: 0.065-second Fastest Lap: Cliff White, 1:43.800 (77.618 mph) Sunoco Hard Charger: #4 Joseph Wolf Lap leaders: Mike Miserendino, laps 1-15; Cliff White, laps 16-20
2014 SCCA National Championship Runoffs
