MONTEREY, Calif. (Oct. 11, 2014) – Collin Jackson, of Langley, British Columbia, Canada, extended his perfect record in SCCA National Championship competition, winning the GT-3 Runoffs® race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. John Black, of Olympic Valley, California, and John Goddard, of Lafayette, California, completed the podium.
Driving the No. 53 Nissan 240-SX, Jackson started from the Tire Rack Pole Position and got away cleanly at the start. Black’s No. 17 Murillo Racing Nissan 350Z was never far behind, though, as the duo built a near 40-second gap over third place.
Try as Black might, he never attempted to pass for the lead, and Jackson recorded a 0.938-second victory, averaging 82.777 mph. It was Jackson’s third SCCA National Championship in three tries, joining his 2003 title from Mid-Ohio and his 2006 title from Heartland Park Topeka.
“Today’s run was good,” Jackson said. “It was tighter than I thought it was going to be, but that’s good. I love racing. That’s why I came down here; to have a good race and I did. John gave me a couple of moments to cool my tires and that was critical. I was able to pick it up a bit when he got close. I had something left in the tank.
“I’m so glad (SCCA) brought the Runoffs back out here. We put in so much effort to go east. People were like ‘hey, we’re in the Midwest, what are you complaining about?’ and we were like ‘It’s a five-day drive, man!’ When you work for a living, 21 days off is a huge commitment. So it’s great to have the race here. I ran many years here in the old SCCA NASPORT semi-pro series and we had some barnburners in the old days. This place just has really great memories for me.”
Jackson also turned the race’s fastest lap, with a 1:36.002 (83.923 mph).
Black, who has three gold medals of his own, earned his fifth-career silver medal after starting on the outside of the front row.
“I thought I’d have a little more car to battle with Collin, but I had a problem in that the dash and data system we lost on Thursday and we never got it fixed again,” Black said. “I was out there trying to just feel where to make my shifts. I think I was doing a pretty good job at it, but I think a lot of them were a little too early or a little too late.
“The tires were pretty consistent the whole time. I think we were just trying to manage how badly we were sliding around at the end. I made three mistakes that allowed him to cool his tires a little bit more than me because I had to chase him down. In the end, there was just nothing left.”
Goddard started fifth, but moved around John Olsen on lap six to take third. After being dogged by Mike Henderson for several laps, he was able to pull away to a comfortable cushion over fourth place for his second podium finish in his first Runoffs appearance since 1993.
“Mike Henderson was pushing me pretty hard for three or four laps, and I made a pretty big mistake,” Goddard said. “I hit the inside curb at Turn Six and bent the left front wheel pretty bad. When I saw it, I was pretty surprised we finished. I settled down there a little bit and put in two or three good laps. He kind of faded back and then Olsen and Henderson and Bockman were battling pretty hard back there. That was like Christmas for me.”
Dave Humphrey, of Langley, B.C., Canada, finished fourth in his No. 73 BM&M Screen Solutions Nissan 240-SX, earning the GoPro Hero Move of the Race for his passes for fifth in Turn 11 and fourth in the Corkscrew.
Olsen, of Monterey, California, finished fifth in his No. 61 Range Realty/Tarpy’s/int.Corp Mgt. Nissan 240SX.
Scott Graham, of Irvine, California, earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for advancing four positions in his No. 6 SCOS Orthopedics Mazda RX-7.
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 Saturday’s SCCA GT-3 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, (1), Collin Jackson, Langley, BC, Nissan 240-SX, 20. 2, (2), John Black, Olympic Valley, CA, Nissan 350Z, 20. 3, (5), John Goddard, Lafayette, CA, Nissan 240-SX, 20. 4, (6), Dave Humphrey, Langley, BC, Nissan 240-SX, 20. 5, (3), John Olsen, Monterey, CA, Nissan 240-SX, 20. 6, (7), Gary Bockman, Portland, OR, Mazda RX-3, 20. 7, (4), Mike Henderson, Alpine, CA, Mazda RX-7, 20. 8, (12), Scott Graham, Irvine, CA, Mazda RX-7, 20. 9, (10), Guy Laidig, Woodside, CA, Mazda RX-7, 20. 10, (9), Wolfgang Maike, Santa Barbara, CA, Toyota Paseo, 19. 11, (8), Jose Rodriguez, San Leandro, CA, Mazda RX-7, 19. 12, (14), Mark Weimer, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, Nissan Sentra SER Spec V, 18. 13, (15), Bud Reichard, Seattle, WA, Mazda RX-7, 5. 14, (13), Rob Warkocki, Frankfort, IL, Mazda RX-8, 2. DNS, (11), Larry Hansen, Redding, CA, Nissan 350Z.
Overall Time of Race: 32:26.626 Average Race Speed: 82.777 mph Margin of Victory: 0.938-second Fastest Race Lap: Collin Jackson, 1:36.002 (83.923 mph) Sunoco Hard Charger: #6 Scott Graham Lap Leaders: Laps 1-20, Collin Jackson
2014 SCCA National Championship Runoffs
