MONTEREY, Calif. (October 10, 2014) – Chris Farrell, of Salt Lake City, Utah, proved to be the class of the Prototype 1 field at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs® at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, as he took a flag-to-flag win. Lee Alexander, of Las Vegas, Nevada, finished second, ahead of Jim Devenport, of Modesto, California.
Farrell, in his No. 58 C&M Manufacturing/GDR Engines/Hoosier/Geartro Stohr WF1 Suzuki, put on a dominating performance. Not only did he lead the race from the Tire Rack pole, but Farrell finished with a four-second lead in a race that included one restart at the midway point. The lap-10 restart came after the course was put under a full-course yellow for three laps, which slowed the average race pace to 82.649 mph around the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit.
The full-course yellow was brought out after the No. 32 Rill Tech/Hoosier Speads RS11 Suzuki of Kirk Kindsfater pulled off course at the entrance to Turn Two after catching fire. While the full-course yellow was the last thing that Farrell wanted to see, he was able to make the best of the situation pulling off a masterful restart.
“I was most worried about the start,” Farrell said. “With Lee and Jim having larger engines, I knew that they were going to have the advantage when it came to torque. My car is light and nimble, but their cars are a little more powerful coming out of the turns. In a drag race, I would definitely end up third of the group. Throughout the race there was quite an ebb and flow between the different types of cars.
“When we got the double yellows, I had to figure out a creative way to restart. I was trying to be as devious as I could be. Everyone else’s tires seemed to be a little slick, so I think I had the advantage there. It feels really great to repeat as a National Champion. This win is really gratifying, especially since I was able to beat a couple really great drivers. Lee, Jim and I have raced together for years, and we always have a good time racing each other on track.”
Driving his No. 48 Factory48/APE Raceparts Stohr WF1 Suzuki, Lee Alexander scored his third consecutive Runoffs podium finish after finishing Friday’s race in second. He also captured the GoPro Hero Move of the Race by capturing the fast lap of the race with a time of 1:22.397.
“First off, I want to thank my crew for getting this car put together,” Alexander said. “We haven’t been in the car since April. It’s been sitting in the shop, and with these guys getting the car up to snuff it’s been great. Since I haven’t been here since 2010, I also had to work at getting up to speed.
“I think the race went really well. It took me a while to get past Jim , since he’s so fast and this is just a tough place to pass. Once I got by him, I knew it was going to be a real challenge to catch Chis . So, I’m happy with second.”
In his first visit to the Runoffs, Devenport finished on the podium. He piloted his No. 23 Cranbrook Group Inc. Norma M20FC Honda, to a third place finish in the newly-formed class.
“This podium is a great representation of the new class structure,” Devenport said. “Chris runs the 1,000-pound Stohr with a 1,000cc engine, Lee runs the 1,125-pound Stohr with a 1,600cc engine and I run European prototype that weighs over 1,400 pounds with a Honda car engine, making about 270 horsepower. It’s like the story of the three bears.
“It was a good test and we were able to put on a show with some different types of cars. We just got this car in March, so we’ve been struggling to get up to speed. We ran an older Norma until this year and knew we couldn’t compete with that. If you told me back in March that we would be on the Runoffs podium, I would have taken it. I’m tickled with the experience. I’m 59, and this is my first Runoffs. It’s like a dream come true to get this far and get this thing done.
“We have two SCCA Hall of Famers from Modesto that have won numerous C Sports Racer National Championships. Our goal is to bring a prototype Championship back to Modesto, eventually.”
Christopher Ash, of Centennial, Colorado, recorded his career-best Runoffs finish after moving from Formula 1000. He crossed the under the checkered flag in the fourth position, at the controls of his No. 67 Scanworks Medical/Rilltech Racing Speads RS11 Suzuki.
Completing the top five positions was Dave Tweedlie, of Riverside, California. Driving his No. 65 Team Tweedlie Racing Stohr WF1 Suzuki, this was Tweedlie’s first time to compete in the National Championship event for SCCA Club Racing.
Taking the Sunoco Hard Charger award was John Shine, of Sonoma, California. During the 20-lap race, Shine started sixth and drove his No. 15 LisRobin Farm Stohr WF1 Suzuki to sixth.
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 Friday’s SCCA Prototype 1 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), Chris Farrell, Salt Lake City, UT, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20. 2, (3), Lee Alexander, Las Vegas, NV, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20. 3, (2), Jim Devenport, Modesto, CA, Norma M20FC Honda, 20. 4, (6), Christopher Ash, Centennial, CO, Speads RS11 Suzuki, 20. 5, (7), Dave Tweedlie, Riverside, CA, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20. 6, (12), John Shine, Sonoma, CA, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20. 7, (8), Jeff Lederman, Fremont, CA, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20. 8, (11), Gary Peck, Cherry Valley, IL, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20. 9, (5), Gianpaolo Ciancimino, Coral Springs, FL, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 14. 10, (10), John Manfroy, San Jose, CA, Stohr 01D Suzuki, 12. 11, (9), Brian Hall, Spring Grove, IL, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 11. 12, (4), Kirk Kindsfater, Eaton, CO, Speads RS11 Suzuki, 4.
Overall Time of Race: 32:29.645 Average Race Speed: 82.649 mph Margin of Victory: 4.325 seconds Fastest Race Lap: Lee Alexander, 1:22.397 (97.780 mph) Sunoco Hard Charger: #15 John Shine Lap Leaders: Laps 1-20, Chris Farrell
2014 SCCA National Championship Runoffs
