MONTEREY, Calif. (Oct. 10, 2014) – After a spirited battle with Max Mallinen and Chuck Horn, Jeremy Grenier, of Charles Town, W. Va., broke away from the pack in the closing laps of the Formula F National Championship race to win his first SCCA National Championship Runoffs title. Horn, of Los Gatos, Calif., and Ethan Shippert, of Petaluma, Calif., completed the podium.

Starting second in the No. 21 Ski Motorsports/Hoosier/ELR/KDD Citation Formula F Honda, Grenier, was immediately on the attack, passing the TireRack pole winner Tim Kautz for the lead in Turn Two. The move earned Grenier the GoPro Hero Move of the Race Award. Kautz, the back-to-back defending Formula F Champion was then removed from the equation when he got together with Thomas Merrill in Turn Six. The incident brought out the race’s first of three full-course caution periods.

Grenier could not rest easy, however, as 16-year-old Mallinen nailed the restart and took over the lead in Turn Two. Mallinen led Grenier and Horn until the next full-course caution a few laps later.

History repeated itself again on the ensuing restart, this time with Grenier reclaiming the lead and Horn following him around Mallinen. This green flag period was short lived and almost immediately returned to yellow for two cars getting together in Turn 11.

On the restart, Mallinen was able to get around Horn for second and set his sights back on Grenier. Mallinen chased Grenier hard through slower traffic and may have been pushing too hard when he spun on his own at the top of the Corkscrew with two laps to go. This handed the runner-up spot to Horn, but the gap to Grenier was too large to overcome in the remaining two laps.

Grenier crossed the finish line 5.121 seconds ahead of Horn to claim his first SCCA National Championship Runoffs win, averaging 74.823 mph.

“Max got me on the next restart,” Grenier recalled. “I had the speed on him in the infield stuff, but he was fast on the straight. For the last restart, I think I went around the outside of him, I slid out and got a nice run to Three. After that I was able to get a big enough gap so he couldn’t catch up to me on the straightaway.

“When I went through the Corkscrew and Max didn’t come out the other side, I thought ‘okay, I can slow down just a little bit.’

Horn, too, faced no further challenge for second in the final laps and was ecstatic to finish second in his very first Runoffs.

“I think I caught some lapped traffic at one point and that put me back,” Horn said. “I never really made that up. There was a few corners where it seemed like I’d gain a little bit and others where I’d lose a little bit. At that point I was able to relax a little bit, which is good because this is my first Runoffs.

Mallinen attempted to hold on to a podium after his spin, but ended his race in the Turn 10 gravel with damage. This gave third-place to Ethan Shippert, who finally earned his first Runoffs podium in his sixth start.

“I feel fortunate,” Shippert said. “I got a little gift there on the last lap, but I’ve had a couple races taken away from me that way, so I guess it comes around. It was a great race and really action packed. I couldn’t run with the lead group of guys, but I could hold my own in fourth. I watched them run away, but I seemed to be able to pull away from the next group. “

GT-1 Tire Rack Pole winner Michael Lewis, of Poway, Calif., finished fourth in the No. 12 RedLine Oil/Cyclo Vestal 09F Honda. Alex Kirby, of Signal Hill, Calif., completed the top five in the No. 81 Fast Forward Racing Components Piper DL7 Honda.

Stan Townes, of Santa Clara, Calif., climbed from 25th to 14th and earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award.

Runoffs rookie Mallinen, of Liberty Lake, Wash., set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:32.820 (86.800 mph).

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 Formula F 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), Jeremy Grenier, Charles Town, WV, Citation Formula F Honda, 20. 2, (3), Chuck Horn, Los Gatos, CA, Swift DB6 Honda, 20. 3, (6), Ethan Shippert, Petaluma, CA, Piper DL7 Honda, 20. 4, (9), Michael Lewis, Poway, CA, Vestal 09F Honda, 20. 5, (7), Alex Kirby, Signal Hill, CA, Piper DL7 Honda, 20. 6, (10), Rick Payne, Mission, BC, Van Diemen RF99 Honda, 20. 7, (1), Tim Kautz, Saint Charles, IL, Piper DF3D Honda, 20. 8, (13), Dave Zurlinden, Monterey, CA, Piper DF5 Honda, 20. 9, (16), David Livingston Jr, Nashville, TN, Swift DB6 Ford, 20. 10, (18), Ed Midgley, Geneva, IL, Piper DF05 Honda, 20. 11, (15), Lewis Cooper, Grosse Pointe, MI, Van Diemen RF00 Honda, 20. 12, (12), Edward Erlandson, Burbank, CA, Swift DB6 Honda, 20. 13, (17), Steve Meyer, Longmont, CO, Swift DB6 Honda, 20. 14, (25), Stan Townes, Santa Clara, CA, Swift DB1 Ford, 20. 15, (21), Tom Duncan, Grass Valley, CA, Van Diemen RF98 Ford, 20. 16, (14), David Loken, Littleton, CO, Swift DB1 Honda, 20. 17, (23), Michael Bernstein, San Ramon, CA, Swift DB6 Honda, 20. 18, (19), David Jalen, Alameda, CA, Swift DB1 Ford, 20. 19, (5), Max Mallinen, Liberty Lake, WA, Spectrum 014H Honda, 19. 20, (20), Mark Keller, Snohomish, WA, Piper DF05 Ford, 19. 21, (26), Alan Murray, Monticello, MN, Swift DB1 Ford, 19. 22, (22), Randy Acock, Robstown, TX, Van Diemen RF98 Honda, 19. 23, (11), Bill Kephart, Colorado Springs, CO, Vestial 10F Honda, 17. 24, (4), Thomas Merrill, Spreckels, CA, Piper DL7 Honda, 11. 25, (24), Robert Melvin, Lakewood, CO, Van Diemen 93 Ford, 5. 26, (8), Denny Renfrow, Santa Clara, CA, Piper DL7 Honda, 0.

Overall Time of Race: 35:53.568 (avg. 74.823 mph) Margin of Victory: 05.121 seconds Fastest Race Lap: 1:32.820 (86.800 mph) Sunoco Hard Charger: #6 Stan Townes Lap Leaders: #21 laps 1-3, 9-20; #10 laps 4 – 8  

2014 SCCA National Championship Runoffs