MONTEREY, Calif. (October 8, 2014) – Two thirds of qualifying for the SCCA National Championship Runoffs have been completed following Wednesday’s sessions at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and the fight for the Tire Rack pole positions are starting to look a little clearer.
For the second consecutive day, each of the 27 classes battling for National Championships ran a 20-minute qualifying session to help set the grids. The process repeats for the final time on Thursday, at which point the fields will be set for each of the National Championship races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Weather seemed to dictate the opportunity on Wednesday, with many of the morning sessions going quicker and only two classes seeing changes from Tuesday’s provisional polesitters in the afternoon.
The shuffle began in the second session of the morning, when both F Production’s Eric Prill, of Topeka, Kan., and defending H Production Champion Lawrence Loshak, of Grafton, Wis., took over their class top spots. Prill turned a lap of 1:41.062 in the No. 7 MaxtonsFight.org/JPM/Hoosier Mazda Miata, and Loshak laid down a lap of 1:44.219 in the No. 1 ETE Reman/HYPERformance/RWM/Hoosier Honda CRX.
Collin Jackson upended GT-3 in the next session, as the Langley, British Columbia-native posted a time of 1:35.996 in the No. 53 Nissan 240SX to take the provisional pole in his class. The top six drivers in Super Touring Lite managed to go under the existing track record in that class, with Brian Laughlin leading the way in the No. 27 Tulsa Radiology/Mazda/Hoosier/JPM Mazda Miata. Laughlin posted a best time of 1:41.961 as Monday’s quickest, Spencer Trenery, fell all the way to fifth in the No. 8 Fantasy Junction/Top1 Motors Acura Integra.
John Bosso, of Dublin, Calif., slid under the Prototype 2 track record during the morning session in the No. 96 B&B Racing/Red Line Oil/Hoosier Fox RF3/Suzuki, moving around Monday top-qualfier Fabian Okonski by 0.343-second.
Only two of the winged open-wheel cars saw a change in the afternoon.
Robin Shute, of Newark, Calif., posted a time of 1:29.306 in the No.49 RobinShuteRacing.com/Bulldog Motorsports Formula Enterprises/Ford to leapfrog Scott Rettich’s No. 17 Alliance Autosport/PDI Communications Formula Enterprises machine. Rettich is riding a streak of five consecutive pole positions in the class.
Alan McCallum, of Houston, Texas, leaves Wednesday as the Formula Mazda leader. McCallum went around the track in 1:2.482 behind the wheel of the No. 1 Alan McCallum Racing Formula Mazda.
The SCCA National Championship Runoffs continue on Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. PDT, when Tire Rack Pole Positions will be set. Each class gets one final 20-minute session on Thursday to set the grids for the National Championship races. More information, including results, can be found at SCCA.com/Runoffs.
Monterey, Calif. - Provisional polesitters following Wednesday’s qualifying sessions at the 51st SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with class: name, hometown, and car. (* denotes change from yesterday).
American Sedan: Andy McDermid, Howell, Mich., Ford Mustang B-Spec: John Heinricy, Clarkston, Mich., Chevrolet Sonic E Production: Jim Daniels, Germantown, Tenn., Mazda Miata *F Production: Eric Prill, Topeka, Kan., Mazda Miata *H Production: Lawrence Loshak, Grafton, Wis., Honda CRX Formula 500: Brian Novak, Dearborn, Mich., NovaKar J360/Rotax Formula 1000: Larry Vollum, Portland, Ore., Stohr F1000/Kawasaki Formula Atlantic: Michael Mallinen, Liberty Lake, Wash., Swift 016a/Mazda Formula Continental: Robert Allaer, Lithia, Fla., Van Diemen RF02/Ford *Formula Enterprises: Robin Shute, Newark, Calif., Formula Enterprises/Ford *Formula Mazda: Alan McCallum, Houston, Texas, Formula Mazda Formula F: Jeremy Grenier, Charles Town, W.V., Citation/Honda Formula Vee: Michael Varacins, Burlington, Wis., Speed Sport AM-5 GT-1: Michael Lewis, Poway, Calif., Jaguar XKR GT-2: Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., Chevrolet Corvette *GT-3: Collin Jackson, Langley, B.C., Nissan 240SX GT-Lite: Joe Huffaker, Petaluma, Calif., Mini Cooper Prototype 1: Chris Farrell, Salt Lake City, Utah, Stohr WF1/Suzuki *Protoype 2: John Bosso, Dublin, Calif., Fox RF3/Suzuki Spec Racer Ford: Mike Miserendino, Bakersfield, Calif., Spec Racer Ford Spec Miata: Mark Drennan, San Jose, Calif., Mazda Miata *Super Touring Lite: Brian Laughlin, Tulsa, Okla., Mazda Miata Super Touring Under: Rylan Hazelton, Santa Cruz, Calif., Honda S2000 Touring 1: William Brinkop, Merced, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette Touring 2: Kurt Rezzetano, Phoenixville, Pa., Ford Mustang GT Touring 3: Scotty White, Auburn, Wash., Ford Mustang Touring 4: Daniel Bender, Northbrook, Ill., Mazda MX-5
2014 SCCA National Championship Runoffs
