MONTEREY, Calif. (October 7, 2014) – The first visit to the West Coast in 46 years for the SCCA National Championship Runoffs officially took the green flag on Tuesday with a full day of qualifying sessions, the first step in setting the grids for a week-ending three days of racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Pacific Coast drivers, competing in the Runoffs at home for the first time since Riverside International Raceway in 1968, set fast laps in 12 of the 27 classes on the opening day. The influx of competition showed on the time sheets, as 10 drivers set track qualifying records on the opening day under sunshine.
A Golden State trio swept Spec Miata qualifying, with San Jose’s Mark Drennan leading the way in the No. 10 No Wife No Kids/TFB/Riverbed Mazda Miata in 1:45.482. Brian Ghidinelli, of San Rafael in the No. 12 Race Hero/AMG/Miata Cage Miata, and Kyle Kaiser, of Santa Clara in the No. 88 TFB Miata, followed Drennan by just 0.171 and 0.289-second, respectively.
The Super Touring Lite qualifying, with Berkeley’s Spencer Trenery on the provisional pole in a time of 1:43.238, has five drivers within a half-second margin. Bob Schader (No. 5 MiataCage.com/Hoosier Tire Mazda MX-5), of Longmont, Colo., Jim Drago (No. 2 East Street Racing/SafeRacer Mazda Miata), of Memphis, Tenn., Brian Laughlin (No. 27 Tulsa Radiology/Mazda/Hoosier/JPM Mazda Miata), of Tulsa, Okla., and Cliff Ira (No. 36 Fira Motorsports Acura Integra), of Kansas City, Mo., follow in order.
Each of the 524 drivers on the entry list gets a 20 minute session each day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to set the Tire Rack Pole Position, prior to 20-lap races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Pit Notes: Scott Rettich was the first car on track for the 51st SCCA National Championship Runoffs, leading the Spec Racer Ford class on track at 8:30 a.m. for qualifying… Andy McDermid, driving the No. 24 WeatherTech/Felice Performance Engines Ford Mustang in American Sedan, and Nigel Saurino, driving the No. 57 The Race Shop/Kelley Engines/Hoosier MG Midget in F Production, had bittersweet days on the track. Both set fast laps, but saw their sessions ended early with contact. Both cars should be ready to go by Wednesday’s sessions… Two Runoffs winning cars from the 1980s have returned this year, with Phil Mendelovitz driving the No. 79 Toptech Motorsports Datsun 2000 that Bob Studdard won E Production with in 1987 and had been parked since the 1989 Runoffs. Riley Hopkins has pulled his 1983 Formula Atlantic champion No. 8 Heritage Distillery Ralt RT4/Ford out to compete at this year’s Runoffs… Though not a large class in numbers, eight different makes of cars are represented in the B-Spec field this week – Mazda2, Honda Fit, Mini Cooper, Nissan Versa, Chevrolet Sonic, Kia Rio, Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris.
The SCCA National Championship Runoffs continues on Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. PDT, when qualifying continues. Each class gets another 20-minute session on Wednesday and Thursday to set the grids for the National Championship races. More information can be found at SCCA.com/Runoffs.
Monterey, Calif. - Provisional polesitters following Tuesday’s qualifying sessions at the 51st SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with class: name, hometown, and car.
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: Nigel Saurino, Tulsa, Okla., MG Midget H Production: Steven Hussey, Capitola, Calif., 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: Scott Rettich, Columbus, Ohio, Formula Enterprises/Ford Formula Mazda: Bruce Lawrence, Sanford, N.C., 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: John Black, Olympic Valley, Calif., Nissan 350Z GT-Lite: Joe Huffaker, Petaluma, Calif., Mini Cooper Prototype 1: Chris Farrell, Salt Lake City, Utah, Stohr WF1/Suzuki Protoype 2: Fabian Okonski, Los Gatos, Calif., Stohr 01D/Suzuki Spec Racer Ford: Mike Miserendino, Bakersfield, Calif., Spec Racer Ford Spec Miata: Mark Drennan, San Jose, Calif., Mazda Miata Super Touring Lite: Spencer Trenery, Berkeley, Calif., Acura Integra 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
