PORTLAND, Ore. (July 6, 2014) – The final round of the 2014 SCCA Western Conference Majors Tour is in the books and all championships are decided. Many of those championships were determined in the final races of the series today.
The day opened with Spec Racer Ford. This championship was decided yesterday in favor of local leader Todd Harris of the Pro Drive Racing Team in the No. 24 Pro Drive/Flat Out/HMS SRF. Today’s contest saw past National champion Mike Miserendino in the No. 11 MBI Racing SRF prove his skills by leading several laps. In the end, however, Harris slipped by Miserendino for the checker. Steve Fogg was third in the No. 21 Pro Drive/Flat Out SRF.
The Spec Miata drivers looked ready to repeat Saturday’s race, with Will Schrader’s No. 87 miatacage.com/Midas Miata and Ken Sutherland in the No. 94 miatacage.com/Wyatt Fire Protection Miata starting on the front row. Sutherland emerged victorious despite a strong challenge from Kyle Kaiser of Santa Clara, Calif. in the No. 88 Mazda Miata.
Clement Lee finished eighth in the No. 28 RM Autosports Miata, resulting in a points tie with Sutherland for the season. In the case of a tie, the championship is awarded based on total number of race wins, which allowed Sutherland to claim the title.
“God is great!” Sutherland said. “I’m preparing my car to go to the Runoffs. I’m bringing the same car with the same engine - nothing special. I hope it’s good enough to beat those fast guys down there.”
Group Four included the big-bore GT classes, American Sedan, and Touring 1. The race for the overall lead was between Western Conference champion Michael Von Quilich in the No. 19 apartments247.com Dodge Viper, Steven Streimer in the Lux Performance/Streimer Porsche GT3 Cup, and Matt Crandall in his No. 3 speedsports.net Porsche GT3 Cup. Von Quilich turned up the wick for an early lead, but temperatures were rising in the late morning and Crandall moved ahead for the win.
“Michael is incredibly fast in the straightaway, but Steven (Streimer) and I have a home track advantage here,” Crandall said. “Steve drove a great race, but he got off a little bit. When the Viper’s tires started to go away, I was able to get ahead.”
Collin Jackson won the GT3 class again in the No. 53 Nissan, sealing his Western Conference championship. Ken Davis won in Touring 1, but the Championship went to Marc Hoover in the No. 98 Hooverspeed/NRA/Necksgen Mazda Miata. Kevin Smith reinforced his American Sedan championship in the No. 3 Stacey and Holly Smith Pontiac Firebird with a win.
In Group Five, Chris Farrell secured his championship in the Prototype 1 class driving the No. 58 C&M Mfg/GDR Engines/Hoosier Tire Stohr WF1. Farrell led the race from the pole position to the checker. Wade Carter won Formula Atlantic in the No. 74 Swift, and Zach Crago took the Formula Continental win in his No. 27 Rocky Mountain Medical Lasers Van Diemen. Michael Manning in the Cypress Lane Racing/Auto-Ware/Fast Van Diemen secured the championship in FC with a fourth place finish.
“This year, the focus is on preparing for the Runoffs for sure, but also on winning the Conference,” Manning said. “Our goal this weekend was to clinch the Conference, and the race win yesterday was an added bonus.”
Sunday’s race for Formula 1000 was the last for the Western Conference Majors title, with many drivers running in a concurrent US Formula 1000 West Championship professional series. The pro series will race again in Washington in August at their own event, and count the SCCA National Championship Runoffs in October as the final round of the US F1000 championship.
Larry Vollum repeated Saturday’s win from the pole position in his No. 05 Compview Medical Stohr F1000. But because of the way the season points have added up, Randall Cook claimed the championship after finishing second in the No. 9 Hoosier Tires/Moon Supercycles JDR and John Labrie finished third in the No. 33 Bug and Weed Mart Phoenix. The two ended the Western Conference FB point race with a tie, and Cook was declared the champion by virtue of the greatest number of race wins. Vollum ended up third in Western Conference points.
Scotty B. White jumped to an early T2 lead in the No. 0 BFGoodrich Tires/Knight Transport Ford Mustang and held it throughout the race. David Ray in the No. 30 Hooked on Driving Ford Mustang ran a strong second and claimed the season championship. Russell Peterson was also in the hunt for the championship in his No. 7 Peninsula Equine Ford Shelby GT, finishing third in the race and second in season points.
“I’ve been racing since 1986, but this is the first time I’ve done this,” Ray said. “It’s been a rewarding experience. We’re really proud of the fact that this is a Spec Mustang - a San Francisco Region class, and we want to thank the Club Racing Board for putting us in T2. We’re excited about going to the Runoffs.”
In the hotly contested Super Touring Lite class, Oscar Jackson, Jr. in the No. 16 Dead Horse Racing/Jackson Racing Honda Civic Si won over Clement Lee in the No. 33 RM Autosports Mazda Miata. Going into the race, Jackson trailed Lee by two points in the season championship. Jackson’s win today delivered him the STL Western Conference championship.
In Formula F, Thomas Merrill led the field to the checker in his No. 81 Piper Race Cars/Fast Forward Piper Honda. However, Dave Zurlinden in the No. 131 Pro Pack Systems/Fast Forward Piper Honda claimed the championship with an insurmountable points lead. Dennis Andrade took his second Formula Vee win in two days in the No. 87 D + D Racing Vortech. Jeff Jorgenson took Formula 500 race honors in the No. 84 Veskimo Invader QC-1.
To close out the weekend, Stephen Epperly claimed his second E Production victory of the weekend in his No. 82 ZTherapy, Inc. Datsun 240Z. Lans Stout took a second GT-Lite victory in his No. 6 Loyning’s Engine Service/EFM Nissan. Jess Heitman again drove his No. 47 Maz-Toy Auto Recycling/Jesse Prather Motorsports Mazda Miata unopposed to claim the season championship in F Production. Gordon Jones again drove his No. 25 Mike O’Hara BMW Service BMW 2002 to the race win in H Production.
In Touring 3, Scotty B. White’s No. 0 BFGoodrich Tires/Knight Transport Ford Mustang started the race with a seven point lead over Tom Wickersham in the No. 14 Maine Straight Racing/BFGoodrich Honda S2000. White took the lead at the green flag and never relinquished it to claim the class win and the championship.
With all season championships decided in the Western Conference, the focus for all these drivers now turns to the National Championship Runoffs coming up October 6-12 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
Race results and further information is available at SCCA.com/PortlandMajors.
Portland, Ore. - Provisional race winners for Sunday’s Western Conference Majors Tour Round Twelve at Portland International Raceway. Drivers are listed by Class: name, hometown, and car.
American Sedan: Kevin Smith, Hillsboro, Ore., Pontiac Firebird B-Spec: Kyle Keenan, Vancouver, Wash., Kia Rio E Production: Stephen Epperly, Salem, Ore., Datsun 240Z F Production: Jess Heitman, Portland, Ore., Mazda Miata H Production: Gordon Jones, Tualatin, Ore., BMW 2002 Formula 500: Jeff Jorgenson, San Francisco, Calif., Invader QC-1 Formula 1000: Larry Vollum, Portland, Ore., Stohr F1000 Formula Atlantic: Wade Carter, Seattle, Wash., Swift 14 Formula Continental: Zach Craigo, Englewood, Colo., Van Diemen Formula Enterprises: John Yeatman, Newcastle, Calif., Van Diemen Formula F: Thomas Merrill, Spreckels, Calif., Piper Honda Formula Mazda: Mel Kemper, Toledo, Wash., Formula Mazda Formula Vee: Dennis Andrade, Brush Prairie, Wash., Vortech GT-1: Rob Davis, Sonora, Calif., 1999 Chevrolet GT-2: Matt Crandall, Milwaukie, Ore., Porsche GT3 Cup GT-3: Collin Jackson, Langley, B.C., Nissan 240SX GT-Lite: Lan Stout, Cornelius, Ore., Nissan Prototype 1: Chris Farrell, Salt Lake City, Utah. Stohr WF1 Super Touring Lite: Oscar Jackson, Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif., Honda Civic Super Touring Under: Carl Young, Salinas, Calif., Chevrolet Spec Miata: Ken Sutherland, Sherwood, Ore., Mazda Miata Spec Racer Ford: Todd Harris, Portland, Ore., Spec Racer Ford Touring 1: Ken Davis, Escondido, Calif., Chevrolet Touring 2: Scotty B. White, Auburn, Wash., Ford Mustang Touring 3: Scotty B. White, Auburn, Wash., Ford Mustang Touring 4:Steven Zink, Henderson, Nev., Ford Mustang
Portland International Majors U.S. Majors Tour
