DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 26, 2014) – Andrew McDermid, of Howell, Michigan, checked out from the American Sedan pack and scored his seventh SCCA National Championship at the 52nd Runoffs Presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway. John Heinricy, of Clarkston, Michigan, and Philip Smith, of New Albany, Ohio, completed the podium.
McDermid enjoyed a relatively drama-free race behind the wheel of the No. 24 Weather Tech/Lane Automotive/Hoosier Ford Mustang. He lost some ground off the start as Tom Sloe, the Tire Rack polesitter, was able to win the drag race to Turn One. However, McDermid kept pushing Sloe, in the No. 156 Hutter Race Engines/Hoosier, and was able to get around Sloe in Turn three, on the second lap. From there, McDermid cruised as the rest of the field battled for each remaining position at the 3.56-mile, 12-turn circuit.
In addition to winning the National Championship, McDermid claimed his first career Super Sweep and second at this year’s Runoffs.
“It was a good start,” McDermid said. “I got jumped on the start by Ed and Mr. Sloe was able to outdrive us into the first turn. We tried to file in so we could start getting into a rhythm, right away. The first couple laps were a little dicey, but I was able to clear those guys and that was it. Everything ran perfectly on the car.
“It feels good. We have an all-volunteer crew that comes over after work to money with the car. Obviously we did well, and it’s just really gratifying from that standpoint. It’s great to have the same group of friends for the last 20 years where this is our game. I’m a dealership technician and we make this happen after hours.”
Heinricy, in his No. 55 Hoosier/Hawk/Mobil 1 Pontiac Firebird, had to forfeit his third-place starting position because he had a crew member working on the car while field was being released. Starting from the back of the field, Heinricy showed the driving skills that have allowed him to win multiple SCCA National Club Racing Championships.
“We were sitting on the grid, and knew about the quick three that is supposed to speed things up a bit,” Heinricy said. “One of my crew guys was in the car turning one of our cameras on when the cars began to roll. As soon as the cars started rolling, they said I couldn’t go with someone in the car, so I got put to the back of the grid. That’s the rule and we just got caught out.
“It was just plain old endurance driving. You have to pick your spots and keep your momentum up. Sometimes, you have to stick your nose somewhere that you’re not sure about, but that’s part of the game. Everyone was pretty cool. I had one bit of contact through the International Horseshoe with Jim Wheeler, and that was it. We barely kissed. We were going three wide through that area of the track, which just shows the hard racing that was going on out there. I just kept my head down and ran as hard as possible. I was able to get by Ed and Phil , as he was sitting sideways off the track. Everything about the car was great. We had some driveline issues early in the week, but we were able to solve that.”
Smith crossed the finish line in third, but it was not as easy as that. Smith was seemingly doing battle with someone on just about every lap. Daniel Richardson (No. 15 Hoosier/Auto Gear/Hayworth Brakes Chevrolet Camaro) and Ed Hosni (No. 13 Hoosier/Lasco Ford Ford Mustang) were the two main combatants. The theme of battling through also applied to the rest of the week as Smith and his crew had to rectify issues deep within the engine.
“From the opening lap, I was racing hard with Ed Hosni,” Smith said. “He was quick in his Mustang. I wanted to get up to Any and Tom , but they were clearly the pick of the litter this week. I just kept battling throughout the entire race. Eventually, the car just started to go away in the International Horseshoe. I had to slow down, painfully so, to get to the apex of the turn. At one point when I turned in I saw Ed locked up in my rear view mirror and we just spun the car around. Luckily, I was able to get it refired right away, shock of all shocks. I got it fired up, did a half doughnut, and kept going.
“Luckily I only lost a couple positions to John and Danny . From there it was off to the races. The car was good, but there is just a lot of stress on the gearbox. I modified my driving a bit by using a double-clutch downshift.”
Completing the top five positions were Hosni and Bill Baten, in the No. 8 Van Winkle Bate/MarksADR/Hoosier Chevrolet Camaro, respectively.
Cheyne Daggett was the Sunoco Hart Charger, at the wheel of the No. 4 Pitch Fork Ag/ASM/Carbotech Ford Mustang, gaining nine positions from the 21st grid position.
The 52nd SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, The Pinnacle of American Motorsports, will crown Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions at Daytona International Speedway, Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27.
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.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Provisional results for Saturday’s SCCA American Sedan National Championship at the 52nd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.
1, (2), Andy McDermid, Howell, MI, Ford Mustang, 14.
2, (3), John Heinricy, Clarkston, MI, Pontiac Firebird, 14.
3, (4), Philip Smith, New Albany, OH, Chevrolet Camaro, 14.
4, (5), Ed Hosni, Hilliard, OH, Ford Mustang, 14.
5, (10), Bill Baten, Indianapolis, IN, Chevrolet Camaro, 14.
6, (1), Tom Sloe, Novelty, OH, Ford Mustang GT, 14.
7, (8), Scott Sanda, Western Springs, IL, Cadillac CTS-V, 14.
8, (14), Beth Aquilante, Alexandria, VA, Pontiac Firebird, 14.
9, (6), Daniel Richardson, Rockville, MD, Chevrolet Camaro, 14.
10, (7), Amy Aquilante, Phoenixville, PA, Pontiac Firebird, 14.
11, (19), Kelly Lubash, Stamford, CT, Chevrolet Camaro, 14.
12, (21), Cheyne Daggett, Warrenton, VA, Ford Mustang GT Coupe, 14.
13, (16), Jerry Post, Sunset, SC, Chevrolet Camaro, 14.
14, (9), Jim Wheeler, Lenexa, KS, Pontiac Trans Am GTA, 13.
15, (20), Mark Wheaton, Easthampton, MA, Ford Mustang, 13.
16, (13), Christopher Qualls, Los Angeles, CA, Ford Mustang Cobra, 13.
17, (11), Tom Ellis, Sunrise, FL, Ford Mustang Cobra, 12.
18, (18), Andrew Wilkin, Apopka, FL, Ford Mustang, 12.
19, (12), B. Thomas Himes, Slidell, LA, Ford Mustang 5.0, 8.
20, (17), W. John Floyd, Temple Terrace, FL, Ford Mustang GT, 0.
DNS, (15), Robert Eubanks, Jacksonville, FL, Ford Mustang, .
DNS, (22), Matthew Naegle, Phoenixville, PA, Chevrolet Camaro, .
Overall Time of Race: 28:57.951
Average Race Speed: 103.239 mph
Margin of Victory: 20.459 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: Andy McDermid, 2:02.922 (104.261 mph)
Sunoco Hard Charger: #4,Cheyne Daggett
Lap Leaders: Lap 1, Tom Sloe; Lap 2-14, Andy McDermid
Image: Andy McDermid drove to his seventh SCCA National Championship at the Runoffs Presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway.
Credit: Mark Weber
