DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 27, 2015) – First, Greg Ira finished second three years in a row at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Garmin VIRB. Then, when he finally won in 2013, he finished second on the track and was awarded the victory following a steward’s decision. Finally, on Sunday at Daytona International Speedway, Ira, from Plantation, Florida, got to enjoy the spoils that come with an on-track win.
Joined during the podium ceremonies by second and third place finishers Jeffrey Cripe, of Sarasota, Florida, and Aaron Downey, of Rossmoor, California, Ira’s crew members piled into the trunk of the No. 2 Z Trix/CU Yacht Charters Datsun 240Z for the victory lap.
It almost didn’t happen, as Kip Van Steenburg’s No. 4 German Excellence Porsche 944 led by 10 seconds coming through the bus stop on his way to the white flag. A broken brake line forced him to pit lane a lap shy of the finish, however, and Ira had the checkered flag in hand by 19.881 seconds, averaging 100.051 mph for the 14 lap race.
“It’s awesome,” Ira said. “It’s super sweet. It’s great to be here with the family contingent that we’ve got in. Since Cliff and I are both racing, we’ve got people from all over the United States that are here with us and hanging out. To show them this kind of racing, they’re probably a little bit spoiled for it to be their first race.”
Ira had already shaken loose of the No. 63 Hoosier/King Motorsports Honda Prelude of Joe Moser, who eventually fell out of the race with a mechanical issue on lap eight.
“He had a little bit less top speed, better brakes, and he was going around the corners a little bit better,” Ira said of Moser. “He could really get through the chicane like nobody’s business in that front driver. It was like it didn’t matter how much dirt was on it. If I was close to him, I could drag him past the finish line, so I had him all sized up if it went that far. But at one point he missed a mark, and I got out, and I don’t think he was going to catch me from where we were.”
Cripe’s No. 96 German Cars/Active Autowerke BMW 328i put himself in a big hole, breaking his gear shift knob in Turn Two just after the green and spinning. Cripe, who started fourth, fell deep in the field and was 14th the first time by the stripe. Shifting with only a small peg, the BMW moved to 10th after lap two, and climbed through the top five from lap seven to 14.
Cripe also brushed the wall coming onto the banking in Turn Six, into NASCAR turn one, but didn’t slow.
“It’s not a bad finish to an awful start,” Cripe said. “I had a few issues when I went into Turn Two. My shifter broke off, I grabbed the wrong gear, and I spun out. I came back on the track and just figured I was going to be in traffic and started reeling people in. I tried to keep from making mistakes and eventually made it back to second place. I don’t know how far back I was when I spun, but I don’t think I or the car had another lap left in us.”
Downey’s No. 5 RoundPeg/Mazda/Hoosier/Carbotech Mazda RX-3 battled with Cripe and Lee’s Kevin Leigh’s No. 97 Hoosier/Carbotech/JBS Racing BMW Z3 throughout the race, pushing as hard as he could for his third podium finish in a row, at three different tracks (Road America, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and now Daytona).
“It’s been a long week,” Downey said. “When we heard the race was going to be at Daytona, we thought we might have a pretty good car, because we’ve always been fast at the high end. After the first qualifying session, I started to rethink that. I thought, man, I think we have a fourth to sixth place car. But after watching the races all weekend, that attrition was very high, I was going to just hit all my points and push as hard as I could and go 10 tenths and see where the car climbed, and third place is where it left me. I’m surprised, honestly. I’m tickled to death, I can’t believe we continue to drive this 1976 Mazda to the podium year after year after year.”
Leigh hung on for fourth, followed by Lance Loughman’s No. 20 5:01 Motorsports Datsun 240Z. Toby Grahovec was the Sunoco Hard Charger, climbing from 29th on the grid to 15th in the No. 24 Classic BMW/Hoosier/Carbotech BMW Z4.
The 52nd SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, The Pinnacle of American Motorsports, crowned Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions at Daytona International Speedway, Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27.
While the live broadcast of all 27 National Championship were available live at SCCA.com, each race will be on demand in the coming weeks.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Provisional results for Sunday’s SCCA E Production National Championship race 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), Greg Ira, Plantation, FL, Datsun 240z, 14.
2, (4), Jeffrey Cripe, Sarasota, FL, BMW 328iS, 14.
3, (6), Aaron Downey, Rossmoor, CA, Mazda RX3, 14.
4, (5), Kevin Leigh, Harrisonburg, VA, BMW Z3, 14.
5, (13), Lance Loughman, Lake Zurich, IL, Datsun 240z, 14.
6, (8), Jamie Blust, Castle Pines, CO, Mazda RX-7 Convertible, 14.
7, (10), Don Bunt, Rockford, IL, Datsun 240z, 14.
8, (14), Darryl Pritchett, Daytona Beach, FL, BMW Z3, 14.
9, (9), D. P. Karably, Earleton, FL, BMW Z3, 14.
10, (17), Charles Coker, Bluffton, SC, Porsche 944 S2, 14.
11, (16), Casey Gunnell, Ponte Vedra, FL, Toyota Celica, 14.
12, (15), Breton Williams, Clinton, IA, Mazda MX-5, 14.
13, (23), Steve Smyczek, New Berlin, WI, Mazda RX-7, 14.
14, (19), Paul Pineider, Colleyville, TX, Mazda RX-7, 14.
15, (29), Toby Grahovec, Little Elm, TX, BMW Z4 2.5I, 14.
16, (18), Jonathan Leitner, Shelburne Falls, MA, BMW 325i, 14.
17, (21), Garry DeLea, Essex, CT, Mazda Miata, 14.
18, (20), Darren Rackley, Valdosta, GA, Mazda RX-7, 13.
19, (24), Don Walsh, Orrtanna, PA, Mazda RX-7 GXL, 13.
20, (27), Michael Cooke, Greensboro, NC, Mazda RX-7 Roadster, 13.
21, (22), Guy Ruse, Boulder, CO, Mazda RX-7, 13.
22, (1), Kip Van Steenburg, New Smyrna Beach, FL, Porsche 944 S2 Coupe, 12.
23, (26), James Irvin, Tallahassee, FL, Mazda RX-7, 12.
24, (28), Dwight Cooke, Greensboro, NC, Triumph TR4, 11.
25, (3), Joe Moser, Wilmette, IL, Mazda RX-8, 7.
26, (7), Matt Reynolds, Boerne, TX, Mazda Miata, 7.
27, (25), Tony Jimerson, Benicia, CA, Mazda RX-7, 6.
28, (12), Brad McCall, Boca Raton, FL, Toyota Celica, 1.
DNS, (11), Eric Powell, Orlando, FL, Porsche 924S, .
Length of Race: 50 miles
Overall Time of Race: 29:53.321
Margin of Victory: 19.881 seconds
Average Speed: 102.554 mph
Fastest Race Lap: #4 Van Steenburg, 2:05.109 (102.439 mph)
Lap Leaders: #4 Van Steenburg, laps 1-12; #2 Ira, laps 13-14
Sunoco Hard Charger: #24 Toby Grahovec
Image: Greg Ira takes a victory lap with his crew hanging on in the trunk after claiming his second SCCA National Championship at Daytona International Speedway.
Credit: Mark Weber
