TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 18, 2015) – Johnathan Goring, Calvin Stewart and Michael Varacins have been selected as finalists for the 2015 SCCA President’s Cup after their wins at the 2015 SCCA Runoffs® presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway. The winner will be announced at the SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet presented by Mazda during the SCCA National Convention at the South Point Hotel and Casino on the evening of January 23, 2016.
The President’s Cup, presented annually to the driver demonstrating ability, competitiveness and success at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, was originally presented by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954, and has gone to racing legends Roger Penske, Skip Barber, Bobby Rahal, Jim Hall, Paul Newman and more.
“We’re looking forward to adding one of these fine racers to a long list of greats who have won the award,” SCCA President and CEO Lisa Noble said. “Each of them, and several others, have a strong claim to the title. We’ll find out the winner on that Saturday night in Las Vegas when we honor the best this great Club has to offer.”
Goring, of Norfolk, Connecticut, captured the Spec Miata National Championship under the lights at Daytona amidst rapidly changing track conditions. Goring ran the race on Hoosier slicks, taking advantage of the drying track to come from seemingly nowhere to take the lead on the final lap and win by 1.794-second in the No. 118 Alfas Unlimited/Dixon/Rossini Mazda Miata.
Stewart, of Novi, Michigan, captured his first National Championship in Formula 500 by 0.713 seconds in the No. 07 Novarace LLC/Sabbathtruth.com NovaKar Blade F600/Suzuki. Stewart led every lap at the start/finish stripe, but his race up front with Matthew Strand saw a swap for the lead at least once on every lap.
Varacins, of Burlington, Wisconsin, led laps three through 12 in the No. 65 Speed Sport Engineering/Veetech Speed Sport AM-5 before being shuffled back to fifth to start the final lap of the Formula Vee race. Varacins worked back through on the banking to win his fourth National Championship by 0.058-second, and by just 0.152 ahead of fifth.
The winner will be unveiled on the same night that Hubert Brundage, Bob Henderson, Roger Penske, Randy Pobst and Alec Ulmann officially join the SCCA Hall of Fame. Penske, who will be in attendance for the festivities, is the only three-time winner of the President’s Cup.
The Solo Driver of the Year, the SCCA Member of Excellence, the RallyCross Dirty Cup, and the Woolf Barnato Award will also be presented at the SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet presented by Mazda.
The three finalists for the Solo Driver of the Year will be announced this Tuesday, December 22.
The SCCA Convention runs Jan. 21-23, 2016, at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, ending with the SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet presented by Mazda on Saturday night, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Cost of the full Convention is $325 and includes a ticket to the Hall of Fame Banquet. Tickets for the Hall of Fame only are available for $100 each. More information, including registration, information on the special room rates, and a complete schedule can be found at SCCA.com/Convention.
