Kevin Roggenbuck Wins Formula 1000 National Championship in the SCCA Runoffs at Mid-Ohio

LEXINGTON, Ohio (September 24, 2016) – Kevin Roggenbuck, of Woodinville, Washington, ran in the lead pack from the drop of the green flag in his No. 12 Lake Union Sea Ray Firman RFR F1000 Kawasaki and survived a race several other top contenders didn’t to win Saturday’s Formula 1000 race in the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Jeremy Hill, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, finished second in the No. 00 Hoosier Tire Photon VD07 Suzuki, and Nico Vardis, of Sylvan Lake, Michigan, recovered from a pair of spins to finish third in his No. 08 Hoosier JDR F1000 Kawasaki.

Roggenbuck jumped from fourth on the grid to third at the race start and moved to second a lap later when Tire Rack pole-sitter Alex Mayer crashed out exiting turn one. Mayer was uninjured in the incident.

“My goal was to be as consistent as I could because I knew some of the guys were going out on harder compound tires,” Roggenbuck said. “I was on the softer tires and I just had to hold it together. I was slipping and sliding around just trying to stay ahead of guys. I was pushing as hard as I could.”

Vardis passed Roggenbuck for second on lap six but gave the eventual race winner the position back, one lap later, when he spun in Mid-Ohio’s Carousel.

“When I was in second place my crew chief was telling me on the radio to ‘take it easy, be cool,’ and right then and there I went down too many gears coming into the Carousel and the rear end came around,” Vardis said. “When something happens like that your blood pressure goes up. Unfortunately, I was pushing it too hard and I spun again. I wish I would have had a cleaner run, but that’s OK, I got on the podium and I am pretty happy about that.”

Roggenbuck then inherited a lead he wouldn’t lose on lap 16 when race leader JR Obsorne slowed on course with mechanical issues and retired.

Once up front, Roggenbuck quickly felt the pressure of a fast-closing Hill, but a late-race full-course caution period brought the race to a close three laps early.

“Absolutely, I was planning on making a run on the lead,” said Hill, who set the fastest lap of the race. “I could tell he was starting to slip and slide. I started on the harder compound tires, so I knew I was going to be a sitting duck at the start, but then the race was coming to me. It was kind of working out, and with those couple of more laps, I think I would have had him.”

Roggenbuck’s National Championship came in his second Runoffs start and made up for a DNF after starting second in his debut at Daytona last year.

“There is no question there is a lot of luck in this game,” Roggenbuck said. “Last year I had some bad luck, this year I had some good luck, so I guess at some level I have to be very happy with that.”

Fourth place went to John LaBrie, of Draper, Utah, and Joel Haas, of Jupiter, Florida, finished fifth. Haas made it through a wheel-to-wheel contact incident on lap 17 with Peter Frost, whose damaged car stranded in the esses brought out the full course caution that led to the early end of the race.

LaBrie was awarded the Sunoco Hard Charger award for improving a race-high four positions from his eighth-place starting position in the No. 33 Bug & Weed Mart Phoenix F1K12 Suzuki.

The 53rd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB, the Pinnacle of American Motorsports, crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions this year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, from Friday, September 23 through Sunday, September 25.

While the live broadcast of all 28 National Championships is available live at SCCA.com, each race will be on demand in the coming weeks.

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Provisional results for Saturday’s Formula 1000 race at the 53rd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.

1, (4), Kevin Roggenbuck, Woodinville, WA, Firman RFR 1000 Kawasaki, 20.
2, (2), Jeremy Hill, Toronto, ON, Photon VD07 Suzuki, 20.
3, (5), Nicholas Vardis, Sylvan Lake, MI, JDR F1000 Suzuki, 20.
4, (8), John LaBrie, Draper, UT, Phoenix F1K12 Suzuki, 20.
5, (7), Joel Haas, Jupiter, FL, Piper DF-5 Kawasaki, 20.
6, (10), David O'Leary, Cranberry Twp, PA, Mygale SJ04 Suzuki, 19.
7, (9), Peter Frost, Douglasville, GA, Phoenix F-1000 Suzuki, 17.
8, (3), J R Osborne, Englewood, CO, Ralph Firman RFR F1000 Kawasaki, 16.
9, (6), Glenn Cooper, Roswell, GA, Stohr F1000 Kawasaki, 10.
10, (1), Alex Mayer, Harleysville, PA, JDR 2014 Suzuki, 1.

Length of Race: 45 miles
Overall Time of Race: 28:06.886
Average Speed: 96.376 mph
Margin of Victory: Race ended under caution
Fastest Race Lap: No. 00 Hill 1:21.015 (100.337 mph)
Lap Leaders: No. 83, laps 1 –15, No. 12, laps 16 -20
Sunoco Hard Charger: No. 33 John LaBrie

Image: Kevin Roggenbuck won Saturday’s Formula 1000 race at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Credit: Shawn Lumley