This article first appeared in the December, 2016 edition of SportsCar Magazine. SCCA members can read the current and past editions of SportCar digitally here after logging into their account; To become an SCCA member and get SportsCar mailed to your home address monthly in addition to the digital editions, click here.
When Derek Kulach drove his Nissan 350Z across the finish line to win the Touring 3 race at the 2016 SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB, it was his first Runoffs victory – but that checkered flag also marked the 100th SCCA Runoffs win for Nissan, making Nissan the first automaker in SCCA history to achieve such an incredible landmark. While the victories are a great achievement in and of themselves, the path to get there is every bit as intriguing.
Nissan arrived in America with the Datsun brand in 1958 and spent several years setting up a small dealer network. It wasn't until the early 1960s that racing became part of Datsun's marketing program. Bob Sharp started racing a Datsun at the SCCA Runoffs in 1964, and delivered the brand's first championship in 1967.
"The local Rambler/Datsun dealer was going to race a 1500 G Production Fairlady and they were looking for a driver," Sharp recalls. "Nissan gave us a little bit of support to go to the Runoffs at Riverside. Then I called Nissan and made a proposal to run a Nissan racing team out of Connecticut. We had a G Production and an F Production car, and that led to the 2-liter Datsun and the Z cars."
In all, Sharp would personally claim six National Club Racing championships and seven more podium finishes for Nissan between 1967 and 1975, driving Datsun Roadsters and then 240Z, 510, and 280Z models. In the course of his career as a driver, Sharp built a racing organization that went on to compete at the Club and professional level for many years, employing notable drivers including Sam Posey and Paul Newman (pictured).
"I got asked to take Paul Newman around for a couple laps at Lime Rock," Sharp says. "Then he came into the dealership and said he really wanted to be a racecar driver. He wanted a Z car, but I told him to start out in the 510 to learn to drive. It was a wonderful relationship. We went racing 15 weekends a year for 20 years and we had a ton of fun."
Newman went on to win three SCCA National Championships driving a 280ZX in C Production (1979) and a 300ZX in GT-1 (1985-'86). Another driver to achieve success through Bob Sharp's racing team is his son, Scott. The younger Sharp earned three SCCA National Championships out of four starts in 1986-'88, driving his dad's GT-2 280Z and GT-1 300ZX cars before moving on to a professional racing career.
"I ended up pulling a 280Z out of my basement and warming over the engine," Sharp tells SportsCar. "Scott went to driver's school, then won seven out of his 10 races and won the Runoffs that year."
While Sharp was winning championships from the East Coast, Peter Brock and Jack Scoville started racing Datsuns on the West Coast. Scoville took his championship in D Production in 1969 as a privateer effort, even as Brock was pitching Nissan on a more organized plan. "I went down to Nissan and walked in cold. I told them what I wanted to do," Brock says.
After some background work, Nissan sent Brock two Datsun 2000 Roadsters and enough money to run the 1968 season. "We won the Pacific division championship with those cars," Brock recalls.
Nissan renewed its support for Brock Racing Enterprises in 1969, and the team sent the two Roadsters to the SCCA Runoffs. John Morton and Frank Monise were the drivers.
"We had the pole at the Runoffs," Morton recalls. "That's one of the things that breaks my heart! We had the pole by a long way at Daytona in 1969. We were leading the race and we both lost our engines."
With Morton behind the wheel, BRE went on to win the 1970 and 1971 C Production National Championships in the new Datsun 240Z sports cars, and then went on to win the Trans Am 2.5 series championships in 1971 and 1972 driving the Datsun 510 sedan.
"We went to the 240Z for the second year and I started being more and more attached to Datsun," Morton says. "The better we did, the more I loved them."
Riding the whirlwind
With the success of Sharp, Morton, and Scoville in their divisions and at the SCCA Runoffs, Nissan became one of the most popular brands to drive in SCCA Club Racing. Through the 1970s, drivers like Dave Frellsen, Elliot Forbes-Robinson, and Dick Davenport amassed 30 championships for Nissan in just 10 years.
Frellsen accounted for five championships between 1973 and 1980, while Davenport earned three. Forbes-Robinson, D.J. Fazekas, Robert McQueen, and Don Devendorf won two championships each.
Along the way, Nissan became known for its earnest backing of SCCA drivers, virtually inventing the Club Racing driver support program under the direction of Yutaka Katayama, the President of Nissan USA.
"Mr. Katayama loved cars and he loved racing," Brock has said. "He saw the connection between winning on Sunday and selling on Monday. Within Datsun, he directed a comprehensive marketing campaign that connected our race wins with the production product. It was a successful combination that put Datsun on the map in the USA."
Scoville told the same story: "It is important to remember that Mr. Katayama was the man primarily responsible for Datsun being active in racing in the USA. He was a racing enthusiast in the first degree. Datsun was very supportive all the way 'round."
As Nissan's history with the SCCA grew, the company established a motorsports catalog, racer discount system, and at-track support at the SCCA Runoffs each year. The result was continued success that attracted even more drivers to the brand.
"Getting to the fall of 1979, there was a rush of the guys in Motorsports preparing to go to Atlanta," recalls E.C. Mueller, who worked at Nissan Motorsports in the era. "They were packing crates and crates of parts to take. Anything you can think of. They were going over the entire entry list and packing parts for every kind of car that was going."
Frank Honsowetz was the National Manager at Nissan Motorsports for 22 years, and he organized the driver support program during Nissan's most productive years.
"I came to the Nissan Motorsports department in 1979," Honsowetz says. "SCCA Club Racing was very important to auto manufacturers. We had a huge presence at the Runoffs and a big contingency program through the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. It was beneficial to the company."
The program that Honsowetz managed delivered results. From 1980 to 2000, Nissan collected 47 more SCCA National Championships in classes ranging from GT-1 through GT-5, Production, Showroom Stock, and even D Sports Racing. David Daughtery has collected five championships in Nissan cars over the years, ranging from a 1993 victory driving an NX2000 in Showroom Stock B (pictured) to a 2014 win in Touring 3 driving a 370Z.
"They took care of us – all I did was tell them what I needed and it showed up," Daughtery says. "We won with the NX2000 in 1993, and then drove a 300ZX in the 1994 Showroom Stock A class and won. The next year I won in a 240SX. During the race, I hit a tire wall and drove through a gravel trap, and I still managed to win. It was quite a race."
In the 21st century, Nissan has continued to win regularly, chalking up the final 20 wins over the last 16 years. Jim Goughary Sr. has won four times in GT-2, and Collin Jackson has collected three wins in GT-3 while John Black has won twice in that class. Greg Ira has won E Production twice in a 240Z old enough to qualify for vintage racing and SCCA Area 6 Director Peter Zekert took the 2008 championship in GT-Lite driving a Nissan 200SX, and he still races in the class today. "My goal is to be extremely strong in 2017 at Indianapolis," Zekert says, "and try to be one of the next 100 wins."
Looking to the next 100 wins
For an automaker seeking success in motorsports, the landscape is tougher than it has ever been before. More brands to choose from and tighter racing in every class means that most victories now are hard-won. However, Nissan is continuing its support at the Club level and looking to the future even as it celebrates its past success.
"We've had some really interesting characters along the way," says Rick Kulach, the current Nissan Motorsports Manager. "Guys like John Morton, Bob Sharp, Peter Brock, and Paul Newman were the ones who really put us in the market in those early days. They laid the groundwork for success. Special thanks to the Nissan Managers who preceded me including Dick Roberts, Frank Honsowitz, and especially Ron Stukenberg, who considered me for the honor of managing this activity for Nissan."
While the history of Nissan's success in SCCA Club Racing is much on his mind, Kulach is focused on the future, and on the racers campaigning Nissan products today. "There is no doubt that the SCCA has provided automotive enthusiasts an opportunity at many levels to enjoy the thrill of racing. The cars may be the stars in racing, but the support from the technical staff, corner workers, grid workers, registration staff, and beyond, make this production all possible and have become my weekend family and friends. Thank you for the first 100 wins for the Nissan brand – what an amazing journey it has been."
Words by Jeff Zurschmeide
Images by SportsCar, Jay Bonvouloir, Ken Brown, and Mark Weber
