Tim Day Jr. Wins First National Championship in Prototype 2 Runoffs at Sonoma

SONOMA, California (October 20, 2018) – Tim Day Jr., of Scottsdale, Arizona, dominated the Prototype 2 (P2) race on his way to his First National Championship at the 55th SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® at Sonoma Raceway.

After qualifying first in the No. 8 Mere Mortal/GDRE/Summit Stohr Suzuki, Day immediately assumed the lead and never relinquished it. Lucian Pancea and Chuck Bona provided early challenges, keeping Day honest for the first seven laps. 

Day explains, “Bona got by Pancea and was reeling me in, but my guys on the radio are awesome and they were telling me what the gap was and where I needed to be to maintain the gap.” Day turned up the wick, running a pace that kept Bona from threatening a pass. 

Shafer battled through an eventful week that included switching cars and tires. Even with all the changes in equipment, Shafer clawed to within a few seconds of Day after both Bona and Pancea spun out of the race. 

Shafer describes the action, “Pancea and Bona pulled away from me in the first few laps, but I closed the gap on them. I was inside Bona and he was inside Pancea as we came through Turn 11 and Bona pushed a little wide and spun Pancea. Then four or five laps later Bona spun in the same spot.” 

After missing qualifying, Perry Richardson was granted a mechanical hardship start at the back of the grid in 19th position. His march through the field started at the green flag and he moved up to 14th on the first lap. He climbed steadily through field until he reached third on the last lap, earning the Sunoco Hard Charger Award in the No. 169 Casino Fandango/Briggs Consulting Stohr WF1 Suzuki by gaining 17 positions. 

The 55th SCCA® National Championship Runoffs®, the Pinnacle of American Motorsports, crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year at Sonoma Raceway in California Friday, Oct. 19 through Sunday, Oct 21. 

Live, online video coverage of Runoffs races, presented by Mazda, is available throughout the three days of competition at SCCA.com/live. An audio race call, supplied by the Super Tour Radio broadcast team, is also available at www.SCCA.com/live , as well as live timing and scoring for each National Championship race. 

SONOMA, Calif. -- Provisional results for Saturday’s Prototype 2 (P2) at the 55th SCCA National Championship Runoffs from Sonoma Raceway, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car and laps completed. 

1, (1), Tim Day Jr., Scottsdale, AZ, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20.
2, (4), Jeff Shafer, Las Vegas, NV, Ligier JS49 Honda, 20.
3, (19), Perry Richardson, Los Gatos, CA, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20.
4, (5), Greg Gyann, Willowbrook, IL, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20.
5, (3), Lucian Pancea, San Antonio, TX, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20.
6, (8), Armen Megregian, Naples, FL, Ligier JS 51 Honda, 20.
7, (7), David Ferguson, Paso Robles, CA, Van Diemen RFS03 Mazda, 20.
8, (11), Eric O'Brien, Milpitas, CA, AMAC AM7 Kawasaki, 20.
9, (12), Mike Reupert, Hubertus, WI, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 20.
10, (6), Dustin Decker, Petaluma, CA, AMAC AM-006 Suzuki, 19.
11, (15), John Bosso, Placerville, CA, Fox RF3 Suzuki, 19.
12, (18), Richard Colburn, Northbrook, IL, Nostendo 1, 18.
13, (17), Kurt Ladendorf, San Jose, CA, AMAC AM5 Suzuki, 17.
14, (13), Fernando Fabian Okonski, Los Gatos, CA, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 16.
15, (10), Paul Decker, Petaluma, CA, AMAC AM5 Suzuki, 15.
16, (16), Rob Conrad, Napa, CA, Van Diemen RFS99 Mazda, 14.
17, (2), Chuck Bona, Saratoga, CA, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 7.
18, (9), Sherman Chao, Palm Beach, FL, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 4.
19, (14), Kevin Mitz, Campbell, CA, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 3.

Length of Race: 50 Miles
Overall Time of Race: 31:15.155 (avg. 96.760 mph)
Margin of Victory: 07.852 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 1:32.071 (98.533 mph)
Lap Leaders: #8 laps 1-20
Sunoco Hard Charger: #169 Perry Richardson 

Photo: Tim Day, Jr. charges to victory in Prototype 2 at the 2018 SCCA Runoffs at Sonoma Raceway.
Photo Credit: Jay Bonvouloir