John Gyann, of Darien, Illinois, had a rollercoaster year en route to winning the Northern Conference Prototype 1 crown. Gyann overcame a few stumbling blocks to complete five podium finishes that counted toward the championship, including two wins.

“Winning the Northern Conference championship this year was very special for me,” Gyann said. “This was my son Greg's first year racing in SCCA and we were concentrating all season on him. As he began to win race after race, we started thinking that it would be really special for him to win P2 and me to win P1. When it became a reality it was overwhelming.”

While the perfect ending did occur, with both Gyanns taking their respective classes, it was anything but a smooth ride.

“During the season his car ran without a problem while my season was plagued with many odd mechanical issues and a major crash at Road America,” Gyann said.

However, that moment also was a realization for Gyann.

“The crash at Road America was when we realized that it was possible to win the championship if we could finish the race the next day,” Gyann said. “My crew worked through most of the night repairing the car and I jumped in with three minutes to spare and completed the race.”

Gyann made sure to thank a couple very important people for the moment he was able to share with his son.

“I never could have won without the outstanding work and dedication of my Crew Chief, John O'Connor,” Gyann said. “He was sometimes assisted by Mike Grosiak. Special thanks to Critter, Mike Devins, Jody Lift and Denis Eade who all helped make it possible.”