SCCA: First Round Of National Champions Crowned At Road America

More Racing

ON TV

SCCA: First Round Of National Champions Crowned At Road America

Eight National Champions were crowned on Thursday at the 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America...

SCCA Communications | http://www.scca.com | Posted September 20, 2012

Scott Tucker took his Porsche 996 bi-turbo to a dominant victory in STO, collecting his fourth SCCA National Championship. (Photo: Mark Weber/SCCA)

Eight National Champions were crowned on Thursday at the 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America, and five more drivers earned Gumout Pole Positions for races to be held later in the weekend.

Race 1: Buttermore Wins Back-To-Back T1 National Championship at SCCA Runoffs at Road America

John Buttermore, of Wixom, Mich., caught lightening in a bottle when he drove flag-to-flag to win his second consecutive Touring 1 National Championship at the 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America. Andrew Aquilante, of Chester Springs, Pa., and Tim Hund, of Norfolk, Va., finished second and third, respectively.

Driving the No. 52 Hoosier/Carbotech/Stoptech Chevrolet Corvette, Buttermore started from the Gumout pole position, led into Turn 1 and never looked back. He was never seriously challenged for the lead. In fact, he beat Aquilante, the 2007 T1 National Champion, by 21.611-seconds over the 4.048-mile, 14-turn course.

Buttermore turned the Hawk Performance fast race lap with a 2:21.825.

Early on, Aquilante battled Michael Pettiford, of Louisville, Colo., for second, swapping spots several times in the opening laps. But, as the race settled in, Aquilante took firm control of second in his No. 36 Phoenix/Hoosier/Hawk Ford Mustang Boss 302, which is where he finished. Unfortunately, Pettiford lost his bid for a podium finish when his No. 41 GO 4 IT Racing Schools/Hoosier Tire Chevrolet Corvette C6 cut a left rear tire on lap 9. This forced him to pit lane for a new one. He finished ninth.

Hund, who started seventh in the No. 22 Old Dominion Metals Dodge Viper, drove an impressive race moving up four spots to finish a career-best third in the T1 National Championship. Hund’s previous best T1 finish was seventh last year. He was also the race’s Sunoco Hard Charger.

Oli Thordarson, of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., finished fourth in the No. 11 Alvaka Networks/949 Racing/RPM Moto Chevrolet Corvette C5 and Joe Aquilante, of Chester Springs, Pa., finished fifth in the No. 33 Phoenix Performance/Hoosier/Hawk Chevrolet Corvette C6.

Race 2: Tucker Earns Fourth SCCA National Championship With Dominant STO Win

Scott Tucker, of Overland Park, Kan., dominated the Super Touring Over® field to take the first win at the 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs on Thursday at Road America. Mark Pauly, of Bettendorf, Iowa, and Lance Stewart, of Miami, Fla., joined him on the podium.

The win was Tucker’s second-consecutive National Championship in STO and fourth overall. Tucker won the Gumout Pole Position in qualifying and pulled the No. 55 Hoosier Porsche 996 out to a 4.865-second lead on the opening lap.

Tucker managed the gap from the second place car and outlasted the attrition in the rest of the field. David Pintaric’s No. 40 Kryderacing/Carbotech/Hoosier Dodge Viper ACR pulled to pit lane on lap nine with a broken push rod and out of second place, and then third-place Jerry Onks pulled his No. 96 Wilwood Brakes/VetteSport/Hoosier Chevrolet Corvette off in Turn Two on the same lap.

With his two closest challengers gone, Tucker pulled away to a 37.843-second margin of victory, averaging 102.781 mph in the 13-lap, 52-mile run and turned the fastest lap of the race in 2:17.626 (104.631 mph) around the 14-turn, 4-mile circuit.

Tucker has raced worldwide in a number of series, but keeps coming back to the Runoffs.

Pauly, making his first appearance at the Runoffs, earned the silver medal in the No. 81 Industrial Control Mfg BMW M3. Not only was Pauly at the Runoffs for the first time, it caps his first season of SafeRacer National Series racing. Pauly also earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award.

Stewart started in the rear of the field in the No. 37 Specialty Vehicle Logisitics Ford Mustang, and then climbed through the field as cars began to fall by the wayside. When Pintaric and Onks fell out, Stewart was on the Runoffs podium for the first time since a runner-up in 1987 in Showroom Stock B.

Pratt Cole (No. 88 Western Metals Transport Ford Mustang) and Pintaric completed the top five.

Race 3: Corey Fergus Scores First Sports 2000 SCCA National Championship

Corey Fergus, of Lewis Center, Ohio, scored his first SCCA National Championship, winning the Sports 2000 class race at the 2012 SCCA National Championship Runoffs® at Road America. M. Bart Wolf, of Elkhart Lake, Wis., and David Ferguson, of Paso Robles, Calif., completed the podium.

Driving the No. 00 Hoosier Tires/Carbotech Brakes Carbir CS2 from his fourth-straight Gumout Pole position in Sports 2000, Fergus got the jump on the field at the start and led flag-to-flag to earn the title by 11.964 seconds over Wolf. Fergus had previously finished second and third twice each before making it to the top step of the podium.

Fergus drove the same No. 00 car that carried his father John, a seven-time National Champion, to the 2011 title in a rain-soaked race at Road America.

Fergus turned the Hawk Hot Lap for the fastest race lap of the race as well, with a 2:17.993 (105.605 mph).

With Fergus making a good start, third-starting Wolf was able to tuck his No. 8 Goodyear/Lake Street Carbir CS2-85 in behind and work his way past second-starting Mark Mercer. Mercer moved back into second with his No. 34 Ferenco/Hoosier Tires Lola 90/91 when Wolf locked up his brakes on lap two in Turn Five. However, Mercer’s run only lasted another two laps before a mechanical issue forced him to the pits.

From there, Wolf was able to drive to his third-career runner-up finish.

Ferguson started fourth in his No. 75 Veracity Racing Data and moved up to the podium with Mercer’s departure. It was Ferguson’s second podium finish at the Runoffs, his first since 2002.

Jack Donnellan, of Chickasha, Okla., finished fourth in his No. 16 Kechi Energy/Quantum Mechanics Lola 598, followed by David Doran, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in his Doran JE-1.

Donnellan was named the Sunoco Hard Charger for advancing from seventh to fourth. Fergus also earned the GoPro Hero Move of the Race for his drive to the Championship.

Page 1 of 4

12 3 4