SUMMIT POINT, WV (May 4, 2013) – There were no roses in victory circle, but plenty of horsepower to be found as 27 drivers took wins on Saturday at Summit Point Raceway during Round Seven of the SCCA Eastern Conference Majors Tour.
The race day got underway just before lunch, when Todd Lamb pulled away from the pole position and led wire-to-wire for a Spec Miata victory in the No. 81 Cahall/Toddspeed/Cobalt/SafeRacer Mazda Miata. Ahead by three seconds, the No. 39 Adept Studios/Rossini/OPM Mazda Miata of Danny Steyn and the No. 33 WDC/Excitations.com Mazda Miata of Sebastian Landy battled for runner-up. That position swapped twice, with Steyn reclaiming the perch on the final lap.
The group known as wings and things - the fast open-wheel and sports racing machines - kicked off after the lunch break with an adventuresome opening lap. Chaos ensued as the green flag came out, with five cars spinning and making contact on the front straight near the rear of the field. Each driver climbed out of his car under his own power, but the race was black flagged for cleanup before the field was able to complete a single lap.
Restarting doublefile but on lap three, Sedat Yelkin drove his No. 74 Everclear Swift 014/Toyota away from the field and began to open up a gap. His finicky machine let him down on lap 12, when he pulled to pit out. Coming to a complete stop and falling to third, Yelkin was able to refire and rejoin the race, but fell out again just a few corners later.
That left, for the moment, the No. 96 K-Hill/Atlantic Creations Swift 016a/Toyota of Theodoras Zorbas in the lead and behind only overall leader and eventual winner Jacek Mucha’s C Sports Racing Swift JMS016. On lap 17, however, Chris Fahan’s No. 39 Fahan Paving/Hoosier Tire/MAZDASPEED Swift 016/Mazda pulled to the inside of the Zorbas and the two ran side by side through Turns One and Two before Fahan pulled ahead entering Turn Three.
Zorbas closed the gap again on a handful of occasions, but never got back around Fahan as he drove to victory.
The long front straight at Summit Point, along with the twisty back sections of the 2-mile circuit, were seemingly made for the large Formula Vee field on hand. The lead pack of cars began seven deep in the early part of the race and, seemingly every lap, a new driver took the lead into the first turn.
With three laps to go, four cars were ready to settle the three podium positions.
Those four players were Jonathan Weiseith in the No. 61 JK Technologies Protoform P3, Roger Siebenaler in the No. 2 Autowerks/Hoosier Tire Mysterian M-2, Stephen Oseth’s No. 72 DBM Racing/Hoosier Tire Vortech, and the No. 80 Hoosier/Butler Engines/Roxannes Racer’s Wedge SB-1.
Davis had a disadvantage entering the final lap, separated slightly from the group. The trio reappeared on the front stretch with Oseth missing from group after a spin. Seibenaler, Weiseith and Davis crossed the stripe in the win, place and show positions.
The Touring 1 battle was an overall fight for the win between rival Ford and Chevrolet power. Joe Aquilante started on pole in the No. 32 Phoenix/Hawk/Hoosier Chevrolet Corvette, but lost the battle into the first turn to George Winkler’s No. 27 Winkler Automotive Service Center Ford Mustang Boss 302S. The Corvette reclaimed the lead in the same spot to start lap two, but that only lasted for a lap as Winkler went back to the front.
The pair settled in and ran very closely, nose to tail, working through traffic from the other classes. On Lap 17, Aquilante got a run on Winkler up the front straight and moved to the inside going into the sharp double apex that makes up turns one and two. Winkler, ran a defensive line to the inside as well, and Aquilante’s right side dipped into dirt off the track. That killed Aquilante’s momentum, giving Winkler some space.
That was all the distance that Winkler needed, holding the lead to the finish of the 23-lap race.
Rob Hines also battled for his Touring 3 win in the same group, falling behind Brian Kleeman early in a battle of similar Nissan 350Z machines. Hines’ No. 4 Nissan/Hoosier/Carbotech/Red Line Nissan 350Z fell behind Kleeman’s No. 88 ICS Learning Group/DWW Motorsports Nissan on lap three, then reclaimed the point on lap 12. It was never comfortable, but Hines held the lead to the finish and the win.
Like Formula Vee, the Spec Racer Ford contingent used the drafts to their advantage, and again settled on a four horse race. The No. 51 Apple Motorsports machine of Rob Stewart, the No. 17 Alliance Autosport/PDI Communications SRF of Scott Rettich, the No. 7 Ayres Racing SRF of Tray Ayres, and the No. 58 Cottage Senior Living of defending National Champion Cliff White all took a share of the lead during the 23 lap race.
It almost all disappeared when White drove down the inside on lap 13 in an attempt to move to the lead. Some heavy brake smoke was visible and contact feared, but all escaped undeterred and continued.
A struggle to the end, Ayres took the lead into turn one on the final lap, then held on for the final nine turns – fist pumping his way across the finish line for a hard-fought win. Stewart, White and Rettich followed to the finish.
Amy Ruman put in a dominating performance in GT-1 to lead the big bore class drama free after repairing a transmission in the No. 23 McNichols & Co/Goodyear/Ruman Racing Chevrolet Corvette on Friday afternoon. Ruman pulled away at the start, and grew the lead lap by lap for 23 laps to the finish.
A full course caution on lap 12 broke up what had been a terrific three-way battle in H Production to end the day. Bradley Davis’ No. 54 MINIUsa.com/Mini of Charleston Mini Cooper walked away with the lead following the restart to a comfortable win, but it was anything but easy. Prior to the restart, Davis had swapped the top three positions nearly every lap with the No. 9 Blue Crab Racing/Mount Joy’s Autoshop Triumph Spitfire of Tom Broring and the No. 52 Turn One Services/Burk Performance Honda CRX of Martin Burk.
Round Eight of the Eastern Conference Majors Tour takes place on Sunday at Summit Point Raceway, with second qualifying session beginning at 8:00 EDT followed by the seven group races.
More information is available at www.scca.com. Like SCCA on Facebook at Facebook.com/SCCAOfficial, or follow on Twitter @SCCAOfficial.
Live timing and notes are available on Sunday at www.scca.com/SCCALive.
SUMMIT POINT, WV. - Provisional race winners for Saturday’s SCCA Eastern Conference Majors Tour Round Seven at Summit Point Motorsports Park. Drivers are listed by Class: name, hometown, and car.
American Sedan: Jeffrey Werth, Silver Spring, Md., Chevrolet Camaro B-Spec: Robbie Davis, Richardson, Texas, Mini Cooper C Sports Racing: Jacek Mucha, Laval, Quebec, JMS 016cp/Mazda D Sports Racing: David Gomberg, Laurel, Md., Cheetah SR-1/Suzuki Formula 500: Michael Brent, Bethel, Conn., Invader QC-1/Rotax Formula 1000: Alex Mayer, Harleysville, Pa., Elon DP-04 Formula Atlantic: Chris Fahan, Redding, Conn., Swift 016/Mazda Formula Continental: Chuck Moran, Oakton, Va., Van Diemen RF99/Ford Formula Enterprise: Scott Rettich, Camden, Ohio, Formula Enterprises/Mazda Formula F: Daniel Oseth, Sterling, Va., Van Diemen FF Formula Mazda: Sam Ryan, White Haven, Pa., Formula Mazda Formula Vee: Roger Siebenaler, North Hero, Vt., Mysterian M2/VW E Production: Kevin Leigh, Harrisonburg, Va., BMW Z3 F Production: Jerry Hinkle, Catonsville, Md., Lotus Seven H Production: Brad Davis, Summerville, S.C., Mini Cooper GT-1: Amy Ruman, Kent, Ohio, Chevrolet Corvette GT-2: Russ Snow, Eden, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette GT-3: James Ashe, Prospect, Conn., Mazda RX-7 GT-Lite: Robert Lentz II, Chantilly, Va., Nissan Sentra SER Spec Miata: Todd Lamb, Atlanta, Ga., Mazda Miata Spec Racer Ford: Tray Ayres, Woodstock, Ga., Spec Racer Ford Super Touring Lite: Sebastian Landy, Great Falls, Va., Mazda MX-5 Super Touring Under: Eric Heinrich, Milton, Mass., BMW M3 Touring 1: George Winkler, Fredrick, Md., Ford Mustang Boss 302S Touring 2: Matthew Pullano, Endicott, N.Y., Chevrolet Corvette Touring 3: Rob Hines, Arlington, Va., Nissan 350Z Touring 4: Brian Price, Middletown, Va., Mazda Miata
Summit Point Raceway Double Majors 2013 U.S. Majors Tour
