LEXINGTON, Ohio (September 23, 2016) – Andy McDermid, of Howell, Michigan, overcame contact incidents on the first and final lap of Friday’s American Sedan (AS) race at the SCCA Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to win his eighth National Championship.
Starting third in the No. 24 Weather Tech/Lane Automotive/Hoosier Ford Mustang, McDermid moved up to second after an opening-lap skirmish exiting Mid-Ohio’s esses with the No. 156 Hutter Race Engineering/Hoosier Ford Mustang of Tom Sloe.
McDermid trailed Tire Rack Pole winner and race-long leader Ed Hosni throughout the race, but moved to first when Hosni slowed with a mechanical issue on the last lap.
“Ed (Hosni) had the pace today, I was able to stay with him for a little while, but inch-by-inch he just started to pull away from me,” McDermid said. “We just didn’t quite have the pace for Ed, I am not sure what broke on his car, but he had a great race.”
McDermid also survived a bump-and-run hit on the last lap from Sloe, who dropped to 19th after the first-lap incident. Sloe had recovered to reach third in the race’s closing stages only to be sidelined with left front-end damage after coming together with a lapped car. Sloe was stopped on course in his damaged Mustang just before hitting McDermid.
“Somebody blasted me in the backside,” McDermid said. “I spun almost to the fence but was able to keep it going. I spun the car around as fast as I could to get back on track, but I really don’t know who or what passed me. I had no idea what position I was when I got back on track, and I still didn’t know until I pulled in and the crew said ‘you’re No. 1.’”
Phil Smith, of New Albany, Ohio, ran in the lead pack throughout the 23-lap race and capitalized on the last-lap drama to finish third in the No. 54 Hoosier/Ilmor/PRS Chevrolet Camaro.
“I got a pretty good start and just tried to settle in,” said Smith, who earned his third-career Runoffs podium. “I knew it was going to be a really long race but the car has been really, really strong. We didn’t do anything except tune on the car this week and I thought she was going to finish strong.”
John Heinricy, of Clarkston, Michigan, overcame a down-on-power No. 55 Hoosier/Mobil/Hawk Chevrolet Camaro for a third-place finish, his 18th Runoffs podium appearance.
“I had some electrical trouble in the middle of the race,” Heinricy said. “The engine started running funky, so I backed off quite a bit and let Phil (Smith) go by. I was getting ready to come in the pits but I just got into the rhythm of driving it that way. It was way down on power, but I decided to just keep going that way and I made it.”
Daniel Richardson’s No. 15 Hoosier/Auto Gear/Hayworth Brakes Chevrolet Camaro crossed the stripe in fourth, followed by Brian Himes’ No. 12 CH4 Resources Ford Mustang. Jerome Post drove his No. 18 BFGoodrich Tires Chevrolet Camaro to sixth, from 15th on the grid, to earn the Sunoco Hard Charger.
The 53rd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB, the Pinnacle of American Motorsports, crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions this year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, from Friday, September 23 through Sunday, September 25.
While the live broadcast of all 28 National Championships is available live at SCCA.com, each race will be on demand in the coming weeks.
LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Provisional results for Friday’s SCCA American Sedan National Championship at the 53rd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.
1, (3), Andrew McDermid, Howell, MI, Ford Mustang, 23.
2, (6), Philip Smith, New Albany, OH, Chevrolet Camaro, 23.
3, (4), John Heinricy, Clarkston, MI, Chevrolet Camaro, 23.
4, (8), Daniel Richardson, Rockville, MD, Chevrolet Camaro, 23.
5, (12), Brian Himes, Slidell, LA, Ford Mustang 5.0, 23.
6, (15), Jerome Post, Sunset, SC, Chevrolet Camaro, 23.
7, (16), Beth Aquilante, Alexandria, VA, Pontiac Firebird, 23.
8, (11), Stephen Ott, Pennsburg, PA, Ford Mustang, 23.
9, (1), Edward Hosni, Hilliard, OH, Ford Mustang, 22.
10, (14), Jim Wheeler, Lenexa, KS, Pontiac Firebird, 22.
11, (7), Anton Savinov, Southfield, MI, Cadillac CTS-V, 22.
12, (18), Thomas Lane, Big Flats, NY, Ford Mustang, 22.
13, (19), Scott Sanda, Western Springs, IL, Cadillac CTS-V, 22.
14, (2), Tom Sloe, Novelty, OH, Ford Mustang, 21.
15, (20), Ted Warning, Red Lion, PA, Chevrolet Camaro, 20.
16, (17), Thomas Brown, Breesport, NY, Chevrolet Camaro, 20.
17, (10), Amy Aquilante, Phoenixville, PA, Pontiac Firebird, 19.
18, (5), Drew Cattell, Ferndale, MI, Cadillac CTS-V, 17.
19, (13), Brian Licklider, Lenhartsville, PA, Ford Mustang GT, 15.
20, (21), Mark Wheaton, Easthampton, MA, Ford Mustang, 14.
DNS, (9), Brian Wallace, Grand Blanc, MI, Chevrolet Camaro
DNS, (22), Mark Muddiman, Belleville, MI, Ford Mustang
Length of Race: 52 miles
Overall Time of Race: 37:13.468
Average Speed: 83.709 mph
Margin of Victory: 13.854 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: No. 13 Hosni 1:33.424 (87.010 mph)
Lap Leaders: No. 13, laps 1 - 22; No. 24, lap 23
Sunoco Hard Charger: No. 18 Jerome Post
Image: No. 24 Andy McDermid led only the last lap of Friday’s American Sedan (AS) race at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where he won his eighth career SCCA National Championship.
Credit: Shawn Lumley
