“This is really cool.”
Those were the few, meek words Jared Odrick, of Lebanon, PA, could muster while choking back tears in pitlane immediately after winning his first SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® race in only his second attempt.
Odrick, a former NFL player, started third in Friday’s GT-2 race at VIRginia International Raceway driving the No. 01 Black Underwear Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup car. In front of him was three-time Runoffs winner Tony Ave, in a Nissan 350Z, and Tire Rack Pole Award winner Barry Boes in the No. 32 Accio Data/Data Facts Ford Mustang.
Boes held the lead in the opening laps, but Ave slipped by in Turn 4 on lap three. For the first third of the 15-lap race around VIR’s 18-turn, 3.27-mile circuit, the lead group consisted of Ave, Boes, Odrick, Daniel Bender in the No. 36 Bravo Trailers Chevrolet Camaro, and Tom Patton in the crowd-favorite Sunbeam Tiger.
As the race progressed, Patton fell back from the lead group. On lap five, Odrick was able to drop Boes back to third, and began to focus on Ave. Then on lap 11, a puff of smoke bloomed from Ave’s car, and a few corners later he was off the pace and out of the race. By that point, Bender had also lost contact with the leaders, which meant the battle for GT-2 supremacy was down to just Odrick and Boes.
For the next four laps, Boes plotted and planned on ways to make a pass for the lead, but just couldn’t quite get it done cleanly.
“I had a good bit on him up the Esses, but I just couldn’t capitalize on it,” Boes said. “What I really tried to do is just stick to him coming out of Oak Tree and get him coming into the next corner. But I could never quite just get it right.”
While Boes ended up on the runner-up step of victory podium in his inaugural Runoffs race, he certainly won the gold medal as far as earning respect in Odrick’s eyes.
“Barry Boes is cool as hell. He’s the coolest guy in the world,“ Odrick said while standing upon the victory podium. “Racing has taught me a lot. There have been a lot of men who have taught me a lot here, lessons I didn’t learn in football.”
Bender finished comfortably in the third spot for his fourth Runoffs podium appearance Friday during the Hagerty Race Day.
“The car was sort of a handful all week,” Bender admitted afterwards. “I was really hoping to fight for a win this week, but we couldn’t quite get the car the way we wanted it. Coming out of corners, I just couldn’t get the power down. But in the end, it’s so fun to be on the podium at the Runoffs.”
In his 36th Runoffs start, Patton finished fourth. Simon Asselin finished fifth in a Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup car. The Sunoco Hard Charger award went to Al Rowland, who started 11th and finished seventh.
The 60th running of SCCA’s National Championship Runoffs®, the Pinnacle of American Amateur Motorsports, crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year at VIRginia International Raceway — in Alton, VA — during Hagerty Race Days, Friday, Sept. 29, through Sunday, Oct. 1.
Live, online video coverage of Runoffs races, presented by Mazda, is available throughout the three days of competition at SCCA.com/live, and at SCCA’s official YouTube and Facebook social media channels. Live timing and scoring for each race is also available at SCCA.com.
Below are official results for Friday’s GT-2 race at the 2023 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
1, (3), Jared Odrick, Lebanon, PA, Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup, 15.
2, (1), Barry Boes, Austin, TX, Ford Mustang, 15.
3, (4), Daniel Bender, Northbrook, IL, Chevrolet Camaro, 15.
4, (5), Tom Patton, Fairfield Twp, OH, Sunbeam Tiger, 15.
5, (6), Simon Asselin, Sammamish, WA, Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup, 15.
6, (8), Michael Quattlebaum, Houston, TX, Chevrolet Corvette, 15.
7, (11), Al Rowland, Mebane, NC, Chevrolet Camaro, 15.
8, (7), Jorge Nazario, San Juan, PR, Chevrolet Corvette, 15.
9, (10), Scotty B White, Auburn, WA, Dodge Viper Comp Coupe, 15.
10, (9), Jack Stanford, Commerce, GA, Chevrolet SS, 15.
11, (13), William Moore, Chagrin Falls, OH, Chevrolet Camaro, 15.
12, (15), Dan Harding, Dover, OH, Porsche 996, 13.
13, (2), Tony Ave, Maiden, NC, Nissan 350Z, 10.
DNF, (14), Paul Ruth, Parker, TX, Pontiac Grand Prix, 3.
DNF, (16), Paolo Salvatore, San Antonio, TX, Ford Mustang, 1.
DNS, (12), Pete Peterson, Lumberton, NC, Toyota Celica, .
Race Stats
Length of Race: 49.05 miles
Overall Time of Race: 28:39.125 (avg. 102.715 mph)
Margin of Victory: 00.348 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 1:52.865 (104.302 mph)
Lap Leaders: #32, Laps 1-2; #44, Laps 3-10; #01, Laps 11-15
Sunoco Hard Charger: #7 Al Rowland
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Photo caption: Jared Odrick claimed a GT-2 National Championship after winning his Friday race at the SCCA Runoffs.
Photo by Jay Bonvouloir
