Huffaker Moves To Fourth In Career SCCA Championships With Runoffs GT-Lite Win

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 Joe Huffaker hadn’t attended an SCCA National Championship Runoffs since a pair of DNFs in 2003 and 2004. The now nine-time champion showed on Friday at Mazda Raceway that he hasn’t forgotten how to win, taking the GT-Lite Championship by 4.197 seconds. Troy Ermish, of Tracy, Calif., and Jon Goodale, of Conifer, Colo., completed the podium.
 
The race averaged 75.446 mph in the 20-lap race around the 2.238-mile circuit.
 
Huffaker, of Petaluma, Calif., started on the Tire Rack pole, but fell to third in the opening corner behind Runoffs rookie Ermish. Ermish led the opening seven laps until Huffaker’s No. 77 Huffaker Engineering Mini Cooper snuck past under braking going into the Corkscrew for the GoPro Hero move of the race.
 
Once in front, Huffaker snuck away for the win despite his three-second margin closing on lap 16 for a full course caution when Peter Shadowen, running third in the No. 72 Road N Race/Flat Top Brewing/Hoosier Honda CRX, spun into the gravel in Turn Three. The win moves Huffaker into fourth by himself on the all-time championship list, behind only Jerry Hansen, Duane Davis and John Heinricy.
 
“The start was phenomenal,” Huffaker said. “Everyone got around me that I expected to, and I wasn’t too sure about Saurino. I don’t know him. I know the family, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. That was working ok, and I held my ground into turn two. It was a little bit of a Joe sandwich, but they were all real clean, and it worked out and I was able to pull away a little bit.”
 
Huffaker also set a new race record with a best lap of 1:40.339 (80.296 mph), and dedicated his win to former Crew Chief Charlie Pollet, who passed away earlier this year.
 
“I’m very proud,” Huffaker said. “I wish Charlie Pollet could be here to see this. The last time at the Runoffs, his note to me was that it wasn’t supposed to end like this. So for you, Charlie, it did not. It feels great to be back. This year was a blast.”
 
Ermish led six laps in his Runoffs debut behind the wheel of the No. 88 Datsun 510 parts Outlet/LS Energy Nissan 510. After losing the lead to Huffaker, Ermish fell behind the No. 22 The Race Shop/Kelley Engines/Hoosier MG Midget of Joshua Saurino. Mechanical problems plagued Saurino just a few laps later, however, and Ermish inherited his eventual finishing position again.
 
“It’s tough to describe,” Ermish said of his first podium. “My goal from the beginning of the year, I thought to myself I had a race in my back yard and I just need to try this.
 
“I had an awesome start. The way SCCA has these engine packages, there are different strengths and I knew our particular package had a little more grunt. Joe picked a perfect RPM for me, and we just got a good jump. Joe and I knew that we had some cushion on the rest of the field and we didn’t want to race each other real, real hard. Whoever got the lead needed to run hard to stretch it out. I distanced Joe in a couple of turns, and he gathered me up. He peeked it in there at the top of the Corkscrew, and I had to give way.”
 
Goodale started eighth, jumping into the top five just after the green flag in the No. 04 Mazdaspeed/Hoosier/JoeApex.com Mazda Miata. Goodale inherited two spots when the Saurino brothers, including Nigel Saurino in the No. 57 The Race Shop/Kelley Engines/Hoosier MG Midget, and James Hargrove’s No. 38 RaceEnergy/Analytic Systems Honda Civic suffered mechanical issues.
 
Goodale was battling with Shadowen for the third spot, right on his bumper when Shadowen spun. Lapped cars between he and Ermish on the restart kept him from challenging for second, but left him able to hold on for his first Runoffs podium in 13 tries.
 
“It’s been a busy week, but it’s a great experience,” Goodale said. “I’m glad I made the tow out here. The track is incredible. Hopefully in a few years, we can come back out here and do it again.
 
“I knew it was going to be a battle from the get go. I had one of the Saurinos blow up in front of me, and then someone went off in three and covered it in dust. It was very busy at the beginning. Peter and I had a great race, we ran through three, four and five side by side, and went through the Corkscrew three wide twice. It was bittersweet seeing him spin off in front of me.”
 
Peter Zekert, of Maryland Heights, Mo., drove the No. 45 Wiseco Pistons/RedLine/RKI Group Nissan 200SX SE-R to fourth place. Kent Prather, of Wakarusa, Kan., fell one behind Huffaker on the all-time championship list but still earned a top-five finish.
 
Tim Linerud earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award, improving seven places to finish 12th in the No. 95 Performance Fabrication Volkswagen Rabbit.
 
The 51st SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, The Pinnacle of American Motorsports, will crown Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Friday, October 10 through Sunday, October 12.
 
The live broadcast of all 27 National Championship races is available live at SCCA.com, along with live timing and notes. Each race will be on demand at a later date on SpeedcastTV.com.
Adam Sinclair
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