First Official Sessions of SCCA Runoffs Complete

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Drivers made their opening-day qualifying attempts in preparation for the SCCA Runoffs Presented by Garmin VIRB. The day’s on-track activity was the first of four days of qualification, followed by three days of racing at Daytona International Speedway.

 
Touring 2 was part of the second wave of drivers to take to the 3.54-mile, 12-turn circuit. Kurt Rezzetano, of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, proved to be the dominate leader, clearing his closest competition by nearly two seconds in his No. 37 Phoenix Performance/Calvert Dynamics Ford Mustang. Rezzetano led Cooper MacNeil, in his WeatherTech BMW M92 M3, followed by Preston Calvert, in the No. 77 Calvert Dynamics/Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang.
 
GT-Lite stole the show during the third qualifying session of the day. Joe Huffaker, of Petaluma, California, flashed his skill by climbing to the top of the standings in his No. 77 Huffaker Engineering MG Midget, but not without a serious fight with the remaining top-four drivers. Huffaker’s best lap was a 2:13.254 (96.177 mph), but the rest of the top four, including Michael Kamalian, Peter Shadowen, Charles Leonard and Jim Dentici, were all within 0.7-second.
 
Later in the day, driving the same car, Huffaker also drove the same No. 77 machine to the provisional pole in F Production. Huffaker was pushed just as hard in this pole attempt as Eric Prill sits just 0.1-second behind in his No. 7 MaxtonsFight.org/JPM/Hoosier Mazda Miata.
 
As could have been expected, Spec Miata produced some extremely close best laps at the top of the standings. However, it would have been hard to envision the closely-matched nature of the field to be so deep. Todd Lamb, of Atlanta, piloted his No. 84 Atlanta Speedwerks/SpeedShift Trans Mazda Miata to the quickest lap of the 56 drivers who registered times, while the remaining top-17 cars finished within the same second of Lamb. With the top drivers that closely packed, the remaining two days, and  one night, of qualifying are anyone’s game.
 
The parity in the field should add to the intrigue of racing under the speedway’s lights, on Friday. A look down the grid sheet shows the teamwork necessary to be fast here, as drafting is key. Each of the fastest drivers in Spec Miata achieved their fastest times by pairing up with a teammate. Look for this dynamic to play a major role as the week progresses.
 
In Touring 4, Philip Royle, of Winnetka, California, was the breakout star during the first day of qualifying. At the wheel of his Honda/BFGoodrich/HMS/Lucas Oil Honda Civic Si, Royle led a pack of five closely-matched cars. In fact, the top five in the class were covered by 0.6-second. Not only is Royle holding his own, but he has out-matched no fewer than three former National Champions.
 
Michael Lewis, of Poway, California, drove his No. 12 Goodyear/Peg’sList.com Jaguar XJR to the provisional Tire Rack pole in fashion. Lewis not only holds the top position in the field, but also was overall fastest in the speed trap. Just past the start/finish line, Lewis was clocked going 196.442 mph before stepping on the brakes to dive into Turn One.
 
The second day of qualifying will begin, on Tuesday, at 8:40 a.m. (EDT). The same groups will take to the track in a different time slot, to equalize the opportunity to run fast laps in differing conditions. Also on deck for tomorrow is the only Spec Miata qualifying session under the Daytona lights. This will be the only time the field 63 entries will see the track under the artificial light, before they settle the national title in a 14-lap race.
 
Additional information on the 52nd SCCA Runoffs Presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway, including a full schedule, entry list and results, can be found at SCCA.com/Runoffs
Adam Sinclair
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