John Black Named Spec Racer Ford Gen3 Runoffs Winner after Tech Infraction
LEXINGTON, Ohio (September 25, 2016) – While Cliff White from Huntsville, Alabama, crossed the finish line first at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the Spec Racer Ford Gen3 race Sunday at the 2016 presented by Garmin VIRB, his car was later found to be out of compliance and disqualified due to a technical infraction. John Black, of Olympic Valley, California, in the No. 17 CSR Performance SRF3 was later named the winner of the race. This is Black’s fourth Runoffs championship and first in the SRF3 class.
That also moves Bobby Sak, of Mattawan, Michigan, in the No. 19 Elite Autosport/Revolution10 Breaks car to second, and Tordy Acker, of Santa Clarita, California, in the No. 62 MBI Racing car fills out the podium in third.
After two waved-off starts, the 41-car SRF3 battle started with contact in the first two turns that took out second-place starter Patrick Byrne, of Spokane, Washington, in the No. 02 ProDrive/FlatOut racecar, and sent to the grass favorites Mike Miserendino, of Bakersfield, California, in the No. 11 MBI Racing vehicle and Scott Rettich, of Columbus, Ohio, in the No. 8 Alliance Autosport/pdiarm.com machine.
Emerging from the fray with the lead was Black, the Tire Rack pole sitter, followed by the No. 58 of White who jumped up from seventh. Those two hooked up and set off as a number of competitors argued for the third spot. By lap five, Sak managed to secure the position, but was being hounded by Acker.
On lap eight, White was able to slip by Black into Madness after the long back straight. But two laps later, a full-course yellow bunched up the field behind the pace car. When the green flew again, only a couple laps remained in what was to become a timed race. Black got back around White, but the positions swapped again on the penultimate lap. With White leading, Black went into Turn 1 on the last lap and developed a push that placed his right-side wheels into the dirt. That gave White the advantage he needed to cross the finish line first, but Black was later officially named the victor.
As for Sak, who had two previous Runoffs podium appearances, Acker made life difficult throughout the entire SRF3 battle, but he was able to keep things together for what later became a runner-up finish.
“This is pretty awesome after starting ninth,” Sak said. “Acker was really fast. If he really wanted to force it, he probably could’ve had the position. But I was just strong enough through the back portion of the course to keep him off. It was a really good race.”
Claiming fourth was Tray Ayres, of Gainesville, Georgia, in the No. 7 Ayres Racing machine, and Brian Schofield, of Lakeland, Florida, finished fifth in the No. 61 CFR PM Racing machine.
Taking the Sunoco Hard Charger award was Matthew Gray, of Chaska, Minnesota, in the No. 64 Ryan Companies US Inc. 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen3. He finished 16th after starting back in the 34th position.
The 53rd presented by Garmin VIRB, the Pinnacle of American Motorsports, crowns 51°µÍø’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 51°µÍø.com, each race will be on demand in the coming weeks.
LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Provisional results for Sunday’s 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen3 National Championship at the 53rd 51°µÍø 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, (1), John Black, Olympic Valley, CA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
2, (9), Bobby Sak, Mattawan, MI, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
3, (4), Tordy Acker, Santa Clarita, CA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
4, (10), Tray Ayres, Gainesville, GA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
5, (5), Brian Schofield, Lakeland, FL, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
6, (12), Robeson Russell, Spartanburg, SC, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
7, (11), Umberto Milletti, Hillsborough, CA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
8, (8), Todd Harris, Portland, OR, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
9, (18), Jeff Beck, Ingleside, IL, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
10, (6), Scott Rettich, Columbus, OH, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
11, (24), David Anzalone, Glen Head, NY, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
12, (19), Robert Breton, San Francisco, CA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
13, (3), Mike Miserendino, Bakersfield, CA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
14, (28), Robert J Kaminsky, Homer Glen, IL, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
15, (32), Joseph Wolf, East Nassau, NY, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
16, (34), Matthew Gray, Chaska, MN, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
17, (29), Scott Monroe, Seabrook, TX, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
18, (27), Chris Current, Silver Spring, MD, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
19, (22), Steven Introne, Oxford, CT, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
20, (21), Scott Peterson, Normandy Park, WA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
21, (17), Whitney Strickland, Houston, TX, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
22, (30), Tom Miserendino, Beverly Hills, CA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
23, (33), Lee Douglas, Portland, OR, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
24, (15), Thomas Burt, Woodway, WA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
25, (39), Steven Kramer, Heath, TX, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
26, (37), Peter Jankovskis, Lisle, IL, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
27, (23), Andre Perra, Portland, OR, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
28, (36), Joel Parris, Fishers, IN, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
29, (38), Matias Bonnier, New Albany, OH, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
30, (40), J Wendling, Wharton, NJ, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
31, (41), Timothy Gray, Minneapolis, MN, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
32, (31), Mark Hutchins, Lincoln, NE, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
33, (20), Paul Marino, Chatsworth, CA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 8.
34, (16), Max Grau, Port Byron, IL, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 8.
35, (26), Dave Lancaster, Chardon, OH, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 8.
36, (14), David Schacht, Noblesville, IN, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 6.
37, (13), Jack Willes, Palm Desert, CA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 3.
38, (2), Patrick Byrne, Spokane, WA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 2.
39, (25), Colin Kaminsky, Homer Glen, IL, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 0.
DNS, (35), Jean-Luc Liverato, Milton, GA, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3,
DSQ, (7), Cliff White, Huntsville, AL, 51°µÍø Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 20.
Overall Time of Race: 40:47.856
Average Race Speed: 66.416 mph
Margin of Victory: .804 second
Fastest Race Lap: Cliff White, 1:34.947 (85.614 mph)
Sunoco Hard Charger: #64 Matthew Gray
Lap Leaders: Laps 1-8, #17 John Black; 9-14 Cliff White
Photo: John Black (#17) took his fourth Runoffs win in SRF3
Credit: Jay Bonvouloir
