[h=2]SCCA: Wilson scores long awaited National Championship in GT-3[/h] Sunday, 25 September 2016


SCCA ABOVE: Stacy Wilson on his way to a GT-3 title. (Jay Bonvouloir photo)

The SCCA Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB are 23 flat out laps at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and it the race distance provides a true test for a National Champion. Where others failed, Stacy Wilson, of Englewood, Tenn., completed the race distance and more, earning the 2016 GT-3 SCCA National Championship. Paul Young, of Commerce Township, Mich., and Joe Kristensen, of London, Ontario, completed the podium.
Wilson's first victory at the SCCA Runoffs looked like a silver medal until, with two laps to go, the No. 09 BSI Racing Mazda RX-3 of Gary Bockman pulled off in Turn One with a mechanical issue. Bockman's five-second lead evaporated, and the No. 47 Hoosier Tire/Mobil 1/Tilton Mazda RX-7 was unabated to the checkered flag.
The champion averaged 84.808 mph over the 23 laps for what turned out to be a 25.862-second margin of victory. Wilson also earned the Sunoco Hard Charger after a sixth-place start.

"I don't really know what to say," Wilson said. "We've come here on, not a shoestring budget, but a thread budget. We just put everything that we can scrape up into this operation, and don't have a lot of spares and don't have a lot of anything. We just have a lot of heart. I know with the Runoffs moving around, I'm going to have to be selective of where I actually go. But I wanted to come back here and try it. I don't know what else to say. It hasn't sunk in yet."


Bockman, the Tire Rack pole sitter, got a break at the start when Kristensen's No. 14 Kristensen Racing Engines/Hoosier Acura RSX spun in the Esses, which left Chad Bacon's No. 18 CB Motorsports/Goodyear/TRD Toyota Celica with no escape and into the side of Kristensen. On lap three, the No. 12 Goodyear/Red Line Oil Mazda RX-7 of Mike Henderson had a hairy moment coming out of Thunder Valley and toward the Carousel, and a spin there also collected the No. 78 Mazda/TRO/Hoosier Mazda RX-7 of Rob Warkocki.


Wilson held onto second in his first Runoffs appearance since 2002 at Mid-Ohio, and the site of one of his two previous podium finishes in 1996. He also podiumed in 1992 at Road Atlanta.
"I just really focused on trying to catch Gary," Wilson said. "I believe I did close in on him as the race went, but I just couldn't make any more gains on him. He's got that car running pretty strong. All I could do was pull it out on Paul, and I had a gap. I just tried to be smooth and keep a gap. When I looked up and saw Gary pull off, I just couldn't believe it. My thoughts were just don't wreck the thing now, don't do something stupid."
With those early incidents out of the way, Young drove his No. 79 Young Racing/Hoosier Tire Ford Probe to his third career podium. Knowing that he couldn't catch the leaders on track, Young backed off in the closing laps – almost too far. Kristensen was coming hard at the finish, but Young stayed in the runner-up slot at the checkered flag.
"Stacy and I were reeling in the leader a little bit, he was just a tick faster but I could see Bockman coming back to us a little bit," Young said. "I think Stacy found some extra horsepower toward the middle of the race, because he started to pull away from me. The last three or four laps, I said, well, I'm not going to pass Stacy, so I backed it down a little bit. But the crew didn't tell me Joe was coming! I looked, and there was Joe – I said 'Oh my God!'
"One of these days we're going to get this thing! What really motivated me today was that someone said I was getting too old. I'll fix them eventually!"
Rejoining in the back of the field and making a pit stop to make sure his tires weren't flat is normally a killer in a sprint race, but Kristensen charged back, turning the fastest lap of the race in 1:31.107 (89.223 mph) and winding back to third for his fifth Runoffs podium.
"The start, I really don't know what happened. I thought we got through clean, I was single file behind Gary, and the next thing I know I got hit and I was sideways sitting on the track. I got going again, and the tires weren't warm up yet and it felt like I had a flat tire. I came in, and I got the stewards to take a quick look to see if there was a flat tire. They said no, and I went back out and went to work."

• Click here to stream the live broadcasts of the 53rd running of the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB until 6 p.m. ET.

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.


Provisional results for Sunday's SCCA GT-3 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, (6), William Wilson, Englewood, TN, Mazda RX-7, 23.
2, (7), Paul Young, Commerce Township, MI, Ford Probe, 23.
3, (2), Joe Kristensen, London, ON, Acura RSX, 23.
4, (, George Cichon, Machesney Park, IL, Mazda RX-7, 23.
5, (12), James Ashe, Prospect, CT, Mazda RX-7, 23.
6, (4), Mike Henderson, El Cajon, CA, Mazda RX-7, 23.
7, (10), John Mills, Fostoria, OH, Mazda Miata, 23.
8, (13), Guy Laidig, Woodside, CA, Mazda RX-7, 22.
9, (1), Gary Bockman, Portland, OR, Mazda RX-3, 21.
10, (15), Phillip Hollenbeck, Ashby, MA, Nissan 240Z, 21.
11, (11), Kenford Nelson, Novi, MI, Nissan 200-SX, 11.
12, (14), John Janszen, Shepherdstown, WV, Mazda RX-3, 6.
13, (5), Robert Warkocki, Frankfort, IL, Mazda RX-7, 3.
14, (3), Chad Bacon, Kingsport, TN, Toyota Celica, 1.
DNS, (9), Philip Lasco, Venice, FL, Mazda RX-7, .
Overall Time of Race: 36:44.546
Average Race Speed: 84.808 mph
Margin of Victory: 25.286 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: #14 Kristensen, 1:31.107 (89.223 mph)
Sunoco Hard Charger: #47 Stacy Wilson
Lap Leaders: Laps 1-21, #09 Bockman; Laps 22-23, #47 Wilson

 

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