Runoffs: Kelley runs away with GT-1 title at Mazda Raceway

One day after narrowly missing out on his first SCCA National Championship in the Touring 2 class, Kyle Kelley, of Huntington Beach, California, cashed in on gold in GT-1 at the SCCA Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Kenneth Davis, of Escondido, California, and Elmer Shannon, of Oakland, California, completed the top three.

Kelley started second in his No. 3 UPRacing.com/Jamison Engineering/1st Class Chevrolet Corvette but immediately went to the front when Tire Rack Pole Winner Michael Lewis, of Poway, California, broke the rear end of his No. 12 Goodyear/Cyclo/RedLine Oil Jaguar XKR as the green flag waved.

With Lewis’ departure, Kelley was the class of the field, turning a fastest lap of 1:27.746 (91.820 mph) en route to a 30.277-second victory in the 20-lap, 44.76-mile race. The race was slowed by one caution for two laps.

“Winning the Runoffs feels pretty good,” Kelley said. “I think that yesterday was the one we really earned. Unfortunately, Lewis had an issue today and that’s not the way we wanted to win it, but I’ll take it.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the fast guys from the east didn’t make the trip out here. I’ve been out east 10 times, so you think they’d have come at least once, but that’s all right. It was fun and a good race. I enjoyed it.”

Second place was in doubt the entire race, with Springdale, Arkansas’ Tom Smith first occupying the spot in his No. 62 USA Metal Recycling/Go Hogs Go! Chevrolet Corvette before being black flagged for exceeding the strict sound limits. That then promoted his son, Dane Smith, to second in his No. 21 USA Metal Recycling/Go Hogs Go! Chevrolet Corvette, a position he held until lap 19, when he spun.

Smith’s spin promoted Davis, who started eighth in his No. 65 Davis Stone.com Chevrolet Corvette and emerged on top of an early-race battle with Robert Rodriguez’s No. 48 TurboHoses R&D Ford Noble M12/M400 and Shannon’s No. 07 Spectra Holdings/Gateway Racing/Eatmon Chevrolet Corvette. The runner-up position was a career-best for Davis, who previously finished third in C Sports Racing in 2007.

“This feels great, I had a really good time,” Davis said. “I just kind of stuck with it to get a finish. That’s the key here. We were definitely a little quicker than [Rodriguez]. I couldn’t get around him though. That thing pulled pretty hard down the straightaways. Eventually, I just stuck with it and pressured him to make a mistake and we both got by.”

For Shannon, the podium finish in his first Runoffs was the culmination of a long road to the Championship event and a week-long struggle.

“This feels absolutely amazing,” Shannon said. “I got my first good lap in the race. My entire week has been just a disaster. I had some bad settings, some bad tires, so we just went out there blind. On the third lap, I had a problem with the exhaust and had a cracked header, so the car was down on power. But my teachers Lew Larimer and others said to just keep the line and be as smooth as you can and do the best that you can. For all the people that helped me, this is just a big blessing.

“My car had been down for a number of years, and when I learned that the Runoffs was going to be on the west coast, I said, ‘we’ve got to get this thing finished.’ I realized that most of the Majors had already been done in our [Conference], so in order to qualify, I had to go to Road America (Wisconsin), Grattan (Michigan) and also Topeka, Kansas.”

Rodriguez, of Danville, California, finished fourth, followed by Todd Peterson, of Boulder, Colorado, in the No. 26 Peterson Machining Inc. Ford Mustang.

Kelley earned the GoPro Hero Move of the Race for his dominating performance, while Davis earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award for advancing six positions.

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.

MONTEREY, Calif. -- Provisional results for Sunday’s SCCA GT-1 National Championship at the 51st SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with finish position, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.
1, (2), Kyle Kelley, Huntington Beach, CA, Chevrolet Corvette, 20.
2, (8), Kenneth Davis, Escondido, CA, Chevrolet Corvette, 20.
3, (6), Elmer Shannon, Oakland, CA, Chevrolet Camaro, 20.
4, (9), Robert Rodriguez, Danville, CA, Ford Noble M12/M400, 20.
5, (7), Todd Peterson, Boulder, CO, Ford Mustang, 20.
6, (5), Dane Smith, Springdale, AR, Chevrolet Corvette, 20.
7, (11), Robert Davis, Sonora, CA, Pontiac Firebird, 19.
8, (12), James Cantrell, Tucson, AZ, Chevrolet Corvette, 19.
9, (3), Tom Smith, Springdale, AR, Chevrolet Corvette, 19.
10, (4), Rob Davis, Modesto, CA, Chevrolet Camaro, 5.
11, (10), John Blizzard, Bend, OR, Chevrolet Camaro, 3.
12, (1), Michael Lewis, Poway, CA, Jaguar XKR, 0.
DNS, (13), Richard Gray, Moorpark, CA, Mazda RX-7.
Overall Time of Race: 32:17.793
Average Race Speed: 83.154 mph
Margin of Victory: 30.277 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: Kyle Kelley, 1:27.746 (91.820 mph)
Sunoco Hard Charger: #65 Kenneth Davis
Lap Leaders: Laps 1-20, Kyle Kelley