At the SCCA Runoffs: Challenges overcome

Sometimes the rule book is wrong...

When the SCCA writes the specifications for any car in a particular class, they rely on information provided by the manufacturer, aftermarket suppliers, and racers. But occasionally someone makes an error that has a potentially profound effect on a racer.

At this year’s Runoffs, that racer was Philip Royle, and the issue was an error in SCCA’s specification for the wheels on his Touring 4 class Honda Civic.

“When they checked our wheels after the Thursday qualifying session, the GCR said I could run a 7-inch wheel, but the stock wheel for my Honda is 7.5 inches. They disqualified my times,” says Royle (LEFT), who's "day job" is editor of SportsCar magazine, sister publication to RACER and the official publication of the SCCA.

When the discrepancy was discovered in post-qualifying tech inspection, Royle enlisted Honda personnel on-site at the Runoffs to clarify that the wheels in question were in fact stock Honda parts and should be compliant according to the basic rules of the class.

“SCCA has a driver’s advisor, and I explained that the GCR was wrong. We went to the Chief Steward and I made a presentation together with the Chief Engineer from Honda. The Chief Steward picked up the phone and called the Court of Appeals, and they listened to our story. It’s going to be changed in next year’s GCR. Everyone was fantastic through the whole process!” Royle insists.

Photo: Wheel.jpg and Royle.jpg (Photo by Jeff Zurschmeide)

Runoffs Driver Spotlight: Aaron Downey

Aaron Downey could be considered an SCCA throwback, racing at the Runoffs in a car that most people would expect to find in a vintage race. Yet the California-based racer is a perennial Runoffs competitor who puts his E Production 1976 Mazda RX-3 up with the front-runners every time.

“A lot has to do with the spectators who come up and say that they have fond memories of that car, or their parents had that car. There’s something to be said for having a 1976 rotary-powered car coming out and beating a Porsche or BMW. I have to say, Mazda does a great job of supporting us, and they want to see the car out there racing,” Downey says.

The RX-3 is down on power compared to some more modern EP cars, and still uses the 1970s-era solid rear axle design, but Downey drives the older coupe to best effect.

“We’ve done about everything we can do to the car. We broke a driveline yesterday, so we’re going to put that together. I over-revved the engine and I need to see if everything’s still together,” Downey noted.

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Downey is at Daytona for his 13th Runoffs attempt. His best finishes have been a pair of seconds in 2009 at Road America and in 2013 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where he started his race on the pole position. At the high-speed Daytona circuit, Downey still has a plan to contend for the win.

“My goal is to get out in front of the field early on in the race. I think I have a little bit more mid-range speed. I think I can get in front early in the inner loop area, and then take them with me a little bit. The top two guys are from Florida, they’ve raced at Daytona before, and they have an aero advantage. If those two hook up and start drafting, no one can touch them. But maybe one breaks and they don’t have that advantage,” he insists.

The E Production race happens at 1:55 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. Watch it live on www.SCCA.com.

When you absolutely, positively need an engine overnight

Brian Linn did not bring a spare engine to the Runoffs at Daytona this year. Making his 14th appearance at the Runoffs, Linn believed his H Production Honda CRX was dialed in (pictured, TOP) and reliable.

“We knew on Wednesday that we had a bad cylinder. And we had an engine that was done, but it wasn’t quite ready before we left. So we asked to have it air-shipped here and it arrived on Friday,” says Linn (LEFT). “We spent some time getting the engine installed and broken in, and we ran a hardship lap on Friday afternoon. We’re going for another hardship lap today.”

The logistics of moving an engine from California to Florida may seem challenging, but really it’s just a moderately heavy package.

“It just takes a credit card. It’s about the same price as a one-way ticket,” Linn says.

Linn went on to finish on the podium in today’s H Production race.

• You can catch all the action from Daytona by streaming the races live. You can see the complete schedule here: http://www.scca.com/pages/schedule-2. To tune in, go to www.SCCA.com and click the LIVE COVERAGE link.