Runoffs: Dentici cruises to GT-Lite win

Jim Dentici, of Oconomowoc, Wis., drove away from the GT-Lite field for a win at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. Joe Huffaker, of Petaluma, Calif., and Michael Kamalian, of Marietta, Ga., joined Dentici on the podium.

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Dentici drove away from the field after winning the Tire Rack Pole Position and never looked back in his No. 11 Raglin Racing/JDM Group Honda CRX, winning by 10.736 seconds and averaging 94.908 mph for the race. Dentici turned the fastest lap of the race in 2:13.564 (95.954 mph).

It was the sixth National Championship for Dentici in just 12 career attempts."It was interesting, because we came down here with no expectations, good or bad," Dentici said. "We know the car, and that it always runs good, and that it's always going to be a top five car, but it's not known for top speed. We worked on that, and we worked on gear ratios, just little things to clean it up and try to help it."We had fun all week, really did. The whole staff at Daytona, they wave at you, good morning – it's a special place, it really is. That's kind of a bucket list thing. Not many people can be a champion at Daytona. That's a big deal, and I'm really happy about that one."Huffaker rebounded from a cut rear tire in the F Production race just more than two hours earlier in the same car, with a different configuration, to finish second. The podium finish is the 13th for the eight-time National Champion."To hustle back and get the car prepped and make sure there wasn't any damage between the two races was fun," Huffaker said. "We poured gas in it, serviced the car, got some new rubber on it, made sure there wasn't any issues and lined up on the grid, and off we went."The Daytona experience is really why I came here. My dad was here with Emmett Brown in a Midget in 1965 and they won the Runoffs that year. That was 50 years ago, and here I am with a Midget. I'm happy to be here, I called my dad every night to let him know about it."Making his second Runoffs appearance, and his first since 1998, Kamalian's No. 99 RevolutionSpeed/Hoosier Tire Mazda Miata sat in third, maintaining his gap from Peter Shadowen's No. 72 Road N Race Automotive/Hoosier Honda CRX Si in the closing stages of the race."I was trying to keep up with Joe, and we just got a little slick after that," Kamalian said. "He was flying, and I was just trying to keep Peter back."One of my clients wanted to go racing again, so we ended up buying a couple of cars and selling those. Then I found Kent Prather's old car, and that's what we ended up purchasing. With his help and Jesse Prather's help, we ended up running it this year pretty successfully. We came down here with great expectations, and just had a rough week. But we put it back together, and here we are."Shadowen held on for fourth, with Paul Mevoli running fifth in the No. 15 Tooth Life Nissan Sentra. Peter Zekert improved to sixth in the No. 41 Nissan/Goodyear Nissan 200SX to win the Sunoco Hard Charger.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.

Provisional results for Saturday's SCCA GT-Lite National Championship at the 52nd SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.

1, (1), Jim Dentici, Oconomowoc, WI, Honda CRX, 14.2, (2), Joe Huffaker, Petaluma, CA, MG Midget, 14.3, (3), Michael Kamalian, Marietta, GA, Mazda Miata, 14.4, (4), Peter Shadowen, West Palm Beach, FL, Honda CRX Si, 14.5, (6), Paul Mevoli DMD, Treasure Island, FL, Nissan Sentra, 14.6, (8), Peter Zekert, Maryland Heights, MO, Nissan 200SX SE-R, 14.7, (9), Steve Sargis, Frankfort, IL, Volkswagen Rabbit, 13.8, (10), Mickey Thompson, Douglasville, GA, Mazda Miata, 12.9, (5), Charles Leonard, Palmetto, FL, Nissan 200SX SE-R, 6.DNS, (7), Roy Lopshire Jr, Blue Springs, MO, Toyota Tercel, .Length of Race: 50 milesOverall Time of Race: 31:30.496Average Speed: 94.908 mphFastest Race Lap: #11 Dentici, 2:13.564 (95.954 mph)Lap Leaders: #11 Dentici, laps 1-14Sunoco Hard Charger: #41 Peter ZekertImage: Jim Dentici on his way to a GT-Lite win.Credit: Shawn Lumley