HOMESTEAD, Florida (January 9, 2016) – Close finishes, including some nearly too close to call, were the order of the day Saturday at the opening round of competition for the 2016 SCCA U.S. Majors Tour from Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Friday’s qualifying foreshadowed how close Spec Miata would be on Saturday, with Danny Steyn, of Fort Lauderdale, and Selin M. Rollan, of Miami, turning identical lap times for the provisional pole. Saturday morning’s second qualifier saw faster times, and the same two drivers up top, and Steyn earning the pole position by 0.001-second.
A shakeup at the start of the race dropped Rollan back from the lead, and fourth-starting Cory Collum, of Cape Coral, Florida, moved to second behind Steyn. The duo ran nose-to-tail for the next 14 laps, bump-drafting around the banking and remaining in a Mazda train throughout the rest of the 2.3-mile road course/oval.
On the final lap of the 25-minute timed race, Collum held back entering the back straight and got a run on Steyn as they exited the final corner. Collum dove his No. 23 Auto Galaxy/Auto Technik Mazda Miata to the left and edged Steyn to the checkered flag by 0.052-second. Rollan finished third.
The Spec Miata finish looked like a runaway compared to Spec Racer Ford 3. Polesitter and defending National Champion Kerry Jacobsen, of Deland, Florida, and Brian Schofield, of Lakeland, Florida, ran nose-to-tail the entire race, swapping the lead. As they took the white flag, Schofield was ahead by inches. As they came to the checker, it looked almost too close to call, with Jacobsen winning by mere inches. The official margin of victory for the No. 3 Comprent Motorsports entry was 0.004-second.
Not to be out-done by the spec classes, Group Three for small formula cars featured two side-by-side finishes for a class win. Overall, Chuck Moran, of Oakton, Virginia, edged a charging John McMurry, of St. Louis, Missouri, to take his Van Diemen Ford to a 0.049-second win in Formula Continental®. Likewise, Formula Vee had a three-way side-by-side finish for the win, with Donnie Isley, of Fletcher, N.C., beating Russell Fredericks, of Northport, N.Y., by 0.018-second and Laura Hayes, of Fletcher, N.C., by 0.071-second.
In all, 27 classes crowned winners on the opening day of 27 U.S. Majors Tour race weekends across the country. For full results, including starting lineups for Sunday’s second half of the weekend doubleheader, visit the event homepage at www.scca.com/homesteadmajors.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Winners from Saturday’s 25-minute SCCA U.S. Majors Tour races at the 2.3-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway circuit, with class, driver, hometown and car.
American Sedan, Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., Ford Mustang.
B-Spec, Chi Ho, Orlando, Fla., Honda Fit.
E Production, Jeffrey Cripe, Sarasota, Fla., BMW E36.
F Production, Ken Kannard, Sebring, Fla., Mazda Miata.
Formula 1000, Shane Prieto, Lake Worth, Fla., Firman.
Formula 500, Russell Strate Jr., Alden, N.Y., Rocketech.
Formula Atlantic, Ryan Norman, Aurora, Ohio, Swift 016/Mazda.
Formula Continental, Chuck Moran, Oakton, Va., Van Diemen Ford.
Formula Enterprises, Paul Schneider, Charlotte, N.C., Formula Enterprises/Ford.
Formula F, John Robinson II, St. Cloud, Fla., Swift DB-6.
Formula Mazda, Douglas Peterson, Bonita Springs, Fla., Formula Mazda.
Formula Vee, Donnie Isley, Fletcher, N.C., Agitator/VW.
GT-1, Simon Gregg, Ponte Verda, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette.
GT-2, Randy Kinsland, Whittier, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette.
GT-3, Ray Stephenson, Miami, Fla., Mazda RX-7.
GT-Lite, Peter Shadowen, West Palm Beach, Fla., Honda CRX Si.
H Production, Ron Bartell, Madbury, N.H., MG Midget.
Prototype 1, Jacek Mucha, Highland Beach, Fla., JMS016 Mazda.
Prototype 2, Sherman Chao, Palm Beach, Fla., Stohr WF-1.
Spec Miata, Cory Collum, Cape Coral, Fla., Mazda Miata.
Spec Racer Ford, Quinten Nelson, Newark, Ohio, SCCA Spec Racer Ford.
Spec Racer Ford 3, Kerry Jacobsen, Deland, Fla., SCCA Spec Racer Ford 3.
Super Touring Lite, Bob Beede, Northampton, Mass., Honda Civic Si.
Super Touring Under, Michael Flynn, Eustis, Fla., Hyundai Genesis.
Touring 1, Ernie Francis, Jr., Dania, Fla., Ford Mustang.
Touring 2, Preston Calvert, Potomac, Md., Ford Mustang.
Touring 4, Don Knowles, Pittsboro, N.C., Ford Mustang.
Image: Kerry Jacobsen (3) and Brian Schofield (61) cross the finish line side-by-side. Jacobsen won by 0.004-second.
Credit: Mark Weber/SCCA Image
