MONETEREY, Calif., (Oct. 12, 2014) 鈥� Cliff White, of Huntsville, Alabama, won the Spec Racer庐 Ford race at the 2014 午夜福利51xxtv National Championship Runoffs庐, by 0.065-second over Mike Miserendino, of Bakersfield, California. It was the closest SRF finish in Runoffs history. T.J. Acker, of Santa Clarita, California, completed the podium at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Starting from the Tire Rack Pole Position, Miserendino held his lead in the No. 11 MBI Racing Spec Racer Ford on the opening lap without issue. Behind him, however, a multi-car incident in Turn Two brought out the first of two full-course caution periods.
On the restart, Miserendino again had no issue holding the lead, but behind him, White was falling behind.
鈥淚 was having trouble with my second and third shifts coming out of 11 and Turn Two,鈥� White said. 鈥淚 missed the second to third shift. T.J. luckily missed me, but it was mostly driver error.鈥�
White was back on it and working his way through the field, fighting with Scott Rettich, Todd Harris and Acker. The battle enabled Miserendino to pull a gap on the field. Once White was by Acker in the Corkscrew on lap five, he set his sights on Miserendino, who had a three-second lead.
鈥淲e had a fantastic car,鈥� White said. 鈥淲e worked on it all week. We knew Mike, T.J. and the guys at MBI were the guys to beat this week. I spent a lot of time doing laps by myself, not in traffic. As soon as I got through fourth, third and second, I was able to get in a rhythm and start chewing away at Mike鈥檚 lead. He was the carrot.鈥�
A full-course yellow was exactly what White needed to erase the deficit to Miserendino. Though the two held their positions through the lap 12 restart, White鈥檚 No. 58 Cottage Senior Living/Valvoline Spec Racer Ford was filling Miserendino鈥檚 mirrors.
Four laps later, White made his move, passing Miserendino in the famed Corkscrew. The pass earned him the GoPro Hero Move of the Race Award.
鈥淭he lap before, he got really lose going into Turn Seven,鈥� recalled White. 鈥淚 was getting pretty good runs out of Turn Six and up the hill. I was showing my nose and I was able to sneak in there a little bit and the car stuck, luckily. He gave me enough racing room like we do up at the front of Spec Racer all the time.鈥�
Miserendino was not letting White get off easy. Though he initially lost ground, Miserendino slowly reeled White back in and made his move to the inside on the last corner of the last lap.
鈥淚 moved down a little bit, but I tried to give him as much room as is reasonable,鈥� White said. 鈥淚 knew he was coming on the inside and that鈥檚 the only place you could pass there. I tried to get the car rotated and stomped on the gas. We drag raced down the front straightaway.鈥�
That drag raced ended in a 0.065-second victory for White, the seventh-closest finish in Runoffs history since adopting transponders for scoring. It is the second SRF title for White.
Miserendino never got too comfortable with his lead through the first half of the race, knowing SRF was likely to have at least one more caution before the finish.
鈥淚n the back of my mind, I was always worried about that second full-course yellow and then it did come out,鈥� Miserendino said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 racing. It came out and I settled in and Cliff and I had a great end of the race battle going.
鈥淚 started to slide a little bit toward the second half of the race. He made a good move into the Corkscrew and was able to squeak by. I hung right there, but bobbled out of 11 on that same lap. He was able to get a good lead. I did my best to reel him back in and got him on the last lap. I sure wish this race was 21 laps!鈥�
Starting third in the No. 62 MBI Racing/Cindescency Spec Racer Ford, Acker advanced to second in the first restart, taking advantage of White鈥檚 missed shift.
鈥淚 assumed Cliff had some kind of problem,鈥� Acker said. 鈥淚 found out he missed a shift. That鈥檚 what allowed me to get by him. I tried to help my teammate by being as big of a pain in the butt as I could possibly be and stay in front, but he caught up and got by me without much problem.鈥�
From there on, Acker had his hands full with Rettich, John Black and Steve Fogg who all had their eye on the final podium spot.
鈥淚t was fairly exciting,鈥� Acker said. 鈥淚 was having a difficult time getting the car stopped at the bottom of the hill going into Turn Two. Other than that, I thought I was doing pretty well and had the rest of the corners covered. I just had to keep it going straight and get through that corner without getting dive-bombed. Everyone was gracious enough to not do that to me.鈥�
Rettich, of Columbus, Ohio, and Black of Olympic Valley, California ended up completing the top five.
Joseph Wolf, of East Nassau, New York, was awarded the Sunoco Hard Charger, advancing from 35th on the grid to 20th at the finish.
The 51st 午夜福利51xxtv National Championship Runoffs庐, The Pinnacle of American Motorsports, will crown 午夜福利51xxtv鈥檚 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 午夜福利51xxtv.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鈥檚 Spec Racer Ford National Championship at the 51st 午夜福利51xxtv National Championship Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with finish position, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car and laps complete. 1, (2), Cliff White, Huntsville, AL, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 2, (1), Mike Miserendino, Bakersfield, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 3, (3), TJ Acker, Santa Clarita, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 4, (6), Scott Rettich, Columbus, OH, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 5, (7), John Black, Olympic Valley, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 6, (5), Steve Fogg, West Linn, OR, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 7, (8), John Tipton, Lake Oswego, OR, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 8, (17), Perry Richardson, Los Gatos, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 9, (14), Darryl Wills, Houston, TX, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 10, (16), Michael Keller, Napa, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 11, (19), Bill Booth, Cupertino, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 12, (10), Scott Monroe, Seabrook, TX, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 13, (18), Paul Marino, Chatsworth, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 14, (13), Mark Ballengee, Shafter, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 15, (11), Robert Breton, San Francisco, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 16, (24), Mark Vultaggio, Swiftwater, PA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 17, (21), Lee Douglas, Portland, OR, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 18, (22), Michael Boyle, Santa Clara, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 19, (29), Ricky Lee, Murray, UT, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 20, (35), Joseph Wolf, East Nassau, NY, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 21, (28), Paul Goudy, Portland, OR, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 22, (25), Daniel Halloran, Portland, OR, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 23, (27), Tom Miserendino, Los Angeles, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 24, (30), JoJo Saunders, Mill Valley, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 25, (26), Paul Raby, Las Vegas, NV, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 26, (38), Denny Fosdick, Riverside, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 27, (40), Phil Fogg Sr, Tualatin, OR, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 28, (34), David Kay, Los Gatos, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 29, (39), Dan Brooks, Colorado Springs, CO, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 30, (37), Peter Jankovskis, Lisle, IL, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 31, (41), Matias Bonnier, New Albany, OH, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 32, (43), Benjamin Brinn, Lafayette, IN, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 33, (44), Denny Wright, Portland, OR, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 34, (42), Roy Hillenburg, Friendswood, TX, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 20. 35, (32), Matt Gray, Chaska, MN, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 19. 36, (4), Todd Harris, Portland, OR, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 14. 37, (9), Jonathon Allen, Laguna Beach, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 8. 38, (31), Mark Hutchins, Lincoln, NE, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 8. 39, (15), Umberto Milletti, Hillsborough, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 7. 40, (12), Lee Fleming, Lake Forest, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 6. 41, (20), Jonah Rhodehamel, Oakland, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 0. 42, (23), Bob Gardner, Sunnyvale, CA, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 0. 43, (33), Gary Manchester, Portland, OR, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 0. 44, (36), Court Cardinal, Carson City, NV, 午夜福利51xxtv Spec Racer Ford, 0. Overall Time: 39:06.815 Average Speed: 68.662 mph Margin of Victory: 0.065-second Fastest Lap: Cliff White, 1:43.800 (77.618 mph) Sunoco Hard Charger: #4 Joseph Wolf Lap leaders: Mike Miserendino, laps 1-15; Cliff White, laps 16-20
2014 午夜福利51xxtv National Championship Runoffs