Loshak scored DSR National Championship

Loshak Scores Dominant D Sports Racing National Championship
By: SCCA PR staff

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sept. 24, 2010) -- Lawrence Loshak, of Milwaukee, Wis., could not be caught at Road America as he stormed to a commanding D Sports Racing win over Chris Farrell, of Salt Lake City, Utah, at the 2010 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Subway. Michael Scully, of Calabasas, Calif., finished third.

Starting second in the No. 02 ETE Reman/GY Moon Super Cycle KWS Stohr WF1/Suzuki, Loshak drag-raced Gumout Polesitter Farrell into Turn One and came out the victor. It was the last Farrell would see of Loshak, who, by the end of the opening lap, had already secured a lead of more than two seconds.

"Looking through some data, I wasn't really happy with the mechanism on our car which helps keep the throttle to the floor while we shift," Loshak said. "I wasn't happy with what it was doing to the air/fuel ratio, so I disconnected it. The green flag was actually my first time going back to the old fashioned way where you lift as you shift. I hit the rev limiter going into second and third. Then third was actually when I was able to pull on Chris [Farrell] a little bit. Knowing Chris' background, I've race with him a couple of times this season, I knew we could go in there two-wide and be respectful. I was able to go in to Turn One full force."

Loshak continued at full force and when the checkered flag waved to end the 13-lap, 52-mile race, Loshak had amassed a 3.752-second lead, averaging 114.783 mph. It is the second SCCA National Title for Loshak, who won the E Production National Championship in 2006.

"We were disappointed last year, so my crew worked their tails off to get here," Loshak continued. "We had many sleepless nights, so this was my turn to work hard. I didn't want to let them down and bringing home the gold was definitely the goal."

A battle with Loshak may not have been in the cards for Farrell, but a fight for second was. By lap five, the No. 0 Slinghshot/Dauntless/Goodywar Stohr WF-Zero/Suzuki of Scully was all Farrell could see in his mirrors. The pair went side-by-side several times, with Scully's best opportunities coming as the pair hit slower traffic. Try as he might, Scully could not wrestle the runner-up spot from Farrell, whose No. 58 C&M Manufacturing/BDRE/Hoosier/Sunoco Stohr WF1/Suzuki crossed the finish line firmly in second.

"There were a couple of times where I was catching people in spots that were more conducive for my timing and others spots where it was more conducive to his (Scully) timing, but Mike is a great driver and he's always raced me clean," Farrell said. "I really didn't think he was going to drill me."

Though he wasn't able to make the pass on Farrell, Scully waked away with some compensation in scoring the fastest lap of the race, a 2:03.769 (116.346 mph) on the way to a third-place finish. It is a new DSR Runoffs race lap record.

"I guess I can have some satisfaction in that we set the fastest lap of the race, but strategically, I think I could have made some moves that were a little more aggressive and could have got me to the front sooner," Scully said.

"In the slower stuff my car was a lot quicker. If I'd been able to back it off just a touch and get a run on him in the slower stuff, I think that would have set me up for a good pass. We were alongside each other going into the Carousel, for maybe the first part of the turn. I was on the outside and it's better not to be on the outside, so maybe if I'd buckled down at that point I could have cleared him."

Jason Barfield, of Granville, Ohio, picked up one spot from his fifth-place starting position to finish fourth in the No. 76 Young Racing/KWS/Hoosier Stohr WF1.

Charles Dempsey, of Brooksville, Fla., completed the top five in his No. 85 Charles Dempsey MD Rehab Medicine/Goodyear Stohr WF1.

Brian Lindstrand, of Lake Villa, Ill., was the Sunoco Hard Charger of the Race, advancing five positions to an 11th-place finish in the No. 04 Holy Roller Racing/LMI/HRP/Goodyear Prince LSR.

Now in its 47th year, the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Subway annually crowns Champions in the Sports Car Club of America's Club Racing classes. The live broadcast of all 28 National Championship races will be available throughout the weekend at www.Speedcasttv.com/scca and later available On Demand from the same site.

Follow the action on Twitter @SCCAOfficial or the SCCA, Inc. Official Facebook page at facebook.com/sccaofficial.

-source: sports car club of america