Mid-Ohio results and notes (GT2)

Lexington, Ohio -- Results from the SCCA Valvoline Runoffs 19-lap, 45.6-mile GT-2 race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, SCCA Region, class, car, laps and reason out. 1, (1), David Finch, Ann Arbor, Mich., Det, GT2, Porsche 944, 19. 2, (3), Tom Patton, Fairfield, Ohio, Cinc, GT2, Sunbeam Tiger, 19. 3, (4), Jim Blakewell, Oklahoma City, Okla., Okla, GT2, Porsche 914-6, 19. 4, (8), Chick Misura, Boulder, Colo., Colo, GT2, Porsche 914-6, 19. 5, (11), Noel Poduje, Needham, Mass., NEng, GT2, Lotus Elan, 19. 6, (10), Charlie Cook, Byron, N.Y., Fing, GT2, Pontiac Fiero, 19. 7, (12), Dick Greer, Columbus, Ohio, OhV, GT2, Mazda RX-7, 18. 8, (14), Bobby Shankle, Mt Juliet, Tenn., MidS, GT2, Porsche 914-6, 18. 9, (16), Mark Smith, Exton, Pa., Phil, GT2, Jaguar E, 18. 10, (13), Craig Belcher, Roseville, Ohio, OhV, GT2, Datsun 240Z, 18. 11, (9), Steve Limbert, Wellsville, Pa., Phil, GT2, Porsche 916-6, 18. 12, (18), Don Christman, Topeka, Kansas, Kan, GT2, Mazda RX-7, 18. 13, (15), Tony Giordano, Overland Park, Kansas, KC, GT2, Nissan 280Z, 18. 14, (17), Earl Myers, Fostoria, Ohio, NwOh, GT2, Lotus Elan, 18. 15, (21), Paul Alderman, Hockessin, Del., Phil, GT2, Nissan 300ZX, 11, n.a.. 16, (2), Duane Davis, Camas, Wash., Ore, GT2, Toyota Celica, 10, n.a.. 17, (19), Ned Yeaton, Delray Beach, Fla., Fla, GT2, Jaguar XKE, 10, n.a.. 18, (6), Bill Reid, Knoxville, Tenn., Atl, GT2, Mazda RX-7, 8, n.a.. 19, (5), Duane Ablamis, Los Gatos, Calif., SanF, GT2, Mazda RX-7, 6, n.a.. 20, (7), Gus Rosenberg, Lebanon, Pa., Susq, GT2, Porsche 911, 6, n.a.. time of race: 29 minutes, 53.913 seconds. average speed: 91.509 miles-per-hour margin of victory: 1.8430 seconds fastest race lap: Jim Blakewell, 1:33.875 (92.037 mph)

RACE #17 - GT-2 Sports Car picks: David Finch, Porsche 944S Duane Davis, Toyota Celica Tom Patton, Sunbeam Tiger Grid: David Finch, Duane Davis, Tom Patton LAP 1: 20 cars take the green flag for the last race of the day. Davis gets the jump at the start and leads the field into the first turn followed by Finch and Patton. Finch pulls past Davis as they cross the S/F line to end the first lap. Patton, Blakewell and Reid are right behind. LAP 2: Davis loses second to Patton and drops back. Finch and Patton open up a lead on the field. Steve Limbert spins at turn 1, drops from 9th to last. LAP 3: Patton closes up behind Finch as the two continue to move away from Davis in third. Blakewell is dogging Davis and is challenging for third. Less than a second between Finch and Patton. Davis is another six seconds farther back. LAP 4: Patton is falling back off the leader Finch but is still stretching out the gap back to Davis in third. Finch now has a two second advantage. LAP 5: Blakewell continues to push Davis for third. Leaders are Finch, Patton, Davis, Blakewell, Ablamis, Reid, Misura, Alderman, Cook, and Poduje. Alderman has worked his way up to eigth from the last starting spot on the grid. LAP 6: Reid and Misura trading positions around the course. LAP 7: Ablamis loses power coming down the front straight. He parks it outside of turn 1. Finch continues to extend his lead over Patton. Alderman keeps moving up. LAP 8: Finch has a four second lead over Patton. Davis is in third followed by Blakewell. LAP 9: Alderman is up into sixth and pressuring Reid for fifth. Alderman and Reid tangle and Reid is off at turn 8 into the tires. Alderman is smoking, probably tire rub. LAP 10: Davis appears to be losing power. Blakewell goes around into third. Leaders are into slower traffic. Davis pulls into the pits. LAP 11: Finch now leads Patton by 4.6 seconds. Blakewell is third followed by Alderman and Misura. LAP 12: Alderman is out of power and coasting to a stop at turn 13 and pulling off the track. LAP 13: Finch is into some heavy traffic and is getting held up. Patton picks up a couple of seconds. Leaders are now Finch, Patton, Blakewell, Misura, and Cook. LAP 14: Finch still has a 3.5 second lead over Patton. LAP 15: Patton is slowly closing the gap on Finch, but is still three seconds behind. LAP 16: Patton closes to with 2.5 seconds. LAP 17: Finch continues to lead and Patton is running out of time. Still over two second gap. Cook and Poduje battling back in the pack for fifth. LAP 18: With one lap to go the gap is still 2.5 seconds between Finch and Patton. Blakewell is about the same distance behind in third. Fourth place is a long way back to Misura. LAP 19: Finch holds onto the lead and the National Championship with a two second advantage over Patton. Blakewell closes to within a half second of Patton at the finish but has to settle for third. Fourth goes to Misura and Cook finishes fifth. Race #17 GT-2 Jim Blakewell - 3rd "I've done better today than I ever have. I was disappointed that I didn't get closer to Tom (Patton), but then I thought I was happy to be where I was." Tom Patton - 2nd In response to the question 'What makes your car so fast (a Sunbeam Tiger)' -- "The aerodynamics makes my car go so fast." "The car was running very well down the straightaways. There were a couple of laps that I got close to David (Finch), but he never made a mistake." David Finch - 1st "We had a very mixed bunch of cars out there today -- it was real interesting. It was a real struggle with the changing conditions as the track dried." "We made some definite strategy decisions with regard to the car's setup (slippery conditions) before the race, and we got a big enough lead in the early going to hold off Tom (Patton) towards the end.