RACE: National Runoffs: Tuesday qualifying report

Pole Times Fall at Second Day of SCCA Runoffs

TOPEKA, Kan. (October 9, 2007) -- Twenty-two new pole times were set on the second day of qualifying for the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T, including 15 brand new polesitters.

After skipping a wet qualifying session on Monday at Heartland Park Topeka, Niki Coello, of East Troy, Wis., has resumed his Formula Continental title defense by taking over the pole spot in his Van Diemen RF-01 by nearly a second and a half over the rest of the field. Coello is going for his third-straight Formula Continental Championship.

Going after his fourth-straight H Production Championship is Tom Feller, of Atlanta, Ga. Feller currently sits on the HP pole in his Triumph Spitfire and should he capture his fourth-consecutive title, he will be only the sixth driver in SCCA history to do so.

Father and son hold poles in Formula Mazda and GT-2. James Goughary Jr., of Jupiter, Fla., skipped the first qualifying session of the week, but took over the Formula Mazda pole today and began his quest for back-to-back Championships, while James Goughary Sr., of Houston, Texas, currently sits atop the GT-2 field, going for his third class crown in a Nissan 350Z.

At the wheel of his Honda Prelude Si, defending E Production National Champion Lawrence Loshak, of Glendale, Wis., wrangled the EP pole away from the Mazda RX-7 of Tom Thrash, from Houston, Texas, by more than half a second.

John Heinricy improved his Chevrolet Cobalt's Touring 3 pole time to a 1:48.319, nearly a full second faster than his Monday time. The ten-time SCCA National Champion from Royal Oak, Mich., is also entered in Showroom Stock C and American Sedan, where he is currently qualified second and third, respectively.

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SCCA National Championship Runoffs qualifying leaders after day two, with class, driver name, driver hometown, car and pole time. Classes marked with an asterisk indicate a new polesitter. Asterisks located after the class name indicate a new polesitter. Asterisks located after the time indicate a new pole time. All results are provisional.

A Sedan* -- Andrew McDermid, Grand Ledge, Mich., Ford Mustang, 1:44.860

C Sports Racing* -- Jason Miller, Elkhart Lake, Wis., WynnFurst West, 1:30.507

D Sports Racing* -- Jean-Luc Liverato, Alpharetta, Ga., Stohr WF1, 1:25.711

E Production* -- Lawrence Loshak, Milwaukee, Wis., Honda Prelude Si, 1:41.663

F Production* -- Luis Rivera, Rosharon, Texas, Mazda Miata, 1:46.638

G Production -- Chuck Mathis, Saint Jacob, Ill., Volkswagen Rabbit, 1:47.692

F500 -- Brian Novak, Dearborn, Mich., NovaKar J360, 1:37.722*

Formula Atlantic -- Tonis Kasemets, Mundelein, Ill., Swift 014, 1:22.617*

Formula Continental* -- Niki Coello, East Troy, Wis., Van Diemen RF-01, 1:30.649

Formula Ford* -- John Robinson II, Saint Cloud, Fla., Swift DB-6, 1:37.602

Formula Mazda* -- James Goughary Jr., Jupiter, Fla., Star Formula Mazda, 1:33.177

Formula Vee* -- Stephen Oseth,, Leesburg, Va., Vortech 07, 1:48.446

GT-1 -- Tony Ave, Mooresville, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:30.362*

GT-2* -- James Goughary, Houston, Texas, Nissan 350Z, 1:38.317

GT-3* -- Pete Peterson, Lumberton, N.C., Toyota Celica, 1:39.481

GT-Lite -- Christopher Bovis, Lawrence, Kan., Honda CRX, 1:45.922

H Production* -- Tom Feller, Atlanta, Ga., Triumph Spitfire, 1:48.354

S2000* -- Marc Mercer, Aurora, Colo., Lola 91/90, 1:35.031

Spec Miata -- Andrew Caddell, Graham, Wash., Mazda Miata, 1:51.410*

Showroom Stock C* -- Joel Lipperini, Pittston, Pa., Honda Civic Si, 1:54.958

Showroom Stock B -- Michael Scornavacchi, Manheim, Pa., Pontiac Solstice, 1:52.873*

Spec Racer Ford* -- John Black, Olympic Valley, Calif., Spec Racer Ford, 1:48.872

Touring 1 -- Andrew Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., Chevrolet Corvette, 1:41.228*

Touring 2 -- William Ziegler, Stamford, Conn., Pontiac GXP, 1:46.417

Touring 3 -- John Heinricy, Royal Oak, Mich., Chevrolet Cobalt, 1:48.319*

-credit: www.scca.com