20 DECEMBER 2019 scca.com
EVENT REPORT
Unbelievable! Woooo!” Nick Leverone shouted into the
camera poking into the window
of his Flatout Motorsports
Inc. Subaru BRZ following a
fantastic run to the Runoffs
double checkers. Leverone,
while he has had much success
in motorsports from autocross
to pro, had yet to stand on the
podium at the SCCA National
Championship Runoffs. Now
he’s won an SCCA National
Championship in Touring 4.
The T4 field was close, with
the top 10 qualifying within a
second, led by 15-time National
Champion John Heinricy in his
Hoosier/Mobil 1/Hawk Toyota 86
on the Tire Rack pole. Leverone
was starting next to him, and
Stephen Blethen was starting
third in his RST Performance
Koni Precision Mazda RX- 8.
on. It turns out, tire selection
being trumped by a driveline
issue with Heinricy’s Toyota.
“I would say better than
halfway through the race it
appeared he was struggling to
get into fifth gear,” explained
Leverone. “I had seen it a little
bit in qualifying late in the
session. [During the race] it
looked like I was gaining a little
bit, more on the back straight
especially, on the four-five shift.”
Leverone was soon on
Heinricy’s bumper and, on
lap 10, Leverone was close
enough to make a move into
Heinricy, on the Hoosier
A7s, kept his advantage at
the green and began to put a
small gap on Leverone. Four
laps in, the top five – which now
included Tyler Quance’s Drake
Motorsports/Miata Graveyard
Mazda MX- 5, up from his ninth-
place starting position – had put
a pretty significant gap behind
them. Up front, Heinricy was
resetting the T4 lap record for
VIR with times that were quicker
than qualifying, and Quance
shortly moved into fourth
past Owen Schefer, who had
heretofore been doing his best
to pressure Blethen for third.
By lap 7, though, Heinricy’s
gap was shrinking. Leverone,
on the Hoosier R7s, was clearly
faster on parts of the track, the
reason for which would become
more apparent as the laps went
TOURING 4
RACE 1 | FRIDAY | OCT. 11, 2019 | 8: 15 A.M.
CHAMPION
NICK LEVERONE
New England Region
Flatout Motorsports Inc.
Subaru BRZ
T4 QUALIFYING
Qualifying Pos. Driver/Region (Car)
Best Time; 1. John Heinricy/DET
(2018 Toyota 86) 2: 11.257; 2. Nick
Leverone/NER (2013 Subaru BRZ)
2: 11.285; 3. Stephen Blethen/NER
(2004 Mazda RX- 8) 2: 11.305;
4. Owen Schefer/WDC (2004 Mazda
RX- 8) 2: 11.462; 5. Thomas Fowler/
Atl (2004 Mazda RX- 8) 2: 11.469;
6. Tommy Boileau/CDR (2004
Acura RSX Type-S) 2: 11.823;
7. Raymond Blethen/NER (2009
Mazda RX- 8) 2: 11.936; 8. Jared
Lendrum/MHR (2013 Subaru BRZ)
2: 12.067; 9. Tyler Quance/Hous
(2006 Mazda MX- 5) 2: 12.134;
10. Steve Bertok/SCR (2006 Mazda
MX- 5) 2: 12.151; 11. Brian Reilly/NER
(2004 Mazda RX- 8) 2: 12.301;
12. Kevin Fryer/WDC (2006 Mazda
MX- 5) 2: 12.389; 13. Bryan
Horowitz/FLA (2013 Scion FR-S)
2: 12.627; 14. Felix Borodaty/NNJ
(2017 Toyota 86) 2: 12.782;
15. Morgan Mehler/NCR (2006
Mazda MX- 5) 2: 13.344; 16. Brian
Nelson/NCR (2006 Mazda MX- 5)
2: 13.657; 17. Brent Simonson/WDC
(2005 Mazda RX- 8) 2: 13.686;
18. Derrick Ambrose/Ore (2015
Mazda 3) 2: 14.041; 19. Steve
Strickland/BRR (2006 Mazda MX- 5)
2: 14.201; 20. Ron Munnerlyn/CCR
(2014 Mazda MX- 5) 2: 14.392;
21. Sergio Zlobin/LnSt (2004
Mazda RX- 8) 2: 14.437; 22. Tim
Mullen/NER (2004 Mazda RX- 8)
2: 15.091; 23. Jonathon Collins
McLendon/NCR (2006 Mazda MX- 5)
2: 16.198; 24. Mike Burke/DET
(2007 Mazda MX- 5) 2: 17.271;
25. Christopher Collins/ WDC (2006
Mazda MX- 5) 2: 21.269
Horowitz - Loss of qualifying 1
times per Chief Steward - GCR
9. 3. 25.A
Fowler - Loss of qualifying 3 times
per SOM - GCR 6. 11.1. A-E
T4 RACE
Race 15 laps, 49 Miles: Pos. Driver
(Laps); 1. Nick Leverone ( 15);
2. Tyler Quance ( 15); 3. Stephen
Blethen ( 15); 4. Owen Schefer ( 15);
5. John Heinricy ( 15); 6. Brent
Simonson ( 15); 7. Raymond
Blethen ( 15); 8. Kevin Fryer ( 15);
9. Steve Bertok ( 15); 10. Tommy
Boileau ( 15); 11. Felix Borodaty
( 15); 12. Brian Nelson ( 15);
13. Bryan Horowitz ( 15); 14. Ron
Munnerlyn ( 15); 15. Tim Mullen
( 15); 16. Derrick Ambrose ( 15);
17. Sergio Zlobin ( 15);
18. Jonathon Collins McLendon
( 15); 19. Steve Strickland ( 15);
20. Christopher Collins ( 14);
21. Mike Burke ( 13); 22. Jared
Lendrum ( 9); 23. Brian Reilly ( 6);
24. Morgan Mehler ( 6); 25. Thomas
Fowler (1)
Overall Time of Race: 33:05.327;
Average Race Speed: 88.943mph;
Margin of Victory: 04.349sec;
Fastest Race Lap: Leverone
2: 10.959 ( 89.891mph); Lap
Leaders: Heinricy laps 1-9;
Leverone laps 10-15; Sunoco Hard
Charger: Simonson
“ The T4 field was close,
with the top 10 qualifying
within a second, led
by 15-time National
Champion John Heinricy”
RUNNING FLAT OUT
(BELOW) Nick Leverone kept the
pressure on 15-time champion John
Heinricy, and as Heinricy’s steed
faded, Leverone capitalized, collecting
his first Runoffs win. (RIGHT) Tyler
Quance survived to collect the silver
medal. (FAR RIGH T) Stephen Blethen
overcame ailing suspension to claim
the final step on the podium.
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