Sports Car - December 2019

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.