After claiming his first-ever Tire Rack Pole Award on Thursday, Daniel Richardson and his No. 22 Hoosier/AutoGear/GentiumTech Chevrolet Camaro opened Hagerty Race Days — leading the American Sedan field to the green flag Friday morning — for the first National Championship race at the 60th running of SCCA’s Runoffs at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR).
Three-time National Champion Gregory Eaton, in a Ford Mustang, was alongside Richardson at the start, and the two racers went side-by-side through the first couple turns on the first lap. To make things even more interesting, James Jost was trying to insert himself in the mix driving a Ford Mustang GT.
Before the cars made it to the Snake portion of VIR’s 18-turn, 3.27-mile circuit, Eaton had managed to secure the lead with Richardson, of Derwood, MD, right on his tail. Meanwhile, Jost’s car began emitting heavy smoke while making its way up the Climbing Esses, and he pulled his car out of the race.
On the third lap, it was Eaton leading Richardson, with a small gap back to Thomas West in third, in a Cadillac CTS-V, and the No. 78 Wesley Motorsports/Bilstein Dodge Challenger of Clark Cambern in fourth. But in the Climbing Esses once again, Eaton’s car began emitting a massive amount of smoke, and he spun into the grass and out of the race.
Richardson had the lead from that point, and maintained a gap on everyone for the rest of the 15-lap race. The result: His very first Runoffs win in 14 starts.
“We finally got it,” Richardson said with tears in his eyes. “Every time I go to the racetrack, I don’t really care about where I finish. I just want to go faster than I did last year. I want to get better as a driver. I want to work on myself, and learn more.”
Behind Richardson, Cambern was able to get by West for second, and tried to close in on the first-place driver, but he had lost too much time early in the race. A last-lap slide off in Turn 1 could have cost him, but he was able to get back on track without losing a position and settled for the second step on the podium for his second runner-up finish at the Runoffs.
“I knew if we lost too much time early, we’d be in trouble because we are a long-run car,” Cambern said afterwards. “We had just a messy start, and were in the wrong places at the wrong time over and over and over again.”
Further back, West tried to hold on to the final step on the victory podium. But just beyond the race’s halfway point, Amy Aquilante moved by in the No. 51 TAR/DBA Rotors/Hoosier/Hawk Pontiac Firebird after starting seventh. She quickly pulled away from West, and finished a comfortable third, earning her a third appearance on a Runoffs podium.
“My car just kept coming in better and better,” Aquilante said. “We went out on track a little blind, but I felt it out. After that, I was ready to go.”
West finished fourth, and Beth Aquilante earned the Sunoco Hard Charger honor after starting ninth and finishing fifth.
The 60th running of SCCA’s National Championship Runoffs, the Pinnacle of American Amateur Motorsports, crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year at VIRginia International Raceway — in Alton, VA — during Hagerty Race Days, Friday, Sept. 29, through Sunday, Oct. 1.
Live, online video coverage of Runoffs races, presented by Mazda, is available throughout the three days of competition at SCCA.com/live, and at SCCA’s official YouTube and Facebook social media channels. Live timing and scoring for each race is also available at SCCA.com.
Below are official results for Friday’s American Sedan race at the 2023 SCCA National Championship Runoffs, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
1, (1), Daniel Richardson, Derwood, MD, Chevrolet Camaro, 15
2, (3), Clark Cambern, Dewitt, MI, Dodge Challenger, 15
3, (7), Amy Aquilante, Phoenixville, PA, Pontiac Firebird, 15
4, (6), Thomas West, Standish, ME, Cadillac CTS-V, 15
5, (9), Beth Aquilante, Collingswood, NJ, Pontiac Firebird, 15
6, (8), Kyle Jones, Milford, MI, Pontiac Firebird, 15
7, (10), Sam Daniels, Northlake, TX, Chevrolet Camaro, 14
8, (11), Kelly Lubash, Stamford, CT, Chevrolet Camaro, 13
DNF, (2), Gregory Eaton, Woodbridge, VA, Ford Mustang, 2
DNF, (4), James Jost, New Ringgold, PA, Ford Mustang GT, 0
DNF, (5), Andrew McDermid, Howell, MI, Ford Mustang, 0
Race Stats
Length of Race: 49.05 miles
Overall Time of Race: 31:25.221 (avg. 93.665 mph)
Margin of Victory: 32.896 seconds
Fastest Race Lap:
Lap Leaders: #21, Laps 1-2; #22, Laps 3-15
Sunoco Hard Charger: #51 Amy Aquilante
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Photo caption: Daniel Richardson is indeed number one after winning the Runoffs American Sedan race Friday.
Photo by: Jay Bonvouloir