INDIANAPOLIS – David Daughtery claimed his 11th career victory in the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Saturday morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
The win puts him third all-time in the 58-year history of the Pinnacle of American Amateur Motorsports.
Daughtery drove a 2009 Mini Cooper to a 0.771-second win at historic facility over polesitter winner John Phillips in a race that ended under caution two laps early. Steve Introne took third place.
Frank Schwartz finished fourth while Michigander Brandon Vivian placed fifth.
Daughtery assumed the lead from Phillips on the third of the 19 scheduled laps in what Phillips said in a stategized move between teammates. It appeared to pay off when the duo was able to pull away from Introne, who started on the front row alongside Phillips, but dropped to sixth-place when he was bumped off the track on the opening lap.
Introne quickly moved back up to third, but he lost the draft of Daughtery and Phillips, who remained in close company as they pulled away.
Phillips believed his car was faster in the corners on the back side of the course. He planned to make his move on the final lap, but the yellow flag flew before that was possible.
Daughtery was genuinely surprised by his most recent Runoffs win and said he thought he had a third- or fourth-place car.
He paid tribute to 73-year-old John Heinricy, who several hours earlier had claimed his 16th SCCA National Championship in Indianapolis.
“I’ve got to keep up with Mr. Heinricy, because he keeps clicking them off,” Daughtery said. “So, I’ll take this one. It certainly didn’t go as planned. I had planned on sitting back. John let me by, and we were a little bit quicker out front. He had more speed at the end of the straight, but I had him up to the checkered flag. It’s just unbelievable.”
Phillips, the 2019 SCCA B-Spec National Champion, earned his fifth podium finish at the Runoffs.
“We knew exactly what we needed to do when we came to the Runoffs this year. It was just as we had planned,” Phillips said. “Unfortunately, I was setting [Daughtery] up for the last lap and I had him covered, but the caution came out. But no better person in the world to win than David Daughtery. He’s like a brother to me and he built this car.”
Introne was delighted to finish on the podium at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It’s awesome to be on the Runoffs podium,” he said. “We’ve been in SCCA families all our lives, and you dream about this stuff. That was just a good damn race.”
David Rosenblum claimed hard-charger honors in the No. 44 Ford Fiesta in his drive to 31st-place from the 48th-starting position.
The 58th SCCA National Championship Runoffs continues to crown Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year in Indianpolis Friday Oct. 1 through Sunday, Oct. 3.