Goodyear, SCCA Runoffs, F Mazda

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Burton-Harris wins SCCA Formula Mazda national title

      DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 25, 2015) – Joseph Burton-Harris, an Australian teenager now living in Birmingham, Ala., led every lap and won the Sports Car Club of America’s Formula Mazda national championship using Goodyear tires.      The SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB is at Daytona International Speedway, using the sports car venue that runs through the famed track’s infield and includes portions of the high-banked NASCAR track.      Mike Anderson, Anza, Calif., finished third. Anderson also raced on Goodyear rubber.      The Formula Mazda class is for open wheel cars powered by Mazda engines. The cars are highly technically developed and the class is open to competition among tiremakers.      Burton-Harris started on the pole but did not get the lead until the second lap of the 14-lap chase around the 3.56-mile road course. He led the remainder of the distance.       “It’s pretty amazing,” Burton-Harris said. “We’ve worked so hard all year … the whole winning part is great, it feels amazing. But just being here and on this track … to get to go around this track itself is such an amazing feeling.”      Burton Harris, 18, was born in England. His family moved to Australia when he was very young. He spent his childhood racing karts.      “Honestly, going into the race we just had no idea what was going to happen,” the champ said. “You never really know on these superspeedways. Even though there is a massive infield, you still never know what’s going to happen.”      Anderson went into the race as the defending champ. He spent nearly the entire race challenging for second place.     Goodyear employs about 69,000 people at manufacturing plants and facilities in 22 nations. Based in Akron, Ohio, Goodyear is among the largest tiremakers in the world and is the worldwide leader in race tire innovation.