Goodyear, SRF at SCCA Runoffs

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White wins drafting fight with Stripling in SRF

     DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 27, 2015) – Cliff White won a drafting duel and claimed his third national championship as he won the Spec Racer Ford race of the Sports Car Club of America’s National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway.     The Runoffs, amateur racing’s version of the Olympic Games, were contested on Daytona’s 3.56-mile road racing venue that includes portions of the superspeedway’s high banks.      “It’s a different beast,” White said of racing at Daytona.      White, Huntsville, Ala., worked with Denny Stripling, McKinney, Tex., in a two-car draft at the front of the 39-car field for much of the race before deciding the matter as they approached the checkered flag. Stripling tried to make a sling shot move to nab the win but came up short.      “I led for 150 of the wrong feet on the front straight away,” Stripling said. “That’s how it played out.”      The margin of victory was just .048 of a second.      White said his race plan changed after an early-race caution. He said he decided, “Let’s make this a two-car race and see what happens on lap 14.”      That’s when White and Stripling teamed up to run away from the field.      Lee McNeish, Southbury, Ct., finished third in his first Runoffs appearance.      “They had it covered, I believe,” McNeish said of the frontrunners. “They were working well together; great speed, great drivers.”      Goodyear is the sole tire supplier for the SRF class. The victory brought Goodyear’s totals for the Runoffs to five wins in seven classes entered and two podium sweeps. Cars racing on Goodyear tires grabbed a dozen podium finishes out of 21 possible top-three positions.      Stripling said, “I want to thank Goodyear … Goodyear created an amazing tire for the Spec Racer class.”     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.