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RUNOFFS TV UPDATE
The 2006 Runoffs will air on SPEED TV starting in November. The Showroom Stock B race, featuring the iRacing.com Solstices of Don Knowles and Andrew Aquilante, is scheduled for 2 p.m. (Eastern) on Tuesday, Nov. 14. For a complete schedule of SPEED TV coverage of the 43rd Annual SCCA National Championship Runoffs, please visit https://scca.com/Club/Club.asp.
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TOPEKA, KS (14 October 2006) iRacing.com-sponsored driver Don Knowles won Friday's Showroom Stock B Class race at the 43rd Annual Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) National Championship Runoffs at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas. Teammate Andrew Aquilante qualified his iRacing.com/Hoosier/Phoenix Pontiac Solstice on pole, but mid-race tire trouble forced him into the pits and out of contention for what looked like a certain podium finish.
"Winning never gets old," said a jubilant Knowles, who is now a three-time SCCA National Champion, having scored back-to-back Runoffs wins in 1978 and 1979, as well as this victory 27 years later. "As drivers, we always have to remember how many people have worked hard to give us the chance to run for a national championship and take that responsibility seriously. I'm just tickled by the whole thing."
Knowles and pole winner Aquilante expected a strong challenge at the wave of the green flag from the trio of Honda Civic Si's starting just behind them. Honda drivers Bob Boileau, Lee Niffenegger and Chad Gilsinger pressed their horsepower advantage into the first corner, but Knowles and Aquilante capitalized on the Solstice's superior handling, and by the exit of turn three, the iRacing.com cars were running first and second.
"I got passed by at least one Honda at the start," said Knowles, of Pittsboro, NC. "But I figured I'd see if the Solstice was as good on the outside of turn three as I thought. It was, and A.J. (Aquilante) and I both were able to make it by. After that, it was just a matter of putting your head down and running clean, fast laps."
Knowles and Aquilante expanded their lead over the field as Boileau, Niffenegger, Gilsinger and defending Showroom Stock B Class National Champion Toby Grahovec battled for the third spot on the podium. Grahovec put in an epic drive in his BMW Z4 to ultimately finish third behind Gilsinger. Aquilante was not so lucky. Just past halfway in the 18-lap race, he experienced handling problems and reported a left-rear tire going down.
"The car was getting really loose in right-hand turns," said Aquilante, the 2006 SCCA Northeast Division Champion. "I radioed the team to look at it as I came by. They couldn't see anything, but pretty soon I picked up a really bad vibration and knew I had to come in (to the pits)."
Aquilante pitted from second place on lap 12 with his left rear tire badly shredded. Quick work by the Phoenix Performance Team got him back out in 25th. He then proceeded to charge through the field, picking up 11 spots in six laps to finish 14th and posting the fastest lap of the race along the way.
Knowles' victory with the iRacing.com/Hoosier/Phoenix Pontiac Solstice, was the 126th SCCA National Championship for General Motors, extending the manufacturer's winning streak to 51 consecutive years.
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