Spicer Takes Sunday Morning Pro Spec Racer Ford Win At Atlanta

Richard Spicer, of Laurel, Md., started third and raced to the front of the SCCA Pro Racing Spec Racer Ford Round Nine race on Sunday morning at Road Atlanta, the first of two Sunday races to finish the season. Franklin Futrelle, of Augusta, Ga., and Tray Ayres, of Woodstock, Ga., completed the podium.

Spicer’s No. 65 Spicer Race Engines/Hagerman Engineering Spec Racer Ford moved from third on the grid and into the lead by lap four, just in time for a long caution period after the No. 90 Apple Motorsports Spec Racer Ford of Bob Gilbert and the No. 81 Dinosaur Racing Spec Racer Ford of Mark Vultaggio made contact, knocking both out of the race and spreading debris across the race track.

The field stayed under caution for seven laps for the clean-up, shortening the race to the 40-minute time limit from the scheduled 20 laps. Futrelle, running on his home track, moved to second on the first green lap and into the lead position in front of Spicer one lap later. Spicer followed, moving past Futrelle’s No. 97 Meco Inc. of Augusta/Comprent Spec Racer on lap 17 and holding the lead past the white flag and the final 2.54-miles to the checkers.

Spicer earned his series-best fourth win of the season by just 0.172-second over Futrelle, averaging 68.289 mph over the 45.72 mile race.

“All weekend the car’s been great,” Spicer said. “I would have liked to get the pole and the extra points for the pole, but I was happy with the car so I knew we were going to race well. I thought as well as Tray and I ran yesterday in qualifying that maybe he and I could get together and maybe pull away, but nobody wants that to happen so we’re all racing.

“I saw Franklin coming, I know it’s a local track for him and he’s going to be great here. He’s a nut behind the wheel, but he’s also in control enough that you don’t have to worry about him. When he caught me and he got ahead of me, to be honest with you, I actually picked up a little in a couple of the corners because of how well he was driving. We just hooked up on that first lap after the restart and took off.”

Futrelle moved to second after qualifying seventh.

“It’s really a testament to Comprent Motorsports,” Futrelle said. “I blew a motor getting ready for this event in my car, and they put me in their rental car. Apparently their rental car is really quick! It’s also a testament to SCCA Enterprises, making these things so even that you can jump in a rental car and go just as fast as your personal car that you spend countless hours perfecting. It was a great run, clean race, a competitive race and I’ve never been so happy to finish second.

“I’m friends with basically the top 10 guys, so I didn’t want to mess up the points. I was a little tentative to start the weekend when it’s not your car, but once the green flag drops you’re in the zone and you just do what you do.”

Ayres, the polesitter, fell as low to fifth position on lap 11 after restarting in second after the caution, but had pulled just behind the lead battle by the final laps. The No. 7 Ayres Racing Spec Racer Ford finished just 0.838-second behind Spicer for the podium position.

With just a Sunday matinee race remaining in the season, the Championship point battle grew for leader Scott Rettich when Brian Schofield’s No. 61 PM Racing Spec Racer Ford fell out of the race with a transmission issue on lap 12. Schofield led the opening three laps and was still in the lead group when he suddenly pulled off in Turn One. Rettich, right behind Schofield at the time of his incident, brought his No. 17 Alliance Autosport/Springboro Car Wash Spec Racer Ford to the checkers in fourth position.

Cliff White finished fifth in the No. 58 Thompson White Racing Spec Racer Ford.

Ayres’ fast lap of 1:39.733 (91.684 mph) also earned the pole position for the afternoon race, with the grid for the season finale set by fast laps during the morning race. Rettich will start second, followed by Spicer, Futrelle and John Greene in the No. 29 Jacky Jones Ford Lincoln Mercury Spec Racer Ford.

With the afternoon race remaining, Rettich leads the championship with 873 points, ahead of Spicer (808 points) and Schofield (772 points).

Ayers Takes Home Track Pro SRF Victory Sunday Afternoon In Atlanta

Tray Ayres, from nearby Woodstock, Ga., earned a victory in the SCCA Pro Racing Spec Racer Ford season finale on Sunday afternoon at Road Atlanta. Scott Rettich, of Camden, Ohio, finished in the runner-up position to clinch his second-consecutive series title, with John Greene, of Gainesville, Ga., completing the podium.

Tray Ayres, from nearby Woodstock, Ga., earned a victory in the SCCA Pro Racing Spec Racer Ford season finale on Sunday afternoon at Road Atlanta. Scott Rettich, of Camden, Ohio, finished in the runner-up position to clinch his second-consecutive series title, with John Greene, of Gainesville, Ga., completing the podium.

Ayres started on pole in the No. 7 Ayers Racing Spec Racer Ford and led 17 of 20 laps in the race on his way to a 0.241-second victory over Rettich, averaging 90.080 mph in the 50.8-mile race. Ayres also turned the fastest lap of the race on the 2.54-mile circuit in 1:40.583 (90.910 mph).

The top two finishers survived heavy attrition and were left alone to battle for the win on the last several laps, with Ayres holding off a challenge from Rettich’s No. 17 Alliance Autosport/Springboro Car Wash Spec Racer for the victory.

Rettich, who held the point lead by 65 points entering the finale, was essentially handed the title when championship runner-up Richard Spicer’s No. 65 Spicer Race Engines/Hagerman Engineering Spec Racer pulled off track on the front straight after four laps with suspension damage. Spicer’s early exit came just one lap after the third title contender, Brian Schofield, pulled his No. 61 PM Racing Spec Racer off course, also with suspension damage. Schofield was hit on the start from his eighth starting position, breaking his rear suspension.

“When Richard dropped out and it was just the two of us, it was just a question of clicking off some good laps and trying to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes,” Ayres said. “I ended up doing that and I was able to get out of seven a little bit better than he could on the last lap and he couldn’t get a run on me. That was the race.

“I wasn’t quick enough to get completely away with the draft on the back straight away and the wind, so I just made sure I stayed in front and saved a little bit for the second-to-last and last lap.”

With those two top contenders out of the race, Ayres, Rettich, and Frank Futrelle’s No. 97 Meco Inc. of Augusta/Comprent Spec Racer ran in the lead group, pulling away from the rest of the field.

Futrelle ran off course and eventually pulled into pit lane on lap 15, leaving Ayres and Rettich to battle for the win. Rettich got in front of Ayres to lead lap 10 and 17, but had no way around Ayres in the final lap for the win.

“I had a really good car early in the race, but we had the car just a little too loose,” Rettich said. “It was a dirty track, and that contributed, but my car was falling off a little more and a little more. I took the lead with a few laps to go, but I wasn’t fast enough to pull away. Coming into the last lap, my car wasn’t very good coming through seven. Tray was a lot stronger than me, and he was able to be just far enough ahead of me that I drafted up to him. I could have maybe made a bonsai move, but it wasn’t worth it.”

Third-finishing Greene’s No. 29 Jacky Jones Auto Group/PM Racing Spec Racer led a pack of four drivers across the white flag for the final podium spot. That battle, with Greene followed by Derek Schofield’s No. 61 PM Racing machine, Bruce Meyers’ No. 28 Seacoast Physiatry car, and Jean-Luc Liverato’s No. 8 ExpandeTech/8-Ball Racing/PM Racing Spec Racer, ended when Schofield spun and collected Liverato, leaving Greene to finish third.

Myers followed Greene across the stripe for a fourth-place finish.

Cliff White, of Vail, Colo., finished fifth in the No. 58 Spec Racer Ford machine.