Ira earns Nissan’s 98th national championship at SCCA runoffs at Daytona International Speedway

DAYTONA, Fla. – Greg Ira of Plantation, Fla. won his second Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) E-Production National Championship in three years this weekend at Daytona International Speedway (DIS), giving Nissan its 98th National Championship – the most of any manufacturer since SCCA established the Runoff system.

Ira, who had endured three runner-up finishes driving his 1971 Datsun 240Z before his first title in 2013, looked like he may finish second again, as the Porsche 944 of Kip Van Steenburg stretched out a healthy advantage by late in the 14-lap, 35-mile sprint race at the same 2.5-mile DIS road course that hosts the famed Daytona 24 Hour race in January. Near the end of lap 12, Van Steenburg lost a brake line in the famed "Bus Stop" chicane and pulled off track. Ira cruised to a 19-second win at an average speed of almost 103 mph.

"It's awesome," said Ira. "It's super sweet. It's great to be here with the family contingent. Since Cliff (Greg's brother and Super Touring Lite podium finisher) and I are both racing, we've got people from all over the United States that are here with us and hanging out. To show them this kind of racing, they're probably a little bit spoiled for it to be their first race."

Bob Schader of Lafayette, Colo. drove his Nissan 350Z to an easy T3 Class win in what would have been his second SCCA National Championship. However, SCCA stipulates that a field had to contain a minimum of 10 cars to qualify for a National Championship. This year the faster T2 class was combined with just six T3 cars in the finals.

Schader broke away from the small contingent of T3 cars early, with his only tense moment coming as he lapped a slower running T2 car and made minor contact.

"I got a good jump on the start," Schader said. "(pole sitter) Scotty (White) and I hit the gas at the same time, but I guess I got a little bit of a leap and managed to pull a couple of car lengths into Turn One, and then I just started pedaling as hard as I could to get away from those guys before they were going to eat me."

Nissan now has 98 National Championships since SCCA introduced the National Championships Runoffs format in 1964. That's 10 more than the next nearest manufacturer, Chevrolet. North American Motorsports Manager Rick Kulach likes Nissan's chances to break the century mark next year at Mid-Ohio.

"I'm confident we can win at least two titles next year," said Kulach. "Mid-Ohio should bring out a solid contingent of Datsuns and Nissans in several categories, so I think we'll have a little extra to celebrate this time next year. It's a shame Bob Schader's win isn't classified as a championship. All of those T3 drivers traveled a long way to see who was the best in the nation, but the rules are what they are, and we will have to pick up two more next fall."

Coverage of all 27 SCCA National Championship races can be seen at http://www.scca.com/runoffs

About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized annually by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year since 2010. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com, or visit the U.S. media sites NissanNews.com and InfinitiNews.com.

# # #

Contact

Steve Yaeger
Corporate Communications
Nissan North America, Inc.
615-725-4443
Steve.yaeger@nissan-usa.com
www.nissannews.com