TOPEKA, Kan. (Oct. 12, 2007) - Local driver Chris Bovis put on an impressive driving display in front of his hometown fans to win his first GT-Lite National Championship at the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T at Heartland Park Topeka. Joe Kristensen, of London, Ontario, finished second, while Peter Zekert, of Maryland Heights, Mo., driving the controversial Booble Racing entry was third.

In the second race of the morning under overcast skies, Bovis grabbed the early lead from the polesitter Kristensen heading into Turn One, followed by Zekert. Driving the No. 18 Goodyear Honda CRX, Bovis used his home track knowledge to keep both Kristensen and Zekert
behind him early. 

On lap four, Zekert motored his No. 45 BOOBLE/RedLine/Goodyear Nissan 200SX past Kristensen for second place, while Bovis opened up nearly two second lead. By lap six, the lead pack of Bovis, Zekert and Kristensen were more than 22 seconds ahead of the field. 

For the next two laps, Zekert and Kristensen were locked in an intense battle for position until Kristensen drove his No. 24 Kristensen Auto Development Acura Integra deep into Turn Three retaking second place. Later it was discovered that Zekert’s transmission locked in 4th gear, allowing Kristensen to easily motor past.

With his sights set on the leader, Kristensen managed to cut Bovis’ lead to under a second with three laps left in the 18-lap race. Unfortunately for Kristensen, the first and only caution of the race came out on lap 17 to remove Dan Hall’s No. 77 Dan Hall & Auto Machine
Shop Nissan 200SX from the Turn 14 wall.  

The race ended under caution giving Bovis his first SCCA National Championship.

“Our strategy was to push Joe and wear his tires out, but we got by him at the start and then Joe was pushing me trying to get me to wear my tires out,” Bovis said. “Things looked good in the mid part of the race, but towards the end, I was getting a little bit slower and we were going the same speed unfortunately. It got awful tight. The yellow flag came out and it is hard to say if I could have held him off. Joe was running awful fast and I want you to know that he raced me totally clean. I have to thank him for that.”

Zekert, who had run up front most of the race, fell off the pace late in the race due to a broken gear box leaving him with only fourth gear. “When the gearbox locked I THOUGHT it was in third. I called the crew on the radio to see how many laps were left and how far back to fourth place car. Luckily we had motored out past the field, so I had a 29 second lead over fourth place. Losing only a few seconds a lap, we determined that we could maintain third place…. until the caution came out! I had to leave large gaps between me and the lapped cars so that I could make it the next two laps at pace lap speed in FOURTH GEAR. If I stalled, I would lose third. Lucky for me it all worked.”

On the Podium, Zekert thanked his sponsors, including his main sponsor “whose name I am not allowed to use.” Zekert had been warned by Prroducer John Mullen that the use of any of Booble; Booble.Com; or The Adult Search Engine would result in the podium interview being deleted from the Speed TV airing of the race. 

Four-time SCCA National Champion Jim Dentici, of Oconomowoc, Wis., was the Sunoco Hard Charger. He advanced 25 positions throughout the race, from 29th to fourth. William Pintaric, of Youngstown, Ohio, finished fifth.

The SCCA National Championship Runoffs® Presented by AT&T, The Pinnacle of American Motorsports, will crown Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions for the 44th-consecutive year in 2007. The best amateur drivers from across North America convene on Heartland Park Topeka’s 2.5-mile road course each fall in what is considered the “Olympics” of motorsports. This year’s event begins with four days of qualifying, Oct. 8-11, and concludes with three days of racing, Oct. 12-14.

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