Championships and Photo Finishes

The final round of the 2002 East Coast Honda Challenge arrived at VIR's North Course with 3 of 5 class championships undecided. Two were settled following Race #9 on Saturday, but one went to the final race on Sunday as a tie. Rain was a threat the entire weekend, but every Honda Challenge qualifying and race session was dry.

With Jack Harris' dominant H1 Civic sold, H1 became open for anyone to take. Todd Reid stepped up to take both Saturday and Sunday's races despite a persistent overheating issue in his Integra LS powered Civic. The wins settled Reid into the 2nd place position for the H1 Championship. Chad Slagg captured the "King Rat Motorsports Hard Charger" award not only for his fine on-track performance, but also because Slagg had stopped off at the race in the middle of relocating to Arizona. The Ryder truck loaded with all of Slagg's belongings and the race car trailered behind was quite a sight in the paddock. Good Luck Chad!!! We'll miss you.

Corey Jacobs started the weekend with a small H2 points lead over Alex Ratcliffe. Everyone expected a showdown between the two and were not disappointed. Adam Curpier attempted to throw a wrench into the Jacobs/Ratcliffe show by qualifying on the pole for Saturday's race, but couldn't start the race due to a transmission failure. This left Jacobs and Ratcliffe starting 1-2. The two fought an epic battle with Jacobs showing superior speed down the straight but Ratcliffe holding an advantage in handling. Ratcliffe went off late in the race handing Jacobs the win and the Championship, but the final results showed Ratcliffe turned the fastest lap of the race. So the Sunday race started with the championship decided, but neither Ratcliffe nor Jacobs seemed to care as they once again qualified 1-2 and proceeded to top the drama of Saturday's race. Unofficially, the two swapped the lead nine times leading up to a truly spectacular photo finish. Yes, an actual photo finish. The results came up showing the two in a dead tie via transponder. Race Director Jim Johnson had to review a spectator's videotape from the start/finish line in order to declare Ratcliffe the winner... by inches. Rivalry??? You bet. But it is a friendly one as both competitors freely admit that they love racing against each other. We're all looking forward to the continuation of this friendly fight in 2003.

H3 began the weekend the same as H2, with Scott Giles holding a small points lead over Chris Brinson. Giles needed a win on Saturday to seal the championship, but had a terrible qualifying session that was further compounded by Brinson's excellent qualifying of first in class and fourth overall. Karl Shultz was mathematically out of the points race, but was on a mission to win a race and qualified well in the 8th overall position. Giles sat well back on the grid in 12th place. Giles needed a great start to have any chance of winning the race and he got what he needed. As the green flew on the standing start, Giles got a great launch and immediately found himself gaining positions as the pack of cars surged down the front straight. By the time the pack reached turn 1, Giles was in the 6th position and within striking distance of Brinson. As the race sorted out, the two settled into a one on one, nose to tail battle with Brinson maintaining a lead with Giles close behind. Late in the race Brinson locked up his brakes going into turn 1 and went four wheels off in the grass. The opening was all Giles needed as he grabbed the lead and held on for the win and the Championship. Sunday's race was far less dramatic as Giles qualified well and maintained the lead to take the win. But Brinson refused to go down without a fight as he posted the fastest H3 lap of the weekend in his attempts to track down Giles. As with H2, H3 is anybody's to win in 2003 with 3 drivers (Giles, Brinson, Shultz) who continually post fast race laps that are within a second of each other.

H4 Champion James Evans spent the weekend at Summit Point trying to add an ITA Championship to his resume, so the class was anybody's to take. David Rhodes took the Saturday win after Lyonel Kent suffered race ending contact with an H2 Type R. Kent returned on Sunday, but lingering mechanical issues caused him to drop out of the race early. This left the race to Rhodes followed closely by "Captain" Ron Spencer. Spencer inherited the lead when Rhodes had an off and was able to hold on for the win. H4, as in all Honda Challenge classes, is nearly impossible to predict for 2003 with 6 different drivers having posted wins in 10 races this season.

John Whitaker started the weekend with a precarious points lead over Richard Floyd and his rejuvenate '90 Integra. Floyd needed to post two wins in order to steal the championship from Whitaker and that's exactly what he did. Floyd won Saturday's race in convincing fashion, but still needed Sunday to seal the deal. Whitaker did not go down without a fight, but Floyd was able to hold off the late race charge to take the win and the championship. Whitaker will be moving on to H1 next year piloting Jack Harris' old car. A newcomer has purchased Whitaker's car and intends to campaign it next year. Floyd appears to be the man to beat in 2003.

The Honda Challenge would like to openly thank all of it's sponsors, drivers and supporters for a wonderful year. The series will return bigger and better in 2003 with more races and more venues.

Congratulations to our 2002 Class Champions and Award Winners:

H1 - Jack Harris
H2 - Corey Jacobs
H3 - Scott Giles
H4 - James Evans
H5 - Richard Floyd
Driver of the Year - Karl "Rice" Shultz
Rookie of the Year - Jason Franza