Downey Competing for a 2010 National Title

August 9, 2011 | Matt Sullivan

[Update: Aaron took 3rd Place last year, but will be racing again, with even greater expectations than last year after a few rules modifications. Look for an announcement soon related to the race, sometime in late September]

For the third year in a row our CEO Aaron Downey is among the favorites to capture the EP (E Production) class at the 2010 SCCA National Championship Runoffs.Many of you know that a long time passion of Aaron's has been racing his Mazda RX-3 in the Sports Car Club of America National racing circuit. Referring to his 2009 2nd place finish in the Nationals, Downey says, "Last year was tough. I had a chance to rub paint and take the lead in the final laps, but the track was wet. We ended up finishing 2nd under a yellow caution flag."This year is shaping up nicely as well. After Monday's first round of qualifying, Downey was sitting in the second row, even though he wasn't particularly pleased with his run, "I ran 1.5 seconds better in practice yesterday...The car is running well, I just need to focus a bit more so I can grab the pole position."The qualifying runs will be webcast on the SCCA website http://www.livetiming.net/SCCA/Runoffs/Live, and Aaron's remaining qualifying times (Pacific Time) are as follows:

• Tuesday 9/21: 11am - 2pm (Qualifying Time: 12pm)
• Wednesday 9/22: 2pm - 5pm (Qualifying Time: 3pm)

(when you go to the URL select EP in the upper right drop-down list to view Aaron's racing class)RACEDAY NOTE: SpeedTV not working well on Win7 with Internet Explorer 8. The latest Firefox is a better choice for Windows users!Then, watch live on Friday at 11:30am PT on SpeedCastTV (http://www.speedcasttv.com) as Aaron Downey attempts to race his way to a National Championship.Each year, drivers race in 70 events across the country to qualify for one last, winner-take-all event in September--the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Some of the most famous American racers have won at the Runoffs, including Bobby Rahal, Boris Said, Paul Newman, Scott Sharp and Skip Barber.Could Aaron be the next great American racing driver? You will have to tune in and watch live this Friday at 11:30am Pacific time to find out!