Kent Prather Takes Record Sixth GP Championship, Awarded President's Cup

Lexington , Ohio (Sept. 25, 2005) -- Two days after recording his Production category record sixth SCCA National Championship in the G Production Runoffs race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Kent Prather was presented with the highest competition award--the President's Cup.

Wakarusa, Kansas' Prather started second on the grid in his Prather Racing/Victoria British MGA and dropped to fourth on the first lap of the race before he started his comeback over then-leader and polesitter Kevin Dennis, of Rochester, N.Y. 

Dennis, in his Nissan 510, appeared to be well in control of the race, running the fast lap on Lap 10 with a 1:40.412 (80.954 mph) and extending his lead over Prather, who had moved back up to second, to 1.306 seconds. It took Prather little time to make up the difference, however, as Dennis slowed on the next lap. The two jostled for position and Prather dropped to third behind the Suzuki Swift GTi of Woody Deatherage as the lead pack weaved through passed traffic. 

With the leaders in front and a lapped car between them on Lap 15, Prather made a bold move to the inside of all three cars, slashing his way to the front of the field; a move that seemed to catch everyone off-guard. 

From there, Prather held his spot and earned his sixth Production class win -- all in G Production, making him the all-time Production Class Championship leader.

"We’re going down the backside, Woody got ahead of me, and I’m thinking, ‘Well, huh, what am I going to do now,'" Prather said. "So I pulled into the inside, and there was a back-marker there. There was a little-bitty spot on the inside, and I dove right into it. I said 'It's now or never' and dove in there and somehow ended up in the front. 

"From there, it was just a matter of running qualifying laps and keeping these guys behind me and not making any mistakes."

Prather beat second place Chuck Mathis, also from the Midwest Division, by 1.346 seconds at the finish. Dennis finished third.

-end-

(compiled from SCCA Press Releases)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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