The Ohio Challenge Cup opened its delayed 2020-2021 season this weekend at HMS Speedways in Bellevue on their American King. Even with the pandemic, strong fields found their way into all three categories.
GT1 kicked off with two mains and 15 racers total. Jeffrey Henes picked up another win among the three contending Ams, over Ellen Decoster and David Mitchell. The remaining Pro ranked drivers faced off against one of the best in the sport as Ron Hershman ran off to a stunning ten lap win over "The Thumb" himself, Al Rutti. OCC GT1 Champion Jeff Henes claimed the last spot on the podium by panels over Jeremy Wyant. Michigan Mafia leader Dave Decoster landed a solid fifth over retro chassis guru Bud Bartos. Newcomer MMW hotshoe DJ Joseph claimed seventh over longtime Ohio racer Dave "Shadow" Simerka. Former GT1-Am champion Brandon Barricello made his return to the series and picked up a ninth for his efforts, ending up ahead of track owner Kit Henry and Joe "Hollywood" Gerenscer. Eric Shirey ran into gear issues and ended up last on the day in GT1.
The light field for the day was Group 10 at six entries, but there was still a great show to be had as Eric Shirey recovered from his GT1 issues to take the win, adding to his status as the series' winningest Group 10 driver. Jeremy Wyant would be following in Eric's wheel tracks with Jeff Henes taking another close podium, one lap ahead of DJ Joseph with Dave Decoster and Joe Gerenscer rounding out the field.
Eric Shirey - 207
Jeremy Wyant - 201
Jeff Henes - 200
DJ Joseph - 199
Dave Decoster - 194
Joe Gerenscer - 181
Finally, GTP turned out with eleven very fast entries, and once again we saw Ron Hershman absolutely at the top of his game. Eric Shirey grabbed his second podium of the day, while Jeff Henes stayed consistent with three third places to start out the season. Al Rutti would grab fourth by a lap over Jeremy Wyant, while Shadow would bump Dave Decoster by panels for sixth, followed by Brandon Barricello, Joe Gerencser, DJ Joseph, and Dave Mitchell.
Ron Hershman - 221
Eric Shirey - 211
Jeff Henes - 209
Al Rutti - 208
Jeremy Wyant - 207
Dave Simerka - 203.15
Dave Decoster - 203.04
Brandon Barricello - 192
Joe Gerencser - 177
DJ Joseph - 162
David Mitchell - 147
While under challenging circumstances, the OCC can only thank Kit Henry of HMS and all of our racers for their support of the season opener. The co-operation and indomitable spirit shown this Saturday is part of the essential character of this great series. We're looking forward to the next round on December 12th as we make our return to the Ogilvie Reverse Orange at North East!
