Greg Ira is an SCCA National Champion racing driver from Plantation, Florida, USA.
Contents
Greg Ira is an SCCA National Champion racing driver from Plantation, Florida, USA.
Ira is a three-time SCCA E Production National Champion. In addition to making it to the hallowed Daytona victory lane in 2015, Ira also won the 2013 Sports Car Club of America E Production National Championship road race in his orange #2 Revtec 1971 Datsun 240Z. The race at Road America at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin was the 50th anniversary of the SCCA's annual "Runoffs." [1] E Production is the fastest of the production car-based club racing classes.
In the years preceding Ira's championship, he placed 2nd in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and he set several track records with the same car. He was awarded SCCA's Kimberly Cup in 2008. Previous Kimberly Cup winners included Mark Donohue, Roger Penske, Augie Pabst III, and Paul Newman. [2]
Choosing not to defend his title in 2014, Ira instead assisted his younger brother Cliff in winning the 2014 SCCA Super Touring Light National Championship at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California in an Acura Integra GSR. [3]
Ira started out the 2015 season at Round One of the SCCA's Southeast Conference US Majors Tour at Homestead–Miami Speedway in Florida with a new track record in Race 1, but a DNF due to mechanical failure. However, he repaired his 240Z and came back to claim a solid victory in Race 2. [4]
The Majors Tour round at Sebring International Raceway saw Ira claim 1st place finishes in both races. [5] [6]
On September 27, 2015, Ira won his second (and Nissan's 98th) SCCA National Championship, in his EP2 Revtech/Ztrix.com 240Z, at Daytona International Speedway. [7]
Ira retired the 240Z in 2019, instead vintage racing in other Nissan cars.
However, Jesse Prather offered his Jesse Prather Motorsports championship-winning BMW Z3 to Greg for the 2023 season. Ira won the 2023 E-Production National Championship in the BMW. [8]
Ira's father Gordon Ira finished 3rd in the SCCA "Runoffs" in 1970 in a G Production Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce; [9] [10] and Greg's older brother Steve finished 4th in Formula Vee (FV) in 1988.
In addition to winning the 2014 STL National Championship, Greg's younger brother Cliff Ira was named the Jim Fitzgerald SCCA National Rookie of the Year for 2014.
Ira runs Revtec Race Engineering, a company that specializes in Datsuns and other Japanese cars. Greg is the Regional Sales Manager for Valmont Industries., representing the Southeast region of the United States. Valmont is an industry leader and provider of steel in Irrigation, Utility, Wireless Communications, Traffic and Lighting, and also has solutions in Mining, and Industrial coatings.
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, HPDE, Time Trial, Road Racing, and Hill Climbs in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.
The Nissan S30, sold in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z, but for export badged as the Datsun 240Z, and later as the Datsun 260Z and 280Z, are 2-seat sports cars and 2+2 GT cars produced by Nissan, from 1969 until 1978. The S30 was conceived of by Yutaka Katayama, the President of Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A., and designed by a team led by Yoshihiko Matsuo, the head of Nissan's Sports Car Styling Studio. It is the first car in Nissan's Z series of sports cars.
Peter Holden Gregg was an American race car driver during the golden age of the Trans-Am Series and a five-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. He was also the owner of Brumos, a Jacksonville, Florida, car dealership and racing team.
John Lee Paul Jr. was an American racing driver. He competed in CART and the Indy Racing League competitions, but primarily in IMSA GT Championship, winning the title in 1982.
Randy Franklin Pobst, also known as "RFP" or "The Rocket," is an American race car driver and journalist for Motor Trend magazine.
IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States and occasionally in Canada.
Peter Elbert Brock is an American automotive and trailer designer, author and photojournalist, who is best known for his work on the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe and Corvette Sting Ray.
John Morton is an American racing driver from Waukegan, Illinois.
The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) is an American automobile club and sanctioning body that supports vintage racing in the United States. The organization was founded in 1981, and is regarded as the premier vintage racing organization in the U.S.
This article documents the events that occurred in motorsports in the 1960s.
The SCCA National Championship Runoffs is the end-of-year championship race meeting for Sports Car Club of America Club Racing competitors. Divisional champions and other top drivers from the SCCA's 116 regions are invited to participate at the Runoffs. National championships are awarded to the winners of each class.
Peter "P.D." Cunningham is an American race car driver and owner of RealTime R&L, Inc., based in Saukville, Wisconsin and currently competing in the Pirelli World Challenge GT Championship. His name and his team, RealTime Racing, have become synonymous with the Honda and Acura brands. Through 2013, he has claimed 91 professional race wins across 12 different North American road racing series and holds numerous World Challenge records.
Carbir Race Cars is an American race car constructor.
James Joyce Fitzgerald was an American racing driver. He is the winningest driver in Sports Car Club of America history, with over 350 career wins. Fitzgerald was also at one time the oldest driver to run a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race, being 65 years old when he ran in the 1987 Budweiser 400 at Riverside International Raceway for Hendrick Motorsports.
The Shelby Can-Am is a sports car that had its own racing class in the United States between 1991 and 1996. Some of the models were shipped off to South Africa to race there, where they continued to be campaigned until about 2015.
Ryan Norman is an American racing driver. Norman is a former motocross rider and is currently competing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, driving for Bryan Herta Autosport and won the 2020 IMSA TCR Championship for the team. He formerly drove for Andretti Autosport in Indy Lights with multiple wins and podiums, and ran a race in the IndyCar Series in 2021 with Dale Coyne Racing.
Neil Verhagen is a racing driver from the United States of America. Verhagen is the youngest to win the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, having accomplished this in the Formula F category.
Melvin D. Shaw was an American racing driver. Shaw raced in various series and races such as the 24 Hours of Daytona. Shaw died in a crash at Brainerd International Raceway.
Robert William Kastner, commonly known as R.W. Kastner or Kas Kastner, was a builder and tuner of racing cars, a racing driver, and an author. He also raced sailing boats competitively. At different times he was Director of Motorsports in the United States for both the Triumph Motor Company and Nissan. Kastner has been called one of the most influential Americans in the history of Triumph cars. He coined the maxim "Never be beaten by equipment."
Preston J. Pardus is an American professional racing driver who competes in the Sports Car Club of America as well as part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet Camaro for his own team, Pardus Racing, and the No. 36 Camaro for DGM Racing. Pardus won the Spec Miata class at the 2017 SCCA National Championship Runoffs and claimed the 2020 Super Sweep in the Spec Miata division. He is the son of former NASCAR driver Dan Pardus.