By John Washington

Would it surprise you to learn that Nissan/Datsun cars have won 97 Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) national championships?

If not, would it surprise you that in 2013 (the 50th anniversary of SCCA’s national championship runoffs) the 97th Nissan/Datsun national championship was won by a 40-year old Datsun 240Z?

No, we’re not talking about “vintage” racing, but full-on, wheel-to-wheel road racing. Where the finest drivers in the country have earned an invitation to compete in a single, winner-take-all sprint race.

The 2013 E Production National Championship belongs to Greg Ira, a fixture in the SCCA’s Southeast Division for many years. Before getting into how he’s achieved his success on the track, a bit of background. His racing and Z-car roots go back to his father, Gordon Ira, who finished 3rd in the SCCA "Runoffs" in 1970 in a G Production Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce.

"My dad had the first Datsun 240Z in Jacksonville,” Greg adds, “It must have had a manufacture date of 1969. It was silver and I believe it had a burgundy interior. It was beautiful. There was nothing like it back then.”

Ira became ingrained in the culture of road racing during its American 'golden age,' and credits Peter Gregg, Peter's friend/co-driver Hurley Haywood, and his own father Gordon Ira as his inspirations. His childhood best friend was Jason Gregg, son of Peter, a famous Trans Am/IMSA driver. In his career, Peter won an SCCA national championship; six IMSA GTO title; four titles at the 24 Hours of Daytona; he owned Brumos Porsche; and won many victories in the red, white, and blue Brumos cars.  

Greg cut his teeth on competition karts, and won his first championship in 1989. Don’t laugh. Many of the best drivers in the world started in karts, where things happen really quickly and you learn to hone your reflexes to a fine edge.

Moving up from karts, Greg proceeded to win an SCCA divisional championship in Formula Vee. Afterward he got involved in the newly-formed class called Improved Touring, or IT. He had a street/autocross Z, and 240Zs were doing well in the ITS class at that time. Since Greg was intimately familiar with the Z platform, it was natural to go that route. 

While Greg was still running in ITS, the well-known Grayson Upchurch/Kemp Heuman E Production Z car went up for sale, as that team dissolved. Greg's team bought the car, which had been freshly wrecked in the 2004 Runoffs at Mid Ohio. After rebuilding the EP Z car, Greg began setting track records in the E Production class in 2006, at many welll-known tracks.

Not only has he set records, won races, and divisional titles, Greg gives back to the sport as a driving instructor for several racing organizations. He also does some driver development, builds engines, does expert chassis setup, and has been crew chief for other drivers. He shared a few tips for others looking to get into racing:

Q: What's the secret of your success? 

A: Passion for the sport. Don’t ever underestimate the value of the driver. More power is seldom the answer. Pick a class and stick with it. Don’t keep changing if you plan to run up front. People take for granted the competitiveness of SCCA and often get disgruntled when they leave their current organization and come to SCCA where the rules are strict.

Q: What advice would you offer a young driver? 

A: Climb the ladder. Learn how to wrench. “Take what the car will give you” is one of my favorite thoughts. I learned this in a ProVee race a long time ago. It means if you’re on the track, get going and haul. Don’t screw around. If you are at the limits of the car, you’ll be much better at learning the hardest part: how does my car really handle and how can I change that?

Q: And for the Walter Mitty crowd, what's your advice to older drivers? 

A: Keep after it. If you once had the passion, you more than likely still do. Sometimes life comes before racing, but the passion doesn't leave. Racing is my “golf” and I don’t plan to quit until I can’t see anymore.

Q: Are you going to continue competing toward future SCCA national championship efforts?

A: Yes, for 2015 very much. I am currently working on aspects of the car we haven’t worked on in awhile. People will come out of the woodwork for this one in Daytona, believe me. It rewards certain types of cars and ours used to be fast there. I wouldn't doubt if my Daytona track record is broken by two to three seconds. Before that we will run 6 Major races. We will continue to test the 2.6-liter engine vs. the 2.4 trim. So far, we still believe in the 2.4 trim for this car. Getting the car down to weight [to enhance competitiveness] is a real challenge. The target is 2150 lbs with the driver.

Q: Is there anyone to whom you'd like to offer special thanks for their assistance?

A: Absolutely! Doing what our team has done is very, very hard. Several people have been instrumental in this, mainly Guy Marvin IV and Sam Neave. Guy is my childhood friend and had always been there heading up the team. Sam Neave, owner of LNA Enterprises, has been the main ingredient for helping us go fast. His engine and chassis knowledge is unparalleled. Cliff Ira [Greg's brother] and Tim Carey have also been very helpful in the ownership and crew side of the team.

Hoosier Tires has been the best tire company by far, and have been very helpful to my team as well as my brother, Cliff’s team. I believe Hoosier puts out such good tires because they care about what they do. They really do have the best tires out there and the most support both at the track and in the R&D department. They support Club racing just as much as Pro racing.