DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 25, 2024) – Ken Kannard, winner of the 2023 SCCA F Production National Championship, was named the 2023 recipient of the Road Racing Drivers Club’s (RRDC) Mark Donohue Award.
Kannard was honored at the annual RRDC members' dinner on January 24, prior to the 62nd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the season-opening round of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Selected by members of the RRDC each year since 1971, the award recognizes the driver exhibiting the most outstanding performance at the annual Sports Car Club of America National Championship Runoffs in terms of personal spirit and skill behind the wheel. Originally called the “Outstanding Performance Award,” the honor was later named after Mark Donohue, a former SCCA Champion, an inductee in the SCCA Hall of Fame and past president of the RRDC, following his death in 1975.
In his 24th appearance at the SCCA Runoffs in late September at VIRginia International Raceway, Kannard started third in a field of 21 and quickly found himself back to fifth after the start. Coming out of a lap-nine restart, he joined the battle for the lead with past two-time champions Kevin Ruck and Cliff Ira. On lap 10, Kannard moved his No. 51 Northwest Cable/Hoosier/G-Loc/OPM/JPM Acura Integra to the lead.
“After the restart, I got a good run out of Oak Tree and was able to draft by [Ruck],” Kannard said. “Once I was in the lead for the first time, I was like ‘hey, I’m leading the Runoffs!"
The battle continued for the final five laps, with Kannard maintaining the top spot the final three tours, holding off a charge from Ira to win by 0.123-second.
“The key was focusing on not making a mistake,” Kannard said. “I didn’t have the ‘National Championship’ thing in my head. I was just trying to treat it like another race. The last three or four laps, Cliff [Ira] and I were really dicing it up. I was able to get ahead and if he was going to beat me, he was going to have to earn it.
“I’d been teasing with some of my fellow racers that I’m getting older and if I’m going to win a National Championship, I need to get it done soon. After the race, I was just like ‘finally!’ It was very satisfying and a bit of a relief.”
Winning his first National Championship in his 24th attempt set a new mark for SCCA, breaking the previous mark of 21 attempts. A former karter in the 1980s, Kannard returned to racing in 2000 after building a Datsun 240Z, entering SCCA competition in 2001. He previously finished third at the Runoffs on three occasions.
Kannard noted that family and friends are an important part of his racing. “I have to thank my wife, Diane. Without support at home, we can’t do this,” he said. “It’s great to have my daughters join us for the presentation in Daytona. Todd Buras really helped me with setup and data at this year’s Runoffs. I have to thank Tom Fowler and OPM Autosports for the car prep, Bruce Foss and Hoosier Tire for the 20-year relationship, Jesse Prather for great engines over the last 10 years and of course all the SCCA volunteers for putting on the events.”
The unique award has a glass top and sits on a race wheel with a historic provenance. RRDC member David Donohue, son of Mark Donohue, presented Kannard with the award, which included a wheel donated by Team Penske that was used on the 2023 Indy 500-winning car driven by two-time NTT INDYCAR Series Champion Josef Newgarden.
“When I received the call from [RRDC president] Bobby Rahal to let me know that I had been selected as the recipient of this award from the RRDC, it was the icing on the cake,” Kannard said. “It’s pretty impressive for an amateur driver like me to be associated with the Mark Donohue Award. A lot of what he developed back then, we take for granted today. He was so smart in development and was so successful driving such a variety of cars.
“It’s really an honor to be recognized by an organization of drivers like the RRDC with this award.”
Previous recipients Calvin Stewart (2015) and SCCA Vice President Eric Prill (2017) joined Donohue in the presentation. Stewart received SCCA's President's Cup at the 2023 Runoffs.
Past recipients of the Mark Donohue Award include:
1971 - Larry Campbell
1972 - Dave Weitzenhof
1973 - Gary Rodriques
1974 - Bill Jobe
1975 - Dan Pohlabel
1976 - Damon Pleasant
1977 - Tom Robertson
1978 - Mike Mokler
1979 - Bill Coykendall
1980 - Dennis Wilson
1981 - Don Courtney
1982 - Bob Lobenberg
1983 - Hardy Prentice
1984 - Doug Peterson
1985 - Scott Atchison
1986 - Lous Rettenmeier
1987 - Duane Davis
1988 - Paul Spruell
1989 - Bill Noble
1990 - Keith Scharf
1991 - Richard Schroebel
1992 - Stevan Davis
1993 - Greg Ray
1994 - Allen May
1995 - Tom Van Camp
1996 - Jaques Lazier
1997 - Pete Peterson
1998 - B.J. Zacharias
1999 - Warren Stilwell
2000 - Andy McDermid
2001 - David Finch
2002 - Justin Pritchard
2003 - Mike Anderson
2004 - John Saurino
2005 - Kristian Skavnes
2006 - Jesse Prather
2007 - Brian Linn
2008 - Chris Keller
2009 - Michael Varacins
2010 - Peter Shawdowen
2011 - Kevin Fandozzi
2012 - Cliff White
2013 - Lawrence Loshak
2014 - Jeremy Grenier
2015 - Calvin Stewart
2016 - Neil Verhagen
2017 - Eric Prill
2018 - Robeson Clay Russell
2019 - Broderick Bauguess
2020 - Spencer Brockman
2021 - Scott Twomey
2022 – Jason Ott
About the RRDC:
The Road Racing Drivers Club was formed in 1952 as a way to give champion drivers a say in their sport, particularly in the areas of safety, and has evolved to serve the future of road racing by mentoring new drivers on both amateur and professional levels. The Club's membership includes leading industry professionals, race officials and motorsports journalists, in addition to prominent racing names.
In 2011, the RRDC launched a free on-line training seminar – www.SAFEisFAST.com – featuring RRDC members and other industry experts in high-quality videos covering subjects from physical and mental preparation to driving techniques, driver safety to car setup and sponsorship. The videos are updated regularly. Each week, a professional from the world of motor racing answers readers' questions on the site in a feature called 'Ask a Pro.'
Bobby Rahal is President and John Fergus is Vice President/Treasurer.
The RRDC presents three annual awards: the Phil Hill Award, the Mark Donohue Award, and the Bob Akin Award, and supports the Team USA Scholarship, which has been assisting young Americans in the early stages of their careers since 1990.
Membership in the RRDC is by invitation only. Additional information on the organization may be found at www.rrdc.org.
About the SCCA Runoffs:
First held in 1964, the National Championship Runoffs is Sports Car Club of America’s winner-take all Championship race that punctuates its racing season each year. Drivers compete all year to earn an invitation to the Runoffs, a week-long event held each fall that culminates in three-straight days of racing for its 26 separate classes. The 60th Anniversary SCCA Runoffs will be held at Road America, September 28-October 6, 2024
About the RRDC:
The Road Racing Drivers Club was formed in 1952 as a way to give champion drivers a say in their sport, particularly in the areas of safety, and has evolved to serve the future of road racing by mentoring new drivers on both amateur and professional levels. The Club's membership includes leading industry professionals, race officials and motorsports journalists, in addition to prominent racing names.
In 2011, the RRDC launched a free on-line training seminar – www.SAFEisFAST.com – featuring RRDC members and other industry experts in high-quality videos covering subjects from physical and mental preparation to driving techniques, driver safety to car setup and sponsorship. The videos are updated regularly. Each week, a professional from the world of motor racing answers readers' questions on the site in a feature called 'Ask a Pro.'
Bobby Rahal is President and John Fergus is Vice President/Treasurer.
The RRDC presents three annual awards: the Phil Hill Award, the Mark Donohue Award, and the Bob Akin Award, and supports the Team USA Scholarship, which has been assisting young Americans in the early stages of their careers since 1990.
Membership in the RRDC is by invitation only.
Wtitten By: Judy Stropus