STORY BY JOHN WASHINGTON 

Would it surprise you to learn that Nissan/Datsun cars have won ninety-seven Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) national championships? No? Well then, 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? I’m not talking about “vintage” racing. I’m talking about 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.