Ray Huffmaster, of Clarkston, Mich., won the Super Touring Lite® class debut at the 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs® after a final-lap pass on Jim Drago, of Memphis, Tenn. Rich Walke, of Hawthorn Woods, Ill., made a last-lap pass of his own to finish third.
While the STL class was running as a supplemental class this year at Road America and not for a National Championship, the action was no less intense. Huffmaster’s No. 31 Huffmaster Security/Hoosier Mazda RX-8 and Drago’s No. 2 East Street Racing Mazda Miata swapped the lead officially eight times, and many more times at the back of the circuit before crossing the timing stripe.
The multiple passes were just the appetizer to the final lap’s main course. Drago led at the start of the lap, but the two banged door handles coming out of turn three down the long straightaway into five, with Huffmaster pulling in front. Drago reclaimed the lead through turn eight, with Huffmaster seemingly losing it when he ran wide. The RX-8 chased down the Miata with a great run through the kink, and Huffmaster completed the pass before getting into Canada Corner, the 12th turn at Road America.
Drago, pushing hard, ran wide and spun in turn 12, but the race wasn’t quite over. Huffmaster also ran wide through 13, but gathered it up and climbed the hill to the checkered flag for a 10.957-second victory
“The last lap was exciting,”Huffmaster said. “We went back and forth a few times. More or less, we’d get the run down through the Carousel into the Kink. We caught a lapper and I thought I had the room to get over so it was just enough to sneak over and in. I thought actually I was going to get pinched there, and it was just a little speed difference in the car.”
Huffmaster got an assist from his son, Rob Huffmaster, who won the Super Touring Under® race running concurrently with STL. The younger Huffmaster, running with a comfortable lead, slowed on his final lap so as not to lap the STL leaders, which would have checkered their race a lap early and given Drago the win.
“We kind of ran the numbers earlier and thought they were coming by us, and I figured the whole front part of the STU field was going to be in the last lap,”the elder Huffmaster said. “That always makes it interesting. You don’t know how that’s going to turn out or where you’re going to be. I did look back and saw that car in the mirror, and I went, ok, he closed on us fast. He must have laid back to see what the old boy could do and probably was having a laugh at it!
“it’s fantastic. it’s always been a lot of fun, and it’s great to be able to run with your son.”
The pass for the lead was a tough one by Huffmaster and earned him the GoPro Hero Move of the Race, but it was one that Drago understood.
“I think on the last corner, Ray shot the gap,”Drago said. “There was enough room there and it just got to the point where he cut across me and it was a move I would have made. At that point it was either run into Ray or really try to lock the car down. I didn’t want to take all three of us off, I thought I could hit the brakes and at least get a little sideways. I didn’t expect to spin off, but I also didn’t want to take all of us off at the last corner. I think that was a good move and I would have made the same one in that corner.”
Drago earned his second podium of the 2012 Runoffs after taking a National Championship in Spec Miata on Saturday. The adjustment from running a spec class to one with a variety of cars was one that the champion really enjoyed, even turning the Hawk Hot Lap in 2:35.499 (92.605 mph).
“it’s almost comical how different our cars were,”Drago said, comparing his Miata to Huffmaster’s RX-8. “There’s no way my car should be faster than his; there no way his car should handle better than mine. My car is a Spec Miata that we literally just started throwing stuff at it. My car is so bad through the Carousel that Ray could, if he was in the same zip code, just track me down and flat the Kink and I couldn’t remotely flat the Kink.
“This class is a lot of fun.”
Like the leaders, Walke’s No. 61 Dan Glitz/Creative Technology Inc. Mazda RX-7 battled back and forth with Bob Beede’s No. 44 Bill Fenton Motorsports/BFGoodrich Tires Honda Civic Si. Walke used his horsepower to move around Beede right at the finish for the bronze medal.
“Based on the qualifying times, we knew we weren’t in the hunt for the lead. We knew these two were going to run away and hide, but there were three of us within a couple of tenths. As it played out, there were two of us in that good battle and my race with Bob Beede the whole race long he drove a fantastic race, a clean race. His car had certain strengths and my car had certain straights. He was good through the Carousel and made up time on me, and I was better out of 14 so I was making up time as a result up the front straightaway. We traded the lead seven, eight, nine times through the race.
“[On the last lap] we went into 12 side by side, we came out side-by-side, and he pulled just slightly in front of me going into 13. I drafted into him into 14 and then I made my move and got a perfect run coming out of 14. I stayed behind him, drafted up the front straightaway, and took him about 100 yards from the start/finish line. It was a fabulous finish.”
Beede finished fourth, followed by Greg Amy in the No. 33 Honda Racing/HPD/Hoosier Acura Integra. Mike Smith finished eighth in the No. 05 Pit Pal Products Honda Civic Si to win the Sunoco Hard Charger.
Now in its 49th year, the SCCA National Championship Runoffs annually crowns Champions in the Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing classes. The live broadcast of all 28 National Championship races will be available through Sunday at http://www.SpeedcastTV.com/scca and later available On Demand from the same site.
Follow the action on Twitter @SCCAOfficial or the SCCA, Inc. Official Facebook page at facebook.com/sccaofficial. More information is available at http://www.scca.com.
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Provisional Results from Sunday’s Super Touring Lite National Championship Race, part of the 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America with finish position, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.
1, (1), Ray Huffmaster, Clarkston, MI, Mazda RX-8, 13.
2, (2), Jim Drago, Memphis, TN, Mazda Miata, 13.
3, (4), Rich Walke, Hawthorn Woods, IL, Mazda RX-7, 12.
4, (3), Bob Beede, Greenwich, CT, Honda Civic Si, 12.
5, (5), Greg Amy, Middletown, CT, Acura Integra, 12.
6, (6), David Palfenier, Naperville, IL, Mazda MX5, 12.
7, (7), Stephen Wheeler, Geneva, NY, Acura Integra, 12.
8, (10), Mike Smith, Elk Grove Village, IL, Honda Civic Si, 12.
DNF, (9), Peter Keane, Cocoa Beach, FL, Acura Integra GSR, 4.
DNS, (8), L. Patrick Sandlin, Cordova, TN, Mazda Miata, .
Overall Time of Race: 34:38.519
Average Race Speed: 90.064 mph
Margin of Victory: 10.957 seconds
Hawk Fastest Race Lap: 2:35.499
Fastest Race Lap Average Speed: 92.605 mph
Sunoco Hard Charger: #05 Mike Smith
Lap Leaders: #31 — lap 1, #2 — laps 2-3, #31 — laps 4-5, #2 — lap 6, #31 — laps 7-8, #2 — laps 9-10, #31 — lap 11, #2 — lap 12, #31 — lap 13
2012 SCCA National Championship Runoffs
Steve Sargis, of Frankfort, Ill., survived thirteen laps and a protracted battle on Sunday at Road America to win his seventh SCCA National Championship Runoffs®. Sam Henry, of Republic, Mo., and Bill Wessel, of Madison, Wis., battled with each other to complete the F Production podium.
Though Sargis won the race by 5.396 seconds, averaging 93.363 mph for the 13-lap, 52-mile distance, it was anything but easy. After falling back to fifth on the opening lap, Sargis followed Henry to the inside of Gumout Polesitter Eric Prill’s No. 7 Jesse Prather Motorsports/Hoosier/OS Giken/Hawk/TP7 Mazda Miata in Turn One to start the second lap.
Sargis’ No. 18 SBS Batteries/Hoosier Tire Triumph Spitfire took the lead in Turn Five on the second lap and, with a battle between Henry’s No. 37 Springfield Dyno/SafeRacer/Goodyear Mazda Miata, Charlie Campbell, and Ken Kannard in his rear view mirror, hoped to pull away.
That didn’t happen. Prill broke clear of the group and by lap six Prill’s red Mazda had closed to the rear of the blue Triumph. On lap seven, Sargis lost the lead to Prill in Turn Eight and Sargis slowly began to fade.
Sargis had admittedly resigned himself to a podium finish when Prill pulled ahead by 1.041 seconds with two laps to go. That deficit disappeared in Canada Corner when, with a master cylinder fading on his Miata, Prill locked the rear brakes and spun into the gravel trap to end his day.
From there, Sargis was able to march to the win, and turned the Hawk Hot Lap, a 2:31.818 (94.850 mph) during his battle with Prill.
“I managed to get out in front and it looked like those guys were mixing it up back there, and I’m like ‘well, that’s good, it’s like last year,'” Sargis said. “And then here comes Eric [Prill], and he’s definitely got the legs on me. I wanted him to go past and see what he’s got, but it looked like he was struggling too. My heart goes out to Eric. We were just beating the cars to death. It was a clean race; we were polite in every corner, and no blocking at all.
“This is right up there. I think the first one was probably the best, but this one is right up there. I really didn’t expect it, I really didn’t.”
Henry survived a number of charges from competitors to earn his first Runoffs podium. After briefly holding the lead on the second lap, he fell under attack from Campbell’s No. 20 Campbell Brothers Racing/Hoosier Mazda Miata and Ken Kannard’s No. 51 Northwest Cable Construction/Hoosier Mazda Miata. Kannard moved into second position before pulling off on lap four. Wessel’s No. 47 Nissan/Goodyear Datsun SPL 311 joined the battle by lap six.
When Campbell pulled to pit lane on lap seven with a mechanical issue, Henry and Wessel were left to battle for the podium. Prill’s spin elevated each of them a position, with Henry stretching his margin to a full second ahead of Wessel.
The finish is a rewarding one for Henry, who competed in the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship early in the month, and will compete in the SCCA RallyCross National Championship in October.
“It’s like a dream come true for me,” Henry said. “I’ve been watching this thing on TV since it was back at Mid-Ohio and I always thought that would be so cool, I’d love to do that. At the time, I just had visions of getting my car on TV for three or four seconds, and now here I am on the podium at the Runoffs. It’s just terrific.
“It was very intense early on, there were cars every where and it reminded me of the days I spent in Spec Miata. Somehow I got shoved up to the front, so I took a little moment between Turn Three and Turn Five to enjoy it. The moment didn’t last very long, though, these guys came right back and it was just a fierce battle. As that battle seemed to relax just a little bit, I look in the mirror and here comes that really fast Datsun and that was Bill.”
Wessel finished third after starting the race 13th, making up a number of positions just after the green flag. Wessel had blown a motor in qualifying and reinstalled the motor he used during last year’s Runoffs in time for the race.
“I knew we had at least five seconds in the car with this engine,” Wessel said. “It showed right off the start, it really ran well. I think the third lap was the fastest lap I’ve ever turned, we were hooked up. I’m just pleased as punch to be here, it’s great.
“I was able to gap Sam [Henry] a little bit, but he hung tough and stayed with me. He tucked into my draft and I couldn’t shake him. I got lost in the [gear] box down in Turn Five, and he got up alongside and took the position. At that point, I could not get back to Sam’s draft.”
Kevin Ruck finished fourth in the No. 73 Hoosier/Honda/Cobalt Brakes Acura Integra, followed by David Strittmatter’s No. 28 Hoosier Tire Lancia Scorpion.
Mark Weber earned the GoPro Hero Move of the Race when the green flag flew. Weber’s No. 50 Goodyear/Red Line Oil/ESCP Mazda Miata carried him to a record 50th Runoffs start, where he finished eighth. It was also the 500th career SCCA Club Race for the veteran driver.
Kyle Baker improved 12 positions during the race to finish 12th and earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award in the No. 57 DEE Autosport Mazda Miata.
Now in its 49th year, the SCCA National Championship Runoffs annually crowns Champions in the Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing classes. The live broadcast of all 28 National Championship races will be available through Sunday at http://www.SpeedcastTV.com/scca and later available On Demand from the same site.
Follow the action on Twitter @SCCAOfficial or the SCCA, Inc. Official Facebook page at facebook.com/sccaofficial. More information is available at http://www.scca.com.
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Provisional Results from Sunday’s F Production National Championship Race, part of the 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America with finish position, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.
1, (2), Steve Sargis, Frankfort, IL, Triumph Spitfire, 13.
2, (4), Sam Henry, Republic, MO, Mazda Miata, 13.
3, (13), Bill Wessel, Madison, WI, Datsun SPL 311, 13.
4, (6), Kevin Ruck, Delaware, OH, Acura Integra, 13.
5, (8), David Strittmatter, Akron, OH, Lancia Scorpion, 13.
6, (16), William Hingston, Aurora, CO, Mazda Miata, 13.
7, (18), Mason Workman, Reynoldsburg, OH, Mazda Miata, 13.
8, (11), Mark Weber, Saint Louis, MO, Mazda Miata, 13.
9, (17), Larry Funk, Oberlin, OH, Honda CRX Si, 13.
10, (10), Brian Linn, Hermosa Beach, CA, Mazda Miata, 13.
11, (12), Scott Lunder, Mentor On The Lake, OH, Honda Civic Si, 13.
12, (24), Kyle Baker, Lake Jackson, TX, Mazda Miata, 12.
13, (21), Glenn Cameron, Hawthorne, FL, MG Midget, 12.
14, (26), Frank Fisher, Stilwell, KS, Mazda Miata, 12.
15, (25), Paul Jensen, Colorado Springs, CO, Mazda Miata, 12.
16, (1), Eric Prill, Topeka, KS, Mazda Miata, 11.
17, (15), Austin Britton, Port Orange, FL, Lotus Super 7, 10.
18, (20), Roy E Carrera, Milwaukee, WI, Honda CRX Si, 10.
19, (22), Mike Gnadt, Kiel, WI, MG Midget, 9.
20, (3), Charles Campbell, Corry, PA, Mazda Miata, 9.
DNF, (9), Chuck Mathis, Saint Jacob, IL, Volkswagen Scirocco, 5.
DNF, (7), John Walker, Richland, MI, Lotus Super 7, 4.
DNF, (5), Ken Kannard, East Troy, WI, Mazda Miata, 3.
DNS, (14), Voytek Burdzy, Algonquin, IL, Mazda Miata, .
DNS, (19), Rick Harris, Longmont, CO, Mazda Miata, .
DNS, (23), Robert Keller, Algonquin, IL, Volvo P-1800, .
Overall Time of Race: 33:25.068
Average Race Speed: 93.363 mph
Margin of Victory: 5.396 seconds
Hawk Fastest Race Lap: 2:31.818
Fastest Race Lap Average Speed: 94.850 mph
Sunoco Hard Charger: #57 Kyle Baker
Lap Leaders: #7 – lap 1, #18 – laps 2-6, #7 – laps 7-11, #18 – laps 12-13.
2012 SCCA National Championship Runoffs
Michael Mueller captured his second consecutive Formula 500 National Championship just a couple miles up the road from his hometown of Plymouth, Wis., on Sunday at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America. C.J. McAbee, of Topeka, Kan., and Michael Vacek, of Itasca, Ill., survived some wild closing laps to complete the podium.
Mueller caught a break when Gumout Polesitter Jason Knuteson pulled his No. 92 Mitchell Racing/Hoosier/Formula-X-1 Scorpion/Rotax off course on the pace lap and out of the race. Though Aaron Ellis, who started essentially on the pole after Knuteson fell out, took the lead in Turn One and held it to Turn Five. It became clear immediately after that no one had the speed to challenge the No. 24 MJ Manufacturing/Fibeco/Hoosier/HRP/Subway Red Devil 2004/Rotax, as Mueller ticked off lap after lap under the previous class record of 2:23.406 (100.414 mph).
In all, Mueller turned 12 laps better than the existing record, including a Hawk Hot Lap of 2:21.171 (102.004 mph). That series of fast laps earned Mueller the GoPro Hero Move of the Race.
“I had no idea what the lap times were because my gauge was broke all week,”Mueller said. “I had no idea what lap I was on, I was just pushing as hard as the car could go. I’ve lost a race with what I thought was a comfortable lead on the last lap, so you just go until you see a flag. That’s all that was on my mind the whole time; just push it as hard as I could go.”
It was Mueller’s second consecutive Formula 500 National Championship.
“We’ve been coming to this race track since I was a little kid, before I had a conscious memory,”the 28-year-old reflected. “We started go-kart racing at the Karting Kettle in Elkhart Lake, came here and did karting for five years, and the big track was always on the other side of that wall, where we want to be. To win one National Championship at home is amazing. To do two back-to-back, with winning the June Sprints in an undefeated National season — I can’t think of anything better.”
McAbee’s No. 15 AJ’s Import Garage/Hoosier AJ’s 2012/Rotax held his third position at the start and fell into a battle with Ellis. McAbee chased the No. 43 Carlisle/CFF/Ellis Motorsports Ellis AE06/Rotax until he pulled to pit lane on lap seven, then rode around alone in second place for several laps.
With his lap times slowing, a three-way battle began between McAbee, former champion Michael Brent, Vacek and James Weida for what was then third place. Brent and McAbee split a lapped car under braking in Turn Five on lap 11, and Brent took the lead heading up the front straight with two to go.
After getting the one to go sign and McAbee hot on the heels of Brent’s No. 47 Hoosier Tire/QRE Invader QC-1/Rotax, the pair came up on a slower car at the worst possible time — the entrance to the very fast Turn One. Brent appeared to check up so in an attempt to miss the slower car, and McAbee was caught out and hit the rear of Brent. Brent spun to the inside, McAbee and Vacek continued, and the two raced to the checkered flag.
“It all happened so quick,”McAbee said. “I know I got into him, but I didn’t think they were going to brake that much. I knew I had to get a good run coming out of the corner and I got off way early, and then got to the middle of the corner and he braked, or the car in front of him broke… I don’t know. It just went everywhere.”
It was the second consecutive podium finish for McAbee after a third-place result a season ago.
“I’ve just had a real ill handling car all week,”McAbee said. “it’s real uncharacteristic for my car, it always handles real good. I never got comfortable, I never had a good qualifying session, so I never got confidence in the car. I was on pins and needles the whole time. All I could do was just hold on.”
Vacek raced McAbee up the hill to the checkered flag, but fell just short of second-place in his first Runoffs appearance after starting the race seventh on the grid.
“Once I got past James Weida, I just set my sights on Michael Brent and concentrated on drafting with him,”Vacek said. “I could see C. J. off in the distance and I thought if I could draft with him, we could catch up to C.J. and that’s how it worked out. With one lap to go, Michael had his problem and we ended up being in third place!”
Weida crossed the line fourth in the No. 22 Weida Apartments Scorpion W1/Rotax, followed by Brent after recovering from the spin.
David Lapham in the No. 56 QRE/Hoosier Tire Invader QC-1/Rotax improved five positions from the grid to finish sixth and earn the Sunoco Hard Charger award.
The Formula 500 race waved the checkered flag on the 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs, where 28 Champions were crowned in the Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing classes. All 28 National Championship races were broadcast live at http://www.SpeedcastTV.com/scca and will later be available On Demand from the same site.
Follow the action on Twitter @SCCAOfficial or the SCCA, Inc. Official Facebook page at facebook.com/sccaofficial. More information is available at http://www.scca.com.
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Provisional Results from Sunday’s Formula 500 National Championship Race, part of the 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America with finish position, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.
1, (2), Michael Mueller, Plymouth, WI, Red Devil 2004 Rotax 494 RAVE, 13.
2, (4), Charles McAbee, Topeka, KS, AJ’s 2012 Rotax 494 RAVE w/non-RAVE rotor, 13.
3, (7), Michael Vacek, Itasca, IL, Invader QRE Rotax 494, 13.
4, (6), James Weida, West Lafayette, IN, Scorpion W1 Rotax 493, 13.
5, (5), Michael Brent, Bethel, CT, Invader QC-1 Rotax, 13.
6, (11), David Lapham, Irvington, NY, Invader QC-1 Rotax, 13.
7, (12), Herb Noble, Marion, IA, Scorpion Rotax 494, 13.
8, (9), Brian Brothers, Lake Orion, MI, TR1 Stinger Rotax 494 Rave, 13.
9, (10), Jeremy Morales, Glen Head, NY, Scorpion S1 Rotax 493, 12.
10, (14), Timothy Friest, Leavenworth, KS, KBS MK VII Rotax 494, 12.
11, (16), Jeff Blumenthal, Independence, OH, Invader Rotax 493, 12.
12, (15), David Vincent, Leavenworth, KS, KBS Mk VII Rotax 494, 12.
13, (17), Chuck McAbee, Jacksonville, FL, Invader QRE Rotax 493, 11.
14, (8), Kris Larsen, Kewaunee, WI, Scorpion KRL07, 11.
15, (13), Jack Walbran, Saint Louis, MO, Scorpion S1 593, 8.
16, (3), Aaron Ellis, Farmington, MN, Ellis AE06 Rotax 493, 6.
DNF, (1), Jason Knuteson, Danville, IN, Scorpion 493, 0.
Overall Time of Race: 30:49.749
Average Race Speed: 101.203 mph
Margin of Victory: 46.361 mph
Hawk Fastest Race Lap: 2:21.171 (Mueller)
Fastest Race Lap Average Speed: 102.004 mph
Sunoco Hard Charger: #56 David Lapham
Lap Leaders: #24 Laps 1-13
2012 SCCA National Championship Runoffs
