Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour competition got rolling Saturday during a weekend hosted by Cal Club at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California. The day opened with a second round of qualifying followed by 25-minute timed races on the 2.95-mile circuit being run counterclockwise this year. Racing continues on Sunday, beginning at 8:40 a.m. PT, with 17-lap (or 35-minute) races. Live timing, results, steaming audio and static cameras are available at http://www.scca.com/live.

2020 GT-3 Challenge Begins: Opening round of this year’s GT-3 Challenge presented by MPI takes place this weekend as part of the Hoosier Super Tour at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, and the first race in the series took place Saturday under dry conditions.

Michael Lewis, in the No. 32 Goodyear Mazda RX-7, started on pole and led every lap on his way to victory. Behind him, however, things got interesting. Taz Harvey, in a Mazda RX-7, held the second spot for most of the race. But Jose Rodriguez, also in a Mazda RX-7, hounded Harvey almost the entire time until he grabbed the second spot with only a couple laps to go. Harvey brought his car home in third to round out the podium.

The GT-3 Challenge is a series boosting participation in the GT-3 class and supported by Mazda, Max Papis Innovations, Penske Racing Shocks, AiM Sports and Hoosier Racing Tire, with new partners Goodyear Tire, Carbotech Performance Brakes and Bell Racing Helmets jumping aboard this year. There are five scheduled GT-3 Challenge rounds in 2020 — the others taking place at Hoosier Super Tour events at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and Watkins Glen International, as well as Road America in July, and finally SCCA’s National Championship Runoffs® in October.

Then Came the Rain: Saturday’s second race group consisted of fast, open-cockpit formula and prototype cars. And just as they pulled off grid for their pace lap, a light rain began to fall on the circuit. On slick tires, these cars don’t take kindly to wet surfaces. And on the opening lap in turn one, they showed it as a bunch of cars got squirrely, sliding sideways and collecting other cars. Those who emerged victorious after 25 minutes had one heck of a story to tell.

“There was a big melee at the exit of turn one. I’m not sure who was even involved in it, but cars were going everywhere,” said Bill Weaver, who drove his No. 67 James G. Parker Insurance Associates Star Formula Mazda to victory in the Formula X class. “I hit somebody. The front of my car launched up into the air, probably about three feet into the air. But it came down and the wheels were still on, so I just kept driving it. No front wing and a wet track is exciting to say the least. But we got it done, finished the race and had a great time.”

Aaron Bailey, who drove his No. 21 BRE/HRX USA/Goodyear/G-LOC Brakes Stohr WF1 to a Prototype 1 win in the same race, also had a tale to tell afterwards.

“That’s the craziest race I’ve been in for a long time,” Bailey said. “I got hit on the start, but another car collected me and actually saved me from spinning completely. It started getting wetter and wetter, slicker and slicker, and I just tried to keep it together as much as I could and drive smooth.”

Sweep Ceased: Over the last two years, Mike Miserendino has claimed all four Hoosier Super Tour Spec Racer Ford Gen3 races at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. On Saturday, Miserendino looked set to do it again as he came to the white flag with the lead over TJ Acker. But during the back half of the last lap, the top-two drivers encountered traffic and Acker, driving the No. 62 MBI Racing/Cindescency racecar, ended up crossing the finish line first.

“We had a couple lapped cars to deal with … and I thought that would give Mike the tow to keep out in front of me,” said Acker, who also took a win Saturday in Formula Enterprises 2 driving the No. 62 Bulldog Motorsports Formula Enterprises/Mazda car. “But I got a good run and I think we were three-wide coming off the back straight. I had the inside and had the position getting up the hill and got the lead.”

Doubles on the Day: Winning one Hoosier Super Tour event is pretty special. Winning two Hoosier Super Tour races on the same day, that’s even more special. Beyond Acker, two other drivers accomplished that feat on Saturday. One was Christopher Qualls, who drove his Ford Mustang to victory in both Touring 2 and American Sedan. Michael Lewis achieved the same by driving his No. 12 Goodyear Jaguar XKR to victory in GT-1 after claiming the GT-3 win earlier in the day.

Power On: Leading Spec Miata to the start line Saturday was Dakota Dickerson, a champion from SCCA Pro’s F4 U.S. and F3 Americas series. But early on up front it was Steven Powers, Justin Casey, Tristan Littlehale and Nick Leverone. Several of those drivers took a turn at the front or applied copious amounts of pressure to whomever was leading.

On the last lap, Leverone made an amazing run down the backstretch and tried to challenge Powers, who was leading. But it wasn’t quite enough, and Powers pulled away to victory in his No. 145 Mazda Miata. Behind Powers, Leverone was passed by Casey, Littlehale and Dickerson who claimed second, third and fourth.

Party Time: As usual, Saturday came to a close with volunteers, competitors, crews and families gathering in the large, covered picnic area beneath the Timing/Scoring tower for an All Participant Party where fantastic food was shared along with some great stories. Come Sunday morning, Buttonwillow’s track will be hot again as a second day of Hoosier Super Tour racing gets underway at 8:40 a.m. local time. Follow all the action live at http://www.scca.com/live.

Saturday Winners: Below are provisional race results from Saturday’s Hoosier SCCA Super Tour at Buttonwillow Raceway Park with Class: Name, Hometown, Region and Car.
American Sedan®: Christopher Qualls; W. Los Angeles, CA; Cal Club; Ford Mustang
B-Spec: Chris Taylor; Elroy, TX; Lone Star Region; Mazda 2
E Production: Aaron Downey; Rossmoor, CA; San Francisco Region; Mazda RX-3
F Production: Ethan Shippert; Petaluma, CA; Cal Club; Lotus 7
H Production: Ben Valentine; Fullerton, CA; Cal Club; MG Midget
Formula Atlantic®: Howard Sklar; Sonoma, CA; Colorado Region; Ligier F3
Formula Continental®: Daniel Swanbeck; San Jose, CA; San Francisco Region; Van Diemen RF 01
Formula Enterprises 2: TJ Acker; Saugus, CA; Cal Club; Formula Enterprises/Mazda
Formula F: Chuck Horn; Los Gatos, CA; San Francisco Region; Swift DB6
Formula Vee®: Dennis Andrade; Silverlake, WA; Northwest Region; Vortech Caracal
Formula X: William Weaver; Fresno, CA; San Francisco Region; Star Formula Mazda
GT-1: Michael Lewis; Poway, CA; San Diego Region; Jaguar XKR
GT-2: Darren Dilley; Hillsboro, OR; Oregon Region; Mazda RX-7
GT-3: Michael Lewis; Poway, CA; San Diego Region; Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite: Troy Ermish; Tracy, CA; San Francisco Region; Datsun 510
Prototype 1: Aaron Bailey; Shasta Lake, CA; San Francisco Region; Stohr WF1
Prototype 2: Joe Moran; Laguna Hills, CA; Cal Club; Ford Carbir CS2
Spec Miata: Steven Powers; Phoenix, AZ; Arizona Region; Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford 3: TJ Acker; Saugus, CA; Cal Club; SRF3
Super Touring® Lite: Nathan Pope; Fremont, CA; San Francisco Region; Honda Prelude
Super Touring® Under: Carl Young; Salinas, CA; San Francisco Region; Honda CRX
Touring 1: Sean Whitwood; Norco, CA; Cal Club; Corvette Z06
Touring 2: Christopher Qualls; W. Los Angeles, CA; Cal Club; Ford Mustang
Touring 4: Izzy Sanchez; San Mateo, CA; San Francisco Region; Toyota FRS

Photo: Michael Lewis, in the No. 32 Goodyear Mazda RX-7, took the GT-3 class win Saturday during Hoosier Super Tour’s stop at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California.

Opposite Weekend: Buttonwillow Raceway Park has more than 40 different race and test configurations purposely designed to emulate street and road racing courses throughout North America. For the past couple years, Hoosier Super Tour events have been run on the No. 25A clockwise, 3.02-mile configuration. This year, however, there’s been a switch to the 2.95-mile, No. 25 counterclockwise layout. So, what does that actually mean for competitors?

“You wouldn’t think running counterclockwise would make a big difference because it’s the same configuration, but we’re just running it the opposite way,” said Michael Lewis, a 35-year SCCA member who has nine Runoffs® National Championships to his credit and who has been racing at Buttonwillow for 25 years. “Counterclockwise actually completely changes the characterization and the handling characteristics of the car. Suddenly, a third-gear corner is now done in fourth gear because you’re entering it so much faster.

“I’ve done a lot of laps around Buttonwillow, but it has been a while since we’ve run the counterclockwise direction,” Lewis continued. “It’s really different, but you’ve got to be able to adapt. In particular, the braking areas are much more challenging when you’re running counterclockwise because you have to crest hills, and you’re in turning zones while braking. It’s tricky. It’s really quite a driver’s test.”

Who will pass the test this weekend? That will become clear by Sunday evening.

Mike Miserendino Mastery: This is the fourth year Buttonwillow Raceway Park has hosted a Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour weekend. When it comes to emerging victorious at Buttonwillow Hoosier Super Tour events, Spec Racer Ford Gen3 (SRF3) driver Mike Miserendino knows a thing or two.

For the past two years, Miserendino — a five-time SCCA Runoffs® National Champion who has been running at Buttonwillow for nearly 20 years — has swept the weekend by winning both Saturday and Sunday SRF3 races. Each year, the SRF3 field at Buttonwillow has been stacked with plenty of entries and top-tier talent, so demonstrating such dominance is truly impressive.

What’s Miserendino’s secret to success?

“I have a lot of laps here and I really enjoy the racetrack,” said Miserendino, who lives in nearby Bakersfield and has been Buttonwillow’s Business Development Manager for almost a decade. “I feel this track suits my driving style. There are some technical and some fast spots. Having a good, fast car helps, too, and a little bit of Lady Luck.

“People think since I work here at the track, I drive it all the time,” Miserendino continued. “It’s actually quite the opposite. I’ve not driven a race car on this track since last September. People think I head out on track and drive after work, but I don’t. When I’m done with work, I go home.”

Will Miserendino be dominant again during the 2020 Hoosier Super Tour weekend at Buttonwillow?  Tune in to http://www.scca.com/live and find out through live Timing & Scoring, video and Super Tour Radio presented by Hoosier Racing Tire.

Opening Salvo for GT-3 Challenge: The 2020 GT-3 Challenge presented by MPI commences this weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway Park during the Hoosier Super Tour. This is a series boosting participation in the GT-3 class and supported by Mazda, Max Papis Innovations, Penske Racing Shocks, AiM Sports and Hoosier Racing Tire, with new partners Goodyear Tire, Carbotech Performance Brakes and Bell Racing Helmets jumping aboard this year. This is the series’ second year, with the inaugural GT-3 Challenge champion being Jeff Dernehl.

This weekend’s field at Buttonwillow is comprised of 11 competitors. The Mazda RX-7 is well represented, being the weapon of choice for drivers Scott Graham, Taz Harvey, Mike Henderson, Guy Laidig, Michael Lewis and Jose Rodriguez. There will also be a Mazda Miata out there in the hands of Michael Heintzman. Nissan then has three entries, two being 240SX vehicles driven by Tony Ave and Douglas Ruthroff, and the 350Z of Larry Hansen. Then it’s Wolfgang Maike flying the flag for Toyota in a Paseo.

Buttonwillow is the first of five scheduled GT-3 Challenge rounds in 2020 — the others taking place at Hoosier Super Tour events at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and Watkins Glen International, as well as Road America in July, and finally SCCA’s National Championship Runoffs® in October.

New Look Timing Page: Several changes were recently made to the live timing page at http://www.scca.com/live. For starters, the screen has been optimized for mobile view. Other enhancements include:

– Light/Dark mode allowing users to toggle between the standard (white background) page and a new dark background screen. For mobile users, this should be automatically selected based on your phone’s settings (if you use dark mode, it should select dark). Toggle icon is located next to the “Sort By” button.

– When sorting by class (select the “Cl” in the column header), there is now a bar separating classes and the “gap” is based off the leader in class, instead of the overall leader. If you are in class mode, to switch back to overall mode, click on “Pos” in the column header.

– You may also still select an individual class in the drop-down menu, which will isolate that class and include the best segment, speed and times in the purple bar.

– Locked Timing Column Menu — when scrolling down the page, the Timing Column Menu will remain fixed.

– The Time Elapsed/Remaining and Lap count is now in the Timing Column Menu to the left of the purple (best in session) bar.

Enjoy!

Results and more information available at the Hoosier Racing Tire Buttonwillow Raceway Park event page.