A full afternoon of races Sunday brought to a close Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour competition from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta‘s 2.54-mile, 12-turn circuit during a weekend hosted by SCCA’s Atlanta Region. This was only the second time the Hoosier Super Tour has visited the storied track located about an hour northeast of Georgia’s state capital.

For those who haven’t been following the Hoosier Super Tour closely, this weekend was a rare event. Originally the series was slated back in March to visit the Georgia track. COVID-19 concerns made that impossible. SCCA’s Atlanta Region, however, was persistent in looking at ways to reschedule the event. What emerged was a one-off weekend where Hoosier Super Tour car classes shared the circuit with South Atlantic Road Racing Championship regional car classes.

Back and Forth Battles: Several class races during Sunday’s Hoosier Super Tour saw competitors swap the top position during 35-minute or 19-lap races, whichever came first. One such instance occurred in Spec Miata where Saturday winner Chris Haldeman started out with the lead before being overtaken by Jim Drago, who later fell back to second when the eventual race winner, Preston Pardus, moved to the front in his No. 42 Danus Utilities/East Street Racing/5x Racing/PR Mazda Miata.

“It was a fun time,” Pardus said. “It’s always fun racing with Jim and Chris.”

A similar rotation of the top spot manifested in Formula F, too. Saturday winner David Livingston Jr, driving the No. 85 ThermaMasters Spectrum 14H machine, briefly started out with the lead Sunday. But then Dylan Christie, in the No. 82 Mygale SJ13, took a turn up front. Next it was Porter Aiken’s Piper DF5 that was ahead of the pack before Livingston and Christie tossed the lead back and forth like it was a hot potato for several more laps. At the end, Christie claimed the win.

“That’s probably one of the most fun Formula F races I’ve had in a while,” Christie said while accepting his first-place trophy.

Formula Enterprises 2 also saw some drama when frontrunner Paul Schneider, who won Saturday in his No. 73 Comprent Motorsports/Performance MotorCars of Charlotte/Syvel Images FE2 Mazda, gave up the top spot for a bit to a tenacious Bailey Monette. But Schneider fought back to reclaim the lead and gather another win Sunday.

“It was a hell of a battle with Bailey … nose to tail the whole race,” an exhausted Schneider said afterwards. “I loved the pressure he put on me. It was a great race.”

Wilson Wins GT-3 Challenge: With two wins on the weekend, Stacy Wilson in his No. 47 Hoosier Tire/Mazda/Wilson Racing Mazda RX-7 swept the GT-3 class. By doing so he becomes the Southeast representative for the GT-3 Challenge championship round taking place at SCCA’s Runoffs® in October at Road America.

The GT-3 Challenge presented by MPI is a series boosting participation in the GT-3 class and is supported by Mazda, Max Papis Innovations, Penske Racing Shocks, AiM Sports, Hoosier Racing Tire, Goodyear Tire, Carbotech Performance Brakes and Bell Racing Helmets. The first GT-3 Challenge event of 2020 took place back in February during a Hoosier Super Tour weekend at California’s Buttonwillow Raceway Park and was won by the No. 32 Goodyear Mazda RX-7 driven by Michael Lewis. Next on the GT-3 Challenge schedule is August’s SCCA U.S. Major Tour date at Road America, and a late August Hoosier Super Tour stop at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Pennsylvania.

Feeling Sweepy: A handful of other drivers managed to double-up on victories over the weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Those drivers include: Robeson Clay Russell in the No. 31 SVN/Angry LLama/Comprent Spec Racer Ford Gen3 car, Spencer Brockman in the No. 34 Swift 014 Formula Atlantic machine, Prototype 1 driver Todd Vanacore in the No. 19 Comprent Elan DP-02 sled, Prototype 2 racer Lucian Pancea in his No. 98 Luckor Motors Stohr P2 racecar, Peter Norton driving the No. 50 Omer Norton Caterham 7 in E Production, GT-Lite competitor Mickey Thompson in the No. 2 Thompson Insurance Agency/BSI Racing Mazda Miata, B-Spec’s Joseph Gersch in the No. 19 Phillips Race Prep Toyota Yaris, Formula Vee pilot Stevan Davis in the No. 80 Hoosier/Butler Engines/Roxannes Vortech machine, Formula 500’s Clint McMahan in the No. 34 Satellite Racing/Formula 600 Challenge Scorpian FDS 007 car, Formula Continental racer Brandon Dixon in the No. 15 Hoosier/Citation Engineering F2000 vehicle, Adam Romito in GT-1 driving the No. 42 ZETA Performance/Davis Machine Works/Competition Gear/SRI Dodge Challenger, Greg Eaton driving the No. 21 Eaton Racing and Development Ford Mustang in American Sedan, Touring 1’s Bill Baten in the No. 39 Van Winkle Baten/Priority/Hoosier Chevrolet Camaro, Jacek Mucha driving the No. 7 Phoenix Wrappers Oreca IMPC in the Prototype X class, Jorge Ortiz in the No. 139 Racefactory/Real Street/Fulcro Insurance/Valvoline/Magic 97.3 FM/Revista Revoluciones Super Touring Under Honda Civic, Touring 3’s Richard Baldwin in the No. 5 Zorro Racing/UP REV/Nissan Motorsport 350Z, and Steve Bertock in the No. 90 Panic Motorsports/Hoosier/G-Loc/Mazda Motorsports MX-5 Touring 4 car.

Winning Proclamations: For racing enthusiasts, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is a circuit with a lot of history. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that many of the competitors this weekend who came out on top were very excited about their accomplishments. Hear directly from victorious drivers through post-race winner video interviews found here.

One to Go: This competition weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta was the penultimate event on the 2020 Hoosier Super Tour calendar. Next up is the final Hoosier Super Tour event of the year, this one taking place August 28-30 for the very first time on the combined 2.78-mile South/North track at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Fans can follow along online with live timing/scoring, video, Super Tour Radio presented by Hoosier Racing Tire and more at http://www.scca.com/live.

Sunday Winner Rundown: Below are provisional race results from Sunday’s Hoosier SCCA Super Tour at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with Class: Name, Hometown, Region and Car.
American Sedan®: Gregory Eaton; Woodbridge, VA; Washington DC Region; Ford Mustang
B-Spec: Joseph Gersch; Conroe, TX; Houston Region; Toyota Yaris
E Production: Peter Norton; Pelham, NC; North Carolina Region; Caterham 7
F Production: Michael Kamalian; Marietta, GA; Atlanta Region; Mazda Miata
H Production: Leanna Wright; Murfreesboro, TN; Tennessee Region; Mini Cooper
Formula 500: Clint McMahan; Covington, GA; Middle Georgia Region; Scorpian FDS 007
Formula Atlantic®: Spencer Brockman; Westport, CT; New England Region; Swift 014
Formula Continental®: Brandon Dixon; Tuscaloosa, AL; Alabama Region; Citation F2000
Formula Enterprises 2: Paul Schneider; Charlotte, NC; Central Carolinas Region; FE2/Mazda
Formula F: Dylan Christie; Princeton, NJ; Northern New Jersey Region; Mygale SJ13
Formula Vee®: Stevan Davis; Danielsville, GA; Atlanta Region; Vortech
Formula X: Brad Yake; Fort Worth, TX; Texas Region; Formula Mazda
GT-1: Adam Romito; Opelika, AL; Wiregrass Region; Dodge Challenger
GT-2: Mark Boden; Buffalo Grove, IL; Chicago Region; Porsche 997.1 C2
GT-3: Stacy Wilson; Englewood, TN; Atlanta Region; Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite: Mickey Thompson; Douglasville, GA; Central Florida Region; Mazda Miata
Prototype 1: Todd Vanacore; Ormond Beach, FL; Central Florida Region; Elan DP-02
Prototype 2: Lucian Pancea; San Antonio, TX; Texas Region; Stohr P2
Prototype X: Jacek Mucha; Highland Beach, FL; Florida Region; Oreca IMPC
Spec Miata: Preston Pardus; New Smyrna Beach, FL; Central Florida Region; Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford 3: Robeson Clay Russell; Spartanburg, SC; Central Carolinas Region; SRF3
Super Touring® Lite: Danny Steyn; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Florida Region; Mazda MX-5
Super Touring® Under: Jorge Ortiz; Orlando, FL; Puerto Rico Region; Honda Civic
Touring 1: Bill Baten; Carmel, IN; Indianapolis Region; Chevrolet Camaro
Touring 2: Tim Kezman; Franksville, WI; Milwaukee Region; Porsche 997.2
Touring 3: Richard Baldwin; Covington, LA; Delta Region; Nissan 370
Touring 4: Steve Bertok; Lexington, SC; South Carolina Region; Mazda MX-5

Photo: Preston Pardus took the Spec Miata win Sunday during the Hoosier Super Tour at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

Yes, Track Night in America Driven by Tire Rack is about getting to have a great time in your car on a racetrack. But it’s also so much more. A big part of what makes Track Night special is the people. The drivers, the volunteers, and the staff. They are the ones that create a fantastic community of welcoming, fun-loving, and enthusiastic people that are the lifeblood of the program. 

Last week at VIR, Track Night got to play a role in an incredible moment in the lives of two of our Track Night regulars. 

When Jake Nicholas reached out to the Track Night team about proposing to his girlfriend, Kelly Breedlove, during an event, the team leaped into action to make them happy. 

Kelly and Jake came to their car hobby independently and then found each other. And we won’t say they jumped the gun a little bit, but the wedding venue had already been reserved for April 2021 at, you guessed it, VIRginia International Raceway. 

So why not begin the journey with a proposal on the track? Jake coordinated with the Track Night leads to concoct his plan, and at the end of the event, Jake and Kelly headed out on track to find a part that a flagger reported had “fallen off his car.”

“His car is 20 years old, and it seemed legit something would fall off of it,” Kelly laughed. 

Once at the top of VIR’s rollercoaster series of corners, Jake pulled the car over. 

“I told her last year that I was going to propose in Las Vegas at the ‘roller coaster’ on top of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas,” Jake said. “I knew at that point that I was going to propose at the Roller Coaster at VIR. I asked a few friends about possible opportunities before I knew we were going to Track Night. When she signed up, I instantly signed up and started doing some homework. Thanks to a bunch of nice people at Track Night, the opportunity was granted, and I got to express my love for my future wife in a very apt place… at the top of the hill on a ‘roller coaster.'”

With a date picked out for the actual wedding, the question maybe wasn’t much of a surprise. 

“As we neared Track Night, he was being weird about things… so I felt he might try to do it at Track Night,” Kelly told us.” Once we got to the track and as the sessions went by, I figured maybe he was going to stick with the Stratosphere, since we were going to have to leave for Vegas the next morning.

“Then at the end of the day someone came up to him, and he came over to me and said something had fallen off the Vette, and we needed to go check it out. This seemed legit as he is pretty aggressive on track, and the car is 20 years old, so why not. Things became clear when we passed the corner worker, stopped at the top of Roller Coaster, and I saw Tradd hiding behind the wall with his camera. I got out of the car and said that this was not the Stratosphere! He said he told me the entire time he was going to propose on top of the roller coaster, and this was Roller Coaster. He then got down on his knee, said some lovely sweet things, and offered up the ring.”

In all, it was the perfect proposal for a car-crazy couple. And we’re sure there are many more Track Nights in both of their future. 

“I somehow managed to find the one person in the world who gets me, knows how to poke me when I’m doing something wrong, or need to re-evaluate, and knows how to make me grow,” Jake said. “We race together often, at the road course, the drag strip, or the autocross. I’ve gone out on week-long races before, and she plays life support when I get home for a few days. We just fit together really well, and as we start down the ‘roller coaster’, I know I can’t live without her.

“Track night helped me show that I really can’t, and I deeply appreciate it.”