The Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour’s third race weekend of 2021 opened competition Saturday at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California, an event hosted by Cal Club. Races were 25-minutes in length.

Formula F Comeback: Denny Renfrow, driving a Piper/Honda DL7, jumped to an early lead in Formula F Saturday in the first race session of the day. Charles Horn, driving the No. 54 Porter Racing/Hybels Ent./Margraf Racing Swift/Honda DB6, started third and remained there for the opening laps.

Four laps in, Horn moved around Bill Kephart’s Vestal Crane 02 15AB for second place. Then, he slowly reeled in Renfrow and passed for the lead two laps from the finish. On the last lap, Renfrow made a good run down the front straight, looking to make a move to the inside. But Horn positioned his car down low and staved off the attack to take the win.

Easy-peasy, right? Not actually. The wind Saturday picked up substantially from Friday, and dust blowing across the track made things real slick — a development noted by many racers throughout the day’s competition. And to add to that, Horn had been wrenching hard on his car because of camber issues on the left side. According to him, you need the left side of your car to be hooked in at Buttonwillow if you want to be successful.

“I had a really good start and was just kind of biding my time until I got an opportunity,” Horn said. “The track was really, really dirty, so it was hard to keep your car on line. People were making little mistakes, so I just tried not to make any mistakes until I was finally able to catch Denny.

“With the wind and the dirt, it was all you could do to stay on track,” Horn continued. “A couple times in Riverside (corner) I got completely sideways. I think that was because of the wind. It actually scares you and makes you a little timid through there the next time.”

Nine Seconds is A Lot: TJ Acker, in the No. 62 MBI Racing/Cindescency SCCA Enterprises Spec Racer Ford Gen3 car, took the win Saturday. The margin of victory was a couple ticks over nine seconds. That is a pretty amazing gap in any SRF3 race, which are frequently decided by fractions of a second. It’s even more impressive when you consider former Spec Racer Ford Runoffs National Champions Mike Miserendino, Todd Harris and John Black were trying to chase him down.

At the finish, Miserendino ran second, and Harris third. But there’s a hitch to that rundown. Throughout the 2021 season, SCCA Enterprises — which builds Spec Racer Ford Gen3 cars — will be testing and collecting data on the developmental of a SADEV sequential transmission for SRF3 cars. There will ultimately be about 25 preproduction development transmissions in use across the country this year, and Harris happened to be running one Saturday at Buttonwillow.

Drivers using the developmental transmission are excluded from setting new official lap records at races. Those drivers will still earn participation and a race finish credit toward Runoffs qualification, unless other  penalties are assessed, or the driver did not complete the required distance to earn a race finish. But drivers using these transmissions will be moved to the end of the field, meaning they can’t claim a podium finish.

So, the final spot on the SRF3 podium Saturday actually went to Umberto Milletti.

Pick Yourself Up, Dust Yourself Off: Jim Devenport grabbed victory in Prototype 1 driving the No. 28 Cranbrook Group Inc. Norma M20FC car. The second-place finisher was Johnnie Crean. Considering Crean’s last 24 hours, the fact he even made the starting grid is astounding.

The No. 3 Dauntless Stohr Prototype 1 car of Crean came back to the paddock late Friday afternoon on a hook. It looked mangled, dusty and unlikely to make the grid for Saturday’s race.

“The upper element of the wing fell off on the back straight,” an uninjured Crean said from his motorhome. “So, when I turned in there to Riverside (corner) I was going 149.6 mph. When I turned, the front turned and the back just kept going. I did a 720 spin in the dust.

“It blew the cowling all off. It blew the center section off. The only thing left on the car were the fenders,” Crean continued. “The guys at ONE Motorsports were incredible to get the car back together. They started working on the car as soon as it came back in yesterday. They were here late last night, and got back early today to put the car back together. They taped together the center section. The floor was broken on one side, so they put plywood underneath the bottom to hold the floor up.”

Obviously, the hard work paid off — and Crean was extremely grateful for the tremendous effort.

Saturday Winners: On track Saturday were seven group races, each 25-minutes in length at the 3.02-mile Buttonwillow Raceway Park, the third Hoosier Super Tour race of the 2021 season. Provisional winners were:
American Sedan: Christopher Qualls,  Ford Mustang
B-Spec: Ali Naimi, Mazda 2
E Production: Mike Anderson, BMW 325is
F Production: Daniel Snow, Fiat X/19
H Production: Ben Valentine, MG Midget
Formula Atlantic: Robert Merritt, Star Race Cars -ELAN Pro Formula Mazda
Formula Continental: Daniel Swanbeck, Van Diemen RF01
Formula Enterprises 2: Jeff Shafer, SCCA Enterprises FE2/Mazda
Formula F: Charles Horn, Swift/Honda DB6
Formula Vee: Dennis Andrade, Vortech
Formula X: Max Parker; Ligier F4 Honda
GT-1: Michael Arnheiter, Chevrolet Monte Carlo
GT-2: Kristofer Olson, Acura NSX
GT-3: Troy Ermish, Nissan 240SX
GT-Lite: Brian Linn, Nissan Sentra SE-R
Prototype 1: Jim Devenport; Norma M20FC
Prototype 2: Tim Day Jr., Stohr WF1
Spec Miata: Jeremy Rutter, Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford Gen3: Tordy “TJ” Acker, SCCA Enterprises Spec Racer Ford
Super Touring Lite: Nathan Pope, Honda Prelude
Super Touring Under: Ian Barberi, Honda CRX
Touring 1: Ross Murray, Ford Mustang
Touring 2: Christopher Qualls, Chevrolet Corvette
Touring 3: Brian Ghidinelli, BMW 330i
Touring 4: Izzy Sanchez, Toyota FRS

More information on the Hoosier Racing Tire Super Tour from Buttonwillow Raceway Park, including full results, can be found at the event webpage.

Photo: Tordy “TJ” Acker on his way to victory in Spec Racer Ford Gen3 Saturday at the Buttonwillow Hoosier Super Tour.

A wide array of cars, spread across 28 different competition classes, are on exhibit this weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California during the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour’s third event of the season, hosted by Cal Club. But this story is about the spectrum of “age” and experience on display, too.

At one side of the spectrum is Dave Lemon, 72, who is back racing with Sports Car Club of America after a decade’s absence. Dave first got his competition license back in 1971 at California’s long-gone Riverside International Raceway. Sitting at the other side of the spectrum is Boris Said Jr., 17, who only recently received his competition license and is competing in his first-ever Hoosier Super Tour event — and only his second-ever SCCA race weekend.

Dave arrived at Buttonwillow this weekend with his No. 99 Mazdatrix.com Mazda RX-7 outfitted for E Production competition. But he also arrived with 50 years of auto racing experience. He made his first appearance at the National Championship Runoffs back in 1976, and finished as high as fifth over seven visits to that event. During his half-century of motorsport fun, Dave has competed at IMSA events, done some Trans Am racing, played around with time trials and track days, and even won once at Daytona in the early ’80s.

“January of 2011 was the last SCCA race I did,” Dave recalled. “I kind of quit because I was frustrated. I just got tired of it. I got tired of traveling, so I quit and sold my car.”

You can’t blame Dave for running a little low on enthusiasm after so many years. Racing filled his weekends, and his work week was focused on running Mazdatrix.com for more than 30 years, which is his company that ships performance parts around the globe. But a thirst for motorsports rarely totally leaves anyone, and that passion has sparked again for the silver-haired competitor.

“I never got rid of all my stuff. I still had my truck and trailer, all the gauges and my tools,” Dave says. Plus, he still had the Mazda RX-7 he’s running at Buttonwillow this weekend. So, off he went to have fun and play with the SCCA again.

And playing with SCCA is something Boris Said Jr. is just starting to explore. This weekend at Buttonwillow, he’s piloting the No. 133 Mazda Miata around the 3.02-mile circuit in Spec Miata. While new to SCCA competition, the high school junior is no stranger to being at race circuits. The son of accomplished pro racer Boris Said Sr., who accompanied his son to Buttonwillow, Said Jr. certainly has a great coach.

“This is so fun,” Said Jr. proclaimed. “I’ve been outdoor karting for two years now, so I naturally wanted to try this. It’s more fun than anything I’ve done. There’s so much to this, and being fast just feels good.”

Said Sr. added that “driving a car on the edge is just an unbelievable feeling.” And he should know. The pro started out driving his car to SCCA events, and has three Runoffs victories to his credit. Then there were triumphs in IMSA, Trans Am, NASCAR and more, as well as success at legendary circuits such as Daytona, Bathurst and Nürburgring. But coming back to his SCCA roots with his son is something special.

“SCCA is a great experience,” Said Sr. explained. “The people are great and there’s good camaraderie.”

That fellowship was evident Friday after the first qualifying session. Said’s car had left-front bodywork loose, and the father-son duo had the car jacked up and were wrenchin’ away together to remedy the problem. Another attendee paddocked next to the Saids saw they could use a hand and jumped in to  assist.

While it would be easy to understand that Boris Jr. has big shoes to fill, he’s still new to SCCA competition and is wisely just enjoying the experience for now and waiting to see where things go.

“I’d obviously love to go as far as I can go, but it’s so early right now. This is only my second race,” Said Jr. recognized. “But we are going to try to go to the Runoffs at Indianapolis this year. That’s our goal.”

Before that, the Saids plan to be at a few more SCCA races this year along the West Coast. And as far as Said Sr. is concerned, that’s all part of the learning experience in a class as competitive and approachable as Spec Miata.

“Right now, we’ll just see where this goes. We’re having a blast together,” Said Sr. stated. “Last year at Road Atlanta, I was racing Trans Am and he was in a Spec Miata race. That was the most nervous I’ve been at a racetrack. But watching him in the karts and watching him on track this weekend is one of the happiest feelings of my life, even more than winning the 24 Hours of Nürburgring or Daytona. It’s a thrill for me and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

So, does Dave Lemon have any tips for Boris Jr. and his father?

“You want me to tell Boris Sr. what to do?” Dave said with a laugh. However, he’s being modest as Dave also spent some time sharing a car back in the early 2000s with his daughter, Brieana, whose name is still on the Mazda RX-7 being run this weekend.

“I tried to coach her, but she didn’t want to listen to me. Daddy was being overbearing,” Dave recalls. “You’re going to work your butts off … but also have fun. Have fun.”

And that seems to be a focus for the Saids. As the younger Boris sat on grid before the first qualifying session Friday, papa Said rode by on a bike, looked into the driver’s side window and said, “have fun, bud.”

Be sure to follow all the “fun” from this weekend’s Hoosier Super Tour at Buttonwillow with live timing/scoring, static cameras and Super Tour Radio presented by Hoosier Racing Tire at http://www.scca.com/live.