Supplemental Regulations for the 2022 SCCA National Championship Runoffs, Sept. 24-Oct. 2 at VIRginia International Raceway, have been posted on the Runoffs event page. New items for 2022 include a shift of the official timing loop during test and qualifying days, as well as the introduction of an acceleration point for race restarts.
Official Timing Loop
To maximize available green flag time in the day, SCCA has taken a cue from professional racing organizations, and will shift its official timing loop for both test and qualifying days. For those days (Saturday, Sept. 24, through Thursday, Sept. 29), official times will be set at the South Start/Finish line, adjacent to the South Tower after Turn 12 (Oak Tree Curve). All sessions will receive the green and checkered flag at this station, meaning drivers will be able to pit five corners later, rather than complete a 17-turn, 3.27-mile cool-down lap.
“We checkered the sessions during the 2019 Runoffs test days at the end of the back straight,” said Deanna Flanagan, SCCA Director of Road Racing. “After analyzing green- and checkered-flag times for those days, as well as those times during qualifying days that utilized the traditional timing line, we learned that several minutes can be gained between sessions if we eliminate the full cool-down lap. On average, the transition time between checkered flag and green flag was more than three minutes quicker during test days. That extra time allows for an entire extra session in the day throughout qualifying, which means one fewer combined-class run group each day.”
Benefits to drivers include the ability to save an entire “in” lap after completing an official timed lap, should they wish to pit and then return to the track. Drivers can also start a hot lap and evaluate if their run up the back straight, through Rollercoaster and Hog Pen, are quick enough to continue the lap, or potentially duck into pit lane.
While the Start/Finish line for the test and qualifying sessions will relocate, the event will utilize the North pit lane along the front straightaway throughout test days, qualifying and racing, as was the case in 2019.
SCCA is working with data industry experts to develop instructions on how to work with the shift of official timing lines, both with data analysis and onboard lap timers. Details will be posted in the coming months.
Restart Acceleration Point
Another significant change for the 2022 Runoffs is the introduction of an acceleration point for race restarts. Noted by a cone, or similar recognizable marker, the point signifies when the leader may begin accelerating to the green flag once the safety car has turned off its lights and entered the pit lane.
“This is another situation where we are taking cues from some professional racing series by providing the drivers a definitive point where they can accelerate from the speed of the safety car on a restart,” added Flanagan. “This is done to take some of the inconsistency and gamesmanship that we’ve witnessed out of the equation.”
More Information
Full information on these two changes, as well as all event Supplemental Regulations, are available at the 2022 SCCA National Championship Runoffs event page, at http://www.scca.com/runoffs.
Even a cursory scan of SCCA Road Racing-adjacent social media will reveal a new movement for SCCA Road Racing designed to raise awareness of and reduce the number of on-track incidents during road races — the Green-to-Checker (G2C) movement.
The philosophy began as drivers and officials perceived an uptick in racing incidents, specifically at Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour events. It was set into motion more formally through a letter sent to Super Tour drivers by Eric Prill, a fellow driver who is also the Vice President of SCCA Road Racing.
In the letter, Prill outlined data from the VIR Super Tour’s Flagging and Communications logs, which included interrupted sessions, total incidents through the weekend, and more. It was impossible to draw conclusions without historical data, but it did provide a baseline for data moving forward.
Prill ended that initial letter with a challenge to the drivers — himself included — as the Club continues to investigate solutions.
“Ultimately, there are many things that can influence change here,” Prill said. “And that all starts with us, the drivers. It starts with getting through Turn One. And then Turn Two, and all the way through Lap One, and so forth…and strive to go Green-to-Checker without interruption. It is a pledge to be the driver that you want everyone else to be.”
Since that late-April letter, the movement has continued to evolve. In a follow-up letter approximately 10 days later, Prill thanked drivers for their on-going conversation — many responded directly to SCCA’s Road Racing department, others carried out the conversation on social media, and face-to-face conversations at and away from the track were also had.
“In the first email, I shared the idea that all drivers, collectively, needed to work as one ‘team’ to have successful, uninterrupted sessions,” Prill said. “But as many of you have pointed out, the ‘team’ responsible for getting our sessions from Green-to-Checker extends beyond the drivers. It also includes officials, corner marshals, safety teams, rules makers, and event organizers. There are a lot of factors that can positively influence this G2C Movement. The communication to drivers is only part of that effort. This discussion is being had within many of the groups I referenced above. Each one of us can make a difference.”
SCCA President and CEO Mike Cobb weighed in as well, most publicly in the May/June 2022 edition of SportsCar Magazine, which is mailing to SCCA members right now.
“While conversations in and around this area have been ongoing for some time, the passion to engage fully in this now has been born out of an increase in on-track contact and other incidents which cause session stoppages, particularly at large Hoosier Super Tour events over the last couple of years,” Cobb explained. “Concurrently, we have also received comments through surveys, emails, and at events about the declining quality of driving and reduced green-flag time due to incidents at these events.”
Each acknowledge there isn’t just one fix for the situation, as incidents may be caused by various factors.
One tangible result of G2C so far has been a reorganization of the test-day groupings set for the Sept. 24-Oct 2, 2022, SCCA National Championship Runoffs at VIRginia International Raceway, where additional test sessions have been added to reduce on-track car counts.
Another result is the availability of G2C decals, which are available now through the online store at my.scca.com. G2C decals will also be available at numerous SCCA Road Racing events, including the WeatherTech Chicago Region June Sprints Hoosier Super Tour, taking place June 17-19 at Road America.
In the meantime, Cobb’s call rings true: “Each one of us can make a difference and, to make a difference, each of us needs to play a part.”
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