(Looking for an inside line on the Club? “Inside the SCCA” is a podcast that features interviews with the Club’s leading personalities, but it’s not owned by SCCA®. Instead, it’s an independent media outlet managed by Rule 15 Productions and hosted by longtime SCCA member and journalist Brian Bielanski. He uses the Club’s name with permission.)
Nicole Stout is a Goodyear Racing Tires engineer who can be found at many SCCA Super Tour weekends working in the Goodyear tire trailer. As the guest on this week’s Inside the SCCA podcast with Brian Bielanski, Nicole runs through her journey from handing her papa spark plugs, to soapbox derby racing, to engineering school at Purdue. Then, of course, there’s her career at Goodyear Racing Tires. This episode concentrates on tire management for those new to racing, although there’s gold in this episode that will benefit even the most experienced SCCA road racers.
Listen below or click here.
You can also watch the video version of the show below.
Since the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour last came to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH, the 2.4-mile classic road course has undergone one significant change: a complete repave.
Completed at the end of October 2023, the work utilized approximately 100 people, 5,000 work hours, 15 trucks to remove approximately 6,000 tons of old track material, and 30 trucks to haul in 6,000 tons of the new asphalt mixture onto the property. The project encompassed 11,550 feet of surface paving, 3,500 feet of various turn reinforcement, 500 feet of full depth repair in the Keyhole and Turn 12 areas, and 300 feet of transverse joint repair.
And on Friday, May 17, 2024, it got a full wet test as the area had seen more than an inch of rain in the past couple of days — and it was still raining. This has set the stage for the May 17-19, 2024, Hoosier Super Tour at Mid-Ohio.
Local knowledge told us that the old rain line was well off the traditional dry line, but how has that changed with the new pavement? For that, we went to one of those locals who’s been around Mid-Ohio a time or two: John Heinricy.
Sixteen-time Runoffs gold medalist (eight of which came at Mid-Ohio) Heinricy is now driving a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, which he admits is a car he’s still trying to maximize. Even so, Friday’s morning practice session showed some things in that new asphalt.
“It’s not as necessary to drive off line as the old pavement was, where if you were on line it was terrible,” Heinricy said. “There’s not any extra grip in that situation now. It’s still pretty slick, but it’s not too bad except for where there are puddles, and that’s always true.”
One of those spots is Turn 6 where it puddled before, near the curbing. This isn’t a surprise, because obviously the contours of the track and the landscape didn’t change.
It’s possible the more uniform surface could lead to better racing in the rain, with opportunities to take a different line around the track. Time will tell on that.
But the real hope is that we won’t have to find out this weekend.
There’s a great chance the track will begin to dry out on Friday afternoon. There’s a possibility of rain early on Saturday morning, but the optimists think the rest of the weekend may be dry. That’s better for everyone, and a great chance to test out that new pavement and maybe set some track records.
Wet or dry, anyone around the world can find out how the new track is racing at this weekend’s Hoosier SCCA Super Tour. Beginning Friday afternoon, every lap is streamed live on SCCA.com’s live Timing & Scoring page, as well as on SCCA’s Facebook and YouTube pages. The broadcast, produced by DriversEye Live and featuring a multitude of cameras plus audio commentary by Brian Bielanski and Gregg Ginsberg, will cover every session through the final checker on Sunday.
Check out the event schedule for when to tune in.
Earlier this year, we highlighted nine SCCA® racers who received scholarships to aid in their professional racing pursuits in SCCA Pro Racing®-sanctioned series. Amy Ruman, Kaylee Bryson, Jenn Krpata, Rafa Matos, Michele Abbate, Tyler Gonzalez, Justin Garat, Nicole Havrda, and Landan Matriano Lim were presented with Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH) Powering Diversity Scholarships to assist in their 2024 racing seasons. With this year’s PMH-led, SCCA Pro Racing-sanctioned race series underway, it’s time to check in.
“We’re only a few races into the 2024 season, but it already brings me great pride to see the accomplishments of this year’s PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship class,” said Tony Parella, CEO of PMH. “This program plays such a vital role in helping young drivers by making sure that they’re given a chance to chase their dreams.”
Trans Am’s Contenders
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli has completed four rounds to open the 2024 season with races at Sebring International Raceway, Road Atlanta, NOLA Motorsports Park, and World Wide Technology Speedway. Two-time Trans Am Series TA champion Amy Ruman (No. 23 McNichols Co. Chevrolet Corvette) kicked off the season with a podium — her first podium since April 2022.
In the SGT class, Kaylee Bryson (No. 02 Logical Systems Inc./Sam Pierce Chevrolet Corvette) leads the Rookie of the Year standings after earning her first-career Trans Am victory in just her fourth series start. She also currently sits second in the SGT point standings. Also running in SGT, Jenn Krpata (No. 93 Island Trees Auto Chevrolet Camaro) made her debut at Road Atlanta, earning a top-five finish with her family-owned team.
In Trans Am’s CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, Rafa Matos (No. 60 Concord American Flagpole/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) has gotten off to a record-breaking start launching his season on the podium. At NOLA, the two-time champion earned his first pole of the year and went on to take the checkered flag. The victory was the 21st of his career, making him the winningest driver in TA2 history.
Matos’ teammate Michele Abbate (No. 30 GHOST/Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) is having her most successful season to date, earning podium finishes in her first two starts. Abbate is competing part time in the National Championship’s Pro/Am Challenge and in the Western Championship. Her first two race weekends garnered career-best results, with runner-up finishes at both Road Atlanta and Sonoma. Another Nitro Motorsports talent, Tyler Gonzalez (No. 40 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) has been a breakout star, scoring two podiums in the season’s three opening races. Following the NOLA round, the 19-year-old led the Rookie of the Year standings and was second in the Young Gun Award standings.
Top 10s in FR Americas
As FR Americas opened its 2024 season at NOLA Motorsports Park in April, all three scholarship recipients brought home top-10 finishes. Justin Garat (No. 17 Speed Factory Ligier JS F3) placed inside the top 10 for all three races, while Nicole Havrda (No. 6 Valley Kitchens Ltd/Colonial Countertops Ltd Ligier JS F3) recorded a weekend-best sixth, and Landan Matriano Lim (No. 73 739Racing Ligier JS F3) scored a weekend-high seventh-place finish during his series debut.
For more information on these SCCA Pro Racing-sanctioned series, check out SCCAProRacing.com and SpeedTour.net.
