What to watch for this weekend at High PlainsRocky Mountain High: While most of the 107 names on the entry list call Colorado and the surrounding states home, the field at High Plains covers the country. From Ronnie Bledsoe, from Ormond Beach, Fla., in Spec Racer Ford through Spec Miatas Grant Westmorland home in Chula Vista, Calif., the country is covered. The race is a homecoming for Peter Ragonetti, who is from Colorado but now makes his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. Pettiford Junction: One of the many Colorado drivers this weekend is Michael Pettiford, from Louisville, Colo. In 2008, Pettiford became the first SCCA Club Racer to win a Divisional championship in three different classes in one season. More remarkably, he accomplished the feat again in 2010. This weekend, Pettiford will be focusing only on his Touring 2 class Pontiac Solstice. Points To Be Settled: While SCCA Club Racers certainly dont compete for money or cash prizes, every little bit helps along the way with expenses. Cash prizes in six groups are still up in the air from the SCCA on behalf of the BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour, with the top point scorer of the season earning $500 in addition to other contingency prizes that may be awarded. The High Plains round is the finale for the inaugural season of the BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Super Tour. Stream Lined: Road racing events just dont happen without SCCA volunteers serving as corner workers to alert drivers to track conditions, but no one knows this better than F Production racer Bob Stream, from Paton, Iowa. Stream serves most of the year as a worker, but will step out from behind the tire barrier to drive his 1971 MG Midget at High Plains Raceway in one of his few on-track appearances each season. Fun For The Family: Fans may attend this weekends event at High Plains Raceway for just $10 (cash only). Children 12 and under are free, courtesy of the Colorado Region. Qualifying begins at 8:00 a.m. each day, and admission includes a free program and a paddock pass allowing spectators into the garage areas for up close visits with the cars and drivers. As an added bonus, the Colorado Region SCCA is offering a two-for-one coupon at www.coloradoscca.org/upclose.php. Super Tour Finale: The top level of the Sports Car Club of Americas Club Racing program will visit High Plains Raceway, for sixth and final round of the 2011 BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Super Tour. The event, hosted by the Colorado Region SCCA, is part of the double national Freedom Sprints at High Plains. The BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour activities will occur during Sundays races. Each race winner will be given a victory lap and commemorative checkered flag, and the top three in each class will be treated to victory circle ceremonies after each race. Live Timing is available for those at the track and around the world both days of the event at SCCA.com. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Feats: The racers at this weekends BFGoodrich Tires Rocky Mountain Super Tour are a unique mix of talented drivers. Most are weekend warriors, mixing it up on the track on the weekends before heading home to their day-to-day jobs through the week. Some are youngsters with an eye on a professional driving career, honing their craft while looking to the future. The common theme to an SCCA competition is that these are seemingly ordinary people doing extraordinary things with racecars. How prolific can these drivers become? Start with the motorsports legends Bobby Rahal, Mark Donohue, Roger Penske, Michael Andretti, and actor/driver Paul Newman got their start in SCCA Club Racing. More recently, you could have seen current stars Boris Said, Graham Rahal, Sam Hornish or Scott Sharp at a Club race. The Best In Amateur Racing: SCCA Club Racing is the top level of amateur motorsports. Of the 300 Club Racing events held coast-to-coast, 70 of them are designated as National events, meaning they are qualifying events for the National Championship Runoffs® and comprise the SafeRacer SCCA National Racing Series. Of these 70 events, only six were designated as BFGoodrich Tires SCCA Super Tour races, bringing the National spotlight to town and making this weekend among a select group of cant-miss events across the country. At High Plains, the racing weekend consists of qualifying and National races on Saturday, followed by Sundays BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour qualifying and races. Points for the BFGoodrich Super Tour will only be earned for Sundays races, however.
