Hoosier Super Tour Added as Premier Club Racing Series

Hoosier SCCA Super Tour added in 2017 as Premier Club Racing Series

New Program Allows for U.S. Majors Tour Changes to Benefit Racers, Organizers

TOPEKA, Kan. (Oct. 14, 2016) -- Sports Car Club of America has announced the creation of a new Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour for the upcoming 2017 SCCA Club Racing season. This 11-venue series, with each location hosting two races over a weekend, will be featured SCCA U.S. Majors Tour dates.

Premier events at top U.S. racing facilities will fill the Hoosier Super Tour calendar, beginning with the January 13-15 weekend at Sebring International Raceway. A complete schedule will be made public in the coming weeks, but venues were selected based on various attributes. Some have decades of history with a record book featuring the biggest names in all of motorsport. Other sites are top “pro” tracks offering the best quality racing surface and amenities. And certain tracks were selected because they are the best “club” courses in the country, where challenging layouts are matched with warm hospitality and a “family feel” to the paddock area.

Beyond the venues, the Hoosier Super Tour offers a heightened experience for both competitors and racing fans. Race weekends include segmented timing and scoring, a service simply unavailable at other amateur motorsports events. The series will also have a dedicated “Super Tour Radio presented by Hoosier Racing Tire” team of announcers capable of providing consistent insight and entertainment heard at tracks or online at SCCA.com.

The Hoosier Super Tour includes dedicated staffing with a series race director, administrator and technical inspector working in conjunction with local event personnel, as has been the case since 2013 with the U.S. Majors Tour program. Up to three static cameras will broadcast Hoosier Super Tour races live online at SCCA.com, and onsite SCCA public relations staff will provide weekend media coverage. Eric Prill, SCCA’s VP & COO, said Super Tour dates will also have enhanced weekend social activities.

“We’re excited to announce creation of the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour and very pleased to partner with Hoosier to make this happen,” Prill said. “The Hoosier Racing Tires SCCA Super Tour connects premier events that drivers enjoy traveling to with a dedicated point series that decides nationwide Super Tour Champions separate from U.S. Majors Tour Conference Championships. While many of our racers like to keep their racing close to home, there are others that prefer to travel to these showcase events. The new structure provides something for both groups.”

For Hoosier Racing Tires, involvement in re-introducing an SCCA Super Tour is a great partnership opportunity and makes perfect sense, according to Bruce Foss, Hoosier’s Business Unit Manager for Circuit Racing Tires.

“Hoosier is extremely excited to support this premier Club Racing series,” Foss said. “Hoosier’s fortunate position in the Club Racing marketplace allows us to extend monetary support for this opportunity. The Hoosier Super Tour will provide an upgraded event experience for the participants and for those who follow the action via the internet, while providing an opportunity to further promote the Hoosier brand!”

The remainder of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour will see some changes next year, too, with the primary focus on cost containment and providing greater control of non-Super Tour events to Regions and Divisions. One such change is the expansion of racing conferences from five to six. The newly-formed Southern Conference, which includes Texas and Louisiana, was created to reduce travel costs in what was the largest geographic area, the Mid-States Conference, and provide more racing opportunities in Texas.

For non-Hoosier Super Tour events in the Majors program, also known as Conference events, Regions will have greater flexibility in planning and event structure to meet local needs. While annual calendaring will be approved by the central office to avoid conflicts wherever possible, host Regions or race groups will have sole management responsibility of the events, leading to potentially lower costs for racers due to a reduction in series staffing and services. Separation of the Super Tour from Conference events enhances sponsor opportunities, allows for an increased focus on marketing and can buoy the fiscal resources of various Regions.

The Hoosier Super Tour will supplant what was previously the Nationwide Points Championship. The point structure will remain the same, but the best six Hoosier Super Tour races, plus the Runoffs finish, go toward deciding class champions. U.S. Majors Tour races -- consisting of both Hoosier Super Tour and Conference events -- will again count toward Conference Championships and be scored the same as 2016, with the best eight race finishes going toward deciding overall winners. Point totals for both the Hoosier Super Tour and U.S. Majors Tour will be managed by SCCA national office staff through SCCA.com.

Both the Hoosier Super Tour and U.S. Majors Tour serve as a gateway to the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, presented by Garmin VIRB, being held in 2017 at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Precise details of the Runoffs qualification path are being finalized by the SCCA Board of Directors and will be announced shortly.

The Sports Car Club of America, Inc., founded in 1944, is a 67,000-member motorsports organization that incorporates all facets of autocross, rally and road racing at both club and professional levels. With headquarters in Topeka, Kansas, the SCCA annually sanctions over 2,000 events through its 115 Regions and professional subsidiary. Much of the SCCA’s activities are made possible with support from the following Official Partners: Chevrolet, the Official Truck of the SCCA; Garmin VIRB, the Official Camera of SCCA; Hawk Performance, the Official Brake Products of SCCA; Mobil 1, the Official Oil of SCCA; SafeRacer, the Official Safety Provider of SCCA; Sunoco, the Official Fuel of SCCA; and Tire Rack, the Official Tire Retailer of SCCA. To learn more, please visit www.scca.com.

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