TOPEKA, Kan. (July 27, 2018) – The SCCA® U.S. Majors Tour® racing season has concluded for 2018 out west. Nearly 600 racers took part in the Western Conference’s 14-round schedule that held court at seven different venues stretching from Seattle to Los Angeles. Drivers who did the best across the 28 different classes duly garnered Western Conference championships.

Similar to what happened in the Southeast Conference this year, a couple Western Conference competitors managed to gather up two different class Championships. In Spec Miata, a class that boasted nearly 90 different competitors over the season, it was Mark Drennan who ended up atop the heap. Drennan also managed to drive a BMW Spec E46 to the Touring 3 Conference Championship. The other driver to take multiple Championships was Taz Harvey. A Mazda man, Harvey claimed the top spot in GT-3 driving a Mazda RX-7, and duplicated Championship efforts in the GT-Lite class with a Mazda MX-5 Miata.

The Western Conference also produced several close points battles.  In Formula F, Rick Payne and his Van Diemen Honda managed to win the Championship by only five points over the Swift Honda DB6 of Charles Horn. Formula Atlantic was decided by four points with Jay Horak besting John Purcell, both driving Star Pro Formula Mazdas.  A three-point spread decided the H Production Championship as Michael Cummings, driving an Austin Healey Sprite, beat out Jason Isley and his Toyota Yaris. Then in B-Spec, it was a battle of Mazda 2s as Cherie Storms managed a two-point Championship win over Jake Pipal. And finally, it was only one point that decided the E Production king as Glen McCready and his Mazda MX-5 Miata barely grabbed the Championship over the Mazda RX-7 of Kale Swifts.

The Western Conference began its racing season in January with Round One and Round Two at Auto Club Speedway east of Los Angeles. The Conference then took a break in February before resuming the schedule in March at Willow Springs International Raceway just north of Los Angeles.  Two race weekends were then conducted in April, the first being at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Northern California, followed by a Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour event at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California’s Central Valley. Western Conference competitors then headed north in May for another Hoosier Super Tour weekend, this one at Portland International Raceway in Oregon, and then Round Eleven and Twelve just south of Seattle, Washington at Pacific Raceways. The Conference then wrapped things up in June at Sonoma Raceway just north of San Francisco, a track that will also host the 2018 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs®.

Conference points are awarded to the top 20 finishers in each class.  Winners earn 25 points, and 21 points go to second.  Points are then doled out to others starting with 18 and descending to a single point for the 20th finisher. Only the best eight races count towards a driver’s point total.  Below are Western Conference Champions with Class: Name, Hometown, SCCA Region and Car.
-American Sedan®: Michael Thompson; Vacaville, CA; San Francisco Region; Chevrolet Camaro
-B-Spec: Cherie Storms; Langley, BC; Northwest Region; Mazda 2
-E Production: Glen McCready; Redwood City, CA; San Francisco Region; Mazda MX-5
-F Production: Joe Huffaker; Petaluma, CA; San Francisco Region; MG Midget
-H Production: Michael Cummings; Martinez, CA; San Francisco Region; Austin Healey Sprite
-Formula 500: Lance Spiering; Beaverton, OR; Oregon Region; KBS MK VII
-Formula 1000: J.R. Osborne; Greenwood Village, CO; Oregon Region; Firman F1000
-Formula Atlantic®: Jay Horak; Mesa, AZ; Arizona Region; Star Pro Formula Mazda
-Formula Continental®: Tom Hope; Downey, CA; Cal Club; Van Diemen ZTec
-Formula Enterprises: John Yeatman; Newcastle, CA; San Francisco Region; SCCA FE Mazda
-Formula Enterprises 2: Thomas Burt; Woodway, WA; Northwest Region; SCCA FE2 Mazda
-Formula F: Rick Payne; Mission, BC; Northwest Region; Van Diemen Honda
-Formula Mazda: Bill Weaver; Fresno, CA; San Francisco Region; Star Formula Mazda
-Formula Vee®: Dennis Andrade; Silverlake, WA; Northwest Region; Vortech
-GT-1: Rob Davis; Sonora, CA; San Francisco Region; Chevrolet Camaro
-GT-2: Michael McAleenan; Tacoma, WA; Northwest Region; BMW E36 GTR
-GT-3: Taz Harvey; Danville, CA; San Francisco Region; Mazda RX-7
-GT-Lite: Taz Harvey; Danville, CA; San Francisco Region; Mazda MX-5 Miata
-Prototype 1: Chip Romer; Lake Havasu City, AZ; Las Vegas Region; Elan DP02
-Prototype 2: David Ferguson; Paso Robles, CA; Cal Club; Mazda Van Diemen RFS-03
-Spec Miata: Mark Drennan; San Jose, CA; San Francisco Region; Mazda Miata
-Spec Racer Ford3: Mike Miserendino; Bakersfield, CA; Cal Club; SCCA Enterprises SR3
-Super Touring® Lite: James Bishop; Clovis, CA; Cal Club; Toyota Celica
-Super Touring® Under: Kevin Lachance; Red Deer, AB; Cal Club; Acura Integra
-Touring 1: Marc Hoover; Shingle Springs, CA; Arizona Region; Mazda MX-5 Miata
-Touring 2: Roger Eagleton; Burlingame, CA; San Francisco Region; Ford Mustang
-Touring 3: Mark Drennan; San Jose, CA; San Francisco Region; BMW Spec E46
-Touring 4: Ross Murray; Marina del Rey, CA; Cal Club; Mazda RX-8

The U.S. Majors Tour is one pathway to the 2018 SCCA National Championship Runoffs® being held this year in California.  U.S. Majors Tour drivers qualify for the Runoffs by participating in three U.S. Majors Tour weekends and starting at least three U.S. Majors Tour races in the same car class over the course of the season.

The Sports Car Club of America®, Inc., founded in 1944, is a 67,500-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 116 Regions and subsidiary divisions. Much of the SCCA's activities are made possible with support from the following Official Partners: Chevrolet, the Official Truck of the SCCA; Hawk Performance, the Official Brake Products of SCCA; Mobil 1, the Official Oil 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.

Photo: Mark Drennan drove his BMW Spec E46 to the Western Conference’s Touring 3 Championship