U.S. Majors Tour Mid-States Conference 2018 Point Champions

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 21, 2018) – The SCCA® U.S. Majors Tour® Mid-States Conference has concluded its 2018 racing season.  More than 250 competitors took part in the Mid-States Conference’s 12-round season that visited five different venues.  Drivers who collected the most points in each of 27 different classes have earned Mid-States Conference championship titles.

Members of SCCA’s Colorado Region did quite well this year in the Mid-States Conference, laying claim to 17 championships. Two of those championships went to Michael Pettiford, with one occurring in Touring 1 behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and the other coming in Touring 2 piloting a Pontiac Solstice.

Two Conference classes found themselves all tied up after a dozen events.  In Formula Enterprises, Brandon Chappell and Robert Vanman share the title after each amassed 50 points.  And in Super Touring® Under, David Fiorelli and his Subaru BRZ share the top spot with Robert Maples and his Audi A4, also both earning 50 championship points this year.

Only four points decided the Touring 4 title in the Mid-States Conference as Joshua Holsworth, who drove his Mazda Miata to four wins, won out over the three victories Kurt Hansen claimed in his Pontiac Solstice.  The number eight also played a significant role in the Conference as three classes were decided by that slim points gap.  In B-Spec, eight points were the difference between champion John Phillips and runner-up Kent Carter, both driving Honda Fits. Then in F Production it was a Mazda Miata shootout with Bill Hingston winning out over Samuel Henry by only eight points.  And the Spec Racer Ford Gen3 Conference Championship, which included nearly 50 competitors, went to Dave Ogburn III who earned eight more points than second-place finisher Michael Cameron.

One story of note centers on David Muramoto who took the Touring 3 championship driving a Nissan 350Z. Injured in a testing accident at the end of 2016, Muramoto spent last year recovering before returning to the U.S. Majors Tour this year. But it wasn’t an easy championship to claim as his race car suffered a header crack in qualifying during the Conference’s last race weekend of the season. He battled heat and fumes to finish fourth Saturday. On Sunday, a rear hub bearing was found to be loose on his car. With no spares available, the only solution was to retorque the bolt securing the hub and bearing, while replacing the cotter pin. That proved to be enough to allow Muramoto to grab a third-place finish Sunday, a result that clinched him the class championship over fellow Nissan 350Z driver Derek Kulach.

Mid-States Conference action began in April with a Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour event at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Jennings, Oklahoma. April also saw Round Three and Round Four take place at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas. May also hosted two race weekends with the first taking place at Iowa Speedway, followed by a visit to Colorado’s Pueblo Motorsports Park.  The Mid-States Conference season then wrapped up with separate weekends at High Plains Raceway in Deer Trail, Colorado; the first taking place in early July and the final event hosted late in August.

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 Mid-States Conference Champions with Class: Name, Hometown, SCCA Region and Car.

-American Sedan®: Jim Wheeler; Lenexa, KS; Kansas City Region; Pontiac Trans Am
-B-Spec: John Phillips; Sealy, TX; Houston Region; Honda FIT
-E Production: Jesse Prather; Topeka, KS; Kansas Region; Mazda RX-7
-F Production: Bill Hingston; Aurora, CO; Colorado Region; Mazda Miata
-H Production: Ralf Lindow; Bellevue, NE; Nebraska Region; Volkswagen Golf
-Formula 500: Timothy Friest; Leavenworth, KS; Kansas City Region; KBS MK VII
-Formula 1000: James Michael; Fort Worth, TX; Texas Region; Stohr F1000
-Formula Atlantic®: Dwight Rider; Aurora, CO; Colorado Region; Ralt RT-41
-Formula Enterprises (tie): Robert Vanman; Allen, TX; Texas Region; SCCA FE Mazda
                                            
Brandon Chappell; Las Vegas, NV; Las Vegas Region; SCCA FE Mazda
-Formula Enterprises 2: Mike Davies; Aurora, CO; Colorado Region; SCCA FE2 Mazda
-Formula F: Dwight Rider; Aurora, CO; Colorado Region; Swift DB-6
-Formula Mazda: Ryan McLaughlin; Evergreen, CO; Colorado Region; Star Formula Mazda
-Formula Vee®: Robert Neumeister; Pueblo, CO; Colorado Region; Mysterian M2
-GT-1: Robert Prilika; Larkspur, CO; Colorado Region; Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup
-GT-2: Boyd Lear; Garden City, KS; Colorado Region; Chevrolet Monte Carlo
-GT-3: Doug Sherwood; Longmont, CO; Colorado Region; Mazda RX-7
-GT-Lite: Jonathan Goodale; Conifer, CO; Colorado Region; Mazda MX-5 Miata
-Prototype 1: Kirk Kindsfater; Eaton, CO; Colorado Region; Speads RS11
-Prototype 2: Chuck McConica; Longmont, CO; Colorado Region; Speads 06
-Spec Miata: Rayce Dykstra; Littleton, CO; Colorado Region; Mazda Miata
-Spec Racer Ford 3: Dave Ogburn III; San Angelo, TX; West Texas Region; SCCA Enterprises SRF3
-Super Touring® Lite: Cliff Ira; Kansas City, MO; Kansas City Region; Acura Integra GSR
-Super Touring® Under (tie): David Fiorelli; Coppell, TX; Texas Region; Subaru BRZ
                                               
Robert Maples; Parker, CO; Colorado Region; Audi A4
-Touring 1:  Michael Pettiford; Louisville, CO; Colorado Region; Chevrolet Corvette Z06
-Touring 2:  Michael Pettiford; Louisville, CO; Colorado Region; Pontiac Solstice
-Touring 3: David Muramoto; Aurora, CO; Colorado Region; Nissan 350Z
-Touring 4: Joshua Holsworth; Kansas City MO; Kansas City Region; Mazda Miata

The U.S. Majors Tour is one pathway to the 2018 SCCA National Championship Runoffs® being held Oct. 16-21 at Sonoma Raceway 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: Michael Pettiford took the Touring 2 Mid-States U.S. Majors Tour Championship in a Pontiac Solstice.  He also claimed the Conference’s Touring 1 Championship in a Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

Photo Credit: Mark Weber