TOPEKA, Kan. (August 23, 2019) – The SCCA® U.S. Majors Tour® Western Conference has wrapped up its 2019 calendar. Nearly 400 racers took part in the Western Conference’s 14-round season that held court at seven different venues. Drivers who excelled rightfully earned a 2019 Western Conference championship.
Of the 28 different car class battles that took place this year in the Western Conference, the F Production fight was the tightest. At season’s end, Steven Hussey and his Lotus 7 were tied with the MG Midget of Joe Huffaker. Both drivers amassed 50 points, but it was Hussey who was crowned champion having earned five wins to Huffaker’s two. The GT-3 class fight was just about as close as Taz Harvey’s Mazda RX-7 edged out the Mazda RX-3 of Gary Bockman by only one point after both drivers had competed in eight races. Harvey also drove a Mazda MX-5 to the Western Conference GT-Lite championship this year.
Three points was the margin of victory in two different Western Conference car classes. Formula Vee® saw Charles Turner, in a Vortech 01, edge out the Caracal C1 of Marjorie Lundberg 169 points to 166 points, Turner having competed in each of the Conference’s 14 races. Then in B-Spec, Frank Schwartz and his MINI Cooper claimed the class championship with 142 points as compared to Cherie Storms and her Mazda 2 which accumulated 139 points.
The GT-2 class was also pretty close this year as Kristofer Olson, in an Acura NSX, claimed the championship by four points over the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 of Oli Thordarson. And five points was the championship difference in E Production with Joe Carr, in a Honda Group 2000, gathering up 143 points as compared to the 138 points of Glen McCready and his Mazda MX-5 racecar. In third, only three points behind McCready, was the Mazda RX-7 of Kale Swifts.
Rounding out close Western Conference battles this year was American Sedan® where Clark Nunes, driving a Ford Spec Mustang, claimed the championship with 150 points as compared to the 142 points of runner-up Michael Thompson in his Chevrolet Camaro.
It was January when the Sports Car Club of America® U.S. Majors Tour Western Conference opened its competition season with Round 1 and Round 2 at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California. Next was a stop at Auto Club Speedway just east of downtown Los Angeles in February. Then in March, the Conference held Round 5 and Round 6 at Willow Springs Raceway north of Los Angeles. April saw the Western Conference’s first Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour event of the year conducted at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, followed in May by a second Hoosier Super Tour weekend at gorgeous and green Portland International Raceway in Oregon. What followed was Round 11 and Round 12 in the state of Washington at Pacific Raceways before the schedule closed in July with a first-ever Hoosier Super Tour visit to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca located alongside beautiful Monterey, California.
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 finishes at Western Conference races count towards a driver’s point total. Below are Western Conference Champions with Class: Name, Hometown, SCCA Region and Car.
-American Sedan®: Clark Nunes; San Jose, CA; San Francisco Region; Ford Spec Mustang
-B-Spec: Frank Schwartz; Ann Arbor, MI; Detroit Region; Mini Cooper
-E Production: Joe Carr; Petaluma, CA; San Francisco Region; Honda Group 2000
-F Production: Steven Hussey; Los Altos, CA; San Francisco Region; Lotus 7
-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: James Blackwell; Olalla, WA; Northwest Region; Edge F1000
-Formula Atlantic®: Robert Merritt; San Diego, CA; San Diego Region; Star-ELAN Pro Formula Mazda
-Formula Continental®: Jason Reichert; Henderson, NV; Las Vegas Region; Van Diemen F2000
-Formula Enterprises: Jeff Read; Vacaville, CA; San Francisco Region; SCCA FE Mazda
-Formula Enterprises 2: Tom Burt; Woodway, WA; Northwest Region; SCCA FE2 Mazda
-Formula F: Chuck Horn; Los Gatos, CA; San Francisco Region; Swift/Honda DB6
-Formula Mazda: Steve Martin; Rancho Santa Margarita, CA; Cal Club; Formula Mazda
-Formula Vee®: Charles Turner; Mission Viejo, CA; Cal Club; Vortech 01
-GT-1: Michael Fine; W. Sacramento, CA; San Francisco Region; Weaver TA Camaro
-GT-2: Kristofer Olson; Shingle Springs, CA; San Francisco Region; Acura NSX
-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: John Manfroy; San Jose, CA; San Francisco Region; Dauntless-Stohr P07d
-Prototype 2: Tim Day Jr; Scottsdale, AZ; San Francisco Region; Stohr WF1
-Spec Miata: Steven Powers; Phoenix, AZ; Arizona Region; Mazda Miata
-Spec Racer Ford3: Mike Miserendino; Bakersfield, CA; Cal Club; SCCA Enterprises SRF3
-Super Touring® Lite: Kristina Etherington; Henderson, NV; Las Vegas Region; Mazda RX-8
-Super Touring® Under: Nathan Pope; Fremont, CA; San Francisco Region; Honda CRX
-Touring 1: Marc Hoover; Shingle Springs, CA; San Francisco Region; Chevrolet Corvette
-Touring 2: Denis Nowak; Edmonton, AB; Oregon Region; Chevrolet Corvette Z06
-Touring 3: Cole Loftsgard; Pahrump, NV; Las Vegas Region; Ford Mustang
-Touring 4: Dave Mead; Spanaway, WA; San Francisco Region; Mazda RX-8
The U.S. Majors Tour is one pathway to the 2019 SCCA National Championship Runoffs® being held Oct. 8-13 at VIRginia International Raceway along the border of North Carolina and Virginia. 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 and currently celebrating its 75th Diamond Anniversary, 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: Hagerty, the Official Insurance Partner of SCCA; Hawk Performance, the Official Brake Products 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: Taz Harvey claimed the U.S. Majors Tour Western Conf. GT-3 Championship in his Mazda RX-7 by only one point.
Photo Credit: Marcelo Slamon
