U.S. Majors Tour Mid-States Conference 2019 Point Champions

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 19, 2019) – The SCCA® U.S. Majors Tour® Mid-States Conference has brought its 2019 calendar to a close. Nearly 275 racers took part in the Conference’s 14-round season that visited five different venues. Drivers who triumphed have earned a 2019 Mid-States Conference championship.

One driver doubled up on class championships within the Mid-States Conference this year. Michael Pettiford took the top spot in Touring 1 by racking up eight wins in his Chevrolet Corvette GS and amassing 70 more points than runner-up David Muramoto in a Nissan 350Z. In a tighter battle, Pettiford also claimed the Touring 2 championship, this time in a Pontiac Solstice GXP, by 13 points over the BMW M3 of James Leithauser.

In B-Spec, Frank Schwartz and his MINI Cooper emerged with the Mid-States championship by only 10 points over a duo of Mazda 2 drivers who managed to tie for the runner-up spot, those racers being Riley Salyer and John Phillips. Only eight points behind Salyer and Phillips was James Rogerson’s Honda Fit. For Schwartz, this is his second B-Spec title on the year as he earlier claimed the U.S. Majors Tour Western Conference championship in the class.

The Mid-States Conference produced a couple other close finishes at season’s end. In GT-2, the three Conference wins claimed by Boyd Lear and his Chevrolet Monte Carlo where not quite enough as Mike McGinley and his four Conference wins in a Chevrolet Corvette won out by a scant four points. Then in Formula Enterprises 2 it was Liam Snyder who claimed the championship by only eight points over Robert Vanman, both driving SCCA FE2 Mazdas. And eight points was also the winning margin in Formula F as Max Kaeser, with three Conference wins in a Euro Swift SE-1, just edged out Bill Kephart’s Vestal Crane 02 15AB for the title. Only two points behind Kephart in third was the Van Diemen RF99 Honda of Jay Messenger.

The Mid-States Conference opened its racing season back in March with a Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour event at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Jennings, Oklahoma. Round 3 and Round 4 then took place at Gateway Motorsports Park just outside St. Louis before competitors headed west in May for a weekend at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas. A visit to two Colorado circuits was next, with the first being Pueblo Motorsports Park followed by a weekend just east of Denver at High Plains Raceway to open July. Then it was back to Heartland Motorsports Park for Round 11 and Round 12 before the calendar wrapped up in August back at High Plains Raceway.

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 Mid-States Conference races count towards a driver’s point total. Below are Mid-States Conference champions with Class: Name, Hometown, SCCA Region and Car.
-American Sedan®: Timothy White; Omaha, NE; Nebraska Region; Ford Mustang Cobra
-B-Spec: Frank Schwartz; Ann Arbor, MI; Detroit Region; Mini Cooper
-E Production: Cameron Wogrin; Littleton, CO; Colorado Region; BMW 328is
-F Production: Neal Frank; Santa Fe, NM; Rio Grande Region; Mazda Miata
-H Production: Jack Schulz; Monett, MO; Ozark Mountain Region; MG Midget
-Formula 500: David Vincent; Leavenworth, KS; Kansas City Region; KBS Mk VII
-Formula Atlantic®: James Wright; Glencoe MO; St. Louis Region; Swift DB-4
-Formula Continental®: Bill Johnson; Leawood, KS; Kansas City Region; Van Diemen RF01-2
-Formula Enterprises: Mark Snyder; Southlake, TX; Texas Region; SCCA FE Mazda
-Formula Enterprises 2: Liam Snyder; Southlake, TX; Texas Region; SCCA FE2 Mazda
-Formula F: Max Kaeser; Keystone, CO; Colorado Region; Euro Swift SE-1
-Formula Mazda: Ryan McLaughlin; Evergreen, CO; Colorado Region; Star Formula Mazda
-Formula Vee®: Mark Felsen; Denver, CO; Colorado Region; Vortech
-GT-1: Robert Prilika; Larkspur, CO; Colorado Region; Porsche 991.1 GT3 Cup
-GT-2: Mike McGinley; Overland Park, KS; Kansas City Region; Chevrolet Corvette
-GT-3: George Walker; Tulsa, OK; Northeast Oklahoma Region; Mazda Miata
-GT-Lite: Jonathan Goodale; Conifer, CO; Colorado Region, Mazda MX-5 Miata
-Prototype 1: Kirk Kindsfater; Eaton CO; Colorado Region; Speads RS 11
-Prototype 2: Chuck McConica; Longmont, CO; Colorado Region; Speads 06
-Spec Miata: John Harms; Plano, TX; Colorado Region; Mazda Miata
-Spec Racer Ford 3: Michael Cameron; Highlands Ranch, CO; Colorado Region; SCCA Enterprises SRF3
-Super Touring® Lite: Brian Laughlin; Tulsa, OK; Oklahoma Region; Mazda Miata
-Super Touring® Under: Robert Wright; Florissant, MO; St. Louis Region; BMW 325i
-Touring 1: Michael Pettiford; Louisville, CO; Colorado Region; Chevrolet Corvette GS
-Touring 2: Michael Pettiford; Louisville, CO; Colorado Region; Pontiac Solstice GXP
-Touring 3: Cecil Morris; Denver, CO; Colorado Region; Porsche Boxster
-Touring 4: Tommy Boileau; Colorado Springs, CO; Continental Divide Region; Mazda Miata

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: Michael Pettiford scooped up the Touring 1 Mid-States Conf. Championship in a Chevrolet Corvette, then repeated the feat in Touring 2 driving a Pontiac Solstice GXP

Photo Credit: Jay Bonvouloir