The seventh of 10 Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour (HST) events for 2025 opened Saturday at Portland International Raceway (PIR) in Oregon just south of the Columbia River. The six different competition run groups played all day under hazy skies with temperatures only reaching 70 degrees.
The final West Coast stop of HST’s season, this May 10-11 gathering is hosted by SCCA’s Oregon Region at the 12-turn, 1.977-mile park that is PIR. The two days also include a run group featuring Formula F and Formula Vee® drivers.
Qualifying sessions that were 20 minutes in length got things started Saturday. That was followed by 25-minute races to decide the event’s first set of winners, some of which grabbed checkered flags thanks to Hawk Brakes and Sunoco race fuel.
Family Time on Mother’s Day Weekend
When Jennifer Scott met Todd Harris more than 30 years ago on a blind date, there’s no way she could’ve guessed how much motorsports and SCCA would be part of her life. Jen, who joined the Club in 1996 and now carries the last name Harris, is at PIR once again this Mother’s Day weekend supporting her two sons, Taylor and Calvin, who are involved in Spec Racer Ford Gen3 (SRF3) action.
“I knew very little about motorsports,” Jen recalled about her earlier life. “I think I’d been out to an IndyCar race a time or two before I met Todd.”
Fast-forward three decades and Todd now operates Pro Drive Racing School based at PIR, and her sons have been involved in SRF3 since they were teenagers. There have been too many weekends at racetracks to count, but it’s all time together that Jen will always consider priceless.
“I get to have a little time with my boys when we do these race weekends,” she said. “Even though it’s Mother’s Day, the great thing about it is I get to spend the whole, entire day with my boys. They’re doing their thing, and I’m supporting them doing their thing. But it’s a total family affair and I get to be with them.”
While Jen’s stomach may be knotted up at times watching her guys on track, the entire SCCA lifestyle has been simply unbelievable.
“It has been amazing, actually, because we have done so much because of racing,” she added. “We’ve travelled … and it has given me and the boys the opportunity to see different parts of the country and experience the whole SCCA community, which is awesome.”
The Harris brothers had a pretty good HST showing Saturday. Both finished in the top five, and Jen met them at impound afterwards wearing a giant grin. An equally big smile was on the face of John Black, who won the SRF3 event in the No. 17 Flat Out Racing machine.
Youthful Indiscretion Leads to Lifetime of Racing
This season Bill Okell celebrates 50 years of racing. He’s at PIR once again this weekend, a venue where he has won the last four HST H Production (HP) races.
The Canadian driver from Victoria, BC, was the recent subject of an article written by Cleve Dheensaw for the Times Colonist newspaper. The story revealed Okell’s path into motorsports was somewhat shady.
“It all began when a teenage Okell lost his drivers license for six months after racing his MGB through the streets of Oak Bay in 1974,” the article states. “It is the age-old story of the recklessness of youth.”
Of course, there’s no shortage of racecar drivers whose stories begin the very same way. And most of the time, those competitors all admit careening around public streets was a terrible idea. Thankfully, they discovered organized road racing to satisfy their passion, and programs such as SCCA’s Track Night in America® Driven by Tire Rack help, too.
“We were too crazy on the streets and I knew I had to keep my nose clean and that any racing I do would have to be on the tracks, not the streets,” Okell was quoted as saying in the article.
Now 70 years old, his first race was in 1975 at Westwood Motorsport Park in Coquitlam, Canada. But what has kept him coming back across five decades, other than the trophies and friendships? Impressed by Okell’s accomplishments, Canadian racing legend Paul Tracy offered him some encouragement back in 2003. According to Dheensaw, the sage advice was to keep driving.
“Paul Tracy told me that to be a racer, you’ve got to be on the track racing,” Okell said.
A dual member of SCCA’s Oregon Region and San Francisco Region, Okell was certainly driving Saturday as he claimed HP victory once again in the No. 7 Joe Carr Racing/Bumper to Bumper/United Rentals/EastPenn Canada MG Midget. What a way to celebrate 50 years of racing.
Skipping Portland a Mistake
One of the few permanent road courses found within a major metropolitan area, PIR is a stone’s throw from I-5, literally. The venue offers plenty of lodging options with easy access to an amazing assortment of activities, incredible eateries, and plenty of places known from crafting top-notch adult beverages.
With little hyperbole, this gem of a venue emerged from mud. The land where PIR sits today was actually a World War II housing development for Kaiser Shipyard workers. Back then it was called the City of Vanport and was home to nearly 40,000 people at its peak. That made it the second largest city in Oregon at that time.
Next to the gigundous Columbia River, Vanport was washed away in 1948 by a massive flood. Gone were several fire houses and five elementary schools; as well as a hospital, library, post office, police station, stores, and a 750-seat movie theater.
The devastation was too much and Vanport was never rebuilt. What remained, however, was intact streets. The Portland Jaycees recognized the abandoned roads had potential to become a road race course, and in 1961 the first Rose Cup race was held at the site as part of the Portland Rose Festival.
Today, PIR sits within a Portland city park and operates on zero taxpayer dollars. There’s a golf course, as well as IndyCar and NASCAR races at times. While there are only 365 days in a year, PIR hosts around 550 events each year thanks to daytime events and nights on the dragstrip. Ultimately, that results in a $32 million economic impact for Multnomah County.
The circuit is fun, the racing awesome, and the venue sits within a city considered a major tourist destination. It’s worth a trip to The City of Roses to soak up the unique metropolitan area while having #funwithcars at Portland International Raceway.
Saturday Race Winners
Below are provisional race winners from Saturday’s Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour conducted at Portland International Raceway. Each entry includes Car Class: Driver Name, SCCA Region, and Car.
American Sedan®: Michael Lowe, San Francisco Region, Ford Mustang
B-Spec: Derrick Ambrose, Oregon Region, Mazda 2
E Production: Austin Bradshaw, Oregon Region, Mazda RX-7
F Production: Michael Lewis, Cal Club, Mazda RX-7
H Production: Bill Okell, Oregon Region/San Francisco Region, MG Midget
Formula Enterprises® 2: Caleb Shrader, Oregon Region, SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
Formula F: Patrick Tritico, Oregon Region, Honda Crossle 30F
Formula Vee®: Quinn Posner, Northwest Region, Protoform P3
GT-1: Jason Fiorito, Northwest Region, Dodge Challenger
GT-2: Brad McAllister, Oregon Region, Ford Mustang
GT3U: Taz Harvey, San Francisco Region, Honda Civic TCR
Spec Miata: Nick Leverone, New England Region, Mazda Miata
Spec MX-5: Ethan Lampe, San Francisco Region, Mazda MX-5
Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: John Black, San Francisco Region, SCCA Enterprises SRF3
Prototype: Phil Fogg Jr., Oregon Region, Norma M20FC
Super Touring® Lite: Jon Davies, Oregon Region, Mazda Miata
Super Touring® Under: Rylan Hazelton, San Francisco Region, Honda S2000
Touring 1: Pratt Cole, Central Florida Region, Ford Mustang GT/CS
Touring 2: Scotty B White, Northwest Region, Ford Mustang
Touring 3: Scotty B White, Northwest Region, Ford Mustang
Touring 4: Oscar Jackson, Cal Club, Mazda Miata
More Fun Sunday from PIR
There’s lots more to come at PIR as Sunday opens with an additional 15-minute qualifying round for all six run groups. That will be followed by 35-minute or 25-lap races to learn who earns victory podium spots, as well as cherished trophies and commemorative bottles of Mazza Vineyards sparkling wine.
Spectators are invited to enjoy Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing action in person at PIR, and Sunday’s admission is free. Can’t be trackside? Then be sure to catch the action online from anywhere thanks to HST’s video broadcast produced by DriversEye Live. Tune in and see it all happen in real time through SCCA’s YouTube page, with commentary provided by Brian Bielanski and Gregg Ginsberg.
Don’t forget that live HST Timing & Scoring is found throughout the weekend at scca.com/live, and Sunday victory podium celebrations can be viewed at the SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.
Photo: Saturday’s H Production winner Bill Okell is celebrating 50 years of racing this season.
Photo by Doug Berger
