The Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour (HST) took the green flag Saturday on The Circuit at Buttonwillow Raceway Park as part of the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing program. The Feb. 21-22, 2026, weekend is being hosted by SCCA’s California Sports Car Club (Cal Club Region) and is the first of nine stops on this year’s schedule.
Cool temperatures and cloudless skies greeted drivers across the seven different run groups, with 20-minute practice sessions opening the day’s on-track action. That was followed by 15-minute qualifying and then 25-minute races to discover the first set of winners for the year.
What’s In a Name?
While Buttonwillow Raceway Park (BRP) has been an annual stop on HST’s calendar, this is only the second year races have been conducted on The Circuit. Much is different this year at the 2.56-mile, 10-turn course found along Lerdo Highway at the northwest portion of the property. That includes an operational tower, café and enhanced restrooms.
Also new this year is the official name of Turn 10, the final corner that leads onto the frontstretch and lap completion. That lefthand bend is now known as “Erlandson” and is The Circuit’s first named turn.
In November 2025, during Cal Club’s annual awards ceremony, BRP Board of Director’s member Tom Miserendino grabbed the mic and invited 50-year SCCA member Ed Erlandson up to the podium. That is when he made the official announcement of the corner’s naming, which caught Ed completely off guard.
“I had no clue,” Ed said of the surprise. “It never even entered my mind that they’d name a corner after me. It was just so much a surprise. I had no idea that was coming.”
Miserendino noted that naming the final corner in Ed’s honor was a no-brainer as he really brought construction of The Circuit to completion.
“In the State of California, it is incredibly difficult to get things improved and it’s complicated by the fact that there aren’t that many racetracks being built,” Miserendino said. “Ed took a lot of time working with county officials to make them understand the differences in what we were doing versus what the average builder would be doing.”
Why was Ed the man to finish the plan? Well, the Cal Club member is a retired architect who has managed construction projects for many years. In fact, for 30 years he worked for Disney overseeing design and construction of theme parks around the globe. Ultimately, he became Director of Project Development for the Mouse House (aka: Disney).
Did Ed know anything about building racetracks? Nope, but he’s seen a lot of them. While living and working overseas with his wife Elisabete “Eli” Erlandson – who is another longtime member of SCCA and Cal Club, as well as a luminary in Disney’s legendary “Imagineering” group – Ed took the opportunity to race cars at some of the most well-known circuits across Europe and Asia.
While access to amazing racetracks is a pretty sweet perk to an overseas gig, what Ed also developed across three decades is an ability to work with local government entities. That skill proved critical is closing out the BRP project.
“I’ve dealt with Building Departments and Planning Departments … and essentially government agencies all around the world,” Ed said. “That turns out to be really important because you figure out how to solve problems. Building codes are very similar but Planning Department requirements are totally unique to wherever you are.
“When you finish a Disney project and are there on opening day to watch people’s reaction, it’s so incredible,” Ed continued. “For me, a year ago when people got on The Circuit, there were a whole lot of happy people and that felt really, really good.”
Ed ran through Erlandson with confidence throughout Saturday’s Formula F race to claim victory at The Circuit in the No. 54 Artwork by Eli/Simpson Racing Swift DB-6 Honda sled.
Carr’s Cars on Course
In 1974, Joe Carr made his first SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® appearance where he finished 14th in F Production at what is now Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Georgia. At 19-years-old, he was the youngest Runoffs competitor at that time and even got a pat on the back from legendary SCCA Hall of Famer Mark Donohue.
“He actually came down and introduced himself to me for being a punk kid who made it,” Carr joked. “He even gave me a little trophy long before SCCA started the Mark Donohue Award deal. My mom took that trophy right away.”
More than 50 years later, Carr still competes at SCCA events as a member of the San Francisco Region, and that includes this weekend’s HST Buttonwillow stop. Equally impressive is the fact that the 2018 Mechanic of the Year has six cars he built competing, too.
“I was born around racing and that’s all I’ve ever done,” he said. “I don’t think I could hold a regular job anywhere. I enjoy it and love going to races.”
Carr spent years working with Huffaker Motorsports, then in the early 1980s split his efforts after establishing Carr Racing Chassis out of Petaluma, California. By best estimation, he’s helped build upwards of 5,000 performance vehicles, a number that includes oval racecars and dragsters. But when you put so much effort into builds, you can never really say goodbye. Instead, Carr remains ready to help sort anything on any car he’s built, which becomes a tall task on race weekends.
“Probably the slowest car in a race group is me because I don’t get to work on my car,” the venerable builder chuckled. “My customers are first. If something happens with their car, I won’t even touch mine. I’ll just jump in and drive what I got on my car.”
Carr always looks forward to running at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. Original circuit or the new one, he’s happy being at the racetrack with friends. On Saturday, he drove the No. 12 Carr Racing/Joe’s Race Shop/Hoosier/G-Loc Brakes Mazda Miata in an E Production contest won by Kurt Frietzsche in the No. 40 Pacific Access Elevator/Haag Performance/Carr Racing Mazda RX-7. Carr came home in the runner-up spot.
“Buttonwillow is a fun place,” Carr said. “The people are nice at Cal Club. If you want to learn how to run a race weekend, go spend a weekend with Cal Club.
“I’ve also got to thank Hoosier Racing Tire,” Carr added. “I think what they’re doing helps immensely in getting people to the racetrack.”
Without a Wascally Wabbit
One year ago, a “Wascally Wabbit” Volkswagen GTI was driven in F Production (FP) by Tim Linerud at HST’s Buttonwillow weekend. Purchased for $7,500 in 1981 from a Santa Cruz, CA, dealership, the vehicle logged more than 300,000 miles as a daily driver before promotion in 2000 to an Improved Touring B competition vessel. It then saw G Production action, as well as GT-Lite usage before wearing FP fatigues.
Linerud is back for Buttonwillow’s HST stop in 2026, but this time he’s running the No. 95 Offline Racing Mazda 2 in the B-Spec field. That’s because the Wascally Wabbit is no more.
Last year, Linerud made his first-ever trip east of the Rockies for an SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® Presented by Sunoco. He’d done two other Runoffs, both on the West Coast, but never before experienced Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit.
After unintentionally overfilling the transmission, fluid sprayed across the left-front wheel, brake, hub and more during the 13-lap race. On the last lap, Linerud braked into Turn 5 after the long and fast Moraine Sweep. That’s when things went wonky, and his car nosed into the barrier. Too bent for repair, the roll cage was pulled afterwards, and the long-lived Wascally Wabbit was scrapped.
“I owned that car for 45 years, and it was a bittersweet loss,” Linerud admitted. “It was kind of like losing a family member.”
Of course it’s hard to say goodbye to an old friend, but Linerud already has a VW Rabbit convertible as a replacement. It has been sandblasted to remove all of the sound deadening material and undercoating. Next is work at his local fabrication shop for seam welding and installation of the old roll cage.
The plan is to bring that new FP car out later this year. But in the meantime, Linerud chose to have some #funwithcars and friends at this weekend's Buttonwillow HST in the B-Spec class.
“I’ve never raced B-Spec,” Linerud admitted. And the learning curve was where he spent Saturday getting accustomed to a different car fitted with tires he’s not used to running. Still, he brought the car home in a race won by Joseph Gersch in the No. 38 Phillips Race Prep/G-Loc Toyota Yaris.
Saturday Race Winners
Below are provisional race winners from Saturday’s Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour conducted on The Circuit at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. Each entry includes Car Class: Driver Name, SCCA Region, and Car.
American Sedan®: Ross Murray, Cal Club, Ford Mustang
B-Spec: Joseph Gersch, Houston Region, Toyota Yaris
E Production: Kurt Frietzsche, San Francisco Region, Mazda RX-7
F Production: Steven Powers, Arizona Region, Mazda Miata
H Production: Lee Fleming, San Francisco Region, MG Midget
Formula Atlantic®: Greg Labadie, Cal Club, Swift 016
Formula Continental®: Robert Armington, San Francisco Region, Van Diemen DP-08
Formula Enterprises® 2: Paul Marino, Cal Club, SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
Formula F: Edward Erlandson, Cal Club, Swift DB-6 Honda
Formula Vee®: Gavin Sweeney, San Francisco Region, Protoform P4
GT-1: Michael McAleenan, Northwest Region, Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo
GT-2: Tim Carroll, Cal Club, Chevrolet Camaro
GT-X: Moze Cowper, Cal Club, Porsche 981 Cayman
Spec Miata: Tyler Vance, Cal Club, Mazda Miata
Spec MX-5: Christian Hoagland, Cal Club, Mazda MX-5
Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: Caleb Shrader, Oregon Region, SCCA Enterprises SRF3
Prototype: Kevin Mitz, San Francisco Region, Stohr WF1
Prototype 2: Tim Day Jr, San Francisco Region, Stohr WF1
Super Touring® Lite: Jared Korth, San Francisco Region, Mazda MX-5
Super Touring® Under: Rylan Hazelton, San Francisco Region, Honda S2000
Touring 1: Ed Gless, Northwest Region, Pontiac GTO
Touring 2: Rylan Hazelton, San Francisco Region, Honda Civic TCR
Touring 3: Scotty B White, Northwest Region, Ford Mustang
Touring 4: Izzy Sanchez, Cal Club, Toyota FRS
More to Come Sunday from The Circuit
We’re only halfway through an exciting weekend of racing on The Circuit in California. Sunday brings about a second day of fun beginning at 8 a.m. Pacific Time with another round of 15-minute qualifying for all seven run groups, followed by 19-lap or 35-minute contests to decide a second set of victory podium honorees who will receive commemorative bottles of Mazza Vineyards sparkling wine.
Watch the action unfold in real time thanks to HST’s free online video broadcast produced by DriversEye Live and found at SCCA’s YouTube page. Announcers Brian Bielanski and Tom O'Gorman will be back as well to provide expert commentary, and Sunday victory podium celebrations can be viewed at the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.
Don’t forget that live HST Timing & Scoring is also available throughout the weekend at scca.com/live.
Photo: Ed Erlandson prepares for Formula F competition Saturday during the Hoosier Super Tour on The Circuit at Buttonwillow Raceway Park.
Photo by SCCA Staff
