Fantastic conditions opened Father’s Day weekend at Watkins Glen International (WGI) for the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour (HST) hosted June 19-21, 2026, by SCCA’s Finger Lakes Region. The event is round eight of nine on HST’s calendar and is part of the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing program.
Friday saw 25-minute qualifying periods for all eight run groups, followed by a second 25-minute qualifying session for run groups one through five. Saturday then began with a second 25-minute qualifying spell for run groups six, seven and eight. Then it was time for competition, with all eight run groups out on track for 25-minute contests to discover class winners before the sun set.
A Weekend Off?
For only the second time in two HST seasons, Tom Kirchman is taking a weekend off from volunteering as a Steward. Although, that doesn’t mean he’s skipping an opportunity at WGI to play with SCCA and have #funwithcars.
The former stock car driver who joined SCCA in 1995 and is now a member of New England Region randomly stumbled across SCCA after spotting a race trailer parked at a building near his home in New Jersey. Intrigued, he headed into the shop to see what was going on.
“They had a whole bunch of these cars that all sort of looked the same,” Kirchman recalled. “They told me they were Spec Racers, and you can rent one.”
Kirchman rented a car and went through his first race school at WGI. He later bought a car from that shop and began his now 30-year fascination with the Spec Racer Ford class. In fact, the original car he bought is what he’s using this weekend at The Glen.
Variety is the spice of life, which is why Kirchman switched things up a bit at this weekend’s HST gathering by also jumping into the Spec Miata (SM) and Super Touring Lite (STL) fields. That brings him to three car classes this weekend, two of which are in a Mazda he has only driven once before.
As for his SCCA Volunteer efforts, that only began about four years ago. After competing at events for decades, he grew to understand it took an army of dedicated people working behind the scenes to pull off a successful race weekend. He started out by helping in Scrutineering and did some Flagging as well.
“It was a lot of fun, and a lot cheaper than racing,” Kirchman joked about his foray into being a Volunteer. The experience was so positive that in 2024 Kirchman joined SCCA’s Steward in Training program. Now, he spends around 25 weekends a year at SCCA events: sometimes volunteering, sometimes racing.
Kirchman performed admirably Saturday, reaching the finish line in each event and bringing the equipment home in one piece. So, does that mean he’ll be switching his focus back to in-car activities as far as SCCA involvement moving forward? The answer is no. His Steward hat will be back on when HST rolls into Barber Motorsports Park for its final regular season event in August.
“The thing about oval track racing that wasn’t great is that it was a single day, usually. You’re in, you’re out and there wasn’t so much of a community,” Kirchman added. “There is so much opportunity to meet people through SCCA, and there are so many interesting people in the paddock. It’s so much more rich, the experience in SCCA. I’ve met a lot of people I think will be friends for a very long time.”
Every single SCCA event around the country has countless members crafting an experience that ensures weekends run smoothly and safely. Members also get up close to the action, often mingling with drivers and getting exceptional access to wonderful cars and people.
SCCA strives to create opportunities for anyone who loves having #funwithcars. Interested in learning more? Just walk up to an SCCA Volunteer at any event and say “hello.” They’ll be happy to clue you in on how to get involved. A bunch more information can also be found by clicking here.
Swappin’ Rides
There were some other adventurous souls who explored different racecars at WGI on Saturday. For example, Nick Leverone was seen competing in SM and STL driving his Flatout Motorsports Mazda Miatas, which is nothing new. In the SM race with 35 entrants, which finished a few minutes early under a full-course caution, Leverone finished 23rd in a contest won by Francisco Barroso in the No. 148 Advanced Electrical Innovations Mazda Miata. Then in the STL race that closed out the day’s competition schedule, Leverone came out on top. However, a post-race ruling by Stewards moved him back to the runner-up spot.
Between the SM and STL races, Leverone also took part in the Spec Racer Ford Gen3 event driving the No. 60 Motion Dynamics/Flatout Motorsports machine in only his second weekend belted into that type of car. The end result was pretty swell as he finished 10th in the 36-car field led to the checkered flag by Peyton Long in the No. 104 Hallett Race Shop/Sabelt sled.
That brings us to B-Spec racers Josh Schmidt and Chris Taylor. Back in January, Schmidt expressed an interest in competing at Hallet Motor Racing Circuit (HMRC) during HST’s April visit to Oklahoma. It was a venue he’d never been to, but the 1,100-mile tow from his basecamp near Charlotte, NC, wasn’t on his “to do” list.
Like a motorsport genie granting wishes, Taylor stepped up and said he could haul a loaner B-Spec car up from Austin, TX, for Schmidt to use at HMRC. In exchange, Taylor would have a chance to borrow one of Schmidt’s B-Specs this weekend at WGI.
“I’d never raced at Watkins Glen. I have done laps in a golf cart, which is about the same speed as a B-Spec,” Taylor joked.
Late Saturday afternoon was when the B-Spec contest began, with Taylor qualifying second in the No. 119 BabyFace Fab/Goodyear/G-Loc/Chris Taylor Racing Services Chevrolet Sonic LTZ. Starting third was Schmidt in his No. 19 Babyface Fabrication/TEAMTECH/G-Loc/Volt Battery Chevrolet Sonic. It was an interesting scenario considering Taylor had never before driven a Chevy B-Spec car.
“Other than a Mini, the Sonic is the most different from what I’m used to,” Taylor noted drawing from his extensive experience in a multitude of B-Spec machines. “The platform of the car is much more stable whereas the Mazda rolls over a lot more, kind of like riding a boat. The Sonic is just much more flat through the Esses and transitions really well, kind of like the Minis do. The Sonic is closer to the Mini Coupe that I raced at VIR, but with more torque, more power. Driving-wise … I’m focusing really hard on being a lot more smooth as compared to the Mazda where I can kind of just manhandle it.”
On Schmidt’s side of the equation, it took some time to get accustomed to watching his car being driven by someone else.
“This is very weird,” he joked. “But now I know what my car looks like out on track!
“I’ve said it before, everybody needs to race a B-Spec,” Schmidt continued. “It’s 100 horsepower … but that doesn’t matter when you’re going down a straightaway. It’s all about learning and I think a lot of people need to do that. Even myself, I’m still learning every day.”
Saturday’s B-Spec result? Long story short, Schmidt was unable to beat Taylor in the end. In fact, nobody in the 10-car field could get the better of Taylor and his loaner which finished out front with a 2.8sec margin of victory.
Saturday Race Winners
Below are provisional race winners from Saturday’s HST event at Watkins Glen International in New York. Each entry below includes Car Class: Driver Name, SCCA Region, and Car.
American Sedan®: Daniel Richardson, Washington DC Region, Chevrolet Camaro
B-Spec: Chris Taylor, South Texas Border Region, Chevrolet Sonic LTZ
E Production: Tony Ave, Central Carolinas Region, Mazda MX-5
F Production: Doug Weaver, Detroit Region, Mazda Miata
H Production: Joe Camilleri, Western New York Region, Volkswagen Scirocco
Formula Atlantic®: Jeremy Hill, Ohio Valley Region, Swift 014a
Formula Continental®: Dean Kiriluk, Detroit Region, Van Diemen RF01 2
Formula Enterprises® 2: Sebastian Mateo Naranjo, Central Illinois Region, SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
Formula 600: H Cory Mcleod, Central Carolinas Region, Red Devil Aero
Formula F: David Ybarra, Texas Region, Mygale
Formula Vee®: Brian Farnham, Neohio Region, Vortech
GT-1: David Jans, Indiana Northwest Region, Ford Mustang
GT-2: Tony Ave, Central Carolinas Region, Porsche 991.2
Spec Miata: Francisco Barroso, Florida Region, Mazda Miata
Spec MX-5: Camden Gruber, Washington DC Region, Mazda MX-5
Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: Peyton Long, Arkansas Region, SCCA Enterprises SRF3
Super Touring® Lite: Derek Ketchie, Central Carolinas Region, Honda Civic
Super Touring® Under: Anthony Geraci, New York Region, Lotus Exige
Touring 1: Brian Kleeman, Washington DC Region, Ford Boss 302
Touring 2: William Bolt, Atlanta Region, Chevrolet Corvette
Touring 3: William Bolt, Atlanta Region, Nissan 350Z
Touring 4: Gabe Fehribach, Southern Indiana Region, Mazda 3i
Sunday at The Glen
What will happen next? Get to The Glen and find out in person on Sunday for only $52 per person at the entry gate. If you’re unable to enjoy the experience trackside, another option is tuning in to SCCA’s YouTube page at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to follow the drama thanks to HST’s very popular and exciting broadcast produced by DriversEye Live. The video feed is available online, for free, anywhere around the globe.
There will be 15-lap or 35-minute contests throughout Sunday as 23 car classes compete across eight run groups in a high-speed chess game. Yet to be discovered are the top three finishers who earns a victory podium spot and commemorative bottle of Mazza Vineyards sparkling wine.
Gregg Ginsberg and pro racer Tom O'Gorman will again serve as commentators and guides for the HST action online during the broadcast. Sunday victory podium celebrations can also be viewed at the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.
As always, live HST Timing & Scoring is also available throughout the weekend at scca.com/live.
Photo: Chris Taylor, in a B-Spec loaned to him for the weekend, claimed victory Saturday at Watkins Glen International during the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour.
Photo by Jeff Loewe
