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SCCA Runoffs notebook: Super Sweeps for several

Jeff Zurschmeide One thing SCCA loves to do is analyze racing statistics. In addition to regional, divisional, conference, and national points standings, drivers can compete in a winner-take-all national championship race, and they can also try to excel in all of those areas put together.

The SCCA Club Racing Super Sweep is the toughest challenge that a Club Racer can attempt, and the award signifies a consistently great performer. In order to receive a Super Sweep award, a driver must meet 4 conditions in a single year in a single class:

• Win a Majors Conference Championship
• Win at one of 10 designated Majors races
• Win the national points standings
• Win the National Championship Runoffs

For 2016, the ten designated Majors races where a driver could win his class included Sebring, Auto Club Speedway [Fontana], NOLA, Road Atlanta, Hallett, Thunderhill, Pitt Race, Mid-Ohio, Road America, or Watkins Glen.
With the great difficulty and travel requirements to win a Super Sweep, you'd think very few drivers could do it but, heading into the Runoffs, 23 classes had drivers who were eligible for the honor if they won their races.
To give you an idea of how tough it is to win the Runoffs, though, by Sunday morning, just six drivers out of 18 eligible races had managed SCCA's greatest on-track achievement. The Super Sweep winning drivers are Scott Rettich in Formula Enterprises, James Devenport in Prototype 1 (pictured below, Jay Bonvouloir photo), Matt Reynolds in E Production, Matt Machiko in Formula Mazda (pictured above, Shawn Lumley photo), Peter Shadowen in GT-Lite, and Ryan Norman in Formula Atlantic.
From zero to hero in one year
Eric Kutil made it to second place in the Super Touring Light championship in his first trip to the Runoffs. That's a pretty good achievement just on its own, but most drivers get several years of racing experience under their belts before they even think about the Runoffs. But this time last year, Kutil had never even driven on a racetrack.
"I bought the car a year ago on Monday," Kutil (pictured, photo by the author) admitted on the podium. "I just wanted to do some track days and maybe some races."
Kutil drives the No. 82 Auto Assets Honda Civic Si hatchback, and he qualified in third position, a little more than a second slower than the polesitter. But during the race he showed his mastery of the Mid-Ohio track and his car, running nose-to-tail with champion Kevin Boehm and finishing just a fraction of a second behind the leader.
"I actually ended up stealing an Integra Type R engine that I had and putting it in the racecar, because I wanted to do well," Kutil says.
Next Year in Indy
The 2016 SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB concludes today, and the national champions will all be crowned by nightfall. This brings the 2016 competition year to a close, and attention will turn toward 2017.

• Click here to stream the live broadcasts of the 53rd running of the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Races run Friday through Sunday.

Next year, for the first time in SCCA history, the Runoffs will be held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The national championship event will take place on Indy's 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course. The Runoffs will utilize the road course configuration used for the IndyCar Grand Prix of Indianapolis, which includes Indy's historic front straight and start/finish line.