By: Jeff Zurschmeide October 18, 2018 3:53 PM The 2018 SCCA Runoffs are underway at Sonoma Raceway. Follow the action live by clicking here.

Here’s what’s happening:Joe Huffaker Jr. aims for the record books

One of the most familiar faces at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs is Joe Huffaker Jr. of San Francisco Region.

“I’ve been going to the Runoffs since about 1974, crewing for my dad,” he says.

Huffaker’s gloss-black No. 77 MG Midget is almost as famous as he is. It’s the foundation of Huffaker’s winning team.“This car was completed in 1991, and I was on the pole that year at the Runoffs,” Huffaker recounts. “I slid backwards from the pole into third place, but the next year I won.” Huffaker took a year off after his first championship, but came back when the Runoffs moved to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.“I won seven times in twelve years at Ohio,” he recalls. “Then I took ten years off from 2004 to 2013. I came back when they announced the Runoffs coming to Laguna. I won in my Mini there, and was second in the Midget.”That adds up to nine championships for Huffaker, and this year, he’s ready to make it an even 10. He almost got the job done in 2015 at Daytona, but a cut tire took him out of the lead in that race.“I think my car’s been really good this year, and I’m ready for this,” he says. “Plus, Sonoma is my home track, which is a little bit of an advantage. I’m on the pole in F Production and in GT-Lite, which is great.”Here’s an interesting piece of Runoffs trivia: Huffaker’s MG Midget also has won nine championships — eight with Huffaker and one with a different driver. If Huffaker wins the FP championship on Saturday, his Midget will have more Runoffs victory stickers than any other Production category car in SCCA history.You can watch Joe Huffaker and his MG compete in GT Lite at 1:40 p.m. ET/10:40 a.m. PT on Friday, and in F Production at 6:40 p.m. ET/3:40 p.m. PT on Saturday. All races will be webcast live at SCCA.com.Larry Cooper lives his dreams in a Datsun 240Z

One of the assumptions in modern motorsports is that vintage racing and SCCA National Championship racing don’t mix well, but Larry Cooper of Spanish Springs, Nevada, is challenging that notion. He towed his No. 7 E Production Datsun 240Z across America this year to race at Road Atlanta, then he took it to Monterey, and now he’s racing the same car in the Runoffs.“I always wanted to go to the Mitty at Road Atlanta,” he says, “and this year Datsun and Nissan were the featured marques, and then the Runoffs were coming here to Sonoma. So I decided to do both.”After the Mitty, Cooper was invited to bring his car to race in the Monterey Pre-Reunion and the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Weathertech Raceway.“I did really well at Atlanta with two wins,” Cooper states. “I got to share the podium with John Morton and Greg Ira, which was an incredible honor. Then I learned that Nissan and Datsun were being featured for the first time at Monterey. So I went and raced and had a blast.”To race in the Reunion, cars not only have to be well-prepared, they have to be authentic to the preparation standards in place when they were first raced. Cooper’s car manages to be both vintage-authentic and still competitive in SCCA Road Racing.“I had enough qualifying points to race in the Runoffs,” Cooper says. “These were the three events I always wanted to race in, and I got to do all three in one year. It’s like my own personal triple crown.”

Cooper qualified in 11th position, and will compete in the E Production race at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:35 a.m. PT on Sunday. You can watch live at SCCA.com.

Double-take – Teen drivers Liam and Mark Snyder lead in FE2, FE

Liam and Mark Snyder are more than brothers; they’re twins. The two drivers from South Lake, Texas, began racing together on their 11th birthday, and they’ve stayed side by side as they moved up the competition ladder. This year, they’re 15 years old and ready to race for separate championships. Liam is currently sitting in first position in Formula Enterprises 2 and Mark holds the provisional pole in Formula Enterprises.

“At Indy last year, I was running third in Formula Mazda and both me and the second place car spun on oil,” Liam says. “So I ended up fifth. But I would have been the youngest driver to make a podium at Indy.”

This year, both brothers are focused on winning their classes.

“My goal for qualifying today is to run a 1m36,” Mark says. “Yesterday I got a 1m37.5s, which was almost a second and a half faster than second place. I’m not really worried, but I’d like to see how much I can get out of the car.”

As brothers often do, Liam and Mark tend to finish each other’s ideas and bounce a conversation back and forth. Ask the brothers which one is fastest, and you’ll get a good story.

“We don’t know who’s faster,” Mark says. Then Liam takes over: “We haven’t raced together in a year and a half.”

To which Mark responds: “The last time we raced together in Spec Racer Ford, we turned identical lap times, and we crossed the finish line together.”

You can watch Liam and Mark Snyder race on Friday at 7:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. PT on SCCA.com.

By: Jeff Zurschmeide 5 hours ago The 2018 SCCA Runoffs are underway at Sonoma Raceway. Follow the action live by clicking here.

Here’s what’s happening:

FV community comes together for Mitchell FergusonMitchell Ferguson (pictured above) towed his No. 52 Formula Vee all the way from Spartanburg, South Carolina to Sonoma, California to compete in the 55th SCCA National Championship Runoffs. But misfortune struck during his very first track session.“I broke a trailing arm,” he says. “I went off track and ended up going over the top of Dennis Andrade (FV No. 87) and I almost landed on Andrew Whitston (FV No. 12). Luckily they were both unscathed, so no problems there. But I came down fairly hard, banged the wall pretty good, and ripped both the front and rear ends off the car.” It was a devastating blow to Ferguson’s Runoffs hopes.“I thought I had written off the car,” he admits. “But I got back to the pits and started looking at it, and I noticed that the frame was still good. I thought, ‘So here we go,’ and I started ordering parts.” That’s when Ferguson’s fellow FV drivers started showing up to help.“I went down to the pits and everybody chimed in, asking what I needed,” Ferguson says. “Stevan Davis helped a lot. I have most of his spare parts on the car. Charlie Hearn helped with the brakes, Marjorie Lundberg chipped in and helped. Ron Chuck kicked in, and Donald Manthe, Dennis Andrade, and Andrew Whitston were in the mix, too. Everybody came up and checked.”With parts and assistance from the entire FV community, Ferguson got his car put back together in time for the final qualifying session of the week.“It’s not in bad shape,” he reports. “It’s got some minor issues. We had to strip it down to the bare frame because I thought I might have some rips and cracks in the welds. I made a beam straightener and unbent the front beam axle, and I had to replace the transmission. The engine seems to be OK.”Running on parts from the entire paddock, Ferguson ran in eighth place in Thursday’s qualifying session, and earned an 11th-place qualifying spot for the race. “We’ll go out tomorrow and do our best,” Ferguson says.

The Formula Vee race happens Friday at 11:45 a.m. Pacific/2:45 ET. You can follow the race at SCCA.com. Lap records fall at SonomaEach SCCA region notes lap records for every class and every configuration of every track at which the club races. Separately, SCCA keeps lap records set at the Runoffs. Because this is the first time the Runoffs have been held at Sonoma Raceway, all top times are Runoffs records. However, San Francisco Region has been keeping track records for Sonoma since its inception in 1968. This week, many of those records have fallen.In American Sedan, the top five qualifiers are all under the previous record of 1m51.377s, set in 2004 by Richard Ciochon. The new record is 1m47.782s, set by Andy McDermid. In B-Spec, Jake Pipal’s 2018 record of 2m00.734s was lowered to 1m59.321s by Oscar Jackson Jr. Pipal also ran below his previous record.In E Production, the previous record of 1m48.212s, set in 2009 by Bruce Ackerman, was reduced to 1m45.828s by Glen McCready. In F Production, Joe Huffaker Jr. set a new record at 1m47.588s, besting the 1m50.143s set by Mark Hotchkis in 2004. H Production saw Lee Fleming’s record of 1m55.140s reduced to 1m54.070 by Brian Linn.Rennie Clayton’s 2003 Formula Atlantic record of 1m29.810s was bested by Miri Swan with a time of 1m28.176s. In Formula 1000, JR Osborne dropped his own previous record from 1m29.930s to 1m28.612s. Timothy de Silva performed the same trick in Formula Continental, taking his record from 1m34.134s to 1m32.571s. Mark Snyder reduced Brandon Chappell’s Formula Enterprises record from 1m40.940s to 1m37.517s, while Flinn Lazier took Tom Burt’s 1m39.258s record down to 1m35.040s. In Formula F, the previous record of 1m43.494s set by Chuck Horn was dropped to 1m41.612s by Jonathon Kotyk.In the GT category, the GT-1 record of 1m35.750 set by Lew Larimer in 2006 was lowered to 1m34.961 by Michael Lewis. However, Lewis set a new record of 1m40.947s in GT-3, beating Collin Jackson’s prior record of 1m43.517s. Jackson himself was also well under his previous record. Michael McAleenan’s GT-2 record of 1m39.872s was dropped to 1m37.017s by R. Spencer Trenery. In GT-Lite, Troy Ermish beat his own previous record of 1m51.217s, taking the bar to 1m47.885s.In Prototype 1, the old record of 1m29.771s set by Jim Devenport was dropped to 1m27.714s by Todd Slusher. Devenport was also under his previous record at 1m27.768s. The P2 record was reduced from Chuck Bona’s 1m33.390s to 1m30.620s by Tim Day, Jr. The Spec Racer Ford 3 record of 1m46.660s, set earlier this summer by Mike Miserendino, was reduced to 1m46.117s by Robeson Clay Russell. Miserendino was also under his old record and just 0.002 seconds behind Russell.Spec Miata saw Mark Drennan’s record time of 1m54.933s dropped just a bit to 1m54.355s by Ken Sutherland. Super Touring Lite saw a big drop from Tim Auger’s 1m54.130s to Danny Steyn’s new record of 1m49.138s. In Super Touring Under, the record of 1m49.359s set by Andrie Hartanto was dropped to 1m46.118s by Kevin Boehm.The Touring category was just as dramatic, with Kristofer Olson dropping his own T1 record from 1m43.952s to 1m39.970s. In Touring 2, Mark Boden’s record of 1m48.418s was reset to 1m45.032s by John Kachadurian. The prior Touring 3 record of 1m50.072s set by Mark Drennan was cut to 1m48.026s by Marshall Mast. And in Touring 4, Ross Murray’s record of 1m55.274s has been dropped to 1m52.339s by Gresham Wagner. Some of these records might be short-lived, with three days of racing at Sonoma still to go. Follow all the action live at SCCA.com.

By: MazdaMotorsports.com | October 25, 2018 11:45 AM In just over a year since the program rolled out at the 2017 SCCA Solo National Championships and nine months since it was formally introduced at the SCCA National Convention in January, the Women on Track initiative has been met with enthusiasm and experienced huge growth. But Tara Johns, who along with Linda Duncan and Velma Boreen – with an assist from Mazda Motorsports – has spearheaded the program, wants more.“The goal is to bring more women into motorsports,” says Johns, the 2018 C Street Ladies SCCA national champion. “In the beginning, autocross has been the focus; but it’s simply trying to bring more women into the sport. We’re trying to start all of this at a local level, following that all the way up to the national level, trying to get ladies off the sidelines; not just coming with husbands or boyfriends, but getting in the car and driving.”

By: SCCA November 2, 2018 1:54 PM It was a fantastic three days of competition Oct. 19-21 at Sonoma Raceway in California during the 2018 SCCA National Championship Runoffs. For those who couldn’t make it to the track or missed the live online broadcast of races, it’s now possible to catch up on all the action with (CLICK) free 2018 Runoffs race videos available for viewing at SCCA.com. Later this year, certain 2018 Runoffs races will also air on CBS Sports Network.With nearly 500 entries across 28 different car classes, this year’s 24 events featured exciting competition, close racing throughout the fields, a handful of surprises and some great storylines. Video coverage, presented by Mazda, was again anchored by Greg Creamer with guests Ryan Myrehn (journalist), Tom O’Gorman (pro driver), Heyward Wagner (pit reporter), Andy Hollis and Larry MacLeod (SCCA Solo Nationals announcers) providing additional insight and commentary.Since 1964, the SCCA has crowned road racing’s National Champions at the winner-take-all, single-race Runoffs format through dozens of separate races over three days. As host of the 55th Runoffs, Sonoma Raceway became only the third California track to host SCCA’s National Championship, joining Riverside International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

By: Jeff Birchfield | 15 hours ago Bertil Roos Racing School is offering the chance to go from a spectator to a SCCA-accredited racer in just one week through its five-day programs.For others who seek the thrill of driving an open-wheel Formula race car, Bertil Roos Racing School offers the ultimate experience with a variety of options, including half-day and one-day programs, at some of the greatest racing circuits in North America.Bertil Roos has been training students since 1975 in the highly intricate form of European-style road racing and features a number of programs to challenge drivers at all levels.In 2019, Bertil Roos Racing School will host programs and Race Series events at home bases of Palm Beach International Raceway and Pocono Raceway, as well as Lime Rock Park, New Jersey Motorsports Park, Roebling Road Raceway and Virginia International Raceway.Each of these venues offer its own unique set of characteristics, while the consistency comes from Bertil Roos Racing School’s world-class instruction, the use of the patented slide-cars and Formula cars which provide the best classroom to learn the art of performance driving and racing.Palm Beach International Raceway in Jupiter, Florida, is a state-of-the-art 2.2-mile road course which boasts an FIA-certified, 10-turn circuit with some of the fastest and most challenging corners and offered by any track in North America. Click here for upcoming dates.Pocono Racing in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, is one of the legendary tracks in NASCAR with the nickname of the “Tricky Triangle.” Bertil Roos Racing School uses part of the NASCAR track as well as an infield road course for a uniquely challenging experience. Click here for upcoming dates.Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, is 1.5 miles of up-and-down dale, a track that looks deceiving simple but is immensely challenging. Drivers ranging from Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi to Daytona 500 champion Austin Dillon have tested their mettle at the legendary track. Click here for upcoming dates.New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, features both the Thunderbolt Raceway and Lightning Raceway. Thunderbolt Raceway features a 2.25-mile course with 12 challenging turns and a half-mile straightway. Lightning Raceway is a 10-corner circuit, fast and challenging, featuring some of the most interesting and dramatic corners and elevation changes in the park. Click here for upcoming dates.Roebling Road Raceway located near Savannah, Georgia, is a 2.02-mile, nine-turn road course featuring ample run-off room and some of the fastest combinations of corners in the country. Click here for upcoming dates.Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, is back on the Bertil Roos Racing School schedule after a four-year hiatus. Recently chosen as one of the top six road courses in the nation, BRRS uses the South course which configuration provides an excellent learning experience for the students. Click here for upcoming dates.For more information about Bertil Roos Racing School visit RaceNow.com or call 1-800-RACE NOW to book your program.

By: SCCA December 5, 2018 11:46 AM Another seven individuals, all who have made significant contributions to the Sports Car Club of America and world of motorsports, have been announced as the Club’s newest Hall of Fame class, adding their names to a list of timeless superstars. David Ammen, Dr. Frank Falkner, George Follmer, Patricia “Patc” Henry, John McGill, Dorsey Schroeder and Henryk Szamota make up the 2019 Hall of Fame class which joins the prestigious ranks.As usual, this current group will be formally inducted during the SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet. That event takes place Saturday, January 19 and serves as the capstone of the three-day SCCA National Convention taking place again in 2019 at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.Along with the accomplishments of all previous inductees, the new Hall of Fame members listed below helped position the building blocks that elevated SCCA’s stature in the world of motorsports over the last 75 years.David Ammen
An SCCA member for more than 60 years, Ammen spent nearly half that time as a competitor who made nearly 20 National Championship appearances through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. An accomplished driver, the New England Region member is also well known for his hard work behind the scenes. He was a Road Racing Steward until the 2000s, participated on the Competition Committee, served consecutive years on the Board of Directors, and is a Woolf Barnato Award winner.Dr. Frank Falkner
Born in England, Dr. Falkner moved to the United States in 1956 and soon joined the Sports Car Club of America where he became a Regional Executive and helped host an SCCA National Convention. In 1960, Dr. Falkner became a member of the newly formed SCCA Competition Events Committee, and served as the Committee’s Chairman one year later. It was during his tenure that the Club introduced the Stewards program. Also during the ’60s, Dr. Falkner was elected to the SCCA Board of Governors, became Vice Chairman in 1965, and Chairman of the Board a year later. After retiring from the Board of Governors, he became a member of SCCA’s Professional Competition Board and was a Woolf Barnato Award winner.George Follmer
Follmer started racing in 1959 and was immediately successful. Over the following two decades, he competed in virtually every form of racing, including the United States Road Racing Championship, USAC, NASCAR, IROC, Fast Masters, SCCA’s RaceTruck Challenge, Formula 5000, Formula One, the World Endurance Championship, IMSA, and both SCCA Trans Am and Can-Am. In 1972, he earned the unique honor of winning the Trans Am and Can-Am championships in the same year — the only driver ever to have done so.Patricia “Patc” Henry
Henry has been a member of SCCA for 54 years. During the first 18 years of her membership, she was a vital member of the Nebraska Region, filling many positions and winning many awards. And while her string of accomplishments in the early days left a strong impression on the SCCA locally, it is her work both in SCCA Road Racing and SCCA Pro Racing for which she became nationally and internationally known. During her ten years at SCCA Pro Racing, her detailed and dedicated work made her a fixture on the professional sports car racing scene in the United States. Henry later moved to the SCCA Road Racing department and became known for her extraordinary work in managing all of SCCA’s Road Racing activities. In that role, her experience guided a booming racing program and its crown jewel – the National Championship Runoffs.John McGill
McGill was a longtime member of SCCA and a Regional Executive of the Mahoning Valley Region. But what he’s perhaps best remembered for is his untiring work as track manager of Nelson Ledges Road Course in Northeast Ohio. During his tenure at the track, McGill helped bring about use of “tire walls” to improve safety. Because of his dedication, SCCA created the John McGill Award in 1975 that honors those that make a significant contribution to the Road Racing program, and McGill was the first person to receive that award.Dorsey Schroeder
One of the youngest drivers to earn an SCCA competition license more than 45 years ago, Schroeder went on to become an accomplished competitor in SCCA Road Racing, SCCA Pro Racing, IMSA, IROC, Grand Am, ARCA and NASCAR. He has been a broadcast television race commentator for many years and continues to serve the motorsport community today as Chief Steward of SCCA’s Trans Am presented by Pirelli. Additionally, Schroeder is Competition Director for the Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) series, and formerly worked as Race Director for Pirelli World Challenge.Henryk Szamota
A member of SCCA’s New York Region since 1950, Szamota was an active and dedicated SCCA competitor, supporter and patron. His commitment progressed through Region involvement that included Race Chairman, Assistant Regional Executive and many years as Regional Executive. Beyond his own region, Henryk is credited with founding the North Atlantic Road Racing Championship (NARRC), collectively run by the New York, North Jersey, Mohawk-Hudson and New England Regions for many years. In 1961, Szamota was elected to the National Board of Governors. There he served for 14 years, but then decided fresh leadership was instrumental for the Club and helped create the two-term Board of Directors limit that stands today. For his work and dedication to the Club, Szamota received in 1977 the Woolf Barnato Award.The new class of eight inductees join the list below of 83 previously-entered SCCA Hall of Fame members:
2005: Cameron Argetsinger, A. Tracy Bird, John Fitch, Arthur Gervais, Harry Handley, Vern Jaques, Bill Milliken, Sue Roethel, Art Trier, Rob Walker
2006: John Bornholdt, John Buffum, Mark Donohue, Denise McCluggage, Grant Reynolds
2007: Marge Binks, Marc Gerstein, Carl A. Haas, General Curtis E. LeMay, Theodore F. Robertson
2008: Roger E. Johnson, Don and Ruth Nixon, Kjell Qvale, Robert Ridges, Fred Schmucker
2009: Bill Chambres, Bill Johnson, Jim Kimberly, Paul Newman, John Timanus
2010: Nick Craw, Briggs Cunningham, R. David Jones, Burdette “Berdie” Martin, Wayne Zitkus
2011: Karen Babb, John Bishop, Jim Fitzgerald, Tracer Racing, Harro Zitza
2012: Charlie Earwood, Jim Hall, Gene Henderson, Dr. Peter Talbot, Bryan Webb
2013: Skip Barber, Bill Noble, Bobby Rahal, Carroll Shelby, Andy Porterfield
2014: Kathy Barnes, Robert “Bob” Bondurant, Dan Gurney, Dr. Robert “Bob” Hubbard and Jim Downing, Pete Hylton
2015: Roger H. Johnson, Oscar Koveleski, Ron Sharp, Dr. George Snively, Bob Tullius
2016: Hubert Brundage, Bob Henderson, Roger Penske, Randy Pobst, Alec Ulman
2017: Pete Brock, Dennis Dean, Larry and Linda Dent, Joe Huffaker Sr., Lyn St. James, Phil Hill, Jim Kaser
2018: William C. Bradshaw, Peter Cunningham, Janet Guthrie, August Pabst, Dave Stremming and Loren Pearson, Bob Sharp, Dr. Dick ThompsonThe purpose of the Sports Car Club of America Hall of Fame is to preserve, protect and record the history and accomplishments of the Club for current and future members by recognizing those members who have had a significant impact on the Club and the sport. This may be through service to the national organization, achievements in competition, advancement of the sport, or bringing recognition to the SCCA.The Hall of Fame is overseen and guided by four Committees. The Steering Committee oversees the entire process. The Legacy Committee focuses on nominees from the first third of SCCA’s history. The Nomination Committee focuses on nominees from the last two-thirds of the Club’s history. The Chairs of the Legacy and Nomination Committees are encouraged to liaison with each other in cases where nominees might reasonably fall under the purview of both committees. The Selection Committee then picks each year’s inductees.Online registration for the SCCA National Convention can be found here and includes the Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet. Additional information about the upcoming SCCA National Convention can also be found here.

By: Philip Royle | December 27, 2018 4:16 AM The Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships is a big deal, and I didn’t need the September 2018 event to break yet another participation record (1,375 entrants!) to know it. But to me, what has reaffirmed what I already know about the event is that the new president of ACCUS-FIA now also knows how incredible SCCA’s winner-take-all autocross national championship event is.A little history, perhaps. ACCUS — which stands for the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States — was founded in 1959 and is comprised of the biggest U.S. motorsports sanctioning bodies: IMSA, IndyCar, NASCAR, NHRA, USAC and the SCCA. ACCUS is also the National Sporting Authority (ASN) of the FIA in the U.S. What does any of this mean? There’s more to it but, basically, if you want to race on the professional global stage and you live in the United States, you deal with ACCUS for your FIA licensing needs. ACCUS is also a key force in bringing Formula 1 and other FIA-sanctioned motorsports to America’s shores.The previous president of ACCUS was SCCA Hall of Fame member and past SCCA president Nick Craw, and when Mr. Craw retired from his ACCUS position in 2017, George Silbermann was bestowed with the honor of leading ACCUS. So, as the SCCA Solo National Championships neared, SCCA’s president Mike Cobb invited Silbermann to see what the event was all about.“My head is still spinning,” Silbermann said after returning home from Lincoln, Neb., where the SCCA Solo National Championships is held each year. “I thought I understood Solo, but I had no inkling of what this event was all about. An entire town springing up on a vast slab of concrete, amazing comradery, fierce-yet-friendly competition, everyone pulling together despite the staggering logistics involved, the inevitable curveballs and miscues – and even the mischievous side of Mother Nature.”For the full experience, Cobb lined up a thrill ride for Silbermann in the form of a shotgun ride-along with 2016 CSL SCCA national champion Deana Kelley, (pictured above) piloting a modified version of Mazda’s latest MX-5.“The eye-popping ride around the West Course that Deana gave me in the ND2 instilled a newfound appreciation for the skill and precision required at the highest levels of this sport,” Silbermann noted. “Congrats to all of the participants from across North America who descended on Nebraska for this major event, to the SCCA staff, and to the sponsors and partners. Also, thanks to that kind soul who reset the cone I accidentally tagged with my rental car while leaving the site.”As nearly 1,400 of the SCCA’s members showed this year, the SCCA Solo National Championships is a mega motorsports event with no equal, and it stands as one of the best events of the year. I know it, you know it, and now the president of ACCUS knows it. Indeed, the Solo National Championships is a big, big deal.