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The final stop in the rebirth of the Factory 5 Bottom Dollar Daytona Coupe

Factory Five Coupe to be auctioned to benefit SCCA Foundation

The final stop in the rebirth of the Bottom Dollar Coupe will be a trip to Kissimmee, Fla., where, on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021, it will be featured on the big stage at the televised Mecum Auction.

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emailBy SportsCar magazine | November 14, 2020 6:27 AM

The SCCA Foundation, the 501(c)(3) charitable arm of the Sports Car Club of America which raises funds to support programs from teen driving safety to veterans in motorsports, recently received a generous donation from Ben Lambiotte: a Factory Five Racing Type 65 Daytona Coupe, which will be auctioned off in support of the SCCA Foundation’s programs. What’s more, Lambiotte made the donation in the fond memory of Wade Chamberlain, a member of SCCA’s Washington DC Region.

Chamberlain joined the SCCA in 2005 and enjoyed running a Factory Five Roadster he built himself at events prior to his passing on April 2, 2016.

“Wade was the heart and soul of our little band of irreverent homegrown Cobra racers,” Lambiotte recalls. “Fiercely competitive autocrosser, burnout champion, devious prankster, talented engineer, brewer of fine beer, inveterate DIY problem solver and loving husband and father, he was one of the finest men I ever knew, taken from us all too suddenly. He was an inspiration and an important part of the impetus for the Coupe project.”

Nicknamed the Bottom Dollar Coupe (BDC) in light of the no-expense-spared build, Lambiotte’s special car will be offered for sale at the Mecum Kissimmee auction on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021.

Lambiotte purchased the Type 65 kit from Factory Five Racing in August of 2008. He relied on Fred Kelley of Fast Freddies’ Fabrications in Maryland for much of the meticulously executed assembly and fabrication work, along with amazing work by Larry Casey of Casey Designs on the custom dash and other components, including a pair of custom hi-flow stainless Burns side pipes boasting immaculate welds. The BDC was the test bed for many innovative parts Fred Kelley developed, including full rod-end adjustable suspension components, electro-mechanical power steering and a Lexan rear hatch. “It would still just be a big pile of very nice parts without Fast Freddie’s fabrication and Casey Design, and I am grateful and in awe of their talents to this day,” says Lambiotte.



Going from the shipping crates to the car’s first run on the street took roughly 11 months, with its official unveiling to the Factory Five fan world on July 3, 2009. Those watching the progress of the build were rewarded with photos of the completed Coupe featuring a dazzling paint job in House of Kolors custom paint for everything from primer to clear coat; the blue is Shimrin Fine Metallic Stratto Blue shot over HOK KS10 white sealer. The meatballs and stripes are Snowhite Pearl, also over white. “They look ivory from a distance, but you can see the translucent pearl up close,” explains Lambiotte.

The car features a 347ci stroker on a Ford Racing Boss block, with RaceTec pistons and Mahle H beam rods with ARP 2k bolts (Chevy pins), Jesel shaft rockers, Ferrea intake, and Mahle exhaust valves. The team added double Ferrea valve springs, titanium retainers, mild ported Canfield 195cc CNC machined 58cc combustion chamber heads, with a Jay Allen custom solid roller cam and solid roller lifters, and a Vic Jr. manifold.

“It’s built to spin up to a 7,500rpm redline and back down to corner entry speed, all day long,” Lambiotte points out.

The car rides on 17-inch CCW Classic three-piece race wheels, 11-inches wide in front and 12-inches wide in back. The custom power steering system makes all the difference maneuvering all that tire in small spaces.

After driving it for the first time, Lambiotte attempted to describe the experience: “The sound in the cabin is unbelievable,” he had said. “It’s like being in the engine room of a dreadnought battleship. As you wind it out, you can hear the solid roller cam, rockers, and gears, all working in sweet mechanical harmony, and, above all, that lion’s roar of the exhaust.”



Lambiotte enjoyed the car on the street, at autocrosses, and at track days, often pulling a tire trailer behind the Coupe to get to events. After continuing to make improvements to the car while driving it over the next seven years, Lambiotte found that life changes were keeping him away from the track and with less time to devote to keeping the Coupe ready for action. In fact, the car sat sleeping and covered for nearly three years before he decided it was time to hand his passion project on to another driver who could appreciate it.

Aware of the SCCA Foundation’s programs providing teen drivers with advanced training through the Tire Rack Street Survival program, as well as its support of veteran motorsports programs, women-in-motorsports programs and the SCCA Archives, Lambiotte decided to donate the car to the SCCA Foundation.

“Over the years I was involved in motorsports, I received great instruction, mentoring and fellowship from members of SCCA’s Washington DC Region, and saw firsthand the good work the organization did to promote safety, sportsmanship and automotive knowledge among people of all ages from all walks of life,” Lambiotte says. “I also very much appreciate SCCA’s legacy and storied role in American amateur road racing, stretching back to when open-top Cobras drifted around hay bales on makeshift tracks across the country. It is fitting that the BDC return to this fine organization a small part of the benefits I gained in my affiliation with it.”

Several individuals and companies donated generously to bring the Bottom Dollar Coupe back to life.

SCCA Foundation Chairman Jeff Jacobs drove from Philadelphia to Baltimore, Md., to pick up the car. “Even after the car sat under a cover for three years, the expense and effort Ben put into the build is evident just looking at the car,” Jacobs notes. “And while he was doubtful about the ease of getting her no-choke, carbureted race motor running again after so long, Tony Savini and I installed a new battery, poured in some fresh fuel, and with a little coaxing it sprang to life with a satisfying growl coming from the exhaust pipes.”

Jacobs took the car to Phoenix Performance in Phoenixville, Pa., where Joe Aquilante’s SCCA National Championship-winning race team went over all mechanical systems and fluids necessary to have the car ready for street and track use once again, at a significant cost savings on parts and labor to the SCCA Foundation.



As a longtime title sponsor of the SCCA Foundation’s teen safe driving program — TireRack.com Street Survival — Tire Rack donated a brand-new set of Toyo Proxes R888R tires for the auction winner to enjoy on the track.

With the mechanicals sound, the car underwent a full detail by Tim McNair of Grand Prix Concours in Philadelphia. McNair graciously donated his services to the SCCA Foundation, too. Ordinarily, you can find his detailing work on cars that win prestigious events such as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Villa d’Este, Amelia Island, The Quail and many national marque-specific concours events. Vehicles prepared by McNair have been photographed in magazines such as Forza, Porsche’s Excellence, Automobile Magazine, Octane, The Rodder’s Journal, Japanese Nostalgic Car and Classic Motorsports.

The final stop in the rebirth of the Bottom Dollar Coupe will be a trip to Kissimmee, Fla., where, on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021, it will be featured on the big stage at the televised Mecum Auction.



Auction, SCCA / SportsCar Magazine

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SCCA National Championship Runoffs Sunday notebook

Image by Richard S. James
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emailBy Richard S. James | October 11, 2020 5:35 PM

Veteran broadcaster Bob Varsha has covered just about every form of professional motorsport, from Formula 1 to sports cars to NASCAR. And while this isn’t his first visit to the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, remarkably, it is his first time calling the race for the livestream and the select races that will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network later.

“I’m delighted to be here,” says Varsha. “Obviously Ive been away from the track entirely — I’ve been dealing with cancer treatment, and of course we’ve all been dealing with the pandemic, so I haven’t worked a lot the last year. So I leapt at the opportunity to get back in the booth and do what Ive been doing for some 40 years, and it’s been great.”

Varsha has been undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, which he says seems to be going well, so he’s glad to be back at the track. He’s had a crash course in the current state of SCCA road racing over the last few days, acknowledging the help fo the rest of the broadcast team.

“I have to say, it hasn’t been error free. I’ve found rust I need to knock off,” he admitted. “But the event itself is great fun to cover. The variety, and the attitude of the club racers is fabulous. Everyone has been nice to me, because I’m the rookie the in the group. Ryan Myrehn has been doing it for some time, Tom O’Gorman, Larry McLeod and Heyward Wagner have been great fun to work with with. They obviously know this element of the sport backwards and forwards; I’m in great company, but it is humbling.”

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Varsha praises the atmosphere of the Runoffs and the friendly nature of the racers off the track. As a veteran of calling professional races with cars prepared by the best crews in the business, though, he did express surprise at the amount of attrition at the Runoffs, noting that it ruined some good races such as GT-1, which he had been looking forward to. But he also noted the thrills of such a simple class as B-Spec: “We began Saturday morning with the B-Spec race, which is the other extreme, with small light cars that rely so heavily on drafting and proximity to another car, plus carefully calculated strategies and execution of critical moves along the way.”

Despite some rust and a few errors as he reacquaints himself with SCCA road racing, Varsha has absolutely enjoyed the experience and hopes for a return.

“Obviously coming to the Runoffs is something people do year in and year out. I know it’s the highlight of the season and a I know it’s a highlight of the careers of these really passionate racers who aren’t in it for the money. They’re in it for the friendship and the sportsmanship and the thrills of racing and the fun of going to a great destination and a great track like Road America, and seeing old friends and renewing relationships. I like that — I’m a sentimental guy in that way.”
Preston Pardus on his way to a Super Sweep. Image by Richard S. James

It’s been a while since father and son stood on a Runoffs podium, but in 2020, it happened twice. On Friday afternoon, Mark Boden took his second National Championship of the day in Touring 2 (the first came in the day’s first race, Touring 1).

He was joined on the podium by his son Joe, who finished third in his first Runoffs. In Prototype 1, the roles were reversed. James French won, and his father, Brian, was third. The last time we can confirm a father and son appeared on a Runoffs podium together was 2011, when John Fergus won his seventh National Championship in Sports 2000 and his son Corey finished third. They also shared the podium in 2010 (Corey second, John third) and 2008 (John first, Corey third). Other father-son duos to share the podium include Mark and Jordan Sandridge in Touring 2 in 2002, and Al Beasley and Al Beasley Jr. in D Sports Racing (now Prototype 2) in 1992.

Speaking of fathers and sons racing together, Charlie Peter finished second in Friday’s Touring 2 race driving a BMW M235i. During post-race interviews, he was a tad distracted by the television monitors which were showing the Formula Atlantic race that started right after T2 finished. That’s because his father, Hans, is a Formula Atlantic racer. As it turns out, he also finished second in his race.

When we queried drivers about where they’d like to be starting the final lap, not one of them said seventh. But that’s where Preston Pardus was starting the final lap of the Spec Miata race. By the end of the lap he was first. There don’t appear to be any records on that particular statistic, so Pardus’s seventh-to-first might very well be the farthest a driver has come on the white flag lap to win.

The record for the number of Super Sweep winners is seven, and by halfway through Sunday’s races, that record had been tied. The SCCA Club Racing Super Sweep Award is the most difficult accomplishment a driver can achieve. To win the award, a driver must complete four tasks: win a Hoosier Super Tour race, win a divisional points championship, win the nationwide point standings and win the National Championship Runoffs all in a single class.

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Touring 1’s Boden first winner at 2020 Runoffs

Image by Jay Bonvouloir
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emailBy SCCA | October 9, 2020 9:17 AM

Three days of SCCA National Championship racing began Friday morning when Tire Rack Pole Award winner Andrew Aquilante led the Touring 1 (T1) field to the green flag in his No. 33 Phoenix Performance/Hoosier/Hawk Ford Mustang. Alongside him, starting second, was defending T1 Runoffs Champion Mark Boden in his No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW E92 M3 car.

Aquilante had to swap out motors after qualifying Thursday, and suspected he was a little low on horsepower, but still managed to hold off Boden going into Turn 1 to assume the lead. Over the next couple laps, Aquilante and Boden set off together to establish a six-second lead on Thomas Herb sitting second in his No. 144 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW E92 M3 vehicle.

For half the race, Boden — who actually wrecked his T1 car earlier in the week during testing — took several opportunities to show the nose of his car to Aquilante around Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit. Then on lap seven of 13, Boden dived to the inside of Aquilante going into the Turn 8 left-hander and ended up putting the left-side of his car on the grass. While the move may have seemed overly optimistic, it was actually a contact-avoidance maneuver.

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“That was not designed to be a move. That was ‘oh my god, I’m going to hit him,’” Boden joked afterwards. “We had some brake issues in testing and made some changes. With that, we needed to pump the brakes up more aggressively. And if we forget to do that, the brakes don’t work very well.”

After that, Aquilante scampered away a bit only to be reeled back in by Boden. Then on lap 10, Aquilante’s car went off in the Carousel and Boden, of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, moved to the lead and went on to claim the T1 victory and his third Runoffs championship.

“It was pretty obvious that Andrew (Aquilante) had a hurt motor. I was just kind of waiting for my time,” Boden said after the race. “But I’m so proud to do this at my home track. We love this place.”

Herb, of Barrington, Illinois, claimed the runner-up spot 25 seconds behind Boden, but seven seconds ahead of the third-place finisher. For Herb, this marks his first podium finish at the Runoffs.

“This is really amazing. I’m just thrilled beyond belief to be standing on the podium,” Herb said.

Behind Herb, a fight for the final podium step was raging between the No. 34 Candelaria Racing Products Chevrolet Corvette of James Candelaria and the BMW E46 M3 of Hugh Stewart. At the finish, Candelaria, of Boca Raton, Florida, edged out Stewart, of Milford, Connecticut, by under a second for his first podium appearance at the Runoffs.

“I came here with a mission to podium at the Runoffs,” Candelaria said. “I thought it was out of reach, but I put my head down … and we managed to do it.”

Bill Baten, of Carmel, Indiana, finished fifth. The Sunoco Hard Charger award went to Timothy Rubright, of Kutztown, Pennsylvania, who started 11th and finished in the seventh.

The 57th SCCA National Championship Runoffs crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s Road America, Friday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct 11.

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Mast owns Touring 3 in commanding flag-to-flag win

Image by Jay Bonvouloir
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emailBy SCCA | October 9, 2020 10:24 AM

Sunny skies and crisp fall weather greeted the Touring 3 field for their mid-morning race at the 57th SCCA National Championship Runoffs on Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

This year’s Tire Rack Pole Award winner was 2018 T3 champion and 2019 runner-up Marshall Mast of Denver, Pennsylvania driving the No. 31 Phoenix Performance/Hawk/Hoosier 2019 Ford Mustang Ecoboost. Mast put in a record-breaking qualifying lap of 2:29.757, a full half-second faster than his nearest competitor. Even so, the top three qualifiers were all under the existing qualifying track record for the class.

On the outside of the front row, the second-place qualifier was Jason Ott, hailing from Littleton, Colorado in the No. 09 Alpine Autosport 2004 BMW Z4 M coupe. 2016-17 champion Derek Kulach of Albuquerque, New Mexico started the race in third position driving the No. 05 Fiesta Auto Group/G-Loc/Hoosier 2007 Nissan 350Z Nismo. Defending 2019 champion Broderick Bauguess, from Columbia, South Carolina, sat outside Kulach with his No. 44 Morehead Speed Works 2001 BMW Spec E46 in fourth place.

As the field came to the green, Kulach took a look to the inside, but Mast had plenty of power to make it into the fast right-hand Turn 1 in the lead, with Ott right behind him. From the start, Mast and Ott pulled away, opening a substantial gap in the first minutes of the race. Kulach took up third position, leading Bauguess and Runoffs veteran Rob Hines of Arlington, Virginia in the No 4 Hoosier/G-Loc/Nissan 2007 Nissan 350Z Nismo.

During the second lap, a fence-damaging hit required track workers to perform some repairs, and that put the field under caution, and then under an extended pause in the pit lane. All Runoffs races are scheduled for 13 laps to cover a racing distance of 52.624 miles, or a maximum of 40 minutes. After losing about 10 minutes in the pits, the SCCA stewards stopped the clock with 20 minutes, 37 seconds left in the race.

“It wasn’t fun [waiting in the pits], that’s for sure,” Mast said after the race.

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The field left the pits at 10:55 a.m. for a single-file warm-up lap, followed by a restart with almost exactly 16 minutes left to race. Ott pulled alongside Mast on the front straight, working at what would be his only chance to grab the lead, but Mast went deep in Turn 1 and reclaimed his advantage. For the rest of the race, Mast was consistent and made no mistakes, extending his lead a little bit every lap. Behind Mast, Ott also ran out ahead of the pack.

The battle for third place was the story of this race, with past champions Bauguess and Kulach trading positions, and then Hines coming up from his sixth-place grid position. In the sixth lap, Kulach began to fall back as Hines challenged Bauguess for the last spot on the podium. Hines took over third place in Turn 5 on the seventh lap, with Bauguess filling his mirrors and looking for a way back around. The three contenders went nose-to-tail in a three-car drift through several corners in the ensuing laps.

As the white flag flew, Mast maintained his perfect composure, driving a clean lap ahead of Ott. Bauguess made a heroic move through Turn 2 and into Turn 3, making it past Hines to briefly claim third, but Hines drove two wheels into the grass on the way down to Turn 5 to reclaim his place. The two went side-by-side again out of Turn 5, but Hines held the lead into Turn 6. Bauguess was all over Hines through the Hurry Downs and Carousel, but put two wheels in the dirt at the Kink, allowing Hines to pull out about a car length.

Mast took the checker with almost 8 seconds to spare in front of Ott, and another 5 seconds back to Hines. Bauguess finished fourth and Kulach held on for fifth place.

“We had an awesome race today. We just had a knock-down, drag-out fight,” Hines said. “In the early laps I tried to make my way forward. It was great racing, and he [Bauguess] was very courteous. When he dropped two wheels off at the Kink, I knew I had it.”

Ott, who drove a clean race and made no mistakes, was philosophical: “I think the caution hurt us a bit,” he said. “I knew to have any chance, I had to make it on the restart. We were set up for the long run, but I’m not sure if I had anything for Marshall today.”

From Mast’s point of view, the race went as expected: “I knew Jason would be coming hard at the restart,” he said, “but I hung it out and the rest of the race went pretty well. I have to thank all the volunteers out there who make this all possible.”

The Touring 3 Sunoco Hard Charger was Darryl Pritchett of Daytona Beach, Florida, who piloted his No. 192 Angry Sheep Motorsports 2012 Ford Mustang V6 from 25th position at the start to 15th position at the end of the race.

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SCCA National Championship Runoffs Thursday notebook

Richard S. James
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emailBy Richard S. James | October 8, 2020 8:03 PM

With qualifying done, attention now turns to three days of racing at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Twenty-six races over the course of the weekend will determine the national champion in each class. Between now and their race’s end – an interval that for some will be overnight while others have a couple of days to think about it – thoughts turn to strategy and how a driver wants the 13-lap or 40-minute race to play out.

With long straights and several good passing opportunities, it’s something that drivers need to consider, and think about whether they want to be leading when the final lap begins. Ask any driver – and we did – where they’d like to be when the white flag waves, and they’ll respond in the lead with a 20-second gap to the second-place runner. In some of the high-horsepower classes, that may very well be the case. But in classes with less power and equal fields, such as spec classes, where drafting is going to be a major part of the equation, there is likely to be a lead pack of cars beginning the final circuit, any of which could win. Given that scenario, where drivers want to be at that point of the race isn’t always in front.

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Jim Drago (two National Championships), Spec Miata, starting third* in his East Street Racing Miata: “Second. There are too many places to pass, and if you’re first with nobody there – especially if it’s a real windy day – you pick one of the straightaways, and you’d be a sitting duck. If there’s no wind, maybe first; but I think nine times out of 10, second.”

Brian Schofield (two National Championships), Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, starting eighth* in his PM Racing SRF: “It depends on how many cars are around me and how many cars are in the lead group. If it’s one or two, I would say probably leading. If it’s a group of cars, I want to be second. But if it’s just one or two, probably in the lead so I can control what’s going to happen. I have enough experience here I know how to race this track, how the draft works … but it’s all going to come down to that last lap and who’s in the group.”
Schofield’s plan for tackling the weekend will hinge on how many cars are fighting over the same piece of road. Image by Richard S James

Zach Whitston, Formula Vee, starting eighth* in his Whitmoore and Assoc./Rocket Motors Protoform P3: “It’s really hard to tell. I’ve had a lot of success leading out of [Turn] 14 – it can be done. I’ve also failed miserably leading out of 14. I fought hard to lead the Runoffs last year at VIR in the last turn, I don’t know if I’m going to fight to get that same place this year. A lot of it is the dynamics of who is around you.”

John Heinricy (15 National Championships), Touring 4, starting first* in his Hoosier/Hawk/Mobil 1 Toyota 86: “I probably want to be in the front. It depends on what the group of cars looks like, whether I want to try to work my way to the front before the last lap, or be ready. It’s going to depend on where I am in the pack and who’s behind me, because the different makes behave differently on the straightaway vs. the corners and on the brakes. Miatas are light so they brake better and they corner better, so my strategy there would be different than like Chi [Ho, BMW], who’s got a heavier car and a faster straightaway speed.”

Jonathan Kotyk (two National Championships), Formula F, starting second* in his Mygale SJ14/Honda: “I would probably just want to be at the front. First, second, third … Really I’d like to be in first to control the situation, but second isn’t bad either. Hopefully everybody else is a few seconds back and I don’t have to control too many people. But really in the first three is where the difference is, especially from Turn 14 to the finish, coming to the checker. That’s kind of the race. The whole rest of the lap, I hate to say it, but none of that really matters, just position yourself correctly. I’ve watched enough onboard, I think as long as you are smart with your car positioning, I think you can be anywhere in the top three coming to Turn 14.”

* Starting positions are provisional at posting time.

Train to win

Derek Kulach already has two Touring 3 National Championships to his name, one coming in 2016 at Mid-Ohio, and then the following year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After a hiatus – taken because he thought his Nissan 350Z, with a smaller restrictor given the car after his wins, wouldn’t be competitive – he’s on a mission to win a third at the track where he raced his first Runoffs in 2013.

“The desire to come back here and win at a track that is a very fast, high-pressure, high-risk track was very appealing to me,” he explains. “In my own way, I have something to prove here, just coming from back-to-back wins, and restrictors and other things played a part in me going to Spec Racer for a year. Then, feeling like the [350Z] had a shot again, I wanted to come back and prove what my driving was able to do and what the car is able to do for Nissan.”

To that end, Derek spent some time on the iRacing simulator. A lot of it. And his intent was not primarily to gain outright speed, but be able to put that speed down consistently, lap after lap.
The only way to get Kulach out of his iRacing rig is to put him in front of a real car. Image by Richard S James

“My wife and kids missed me a little, because I probably put in about 2200, 2300 laps on the simulator just trying different things, just trying to get some different setups, feeling out where bumps are. iRacing does a good job of that, giving good feedback fo what a car can do.

“Qualifying is about the perfect lap, where race pace and what you can settle into, is what I think really counts. A lot of the stuff I was doing in testing wasn’t finding that qualifying lap as much as it was finding 15 consistent laps where there were no mistakes.”

Derek, who will start third in Friday’s race, is also enjoying the company of family and friends at the 2020 Runoffs. For the first time in several years his father, Richard, who is recently retired as Nissan North America Motorsports Manager, is racing with him, as is his brother-in-law, Richard Baldwin.

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SCCA National Championship Runoffs Wednesday notebook

Richard S. James
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emailBy Richard S. James | October 7, 2020 4:12 PM

Two days of SCCA National Championship Runoffs qualifying are in the books, and drivers have one more chance to improve their times. The grid is set on each driver’s best time over the three days, and today’s breezy conditions have kept a lot of people from going faster. Those that think they can improve, and some who have yet to record a good time due to mechanical or other issues, have only Thursday left.

Chasing two medals with one car
One of the people who will need that third day is Michael Lewis. The nine-time National Champion skipped Tuesday’s sessions due to business commitments, and lost an engine in his GT-3 RX-7 on Wednesday. But he put in a top-five time in his GT-Lite RX-7 later in the day. Thing is, the GT-3 car and the GTL car are the same second-generation RX-7.

Lewis, who also races GT-1 with a Jaguar in which he’s won five titles, scored several GT-3 wins in the ’90s, and came back to the class a few years ago with a rented RX-7. Now he’s acquired the second-generation car, but also decided to race it in GTL as well.

“I really have to blame Joe Harlan for that,” Lewis laughs. “He’s a GTL guy from the Northwest, and he said, ‘Hey, a Mazda would probably do well at Road America.’ I said, would that be legal, could that be done without a lot of changes? We looked at the rules and we decided we could at least try it. We started out using the same engine, just changing a restrictor and a few other things. Once we got into it, we realized that same engine wasn’t going to work and we decided to try a 12A. Now it requires an engine change, an exhaust system change and it’s gotten out of hand.”

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Lewis says a top-five finish is certainly achievable, and perhaps even a podium, but doesn’t expect to move up to the top step without some bad luck for his competitors. He hopes the larger wheel package he’s running may help him keep tires under the car when others start to fall off late in the race. But however he finishes, and despite the fact that the crew has to switch from the GT-3 13B rotary to the GTL 12A rotary and back, he’s glad he gave the class a try.

“I’m happy I’m doing GTL. It’s a cool class and a lot of nice guys. It was kind of an unknown coming here, especially with the 12A. It was kind of nice coming and not knowing how it’s going to work. We kind of knew, from looking at other cars and data, that the piston guys were going to be better on top speed, and they are. But it’s been fun.”

Third car’s a charm?
Joe Moser has been through a few cars in the last few years. After spending several years campaigning an E Production/Super Touring Under Honda Prelude, last year he tried out a Jesse Prather-built third-generation Mazda MX-5.
Joe Moser’s been through a few different cars before settling on his Super Touring Lite Honda CRX. Image by Richard S. James

“Within probably a minute and a half on course I figured out I probably went the wrong direction,” he laughs. “I finished out the season at the Runoffs last year in the MX-5 and immediately went to work on figuring out what ’s next, and jumped over to this CRX.”

It’s not that Moser is unfamiliar with rear-wheel-drive cars like the MX-5, but he’s been campaigning front-wheel drive cars for so long, he just feels better suited to it. He also feels it can be an advantage at some tracks. So he wanted to go back to front-wheel drive, he wanted to race a Honda, an he wanted it to be in a class he feels a FWD car can be competitive in.

“I sat back and tried to be objective about what I wanted to do. I wanted front-wheel drive. I wanted to race a Honda so I could continue to work with King Motorsports. And if you look at it, I think it’s been a long time since anyone’s been real competitive with front-wheel drive in E Prod. So I kind of felt like I was pushing a boulder uphill, and wanted to get to a class where I felt front-wheel drive was a little more of an advantage.”

So he went with a Super Touring Lite Honda CRX he bought from Sam Myers. Joe had pretty good success with the Prelude, winning a championship in STU and grabbing couple of silver medals in E Production, but he felt the CRX would be a good fit in STL. There’s also an emotional connection: He and his father, who passed away last December, raced CRXs together for a dozen years.

“So far so good,” Joe, who was picked by SportsCar magazine to win the class, said after the first round of qualifying. “We had the car out in testing, and it was a rocket. King Motorsports built a hell of a motor, so we’re feeling like this car is ready to go. We had some issues with the car in the first session, but still got the car on provisional pole, so we’re feeling good about that. And we think it’s got a little bit more.”

Runoffs, SCCA / SportsCar Magazine

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Runoffs Day 2 qualifying report

Image by Jay Bonvouloir
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emailBy SCCA | October 7, 2020 10:15 PM

Hankook named B-Spec tire for 2021

During Wednesday’s Town Hall Club Racing Board meeting conducted at Road America, the B-Spec community learned that the Hankook Z214 will be the official spec dry tire for all B-Spec cars, beginning June 1, 2021. With the introduction came the announcement of a significant contingency program to reward top finishers.

Each car in the class will run on a 205/50-15 sized tire during dry races. Wet tires remain open but require a 200 treadwear rating.

During Majors and Hoosier Super Tour races, drivers can earn two tires for a race win, up to one tire for a runner-up, and as much as $50 in credit for a third-place finish, dependent upon the number of starters in the race.

As for next year’s Runoffs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, if more than 10 B-Spec drivers attend the Runoffs, Hankook will pay out eight tires for a win, six for a silver medal, four tires for bronze, a pair of tires for fourth through sixth place, and one tire for every remaining finisher up to 18th place. Additionally, Hankook will provide full event support at the Runoffs, with technical support at select other events during the 2021 season.

More SCCA / SportsCar Magazine!

SportsCar releases 2021 editorial calendar

2021 SCCA U.S. Majors Tour schedule takes shape

2020 SCCA Board of Directors election results are in

Wednesday qualifying leaders

Below are provisional qualifying leaders from the second of three qualifying days for the 57th SCCA National Championship Runoffs across the 26 different classes with driver name, hometown, SCCA region, car and fastest lap time. A full rundown of qualifying results can be found here.

American Sedan: Gregory Eaton; Woodbridge, VA; Washington DC Region; Ford Mustang; 2:27.045
B-Spec: Tony Roma; Beverly Hills, MI; Detroit Region; Chevrolet Sonic; 2:52.503
E Production: Jesse Prather; Topeka, KS; Kansas Region; BMW Z3; 2:28.02
F Production: Ethan Shippert; Petaluma, CA; Cal Club; Lotus Super Seven; 2:32.731
H Production: Steve Sargis; Frankfort, IL; Blackhawk Valley Region; Triumph Spitfire; 2:40.177
Formula 500: James Weida; West Lafayette, IN; Indianapolis Region; Scorpion S1 Rotax; 2:21.050
Formula Atlantic: Spencer Brockman; Westport, CT; New England Region; Swift 014a Mazda; 2:04.274
Formula Continental: Robert Allaer; Grosse Pte. Woods, MI; Cent. Florida Region; Van Diemen RF02; 2:12.644
Formula Enterprises 2: Scott Rettich; Columbus, OH; Ohio Valley Region; FE2/Mazda; 2:13.534
Formula F: Simon Sikes; Martinez, GA; Atlanta Region; Mygale SJ12 Honda; 2:24.134
Formula Vee: Hunter Phelps-Barron; Garland, TX; Texas Region; Mysterian M4; 2:43.994
Formula X: Jacob Loomis; Southlake, TX; Texas Region; Star Formula Mazda; 2:16.968
GT-1: Ernie Francis Jr.; Southwest Ranches, FL; Florida Region; Ford Mustang; 2:03.382
GT-2: Andrew Aquilante; Chester Springs, PA; Philadelphia Region; Chevrolet Corvette; 2:12.298
GT-3: Jeff Dernehl; Roswell, GA; Atlanta Region; Mazda RX-7; 2:23.120
GT-Lite: Chris Bovis; Overland Park, KS; Chicago Region; Honda CRX; 2:32.185
Prototype 1: Jean-Luc Liverato; Woodstock, GA; Atlanta Region; Elan DP02; 2:01.498
Prototype 2: Robert Iversen; Gulf Breeze, FL; Gulf Coast Region; Ligier JS 49; 2:08.514
Spec Miata: Preston Pardus; New Smyrna Beach, FL; Central Florida Region; Mazda Miata; 2:42.965
Spec Racer Ford 3: Brian Schofield; Lakeland, FL; Central Florida Region; SRF3; 2:30.952
Super Touring Lite: Joe Moser; Wilmette, IL; Detroit Region; Honda CRX Si; 2:32.024
Super Touring Under: David Fiorelli; Coppell, TX; Texas Region; Subaru BRZ; 2:27.883
Touring 1: Andrew Aquilante; Chester Springs, PA; Philadelphia Region; Ford Mustang; 2:17.760
Touring 2: Alan Kossof; Prospect Hts., IL; Chicago Region; Porsche 996; 2:24.195
Touring 3: Marshall Mast; Denver, PA; Philadelphia Region; Ford Mustang EcoBoost; 2:30.921
Touring 4: John Heinricy; Clarkston, MI; Detroit Region; Toyota 86; 2:37.617

Tune in 8 a.m. Central Thursday for Tire Rack Pole Day

Audio-only coverage of Runoffs qualifying continues Thursday morning from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Commentary Thursday will be provided by the Super Tour Radio presented by Hoosier Racing Tire broadcast team with Mike Wolfe, Bob Steele, Andy Delay, Brian Donati and Gregg Ginsberg providing coverage of Tire Rack Pole Day. Audio commentary can be heard trackside and on 87.7 FM for those lucky enough to be on site at Road America. For those elsewhere, follow Runoffs qualifying at SCCA.com or the Performance Motorsport Network.

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SCCA Runoffs notebook: Tuesday

Images by Richard S. James
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emailBy Richard S. James | October 6, 2020 4:37 PM

The SCCA National Championship Runoffs returns to Road America for the first time since 2013. The track hosted the event for four years beginning in 2009 before SCCA began rotating to various other facilities across the country. Road America also hosted the 50th Anniversary Runoffs in 2013.

Racing for Dad

One person who would have taken great delight in the Runoffs returning to Road America was George Bovis, who passed away earlier this year. Bovis was both a past Chairman of the SCCA Board of Directors and a member of Road America’s Board of Directors. For his son, Chris (photo above), that makes this year’s Runoffs special and emotional.

“Road America just feels like home,” says Chris. “My sister and I grew up (here). We had a house in Elkhart, spent our summers here as kids. We don’t ever really remember summers not being up here. It really feels just like home.

“The SCCA community for my Dad and Mom – it was always home to them, too. Everyone has always been so helpful to us within SCCA; it’s kind of like an extended family. So having the Runoffs at our home track, with our core group of friends, it’s special. The Runoffs is always special, but having it here is even more important for our family.”

The family connection has given Chris, a three-time GT-Lite National Champion, extra drive to win in his Honda CRX this year.

“You always put your best foot forward at the Runoffs, but certainly the emotion of this year and being here at Road America, we want to show the best we can. We’ve probably prepared at a greater depth than we have any other year. We’ve looked at every aspect of the car. [Car builder] Jim Dentici has been all over the car. It got taken apart right after the June Sprints and we’ve been refining it and refining it since.

“We always put a lot of effort into the Runoffs, but I think we’ve possibly gone a little overboard this year. We’ve certainly left no stone unturned,” says Chris.

Bovis was quick in the first round of qualifying, setting the fastest time. There will an informal, socially distanced remembrance of George and Betty Bovis, who passed in 2019, in the paddock on Friday.

Busy Weekend for Pardus

If Preston Pardus, who won the Spec Miata National Championship in 2017 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, wins the SM race on Friday, he won’t have a lot of time to celebrate. That’s because later that afternoon he has to catch a plane to North Carolina, where he’ll compete in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity race on the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval driving the No. 190 Chinchor Electric/Danus Utilities Chevrolet.



In those Xfinity road course races, he has two top 10s, one of which came at Road America. At the SCCA Chicago Region June Sprints at Road America, he finished first in one SM race and second the other, swapping positions with teammate Jim Drago, so he feels pretty good about his chances. And the Charlotte Roval was his best Xfinity event last year, so it could end up being quite the weekend for him.

Pardus wasn’t planning on racing at the Runoffs this year, but it was the COVID-19 cancellations and postponements that actually made it possible.

“We were really focused on the Xfinity road course stuff this year, and we based everything else around that. We were kind of zoned out of the Runoffs since the dates coincided, and this (double) wouldn’t have been possible without COVID cancelling NASCAR practice and qualifying this year.

“Normally Friday is practice day for Xfinity, and you don’t want to give away track time in those cars. When NASCAR said they were cancelling practice and qualifying for the rest of the year, it opened up the possibility of doing this race on Friday, then flying out after the race and be at the track on Saturday for Xfinity.”

• Free, live, online video coverage of Runoffs races, presented by Mazda, will occur Friday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct. 11 at SCCA.com. Bob Varsha will be joined by returning Runoffs broadcasters Ryan Myrehn, Tom O’Gorman and Larry MacLeod while Heyward Wagner again provides coverage from pit lane. For the twelfth year in a row, video coverage will be handled by Apex Broadcast.

Road America, Runoffs, SCCA / SportsCar Magazine

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Who Will Win the Runoffs? AS, BS, STL, STU, T1, T2, T3, T4

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emailBy SportsCar magazine | October 7, 2020 10:29 AM

This week, the Sports Car Club of America’s premier winner-take-all road race, the National Championship Runoffs, kicked into high gear at Road America. There, some 600 drivers will battle in 26 classes in the hopes of becoming one of the select few who can call themselves an SCCA National Champion. Most will fall short. However, thanks to SportsCar magazine, SCCA’s official publication, and its annual Runoffs predictions, it’s possible to get some insight into who to watch in each class when the races take the green this weekend, running from Friday, Oct. 9, to Sunday, Oct. 11.

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Who Will Win the Runoffs? E, F, H Production and the GT classes

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emailBy SportsCar magazine | October 7, 2020 9:50 AM

This week, the Sports Car Club of America’s premier winner-take-all road race, the National Championship Runoffs, kicked into high gear at Road America. There, some 600 drivers will battle in 26 classes in the hopes of becoming one of the select few who can call themselves an SCCA National Champion. Most will fall short. However, thanks to SportsCar magazine, SCCA’s official publication, and its annual Runoffs predictions, it’s possible to get some insight into who to watch in each class when the races take the green this weekend, running from Friday, Oct. 9, to Sunday, Oct. 11.