2014 Eastern Conference Season is Complete at Summit Point

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The SCCA Eastern Conference U.S. Majors Tour came to a close on Sunday at Summit Point Motorsports Park, part of the SafeRacer SCCA National Racing program, after 14 rounds of racing.
 
Weather conditions played into the finish of many classes on Sunday as temperatures and the dew point was higher than any other point this race weekend at the 10-turn, 2.0-mile circuit. The increased heat produced increasingly slick conditions throughout the day for each of the seven race groups. Hardware for 12 Conference Championship winners was given out during each race group’s podium ceremonies.
 
Group One: Mark Vultaggio, of Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, completed the weekend sweep in Spec Racer Ford. Starting in fifth, Vultaggio got his No. 43 Dinosaur Racing Spec Racer Ford toward the front in quick order. Vultaggio and Jeffrey Lehner then spent nearly 20 laps trading the lead amongst themselves. On the final lap, Vultaggio was able to get his machine in the right position to win the race to the line.
 
Myers, of Greenland, New Hampshire, claimed the Eastern Conference title with his fifth place finish. At the wheel of the No. 28 Seacoast Physiatry Spec Racer Ford, Myers rode around in third for most of the race. To seal the Championship Myers needed to finish in seventh or higher. On the final lap, Myers spun in Turn Five. He quickly regained control of his machine and was able to hold onto a fifth-place finish.
 
Group Two: Jonathan Weisheit, of Baltimore, Maryland, did the double at Summit Point by winning the final Eastern Conference Formula Vee race of the season in his No. 72 JK Technologies JK Tech SP-1. However, it was the race for second, between Richard Shields and Roger Siebenaler that was most intriguing. The two drivers were nose-to-tail for much of the 25-lap race, trading spots regularly. When it came down to it, Shields got to the line first by 0.001-second.
 
Jeremy Grenier (No. 12 Ski Motorsports/Hoosier Tire Citation F1600), of Charles Town, West Virginia, completed the weekend sweep in Formula F. Also sweeping the weekend in Formula 500 was Jay Beckley, of Marlton, New Jersey, in the No. 60 Frenzinta Racing QRE Invader QC-1.
 
Group Three: Mike Collins, of Woodbine, Maryland, eked out a closely contested win in Spec Miata. Collins, at the controls of the No. 75 Meathead Racing/Tri-Speed Mazda Miata, got the win over Sebastian Landy. Landy spent much of the race hounding Collins, but was unable to make the pass for the lead happen. Saturday’s winner, Tyler Kicera, completed the podium.
 
Group Four: Until lap 15, it looked like GT-Lite was going to be a close race to the end between eventual winner Kyle Disque, of Philadelphia, Pa., and Robert Lenz II. Those drivers were involved in an intense fight for the lead that saw the two cars separated by less than two seconds as they diced through traffic. At the control of his No. 92 Toyota/Hoosier/71 Crowd Toyota Tercel, Disque was able to win the battle of attrition as Lenz was forced to drop out before the checkered flag fell with a mechanical issue.
 
The win helped Disque claim top honors in the Eastern Conference GTL points. Also taking home hardware for a Conference title was Joe Kelly in E Prepared, as his friend Minor Wilcox (No. 65 Checkered Flag Farm Caterham Seven America), of Wingina, Virginia, went two-for-two at Summit Point in the same class. Ron Bartell (No. 4 Hoosier Tire MG Midget), of Madbury, New Hampshire, and Jerry Hinkle (No. 66 Element One Associates Lotus Seven), of Catonsville, Maryland, were also double winners.
 
Group Five: The interfamily race between Formula Atlantic pilots Conner and Gaston Kearby, both of Corpus Christi, Texas, took center stage. While the Eastern Conference title had been decided after Saturday’s race in Gaston’s favor, Conner still had the opportunity for the weekend sweep. When the checkers fell, Conner was able to finish 0.160-second ahead of his father in his No. 56 K-Hill Motorsports/Hoosier/GK Motorsports Mazda Swift 016.
 
Also claiming Conference hardware following the race was Doug Piner, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in Prototype 2 and Paul Schneider, of Charlotte, North Carolina, in Formula Enterprise.
 
Group Six: The Big-bore class, again, saw a pair of Aquilantes win. Amy (No. 50 Tom Aquilante Racing Pontiac Firebird), of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, took the win in America Sedan while Joe (No. 32 Phoenix/Hawk Performance/Hoosier Tire Chevrolet Corvette), of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, was the winner in Touring 1. With the win, Amy finalized her bid for the Eastern Conference Championship.
 
GT-1 winner Scott Quaile, of Copake Falls, New York, was the overall leader of the race until he ran into mechanical issues with only two laps remaining in the race. While Quaile completed the GT-1 sweep in his No. 89 Davis Auto Body Chevrolet Camaro, his early retirement allowed GT-2 class winner James Goughary, of Houston, Texas, to take the overall group victory in his No. 46 Redline Oil/Hoosier Tire Nissan 350Z.
 
Group Seven: Rob Hines, of Arlington, Virginia, left Summit Point as a double race winner and Touring 3 Eastern Conference Champion. In his No. 4 Nissan/Hoosier/Redline Oil/Carbotech Nissan 350Z, Hines was able to beat his class rival, Kevin Boehm, to the finish line by 0.505-second.
 
Preston Calvert (No.77 Phoenix Performance/Hoosier Ford Mustang GT), of Potomac, Maryland, and Chris Collins (No. 57 Meathead Racing/Coca Mazda Miata), of Darnestown, Maryland, scored weekend sweeps and Conference Championships in Touring 2 and Touring 4, respectively.
 
 
Race winners for Sunday’s Eastern Conference Majors Tour Round 14 at Summit Point Motorsports Park. Drivers are listed by Class: name, hometown, and car. (*) – Denotes repeat winner.
 
American Sedan: Amy Aquilante, Phoenixville, Pa., Pontiac Firebird (*)
B-Spec: Peter Schwartzott, White Plains, N.Y., Chevrolet Sonic
Formula 1000: Alex Mayer, Harleysville, Penn., JDR F1000 (*)
Formula 500: Jay Beckley, of Marlton, N.J., QRE Invader QC-1 (*)
Formula Atlantic: Conner Kearby, Corpus Christi, Texas, Mazda Swift 016 (*)
Formula Continental: Chuck Moran, Oakton, Va., Van Diemen RF99 (*)
Formula Enterprises: Paul Schneider, Charlotte, N.C., Formula Enterprise Ford (*)
Formula F: Jeremy Grenier, Charles Town, W.Va., Citation F1600 (*)
Formula Mazda: Stuart Rettie, Houston, Texas, Star Mazda FM (*)
Formula Vee: Jonathan Weisheit, Baltimore, Md., JK Tech XP1 (*)
E Production: Miner Wilcox, Wingina, Va., Caterham 7 America
F Production: Jerry Hinkle, Catonsville, Md., Lotus Seven
H Production: Ron Bartell, Madbury, N.H., MG Midget
GT-1: Scott Quaile, Copake Falls, N.Y., Chevrolet Camaro (*)
GT-2: James Goughary, Houston, Texas, Nissan 350Z
GT-3: Rick Ricker, Waterford, Va., Volkswagen Jetta
GT-Lite: Kyle Disque, Philadelphia, Pa., Toyota Tercel
Prototype 2: Dennis Hanratty Jr., Mechanicsburg, Pa., West WR-1000
Spec Miata: Michael Collins, Woodbine, Md., Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford: Mark Vultaggio, Swiftwater, Pa., SCCA Spec Racer Ford (*)
Super Touring Lite: Greg Amy, Middletown, Conn., Acura Integra GS-R (*)
Super Touring Under: Alex Ratcliffe, Leesburg, Va., Mazda MX-5 (*)
Touring 1: Joe Aquilante, Chester Springs, Pa., Chevrolet Corvette (*)
Touring 2: Preston Calvert, Potomac, Md., Ford Mustang GT (*)
Touring 3: Rob Hines, Arlington, Va., Nissan 350Z (*)
Touring 4: Christopher Collins, Darnestown, Md., Mazda Miata (*)
 
The next stop for many of these same racers will be the SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, to take place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Oct. 6-12.
 
Additional information on the Summit Point Majors, including full results and entry list, can be found at http://www.scca.com/events/index.cfm?eid=6896.
 
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