The 2019 battle for Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour Points Championships across 28 different classes has been decided. After 22 Hoosier Super Tour races at 11 different tracks this year, plus the 56th SCCA National Championship Runoffs® at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR), top series performers have now been identified.
Only the top six regular season finishes counted toward a driver’s 2019 points total. Points were also awarded for a seventh and final race, the Runoffs. For each race, points were awarded to the top 20 finishers in each class. Winners earned 25 points, and 21 points went to second. Points were then doled out to others starting with 18 and descending to a single point for the 20th finisher.
The Runoffs had a big impact on several championships this year. In Formula Enterprises (FE), Mark Snyder finished the regular season with a four-point lead on James Libecco, both driving Mazda powered racecars. However, Libecco’s win at the National Championship was enough to lift him past Mark to claim the FE Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship by only three points. Formula Enterprises 2 (FE2), also powered by Mazda engines, had an equally tight scenario with a tie for the lead between Liam Snyder and Scott Rettich going into the Runoffs. Liam’s second-place finish at VIR, as compared to Rettich’s third place, was enough to give him a three-point advantage overall and the FE2 Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship.
The Touring 4 (T4) Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship was also impacted by the Runoffs. Going into the final event, Raymond Blethen and his Mazda RX-8 had a six-point lead on Steve Strickland, who races a Mazda MX-5, and seven points on Nick Leverone in a Subaru BRZ. But it was Leverone who emerged victorious at VIR and ultimately earned the T4 Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship by only four points over Blethen.
The Runoffs at VIR also influenced the H Production (HP) Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship. At the end of the regular season it was Michael Cummings, driving an Austin-Healey Sprite, who was ahead of Christopher Riley Salyer’s Honda Civic Si by only one point, and the Austin-Healey Sprite of Eric Vickerman was only four points back in third. However, Salyer’s fourth-place finish at the National Championship boosted him to the HP Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship by only five points over Vickerman, with Cummings dropping back to third overall.
Tray Ayres, a newcomer to Prototype 2 (P2), and class stalwart Tim Day Jr., driving a Stohr WF1, chased the P2 Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship down to the wire. Ayres and his Van Diemen RF00 where tied in points with Day going into the National Championship. At VIR, Day could only muster a sixth-place finish while Ayres brought home the win and the P2 Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship.
With nearly 220 entrants, Spec Racer Ford Gen3 (SRF3) was one of the largest classes competing in the Hoosier Super Tour this year. Mike Miserendino had the SRF3 championship lead going into the Runoffs, but he did not compete at the National Championship this year. That left the battle up to Denny Stripling, Brian Schofield and Robeson Clay Russell who were separated by only a handful of points. When the dust had settled at VIR, Russell claimed the Runoffs victory. However, Stripling finished second — which gave him enough points to claim the SRF3 Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship. Russell was the runner-up overall, followed by Schofield who finished third at the National Championship and third in points.
Largest class honors in 2019 go to Spec Miata (SM) with more than 220 entries participating in the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour. Jim Drago came away with the SM Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship by nine points over Preston Pardus, who managed a second-place finish at the Runoffs. Other close class finishes this season include F Production (FP) where Ken Kannard claimed the Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship by only three points over Runoffs winner Eric Prill and nine points over Runoffs runner-up Charlie Campbell, all three driving Mazda Miatas. Three points was also the margin of victory in GT-2 as Barry Boes claimed the class Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship in his Ford Mustang, just edging out the Chevrolet Z06 Camaro of Don McMillon.
Seven points was the difference in Formula Vee as Dennis Andrade and his Vortech FV claimed the Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship over the Mysterian M3 of Hunter Phelps-Barron. VIR Runoffs winner Andrew Whitston, driving a Protoform P2, was only three points further back in the FV championship and claimed third overall.
Rounding out tight 2019 championship finishes are Formula 1000 and Touring 1 (T1) where eight points made all the difference in each class. It was Michael Crowe, driving a Citation, who earned the Formula 1000 Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship over the RFR F1000 of John Homan; and Bill Baten earned the T1 Hoosier Super Tour Points Championship in his Chevrolet Camaro by besting the BMW E46 M3 of Hugh Stewart.
The 2019 Hoosier Super Tour season again opened in January with Round 1 and Round 2 at Sebring International Raceway in Florida. The second event then took place in February at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. In March, the Hoosier Super Tour made its first-ever visit to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Georgia, followed by a second event in March at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit just west of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Round 9 and Round 10 were conducted at VIRginia International Raceway before action moved west to California’s Buttonwillow Raceway Park. The series remained on the West Coast to open May at Portland International Raceway in Oregon before heading back east for Round 15 and Round 16 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Up next was SCCA’s annual visit to Road America for the WeatherTech Chicago Region® June Sprints®, followed by the season’s penultimate weekend at Watkins Glen International in New York. The regular season then closed in July with a first-ever stop at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near beautiful Monterey, California.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
- NHRA announces eight-race schedule for 2024 NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series - January 17, 2024
- Forgeline and Pratt Miller Motorsports Announce New Multi-Year Partnership - January 17, 2024
- TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein converts narrow pole to commanding win in the Season 10 opener of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship at the 2024 Hankook Mexico City E-Prix - January 16, 2024