Runoffs Recaps: 24 Champs Crowned in 2023

The 60^th running of the SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® on Sept. 23-Oct. 1, 2023, saw action that astounded and amazed. We would say the race of the Runoffs weekend was Super Touring® Under, where pro-turned-Club racer Chip Herr started second on the grid, spun to the back of the field by Turn 3, then won it all with a 37 second margin of victory – but that was only one of a number of unbelievable races that took place at VIRginia International Raceway during the Runoffs Hagerty Race Days. Want to read about them? Look no further.

An amazing 23 races highlighted the Runoffs weekend, with in-depth writeups taking place on SCCA.com – all of which are linked below. But before we get there, indulge us while we dive into a few other notables – like, for instance, how SCCA crowned 24 National Champions when there were only 23 races.

Spec Miata – it’s no hyperbole to say that this was one for the record books. The race began with a heart-stopping crash and immediate black flag, but on the restart, the battles got so intense that in the end, no one knew who won. Literally. Timing and Scoring initially marked this as Preston Pardus’s fourth Spec Miata National Championship title, crossing the stripe 0.003sec before defending Spec Miata Champ Nicholas Bruni, but upon inspection of the high-speed camera at start/finish, not one official could say who won. Ultimately, the race was ruled a “dead heat,” with Pardus and Bruni becoming SCCA’s first co-Champions – and the drivers couldn’t have been happier.

F Production was a knockdown, drag-out battle that saw the top position incessantly swapped. The winner of that race had been vying for a National Championship title for more than 20 years, so even the others on the podium were ecstatic for him.

Formula 600 and Formula Vee delivered top-rate performances for the gold worthy of study in racing schools. Sportsmanship, strategy, patience, indecision, and luck all played into the equation, with the F600 winner over the moon after a hard-fought, cat-and-mouse battle, and the FV winner being disappointed for the shot at the gold that second place didn’t get.

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What were some of the other top races? Spec Racer® Ford Gen3, of course, as well as American Sedan, GT-2, Touring 4, H Production, B-Spec, and – honestly – just about all of them. So click the links below to read up on what happened when your favorite class raced for 2023 Runoffs gold.