Matt Romer battled with his father, Chip Romer, for 13 laps in the Prototype 1 class before sneaking away on the final lap to take his first career SCCA National Championship. The race was the 26th and final race of the 60th Anniversary SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco and the cap of three Hagerty Race Days at Road America.
Struggles in qualifying left Matt Romer’s No. 62 Michelob Ultra Elan DP-02/Mazda fifth on the grid, but he moved to third on the start and into second behind only his Tire Rack Pole Award-winning father by Canada Corner on the opening lap.
The two ran with the younger Romer’s blue and black prototype essentially tucked under the gearbox of Chip’s red and black No. 29 Stella Artois Elan DP-02/Mazda until lap eight when he once again used his strength in Canada Corner to move around the outside, into the lead, and tried to get away.
He didn’t go far, though, as the lead stayed at less than a second between the two until the final lap ended with a 2.928 margin of victory.
“It’s kind of a dream come true,” the newly crowned champion said. “It’s always nice to stand in the number one spot, and having my dad right there and be able to race with him the entire race is amazing. I was battling Jim for a little bit at the start and got by him, and we just teamed up and tried to get away.”
Chip Romer now has four podium finishes, including one previous win, in nine career starts. Though he fought hard for the victory, he wasn’t upset to have finished second to his son.
“My dad sat me in a hydroplane when I knee-high to nothing and got me started in racing many years ago,” Chip Romer said. “Matt grew up with me go karting and he started go karting, it’s been a family thing. I couldn’t be more proud to have this kid right next to me. He drove a hell of a race. I wasn’t giving him an inch.”
While the Romers were running away up front, Jim Devenport was taking on all comers on his way to a seventh career podium finish. Jason Miller bobbled from the outside of the front row pulling away from the green flag and fell back to fourth before overtaking Devenport’s No. 23 Cranbrook Group Inc Elan DP-02/Mazda on lap three. Lee Alexander made a play for the podium when he swept around Devenport on lap five, dropping the eventual bronze medalist back to fifth.
Devenport was in fourth when Miller pulled off on lap six, and turned his personal quickest lap of the race on lap 10 to move back around Alexander and back into the podium position.
He had one last charge to hold off as Alexander got a run out of the final corner on the way to the checkered flag. Alexander pulled alongside Devenport just before the stripe, but Devenport had 0.017sec to spare in holding on to his third-place finish.
“We just missed on the setup badly,” Devenport said. “I was loose on entry and pushing on exit, it was all I could do to keep it on the track. I had a big moment in 14 and saved it. Lee and I had a heck of a battle that we turned into a battle for third. I enjoyed it.”
Alexander finished fourth, followed by Matthew Gendron in fifth. Tyler Thielman was just behind them in sixth to earn the Sunoco Hard Charger Award after starting 11th on the grid.
Romer’s win may not have even been the highlight of his day. Following the podium ceremony, the Cal Club member proposed to his now-fiancé Siera in front of friends, family and fans.
The 60th anniversary SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco is the pinnacle of American amateur motorsports and crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, during Hagerty Race Days running Friday, Oct. 4, through Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024.
Live, online video coverage of Runoffs races, presented by Mazda, is available throughout the three days of competition at SCCA.com/runoffs-live. Live timing and scoring for each race are also available at SCCA.com/pages/runoffs-live-timing.
Below are final results for Sunday's Prototype 1 race at the 2024 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
1, (5), Matt Romer, Lake Havasu City, AZ, Elan DP-02 Mazda, 13.
2, (1), Chip Romer, Lake Havasu City, AZ, Elan DP-02 Mazda, 13.
3, (3), Jim Devenport, Alamo, CA, Elan DP-02 Mazda, 13.
4, (4), Lee Alexander, Springfield, TN, Stohr WF-Z Kawasaki, 13.
5, (8), Matthew Gendron, Monson, MA, Downing Atlanta Peach Mazda, 13.
6, (11), Tyler Thielmann, Kiel, WI, Elan DP-02 Mazda, 13.
7, (2), Jason Miller, Plymouth, WI, WynnFurst West Kohler, 6.
8, (7), John Mcaleer, Roswell, GA, Elan DP-02 Mazda, 6.
DNF, (9), Greg Case, Peoria, IL, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 4.
DNS, (6), Todd Vanacore, Ormond Beach, FL, Elan DP-02 Mazda, 0.
DNS, (10), David Locke, Lafayette, IN, Stohr WF1 Suzuki, 0.
DNS, (12), James French, Sheboygan, WI, Ligier JS53 Honda, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 52.62 miles
Overall Time of Race: 26:28.782 (avg. 119.240 mph)
Margin of Victory: 2.928 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:00.418 (121.018 mph)
Lap Leaders: #29, Laps 1-7; #62, Laps 8-13
Sunoco Hard Charger: #6 Tyler Thielmann
Photo by: Jeff Loewe
