LEXINGTON, Ohio (June 1, 2014) – Battles throughout the day for race wins were the norm on Sunday during the BFGoodrich Tires Mid-Ohio Super Tour, Round Four of the SCCA Northern Conference Majors Tour at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Eight race groups, featuring 237 drivers, ran on Sunday for 19 laps each on the 14-turn, 2.4-mile circuit. The races count for points in the season long Northern Conference Majors Championship.

Highlights from the day included:

Group One: For the second consecutive day, Scott Rettich showed no mercy in leaving the Spec Racer Ford field behind on his home track.

Rettich turned laps in his No. 17 Alliance Autosport/Springboro Car Wash Spec Racer Ford two seconds quicker than the rest of the field in the spec class. At the finish, Rettich was 24.887-seconds ahead of Adam Gottlieb’s No. 7 Flat Black Racing machine.

Group Two: On Saturday, Spec Miata followed up Spec Racer Ford with another runaway win, but when Jim Drago’s No. 2 East Street Racing Mazda Miata pulled off track on the pace lap with a broken axle, the race suddenly was opened back up again.

Voytek Burdzy used that to his advantage, moving his No. 41 Advanced Autosports Miata to the lead on the opening laps. Saturday’s third-place finisher Jonathan Davis, jumped the No. 16 machine to the front under braking at the end of the back straight to move around Burdzy.

A swarm of Spec Miatas chased Davis, who kept pulling away through the mid-point of the race. As the laps wound down, Burdzy closed back to the rear of Davis, but never found a way around. The win was Davis’s first Majors victory.

Group Three: Tim Kautz’ No. 88 Braeburn/Two Dogg/Hoosier Piper DF3D/Honda and Jeremy Grenier’s No. 12 Ski Motorsports/Hoosier Citation Formula F were nearly identical on Saturday, with Kautz crossing the finish line just in front for the win. On Sunday, the situation reversed, with the hard fought, evenly matched battle going to Grenier.

It took some time, but Grenier finally moved around Kautz for the first time on lap 15. Once he found clear track, Grenier stretched the advantage, and took the checkered flag.

For the first time this season in Northern Conference competition, Michael Varacins had close competition in Formula Vee. Varacins moved his No. 65 Speed Sport/Veetech/Hoosier Speed Sport AM-5 around Gary Blanarik’s No. 3 Sewickley Car Store/Silver Bullet/Hoosier Silver Bullet on lap eight, but couldn’t shake the challenger for several laps. Finally, with time winding down, Varacins got a bit of breathing room and held on for the win.

Calvin Stewart’s 600cc No. 07 Novakar Nova walked away with the Formula 500 class victory.

Group Four: In a carbon copy of Saturday’s race, John Buttermore stalked the early stages of the Touring 2 race before taking the lead and edging away for the win in the No. Hoosier/Carbotech/Stoptech Chevrolet Corvette.

Andrew Longe ran away at the start on sticker Michelins to set a hot early pace in the No. 02 Trianon/Fall-Line Motorsports Porsche GT3. Unfortunately for him, that early pace was unsustainable. Right at the halfway point, Buttermore moved around the front-runner and took control.

While the B-Spec class may not be as fast, the action was just as hot. John Heinricy led early in the No. 37 Matick Chevrolet/Hoosier/Hawk Chevrolet Sonic, but Brian Audet’s No. 35 Urban East Racing Mini Cooper had a target on the Chevy. Audet found his way around Heinricy on lap 13, but when Heinricy went back past just a couple of laps later, Audet ran off track trying to keep up. The excursion left Heinricy to the win, with Audet hanging on for second.

Drago’s tough luck nearly continued in the Super Touring Lite race. After he built a significant lead in the No. 2 East Street Racing Mazda Miata, Drago made contact with an unaware car he was lapping, and then experienced a misfire in the engine for the final six laps. Though it was fading quickly, Drago had enough of a cushion to stay in front for the win.

Greg Vandersluis’ No. 93 Carbotech/BFGoodrich Tires/Ford Racing Ford Mustang was the quickest Touring 4 machine all weekend, taking a pair of flag-to-flag wins in the class.

Group Five: While Scott Rettich was running away, once again, with a Formula Enterprises win in the No. 17 Alliance Autosport/PDI Communications Formula Enterprises/Ford, Robert Allaer was getting redemption from Saturday.

The previous day, Allaer’s No. 52 voss/Martini/LTD Motorsports Van Diemen RF02/Ford was leading Formula Continental by a wide margin when, on the last lap, the fuel pressure dropped and he coasted to the finish off the podium. On Sunday, he again got the huge lead, and this time finished the job for the win. Allaer’s biggest issue came when a squirrel darted across the track in front of him. Allaer quickly checked his mirrors and, with a clear track, moved around the rodent and continued for the win.

Brian Lift swept the weekend in his No. 29 Havoc Motorsports Formula Mazda, and John Fergus kept his No. 00 Hoosier Tires/Carbotech Brakes Carbir CS2 in front of Richard Colburn’s No. 97 Amari Metals Nostendo on Sunday for a Prototype 2 win.

Group Six: With no one pushing him on the track, Jim Daniels was gunning for a track record in E Production. He pushed his No. 76 TheRacingInsiders.com Mazda MX-5 to the edge of the 1:37.054 lap target, but fell just short with a best lap of 1:37.057 on his way to the win.

Both Kevin Ruck, driving his F Production No. 73 Hoosier/Honda Performance Development Acura Integra, and Kyle Disque, driving the No. 92 Toyota/TRD/Hoosier Tire Toyota Tercel in the RaceGearBox.com GT-Lite invitational, topped a field of Runoffs podium finishers and National Champions to sweep their classes during the weekend with impressive runs.

Matt Brannon was a victim of traffic on Saturday in the H Production race, so on Sunday he drove his No. 2 Midwest-Bayless Italian Auto Fiat X 1/9 far enough in front that it wasn’t left to chance.

Group Seven: Two classes were virtually decided on lap 13, when Michael Cyphert spun in his No. 76 Toyota Motorsports/TRD/Red Line/Hoosier Toyota Celica with Paul Young right on his bumper in the keyhole. Young snuck by, but with Cyphert sitting sideways on the track, was hit by the GT-2 leading No. 80 Chicago Motor Cars/Grey Fox Racing Porsche GT3 of John Kachadurian.

At the time, Kachadurian was under attack by Tom Patton’s No. 50 Red Line Oil/Hoosier Tires Sunbeam Tiger. Both Patton and Young’s No. 79 Young Racing/Hoosier Tire Ford Probe went on to win their respective classes after the incident that ended both Cyphert and Kachadurian’s day.

Tom Smith, in the No. 62 USA Metal Recycling/Go Hogs Go! Chevrolet Camaro and Andy McDermit’s No. 24 WeatherTech/Felice Performance Engines Ford Mustang swept the weekend in GT-1 and American Sedan, respectively, by large margins, while John Buttermore once again came from behind to win – this time in the Touring 1 configuration of his No. 52 Hoosier/Carbotech/Stoptech Chevrolet Corvette. The win was Buttermore’s fourth of the weekend.

Group Eight: After a crash-shortened race yesterday, the Formula Atlantic, Formula 1000 and Prototype 1 race went the full distance to end the BFGoodrich Tires Mid-Ohio Super Tour. The result, however, didn’t change.

Daniel Burkett pulled away from pole to lead flag to flag, overall and in Formula Atlantic, in the No. 4 K-Hill Motorsports Swift 016/Mazda. Ralph Provitz eased off to stay behind the Formula Atlantic podium battle, but was tops in Prototype 1 driving his No. 38 V2 Motorsports/George Dean Racing Staudacher S08.

After a valiant effort by the No. 33 JDR 012 of Charles Livingston to keep up with Jeremy Hill’s No. 08 Hoosier Tire Photon VD07, Hill moved around Livingston on lap two and stayed just in front for the full race to take the win. At the finish, Hill was just 0.439-second in the lead, but took the victory lap and large trophy home.

Results and more information from the BFGoodrich Tires Mid-Ohio Super Tour can be found at www.SCCA.com/MidOhioMajors.

The Northern Conference Majors Tour continues with the Chicago Region WeatherTech June Sprints at Road America, June 13-15. The next U.S. Majors Tour event is in one week in the Eastern Conference at New Jersey Motorsports Park, June 6-8. More information can be found at www.SCCA.com.

LEXINGTON, Ohio - Provisional race winners for Sunday’s BFGoodrich Tires Mid-Ohio Super Tour, Round Four of the Northern Conference Majors Tour, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Drivers are listed by Class: name, hometown, and car.

American Sedan: Andy McDermid, Howell, Mich., Ford Mustang B-Spec: John Heinricy, Clarkston, Mich., Chevrolet Sonic E Production: Jim Daniels, Germantown, Tenn., Mazda MX-5 F Production: Kevin Ruck, Delaware, Ohio, Acura Integra H Production: Matt Brannon, Columbus, Ohio, Fiat X 1/9 Formula 500: Calvin Stewart, Novi, Mich., Novakar Nova Formula 1000: Jeremy Hill, Toronto, Canada, Photon VD07 Formula Atlantic: Daniel Burkett, Winnipeg, Canada, Swift 016/Mazda Formula Continental: Robert Allaer, Lithia, Fla., Van Diemen RF02 Formula Enterprises: Scott Rettich, Columbus, Ohio, Formula Enterprises/Ford Formula F: Jeremy Grenier, Charles Town, W.V., Citation Formula F/Honda Formula Mazda: Brian Lift, Crestwood, Ill., Star Formula Mazda Formula Vee: Michael Varacins, Burlington, Wis., Speed Sport AM-5/Volkswagen GT-1: Tom Smith, Springdale, Ark., Chevrolet Camaro GT-2: Tom Patton, Hamilton, Ohio, Sunbeam Tiger GT-3: Paul Young, Commerce Township, Mich., Ford Probe GT-Lite: Kyle Disque, Philadelphia, Pa., Toyota Tercel Prototype 1: Ralph Provitz, Macomb, Mich., Staudacher S08 Prototype 2: John Fergus, Lewis Center, Ohio, Carbir CS2/Ford Super Touring Lite: Jim Drago, Memphis, Tenn., Mazda Miata Super Touring Under: John Schmitt, Sunbury, Ohio, Honda Prelude Spec Miata: Jonathan Davis, Seven Hills, Ohio, Mazda Miata Spec Racer Ford: Scott Rettich, Columbus, Ohio, Spec Racer Ford Touring 1: John Buttermore, South Lyon, Mich., Chevrolet Corvette Touring 2: John Buttermore, South Lyon, Mich., Chevrolet Corvette Touring 3: David Daughtery, Fortville, Ind., Nissan 370Z Touring 4: Greg Vandersluis, North Olmsted, Ohio, Ford Mustang  

U.S. Majors Tour