Want to know what to watch for in the final SCCA Majors race of 2013? Here are some storylines to keep your eyes on:
Runoffs Race On: While the regular season wraps up, all of SCCA is abuzz with the recent announcement of the next three sites of the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. The 50th Runoffs will be held this fall at Road America, September 16-20. From there, the event will travel to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2014, Daytona International Speedway in 2015, and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2016.
Mid-States Medal Chances: The best seven races in the Mid-States Conference count toward the final point tallies… Jim Wheeler has clinched the American Sedan title in the Mid-States Conference, but can still count one more race for his best of seven total. A win this weekend will give him a perfect score on the season… Mike Asselta needs 32 points to pass Charlie James for the B-Spec title. A pair of finishes should clinch it for the current second-place runner…Rick Kosdrosky needs 32 points to overtake Matt Reynolds in E Production this at Gateway… Timothy Friest needs to score a total of 26 points in Formula 500, but can only count full points in one race this weekend. His drop would be a seventh-place finish from Circuit of the Americas. If he stumbles, David Vincent and CJ McAbee (able to count both finishes) are still in range…Gaston Kearby is in position to make up the 10 point deficit in Formula Atlantic this weekend, behind Tyler Hunter… A ninth place or better guarantees the Formula Enterprises crown to Henry Donohoo…Bill Kephart is the lone front-runner currently shown on the Formula F entry list. He leads Douglas Stout by just one point… Alan McCallum has clinched Formula Mazda, but could maximize season points with two more wins… Sam Henry and Eric Prill have identical statistics in their six F Production races this weekend. This weekend’s two races are a head-to-head battle for the Championship… Robert Herman has a chance to make a last-event run in GT-3 with a pair of strong finishes. Herman needs 31 points…Robert Horrell has an outside chance to make up the 39 points he needs to claim the H Production title, but it will take two very strong finishes to do it… With Matt Reynolds not on the entry list, a pair of strong finishes by Jim Drago earns the title in Spec Miata… Keith Verges needs just six points in Spec Racer Ford to clinch the title…Bob Schader has already clinched the Super Touring Lite crown, but will be racing hard at Gateway… A pair of Super Touring Under wins by Tom Kraft may be enough for a class championship, with leader Michael Pettiford not scheduled to appear… Natha Waldbaum is in position to clinch a title in Touring 2… David Muramoto could go from third to first this weekend in Touring 3… Just eight points will clinch the Touring 4 title for Stan Czacki, regardless of what his competition does.
Northern Notes: The best six races count for classes with a nine race schedule in the Northern Conference. For CSR, DSR, S2, SM, SRF, FB, GT1, GT2, GT3 and T1, the best seven of 10 races will count… Richard Colburn should be able to clinch his D Sports Racing title… Leader Lance Loughman is not on the E Production entry list, putting second place Joe Moser in the driver’s seat for the title… 19 points gives Charles Duncan the Formula Atlantic title, but Jacek Mucha is there if Duncan stumbles…Aaron Johnson can close up the H Production battle, with a good chance to surpass Matthew Brannon with a pair of finishes…With the top three drivers in the Northern Conference already dropping events, the battle is much closer than it looks on paper. Leader Michael Novak can only replace a 13th and an 8th to increase his 111 points, which is only one better than Bruce Andersen (looking to replace an 11th and a seventh). Erik Stearns (85 points) can count both Gateway races, leaving him in the thick of the hunt as well…Bruce Andersen has reached his six-race maximum in STL, so his potential drops of seventh and fourth leave him at a best case of 115 points. Kyle Webb (88 points, but dropping a 16th and a fourth) has a potential to make up more points and catch Andersen… Greg Vandersluis has already clinched the Touring 4 title, and has scored six wins to do it. He’ll be racing with his foot flat to the floor this weekend, as wins don’t matter to his points.
FREE Family Fun: Gateway Motorsports Park is open for spectators for FREE as guests of the St. Louis Region, and includes an open paddock to get up close and personal with the cars and drivers. Under new management, this is an excellent opportunity to see some racing and check out Gateway.
Event/Circuit: U.S. Majors Tour Northern Conference - Rounds Eight and Nine of Nine, or Nine and 10 of 10 (class dependent) U.S. Majors Tour Mid-States Conference – Rounds Nine and 10 of 10 Gateway Motorsports Park 7-turn, 1.65-mile road course
Qualifying: Seven Race Groups Saturday, August 3 at 8:00 a.m. (20 minutes) For Sunday’s races: 10-lap or 20-minute (whichever comes first) qualifying races on Sunday, August 4 at 8:00 a.m.
Races: Seven Group Races, following qualifying each day (approximately 11:00 a.m.) Race Lengths: 28 Laps Timing/Scoring: Live Timing & Scoring, lap notes and streaming track PA audio via the SCCA® Pit Board are available for all sessions through www.scca.com/sccalive.
Entry lists, full event schedules, and more information is available at www.sccamajors.com.
Gateway Double Majors
