Mark Boden, of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, earned his second SCCA Runoffs National Championship of the day on Friday, doubling his career total in an eight-hour period and adding an SCCA Super Sweep with a Touring 2 win in the afternoon. Charlie Peter, of Olathe, Kansas, and Boden’s Fall-Line teammate and son, Joe Boden, of Winnetka, Illinois, joined the champion on the podium.
Boden was running third when Tire Rack Polesitter Alan Kossof crashed from second place on lap five, then inherited the top spot when leader Kurt Rezzetano blew the engine in his Phoenix Performance Ford Mustang running down the front straight.
The win followed his Touring 1 victory Friday morning and brought with it a Super Sweep trophy. The Super Sweep is the most difficult award for an SCCA road racing competitor to win, as it requires a Runoffs victory, a Hoosier Super Tour point championship, and a U.S. Majors Tour Conference championship, all in one year and in the same class.
“It means a lot,” Boden said. “In the past 20 years of racing, I’ve raced a lot of different cars, a lot of different classes, in SCCA, IMSA, Grand-Am, World Challenge, a bunch of different stuff. But the class that started it all was T2. I stepped away from it for a while, because we had so many clients in it, but I missed it so much I wanted to come back. I finished second the last five years in T2, but it’s a class that I love and a class that I’m very passionate about. Coming here and being a big part of the show is just awesome.”
Following Boden across the stripe 4.284 seconds later was the No. 6 Phenix Label BMW M235iR driven by Peter in his first Runoffs appearance. His silver medal came after shaking clear of an early battle with the younger Boden. The Peter family was well represented on the Runoffs podium as well—Hans Peter, Charlie’s father, finished second in Formula Atlantic immediately following the T2 race.
“It’s unbelievable,” Peter said. “I grew up watching my dad. I saw him win the Runoffs and I dreamt of it as soon as he started driving. It’s a real honor to be up on the podium, especially with these guys. We’ve been working our butts off since Friday and it’s pretty rewarding to be here.”
The official history book will show Joe Boden and his No. 45 Fall-Line Motorsports Porsche 911 as a Runoffs rookie in 2020, but that only counts competitive runs. The Boden family has been attending the event together for years, and now both father and son can count podium finishes at the event. Joe, a 21-year-old student at the University of Colorado, earned his third-place performance after holding off yet another Fall-Line Porsche driven by Patrick Womack.
“This has been an unbelievable week,” Joe Boden said. “I’ve still been in school all week. I came into this just thinking, this is going to be an awesome week, I’m going to do some racing, and here I am on the podium. It’s more than I could ask for.”
The elder Boden’s win was extra special, sharing the podium with Joe.
“I always tell people, if you don’t go to the Runoffs because you don’t think you can win, you’ll never be a winner,” father Boden said. “You’ve got to come here to learn how to win. This place makes you a better driver. It makes you dig deeper. You’ve got the best of the best here. He absolutely took advantage of that this weekend, and picked up his game, and I can’t be prouder. Like I’ve said, he’s probably going to be getting on the higher step, and I’ll be on the lower step, but I’ll take it while I can.”
Womack and Thomas Herb completed the top five in the race. Scotty White earned the Sunoco Hard Charger, improving five spots from his grid position to score a ninth-place finish.
The 57th SCCA® National Championship Runoffs®, the Pinnacle of American Motorsports, crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s Road America, Friday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct 11.
Live, online video coverage of Runoffs races, presented by Mazda, is available throughout the three days of competition at SCCA.com/live along with an audio race call—supplied by the Super Tour Radio presented by Hoosier Racing Tire broadcast team—and live timing and scoring for each National Championship race.
Official results for Friday’s Touring 2 race at the 57th SCCA National Championship Runoffs from Road America, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car and laps completed.
1, (4), Mark Boden, Buffalo Grove, IL, Porsche 996, 13.
2, (3), Charlie Peter, Olathe, KS, BMW M235iR, 13.
3, (5), Joe Boden, Winnetka, IL, Porsche 997, 13.
4, (6), Patrick Womack, Burr Ridge, IL, Porsche 997, 13.
5, (7), Thomas Herb, Barrington, IL, Porsche 911/Carrera S 997.2, 13.
6, (8), Matthew O'Toole, Wilmette, IL, Porsche 911/Carrera S 997.2, 13.
7, (12), Michael Moore, Asheboro, NC, BMW E46 M3, 13.
8, (14), Scotty B White, Auburn, WA, Ford Mustang EcoBoost 2.3, 13.
9, (2), Kurt Rezzetano, Phoenixville, PA, Ford Mustang Boss 302, 7.
10, (9), Gregory Schermer, Davenport, IA, Porsche 997, 13.
DNF, (1), Alan Kossof, Prospect Heights, IL, Porsche 996, 4.
DNF, (10), Ryan Szyjakowski, Kiel, WI, BMW E46 M3, 4.
DNF, (11), Bill Collins, Saint Paul, MN, Chevrolet Corvette C5, 4.
DNF, (15), James Cantrell, Tucson, AZ, Porsche 997, 1.
DNS, (13), William Moore, Chagrin Falls, OH, Chevrolet Camaro 1LE, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 53 miles
Overall Time of Race: 35:33.396 (88.800 mph)
Margin of Victory: 4.284 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: #37 Rezzetano 2:26.803 mph (99.268 mph)
Lap Leaders: #11 laps 1-2, #37 laps 3-7, #80 laps 8-13
Sunoco Hard Charger: Scotty White
Photo: 2020 Runoffs Touring 2 Champion Mark Boden
Photo Credit: Jay Bonvouloir
