Franklin Futrelle of Agusta, GA, earned the Tire Rack Pole for this year’s Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 (SRF3) race, albeit by a hair in a field rampant with talent. The SRF3 race during the 59th SCCA National Championship Runoffs, taking place Sept. 24-Oct. 2, 2022, at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR), had all the makings of a great one as the 42-car field took to VIR’s damp 3.27-mile, 18-turn circuit on the first of three Hagerty Race Days.
All eyes were on the starter as the green flag flew on the out lap and the massive field charged into Turn 1. Spanning four wide, Futrelle retained the top spot in his Comprent Motorsports/Meco Inc SRF3, with Charles Russell Turner and John Black in pursuit. As the leaders sped through the Esses, a full-course caution was called for a car that had spun in the first corner — although the caution didn’t last long and the track went green once more on lap three.
Green again, Stripling spun exiting Turn 3, although disaster was avoided as drivers deftly maneuvered the sliding car. Meanwhile, Futrelle, Turner, and Black began to pull away, with S. Sandy Satullo III’s Donatestuff.com race car and David Ogburn’s Salt Stick/Dave Ogburn Driver Development SRF3 trailing. That hunt ended for Satullo in the famous Oak Tree turn when an unforced error put him in the grass, advancing Bobby Sak and his Elite Autosport/Eng. Heat Treat SRF3 to fifth by lap five, until Brian Scofield assumed that fifth spot in his PM Racing SRF3 a couple of laps later.
Come the halfway point, Futrelle had amassed a 2.3-second lead over the dueling duo of Turner and Black, with Ogburn trailing by less than five seconds. Mother Nature then threw a curveball.
“The first half of the race was fairly consistent, and then it started raining again,” Futrelle explained after spraying Mazza sparkling wine from the top step of the podium at victory circle. “As the leader, you're kind of the first guy coming up on the new rain situation, so I had just established new braking zones for each corner and then the rain started pouring, and you know, you’ve got to start rethinking everything.”
The additional rain mattered little for Futrelle, as he rocketed to a massive (by SRF3 standards) 3.3-second lead over Turner in the final stretch of the 15-lap race. Black was two more seconds back, with Ogburn another five seconds behind — that is, until Black bobbled at Oak Tree, allowing Ogburn to catch up to third.
At that moment, Turner — who had been cruising alone in second place — experienced some self-induced trouble.
“I caught a car on the back straightaway and got a little draft, and the next thing I know, I went to what I thought was a good, safe braking zone — it became not a safe braking zone,” the Montpelier, VA, driver explained of the cushion he lost to third. “I was able to get the car whoaed up — I barely went off the track. I came back on right in front of John and Dave , and all of a sudden it became a race.”
With two laps remaining, Black and Ogburn had Turner in their sights, with Ogburn pushing hard for a step on the podium.
As the trio entered the last lap, Ogburn went to the outside of Black, slotting into third place while the three-car battle for second and third threaded through lap traffic into the Esses. Amidst that action, Ogburn slid while exiting the Esses, ending his race for the podium and locking Black in for third place.
“ seemed to have the line kind of figured – I think he was behind us, figuring out where to be on the track,” Black, hailing from Olympic Valley, CA, recalled. “I was concentrating on trying to catch Russ or stay with him, and really had a better line at the end and I just I couldn't hold him off. Then we were catching lap traffic and, unfortunately for him, he got pushed off the track.”
At the checker, Futrelle claimed his second SCCA National Championship title, his first in SRF3, with Turner taking second place some five seconds later. Third place was earned by Black, followed by Schofield, Caleb Schrader, and Sak in sixth.
Finishing ninth was Whitney Strickland, who ran from 26th to sixth in his Bitcoin SRF3 to earn the Sunoco Hard Charger award.
The 59th SCCA® National Championship Runoffs®, the Pinnacle of American Amateur Motorsports, crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year at VIRginia International Raceway — in Alton, VA — during Hagerty Race Days, Friday, Sept. 30, through Sunday, Oct. 2.
Live, online video coverage of Runoffs races, presented by Mazda, is available throughout the three days of competition at SCCA.com/live, and at SCCA’s official YouTube and Facebook social media channels. Live timing and scoring for each race is also available at SCCA.com, along with an audio-only feed from the Super Tour Radio presented by Hoosier Racing Tire broadcast team.
Below are final results for Friday's SRF3 race at the 2022 SCCA National Championship Runoffs, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
1, (1), Franklin Futrelle, Augusta, GA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
2, (2), Charles Russell Turner, Montpelier, VA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
3, (3), John Black, Olympic Valley, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
4, (10), Brian Schofield, Lakeland, FL, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
5, (9), Caleb Shrader, Tigard, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
6, (6), Bobby Sak, Bloomfield Hills, MI, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
7, (21), Mark Eaton, Eau Gallie, FL, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
8, (11), James Goughary, Jupiter, FL, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
9, (26), Whitney Strickland, League City, TX, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
10, (20), Andrew Charbonneau, Delray, FL, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
11, (18), Joe Colasacco, Greenwich, CT, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
12, (15), Mike Miserendino, Bakersfield, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
13, (28), David Anzalone, Glen Head, NY, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
14, (25), Scott Monroe, League City, TX, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
15, (14), Justin Claucherty, Jackson, MI, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
16, (8), Richard Baldwin, Covington, LA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
17, (29), Sam Schechter, Boyds, MD, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
18, (12), TJ Acker, Saugus, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
19, (4), Denny Stripling, McKinney, TX, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
20, (24), Chris Jennerjahn, Hartford City, IN, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
21, (19), Matthew Horst, Sandy Springs, GA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
22, (16), John Greene, Gainesville, GA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
23, (37), Charlie Rogers, Pittsboro, NC, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
24, (31), Sal Webber, Spring Branch, TX, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 15.
25, (7), David Ogburn, San Angelo, TX, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
26, (27), Tom Burt, Woodway, WA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
27, (39), Russell King, Minneapolis, MN, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.\
28, (35), Matt Gray, Chaska, MN, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
29, (36), Greg Miller, Lancaster, OH, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
30, (32), Andre Perra, Government Camp, OR, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
31, (33), Chuck Newman, Lagrange, GA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
32, (22), Wade White, Vail, CO, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
33, (38), Robert Sachs, Napa, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
34, (43), Thomas Kirchman, Framingham, MA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
35, (44), Andrea King, Minneapolis, MN, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 14.
36, (42), Ken Reilly, New Canaan, CT, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 13.
37, (5), S Sandy Satullo III, Hillsboro Beach, FL, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 9.
38, (41), John Dole, Huntington, NY, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 9.
39, (40), Dwight Rider, Aurora, CO, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 9.
DNF, (13), Todd Vanacore, Ormond Beach, FL, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 6.
DNF, (17), Calvin Kautz, Geneva, IL, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 0.
DNF, (23), Lincoln Young, Farmington, CT, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, 0.
DNS, (30), Mark Ballengee, Shafter, CA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3.
DNS, (34), Jean-Luc Liverato, Atlanta, GA, SCCA Spec Racer Ford Gen 3.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 49 miles
Overall Time of Race: 38:57.050 (75.557 mph)
Margin of Victory: 05.021 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:22.066 (82.863 mph)
Lap Leaders: #97 – laps 1-15
Sunoco Hard Charger: #80 Whitney Strickland
Photo caption: Futrelle fells the field in Spec Racer Ford 3 to earn his second National Championship title, first in SRF3.
Photo by: Jon Krolewicz / Staff Photographer
