The 2024 Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour (HST) gets cranking this weekend, Jan. 12-14, in Florida at Sebring International Raceway during an event hosted by SCCA’s Central Florida Region. The rugged and challenging 3.7-mile, 17-turn airport-turned-racecourse is more than a historic venue – it’s a longtime favorite of SCCA racers.
HST is entering its eighth season, and each year has opened at Sebring with a healthy field of competitors. That’s possibly because everyone is excited to get their racing season started, or maybe because folks are looking for a perfectly legit excuse to escape winter weather clutching much of the United States in January.
Either way, the Sebring HST is a huge gathering again this year with nearly 380 entries spread across 28 unique car classes that are divided into eight run groups. Equally impressive is the number of reigning National Championship Runoffs® winners amongst the entrants.
Before we talk about that, it’s time to remind fans that the Sebring HST race weekend is open to spectators. Tickets are only $25 per person for the whole weekend, plus $10 for parking.
If you can’t get to the track, follow the action live with video online at the SCCA YouTube and SCCA Road Racing Facebook pages.
Reigning Runoffs Champs Running
Just short of 80 entrants, Spec Miata (SM) is the largest single car class competing at Sebring. In that fourth run group, there are two reigning National Champions.
Last year’s Runoffs at VIRginia International Raceway saw a first-ever tie for a National Championship. SM drivers Nicolas Bruni and Preston Pardus reached the finish line in an absolute dead heat, and Co-National Champions were crowned for the very first time in SCCA Runoffs history. Bruni and Pardus are both at Sebring to perhaps settle a score.
Touring 4 National Champion Devin Anderson is wielding a Subaru BRZ in 2024 once again. This time, however, he’s competing in the Super Touring® Under class that is part of the first run group at Sebring.
When it comes to GT things, reigning GT-3 National Champion Tony Ave is in the mix at Sebring. He’s part of the 11-entrant GT-3 field comprised of more than a few former Runoffs champs. Jared Odrick, the current GT-2 Runoffs Champion, is also in Florida. Altogether, that means the sixth run group will be something fun to follow throughout the weekend.
Charles Russell Turner, the Formula Enterprises® 2 (FE2) National Champion, is in Florida this weekend to warm up for a likely defense of his FE2 title in 2024 at Road America during October’s Runoffs. He’s also part of the Spec Racer® Ford Gen3 class that includes 65 entries in the second run group. The SRF3 field also has reigning Prototype 1 (P1) National Champion Todd Vanacore, who is doing double duty on the weekend, too, with wheel time in run group five driving a P1 chariot.
Lastly, we have driver Alex Bertagnoli at Sebring for the weekend. While technically not an SCCA National Champion, he did win Mazda’s Spec MX-5 Championship last year. Now that Spec MX-5 (SMX) is a car class officially competing for a Runoffs title in 2024, he’ll be someone to watch when the 24-car SMX field heads on track in the seventh run group.
Catch the Action Online
Follow all the action live through online video at the SCCA YouTube and SCCA Road Racing Facebook pages. Video is provided by DriversEye Live in 2024, with Brian Bielanski and Gregg Ginsberg lending their voices to the broadcast.
Photo: Tim Preble is one of 65 Spec Racer Ford Gen3 drivers competing this weekend in Florida at Sebring International Raceway during the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour.
Photo by SCCA Staff
