The Sept. 28-Oct. 6, 2024, SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco will be a wild one for many, many reasons.
Road America, sitting in Wisconsin’s lush Kettle Moraine, was repaved not long ago, meaning the roughly 600 racers entered in this year’s event will be forced to dial in their cars if they want to get the most from it. Also, while many racers experienced wet weather conditions during the WeatherTech Chicago Region® June Sprints® earlier this year, one weekend rarely makes for a perfect setup. Expect all drivers to be constantly testing new setups and reviewing data throughout the Runoffs week.
Some of the drivers who will be doing that the most are the ones piloting the dialed-in machinery of Formula Atlantic® and Formula Continental®. Two of SCCA’s fastest and most precise classes, Atlantic and Continental offer drivers and crew the ability to fine tune their setups – and that’s exactly what many of these drivers live for.
So that begs the question: Who will win this year’s Formula Atlantic and Formula Continental Runoffs races? We tackle that below...
Who Will Win Formula Atlantic?
Forty-six drivers scored Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour points in Formula Atlantic this year, putting the class on par with Formula Enterprises® 2 and Formula Vee®, and ahead of Formula F, Formula Continental, and Formula 600. But of those 46 drivers, we think the ones to watch aren’t in the top 10, although one of them is close.
Dudley Fleck sits 11th in the Super Tour points, earned courtesy of a pair of wins at the June Sprints at Road America – the same location of this year’s Runoffs. At the Sprints, Fleck bested a 20-car field, handily winning on Saturday – but Sunday’s story was different. On day two, Fleck’s margin of victory slid from 15 seconds to barely three. Why? Two words: Hans Peter.
Battling back from a Saturday setback, three-time Runoffs Champ Peter turned almost identical lap times as Fleck. And while Peter sits 29th in Super Tour points, that doesn’t reflect what he’s capable of. In our minds, he’s the most likely driver to win this year’s Formula Atlantic race.
“I had some electrical issues this year and only finished one race at the Sprints, finishing second to Dudley Fleck, who is a solid choice to win it all,” Peter says of his race in his Mirl Swan-prepared 2006 Swift 016. “You could also go with James French [to win the Runoffs], who I have raced before and knows Road America better than anyone.”
But there’s another driver who Peter is worried about. “The driver who is probably the most experienced and everyone knows is one of the best in the SCCA is Tony Ave,” Peter admits. “He has the same car as me, and I have never raced against him. He would be my biggest challenger in my mind.”
Podium Prediction: Formula Atlantic
1. Hans Peter, No. 66 2006 Swift 016 (3 National Championships)
2. Dudley Fleck, No. 74 Mazda/Hoosier/Miller High Life/K-Hill 2006 Swift 016 Mazda
3. Tony Ave, No. 44 Optech 2005 Swift 016/Mazda/2300 (4 National Championships)
Who Will Win Formula Continental?
This year will mark Tim Minor’s 15th trip to the Runoffs – and if our prediction is right, it’ll mark the second time he’s stood atop the Runoffs podium. That’s not to say he’s unfamiliar with the Formula Continental podium – far from it. In addition to his FC win in 2019, he’s also earned podium finishes in 2017, ’21, and ’23, with a pair of top five performances to boot.
But while we think this is Minor’s year, we know it won’t be easy – and so does he.
“I’m honored you have chosen me to be on the top step, but I still believe this is anyone’s race, and it always proves to be that in the end,” Minor admits. “There may be some luck involved, but John LaRue, Michael Varacins, Brian Tomasi, Dean Kiriluk, and a host of others will all play into this Runoffs.”
Minor’s list of frontrunners jibes with our own assessment, and we predict two-time Runoffs Champ LaRue to finish second, followed by Varacins, who has seven National Championship titles to his name, although none in Continental.
“I went to the June Sprints with no expectations, and had not been there since 2008,” Minor says. “I was able to win both races, so that is my highlight of the season.”
Both of those June Sprints races saw Minor best LaRue and Varacins, but fastest lap to fastest lap, it was a throwdown – and we’re expecting the same close racing come the Runoffs.
Minor’s prediction for the 2024 Runoffs? “We shall see in the end who will win the Runoffs.”
Podium Prediction: Formula Continental
1. Tim Minor, Automotive Specialist Center/Hoosier Tire/Bungalow Lake House 2010 Citation (1 National Championship)
2. John LaRue, CarbonTech/Elder Law 2007 Citation Snipe FZ (2 National Championships)
3. Michael Varacins, Pepperball/First Strike/Hoosier/Speed Sport Engineering 2020 Van Diemen F2000 (7 National Championships
Catch the Action Live
Qualifying at the National Championship Runoffs takes place Oct. 1-3, with Hagerty Race Days falling on Oct. 4-6. You can keep up on all of the action by clicking on the Runoffs homepage, where you’ll find the driver entry list, the event schedule, and more.
Races will be broadcast live on Oct. 1-3 on SCCA’s YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe to the page and ring that bell icon now to get notified when the race broadcasts begin.
Photos of Formula Atlantic (top) and Formula Continental (bottom) by Rick Corwine
