The Sports Car Club of America® has been around for 80 years, and while organized, rules-based road racing didn’t begin until a few years into the Club’s existence, the “Production” category was there pretty much as soon as SCCA members hit the track. Consequently, the Production category has a proven ruleset that has attracted oodles of racing talent behind expertly-prepared race cars – which is why the E, F, and H Production races at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco are so darn hard to predict.
This year’s Runoffs, taking place Sept. 28-Oct. 6, 2024, at Road America, features packed Production fields. At the time of this writing, E Production (the fastest of the three classes) sports a strong 18 entries, with H Production boasting 21 drivers. F Production, meanwhile, leads the pack with an impressive 28 cars entered.
Who will win in each of these classes? We truly don’t know, but that’s never stopped us from guessing…
Who Will Win E Production?
John Hainsworth, upon learning that he was our pick to win in E Production, said, “It is exciting to be picked for the win. For the first time, I hope the [picks] are right!”
Hainsworth’s Runoffs history has been one of frustration. Of the five times he’s competed in E Prod, he’s been a podium contender each time who never landed on the top step. Even last year where the results show him finishing 18th, he qualified on the Tire Rack Pole and was battling for the lead when he was forced to take evasive action.
But that’s the past. Hainsworth has had a very successful and fun season in 2024, which we see translating to a Runoffs win.
“Racing back and forth with Peter Norton during the first event at VIR definitely helped shake off the winter rust and set the tone for the year,” Hainsworth says. “Until then, I had never finished a Sunday race in EP at the VIR Super Tour, so it felt great to finally accomplish that. Another highlight was the Majors weekend at a freshly repaved NJMP Thunderbolt circuit, also my home track. It was a challenge adjusting to the changes and continuing to find time as the weekend went on. I believe that also helped prepare me for the new pavement we will see out at Road America.”
Hainsworth has worked hard to get his RX-7 ready for this season. “All of the hard work on the car really pays off when you can put together complete weekends. It allows you to focus on driving and car setup. As a result, your speed builds throughout the year. If you can accomplish that during a season, I feel like you come into the Runoffs with your best foot forward.”
As for his competition at this year’s Runoffs, Hainsworth says “it is as wide open as I can remember.”
He is sure that the BMWs will be strong, with Tyler Ladd, Jon Brakke, Cam Wogrin, and Doug Piner all competing for the championship. He also believes that “you should never count out Peter Norton, especially if the conditions are tricky. Peter can hang in your draft all race long and pounce when he sees his opportunity.”
Ladd is in Jesse Prather’s BMW Z3, and it’s known to be fast.
We give Brakke the edge over Ladd in their battle, with both drivers finishing on the podium – albeit with Hainsworth’s taillights ahead of them.
Then there’s the dark-horse picks. To that end, Hainsworth is keeping an eye on Aaron Johnson. “I think he and his Honda S2000 will surprise some folks.” We agree, but we’d also add Bill Miller in his BMW 328 to that list.
In other words: This race will be fun to watch!
Podium Prediction: E Production
1. John Hainsworth, No. 95 Turf Trade/ Max-Attack/ Hoosier/ Carbotech 1990 Mazda RX-7 Convertible,
2. Jon Brakke, No. 89 1999 BMW Z3 (3 National Championships)
3. Tyler Ladd, No. 51 1999 BMW Z3
Who Will Win F Production?
Our prediction of Kevin Ruck and his Acura for the win in F Production was a surprise to him.
“Gotta say, I'm legit shocked by this,” he says. “My season has been anything but an example of impressive speed and consistency. I've fought multiple issues this season with the chassis, drivetrain, and electronics, which made it a chore to just get eligible for the Runoffs. I had to take it all the way to my last chance this summer to accomplish that; [it] certainly wasn't by design.”
The good news, he explains, is he did discover a big problem with his car’s front suspension that was causing dynamic toe and camber changes, plus he resolved an electrical problem that was causing the car to advance the timing. “ damaging things internally to the point of needing to tear into the engine, which had to happen three times this season,” he says. “It was not fun, and I was real close to throwing in the towel in early July. Hopefully now that means we're setup well for the Runoffs.”
In the past, Ruck’s Acura couldn’t match the straight-line speed of Ken Kannard’s Integra or Cliff Ira’s Del Sol because they had a larger throttle body than Ruck’s car had. “After the flat-plate restrictors (FPR) got put onto all of us this spring, we're now all standardized breathing through the same hole size,” Ruck explains.
Ruck thinks the Mazda Miatas will continue to be strong, so he expects to be raced by Mason Workman, who has had a stellar year, Charlie Campbell, Bill Hingston, Doug Weaver, and David Bernarz, with Joe Moser in his Integra GSR a real wild card. Of course, Ira will be a challenger as well.
We anticipate Workman having the advantage over Ira for that second step on the podium – but don’t quote us on it.
Being chosen to win the Runoffs has not always gone well for Ruck. “Hopefully this pick doesn't doom me to another painful ‘ripping of defeat from the jaws of victory’ situation, which I've been so good at in recent years,” he says.
Podium Prediction: F Production
1. Kevin Ruck, No. 73 Hoosier/ AEM Electronics/ MCS 1990 Acura Integra (2 National Championships)
2. Mason Workman, No. 52 Hoosier/Planet Miata/Mazda/Carbotech 1992 Mazda Miata
3. Cliff Ira, No. 36 Cliff Ira Motorsports/JPM 1996 Honda Civic Del Sol VTEC (2 National Championships)
Who Will Win H Production?
Oh my. Jesse Prather has built a car for H Production, and he’s been very successful with it.
“I haven't lost a race in my new Mazda 2 this year, including winning both days at the June Sprints® in wet and dry conditions,” Prather says. “I'm super happy to be back in a Mazda!”
Why move from E Production to H? Simply put, he’d done everything he wanted with his E Production BMW and was looking for a new challenge. Prather had been building engines for the Mazda 2 that Mark Brakke had built, so he knew the car was capable. “When he wanted to sell it, the timing was perfect,” Prather explains.
Prather had never raced in HP, so he had his new challenge and a chance to expand his business, Jesse Prather Motorsports (JPM).
With two-time National Champion Chris Schaafsma unable to make this year’s Runoffs, Prather believes it will be a three-car shootout between himself, Chuck Mathis, and Steve Sargis – and we don’t disagree.
“Chuck Mathis is running in HP for the first time this year as well, and has had a great year including beating Sargis at the Cat National in July,” Prather adds. “He'll be my biggest challenge. Then there's Steve Sargis. He might just wipe the floor with us. You just never know what he'll bring to the Runoffs. He's a win-or-break kind of guy it seems this year, but has run three times at Road America this year and should be fast.”
Behind these three, Prather sees Matt Brannon, Brayden Connelly, Chris Albin, Ralf Lindow, Vesa Siligren, and Rob Bax in the top 10.
Podium Prediction: H Production
1. Jesse Prather, No. 34 JPM/Sunoco/Carbotech/Hoosier/Amsoil 2011 Mazda 2 (6 National Championships)
2. Steve Sargis, No. 18 Carbotech 1975 Triumph Spitfire (9 National Championships)
3. Chuck Mathis, 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit GTI, Hoosier/ AMT performance engines (1 National Championship)
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.
Photo of F Production racer Kevin Ruck (left) by Jay Bonvouloir; E Production’s John Hainsworth (top right) by Jeff Loewe; and Jesse Prather in H Production (bottom right) by Rick Corwine.
