After swapping top times over three days of qualifying, Chuck Mathis and Jesse Prather started side-by-side in Friday afternoon’s H Production (HP) race, just one of 26 events taking place over three Hagerty Race Days as part of the 60th anniversary SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco at Wisconsin’s Road America.
The HP contest had Mathis on pole in the No. 54 Hoosier/AMT Performance Engines Volkswagen Rabbit after setting a qualifying lap record, which garnered him the Tire Rack Pole Award. Prather, however, was out in front of the 19-car field in the No. 34 JPM/Sunoco/Hoosier/Carbotech/Amsoil Mazda 2 after Turn 1 once the green flag flew.
Prather and Mathis were close together – often nose to tail – for the rest of the 13-lap race around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit. Early on, Steve Sargis and his No. 18 Hoosier/Carbotech Triumph Spitfire was in the mix too, but slowly fell away from the lead two as the race progressed.
Both Prather and Mathis are masters of their craft. Prather, from SCCA’s Kansas Region, has previously won Runoffs gold medals in E Production and F Production. Mathis owns a Runoffs victory, too, in the now defunct G Production class. The combined experience of the two produced a fascinating and fun race for spectators trackside and watching online.
Prather’s car was quick in some sections while Mathis’ machine was fast out of corners and down straights. The result was an accordion effect as Prather pulled away at times only to be reeled back in by Mathis lap after lap.
On the final lap, Mathis knew he was out of time and had to make a move. Going into Canada Corner, Mathis moved alongside Prather on the inside. The two drivers touched, but Prather managed to scoot away with the lead, which quickly became a victory – but only by .206sec over Mathis.
The victory is a seventh Runoffs Championship for Prather, who now has a gold medal for every Production class currently included in SCCA National Runoffs competition – E Production, F Production and H Production.
“It was a great race,” Prather said after the contest. “I haven’t had that good of a back-n-forth race like that at the Runoffs since … the last time I raced Steve Sargis or Brian Linn in 2006 or 2007.
“What a balance between two cars that do things better in different ways,” Prather continued about the day’s battle. “I had him on the backside, then he was catching me in places that were just boggling my mind. So, I had to play a lot of protection in that race. But it was really good racecraft; that is why I race is because of races just like this.”
While Mathis came home second for his third silver medal at the Runoffs, he was equally enthused about what transpired today at America’s National Park of Speed.
“I pushed as hard as I could,” Mathis admitted. “He’s got better corners, and I’ve got better corners. I had to make that last attempt and that’s all there was to it. Jesse was an awesome guy to race with and it’s a bummer we got together. But it was just hard racing; it wasn’t being stupid.”
Sargis easily waltzed home in third, about 26 seconds behind the lead battle. With 40 Runoffs starts now to his credit, Sargis has landed on the victory podium 23 times – a feat that isn’t shabby by any measure.
“I’m just glad to be here and I’m glad the car stayed together,” Sargis said afterwards. “I didn’t have to work on the car that much … and the car actually ran better today than it did all week.”
Behind the top three, Chris Albin and Matt Brannon were having a great tussle to see who’d finish fourth. Albin – in a Volkswagen Golf – held that position for the first half of the race, but Brannon – in a Fiat X-1/9 – meticulously hunted him down until lap seven. At that point he passed Albin in Canada Corner and held the fourth spot to the checkered flag.
That said, Albin didn’t fall far off Brannon’s bumper, hoping to take the spot back before having to settle for fifth just .196sec behind Brannon.
The Sunoco Hard Charger award went to Joe Camilleri in the No. 06 Volkswagen Scirocco for starting 17th and finishing in the 11th position.
The 60th anniversary SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco is the pinnacle of American amateur motorsports and crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions this year at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, during Hagerty Race Days running Friday, Oct. 4, through Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024.
Live, online video coverage of Runoffs races, presented by Mazda, is available throughout the three days of competition at SCCA.com/runoffs-live. Live timing and scoring for each race are also available at SCCA.com/pages/runoffs-live-timing.
Below are final results for Friday’s H Production race at the 2024 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
1, (2), Jesse Prather, Topeka, KS, Mazda 2, 13.
2, (1), Chuck Mathis, Saint Jacob, IL, Volkswagen Rabbit, 13.
3, (3), Steve Sargis, Hartford, WI, Triumph Spitfire, 13.
4, (6), Matt Brannon, Columbus, OH, Fiat X-1/9, 13.
5, (4), Chris W Albin, Maryland Hts, MO, Volkswagen Golf, 13.
6, (5), Greg Gauper, Hubertus, WI, Honda Civic Si, 13.
7, (9), William Trainer, Lake in the Hills, IL, Volkswagen Scirocco, 13.
8, (11), Angus Crome, Maryville, IL, Volkswagen Golf, 13.
9, (14), Andrew Wright, Murfreesboro, TN, Triumph Spitfire, 13.
10, (13), Kendall Jones, Armada, MI, MG Midget, 13.
11, (17), Joe Camilleri, Toronto, ON, Volkswagen Scirocco, 13.
12, (16), Leanna Wright, Murfreesboro, TN, Mini Cooper, 13.
13, (8), Robert Bax, Cincinnati, OH, Mini Cooper, 12.
14, (20), R Paul Evans, Wolfe City, TX, Nissan PL510, 12.
15, (19), Michael Miller, Moore, SC, Austin-Healey Sprite, 12.
16, (10), Brayden Connolly, Columbus, OH, Fiat X-1/9, 12.
17, (18), Tom Broring, Derwood, MD, Triumph Spitfire, 6.
DNF, (12), Jerry Oleson, Aurora, CO, Austin-Healey Sprite, 4.
DNF, (15), Vincent LaManna, Ontario, NY, Volkswagen Rabbit, 1.
DNS, (7), Ralf Lindow, Bellevue, NE, Volkswagen Golf, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 52.62 miles
Overall Time of Race: 34:24.113 (avg. 91.781 mph)
Margin of Victory: 00.208 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:37.731 (92.390 mph)
Lap Leaders: #34, Laps 1-13
Sunoco Hard Charger: #06 Joe Camilleri
Photo by: Jeff Loewe
