Looking for an added challenge, Michael Varacins made a switch to Formula Continental® (FC) in 2019 after earning seven career SCCA National Championships in Formula Vee®. On Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, at Road America, the Chicago Region SCCA member completed his goal of winning another Runoffs title, clinching the FC gold medal during the Sept. 28-Oct. 6, 2024, 60th anniversary SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco.
Varacins and his No. 65 Speed Sport Engineering/Pepperball Van Diemen F2000/Ford secured the win when Tire Rack Pole winner and then-leader Tim Minor pulled his No. 88 Hoosier/Ski Motorsport Citation US2000 off course in Turn 1 with just three laps to go while the two were battling.
Though the official lap chart will show just one lead change at the start/finish line, Varacins and Minor swapped positions five total times through the race. Each of those came after a safety car and ensuing lap nine restart, and followed again on lap 10, where Varacins swept to the lead through Turn 1 and Minor retook the lead in either Turn 5 or Turn 6 each time.
The next time across the stripe, Varacins was charging up the front stretch in yet another repeat when Minor pulled off course with damage to his left front wheel. That brought up the full course caution that carried the field the remaining three laps to the checkered flag.
“Road America has always been pretty good to me,” Varacins said. “It’s a class that suits my driving style. I love being here. It’s just a fantastic place to be. It’s been a long road. It took longer than I thought it would take, it was a lot of work. Not just myself, but my dad and the sacrifices on my family. I don’t think I would be happy with the rest of my life if I never got one of these. I feel like I could just breathe a big sigh of relief and whatever happens in my racing career, I’m probably OK with it … The weight that’s off my shoulders feels like the whole car is off of me at this point.”
It confirmed that Varacins, who works with a small team in his family shop rather than a large, established motorsports prep shop, made the right decision in taking on the challenge.
“Some of these guys have been doing this for a very long time,” he said. “It’s a massive learning curve. The sacrifices are massive. We don’t have a full-time guy working on the car, so it’s evenings and weekends. Unfortunately when you do that, you lose the family time. So, my hat’s off to them, I owe my daughter a lot and I’m just glad we could pull this off.”
Though Varacins took the victory under yellow, Central Florida Region’s Rob Allaer was hoping for one more chance to challenge for his third career victory in his No. 52 National Coney/LTD Motorsports Van Diemen F2000/Ford. Allaer moved from third on the grid to second place in the opening five corners before Varacins moved back around him on lap three. He fell back to fourth on the mid-race restart before reclaiming third going into Turn 8 and inherited second place, his seventh career podium and fourth silver medal when Minor dropped out.
“It was a classic FC race,” Allaer said. “Tim Minor is the class of the class. He was so fast all week. At the start I got a great jump but, unfortunately, I was at the wrong part of Turn 1. You can’t get through there like that without taking out everybody and I wasn’t going to ruin everyone’s race. I slowed down and [bided] my time. When we got to the restart, it was a great race from there. The guys were telling me in my ear that I had a little bit of pace on him, but Mike Varacins is a champion eight times over, and there’s a reason for that. My hope was that when we got that full course caution that I’d have a chance to get a jump, but you never know. I’m very happy for him.”
Brian Tomasi was thrilled that the race was only 13 laps as his No. 96 Hoosier/Subway Van Diemen RF01/Ford shut off on the cool down lap, but it hung on long enough to secure his seventh career podium. The Chicago Region member was a National Champion in 2004 and 2010 before a break from motorsports following the 2011 season. Sporadic appearances at the Runoffs left him hunting for more, but it all came together on Friday at Road America. Tomasi started fourth and battled with Allaer for the podium, where they both landed after the final incident.
“I’ve been racing with these guys all year,” Tomasi said. “We all wanted it, we were all pushing. It was tough. I was hoping something was going to happen at the front. I lucked out in third, but I’ll take it. I haven’t been on the podium since 2011. I got out of racing for a little while and had a tough few years. To be back on the podium means everything. We work so hard for this.”
Dean Kiriluk and Rockford Beauchamp crossed the stripe with fourth- and fifth-place finishes behind the safety car. It was a successful first Runoffs appearance for Kiriluk and a career best for Beauchamp, with Douglas Rocco finishing sixth and taking home the Sunoco Hard Charger after starting ninth.
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 Formula Continental race at the 2024 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
1, (2), Michael Varacins, Burlington, WI, Van Diemen F2000, 13.
2, (3), Robert Allaer, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI, Van Diemen RF02, 13.
3, (4), Brian Tomasi, Elgin, IL, Van Diemen RF01, 13.
4, (6), Dean Kiriluk, Orchard Lake, MI, Van Diemen RF00, 13.
5, (7), Rockford Beauchamp, Fitchburg, WI, Van Diemen RF99, 13.
6, (9), Douglas Rocco, Sandisfield, MA, Van Diemen DP08, 13.
7, (1), Timothy Minor, Fredericksburg, VA, Citation US2000, 10.
8, (8), Hayden Eade, Barrington, IL, Van Diemen RF03, 7.
DNF, (5), Bill Johnson, Leawood, KS, Van Diemen RF00, 5.
DNS, (10), Hartley MacDonald, Mulberry, FL, Firman F2000, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 52.62 miles
Overall Time of Race: 36:34.482 (avg. 86.329 mph)
Margin of Victory: 2.661 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:11.534 (110.791 mph)
Lap Leaders: #88, Laps 1-10; #65, Laps 11-13
Sunoco Hard Charger: #4 Douglas Rocco
Photo by Rick Corwine
