On the opening day of qualifying for the 60th anniversary SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco, taking place Sept. 28-Oct. 6, 2024, at Wisconsin’s Road America, Joe Moser went out in his No. 36 King Motorsports/Hoosier/Carbotech Honda CRX Si and turned a lap that reset the track’s Super Touring® Lite (STL) qualifying record.
Moser, the reigning STL National Champion, then sat out the two following days of qualifying. None of the other STL drivers could better his time around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit located between Elkhart Lake and Plymouth, and Moser ended up with the Tire Rack Pole Award.
So Saturday morning – the second of three Hagerty Race Days at America’s National Park of Speed – Moser led the 16-car field to the green flag. Danny Steyn had qualified second, but did not start the race due to an incident during Spec Miata qualifying earlier in the week. So, lined up next to Moser was Jose Osiris Peña, from SCCA’s Puerto Rico Region, in the No. 199 Lions Sales Group Honda CRX.
Moser and Peña were driving similar cars with motors prepared by the same engine maker. The two, however, were running different gearing and brake packages. Moser assumed the lead going into Turn 1 on the first lap, but Peña motored by him in the Carousel to take the lead. Behind them was the No. 39 JustTrackIt/E3 Storage/MS3Pro Acura Integra of Mike Taylor, a Honda Prelude driven by Max Gee, Jon Sewell’s Acura Integra Type R, and the Mazda Miata of Amy Mills.
On the second lap, Moser moved back by Peña down the Moraine Sweep. The next lap saw Peña take the lead going into Turn 1, but Moser took it back after the uphill run into Turn 6. Furthering the excitement, the two drivers then went side-by-side after the Kink and through Canada Corner, with Peña back out front following the incredible driving display.
Meanwhile, Taylor lost contact with the two leaders but had a gap on fourth-place runner Gee who was being chased by Sewell and Mills.
The fifth of 13 laps saw Moser take the lead once again in Turn 1, but Peña was back in front by Turn 3. On lap eight, Moser and Peña were side-by-side thru Turns 1 and 3 before Moser emerged with the lead. But Peña – super-fast through the Kink – retook the lead after Canada Corner.
That fantastic, back-n-forth battle went on for a bit before Moser settled into the second spot just off Peña’s bumper. Further down the field, Taylor was safely in third, and Sewell managed to take the fourth spot away from Gee as Mills fell away from the skirmish.
Lap 10, with the race winding down, Peña had the lead thru Turn 1 before Moser was around him again at the bottom of the hill in Turn 5. Toward the end of the lap, the two drivers were side-by-side again after Canada Corner, and Moser was able to inch ahead a bit. Peña caught him, however, after a good run out of Turn 14 and was ahead by a nose when they crossed the start/finish line to begin the 11th lap.
It was then that Mills experienced a mechanical problem in the right-rear portion of her car, and lazily rolled onto her roof in the grass at Billy Mitchell Bend. She slid out of the car soon after and gave the fans a ‘thumbs up’ to let them know she was OK. The incident, however, brought out a full-course yellow and the race came to completion behind the pace car, delivering Peña his first-ever gold medal in six Runoffs appearances.
“This is everything I have dreamed of,” Peña said before taking his victory lap. “I enjoyed racing the National Champion … but it was super stressful the whole way. We didn’t touch at all; he’s a really clean racer. Our car was stronger in some little bits, his car was stronger at other points. It was a great race.”
Moser’s second-place finish earned him a fourth silver medal in 15 Runoffs appearances.
“Congratulations to Jose. He’s a hell of a competitor and a good friend,” Moser said afterwards. “I was setting him up … and I knew where I needed to be on the last lap. Certainly, it’s disappointing to end on a double yellow, but he drove a hell of a race.”
Taylor finished third for his first Runoffs podium appearance in nine tries. It was a major accomplishment for Taylor, who wrecked his original racecar earlier in the year. The car he finished third with on Saturday went from street car to racecar in only four weeks.
“Ninth time’s a charm,” Taylor joked after the race. “You just keep plugging away. Every year, make the car a little faster, make the driver a little faster. I’ve come a long way since my autocrossing days in Atlanta.”
Sewell held on to finish fourth, and Gee was fifth. Dan Harding, in the No. 79 Mazda Miata, claimed the Sunoco Hard Charger award after starting 16th and finishing in the 10th spot.
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 Saturday's Super Touring Lite race at the 2024 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
1, (3), Jose Osiris Peña, Miami, FL, Honda CR-X, 13.
2, (1), Joe Moser, Dallas, TX, Honda CR-X Si, 13.
3, (4), Mike Taylor, Cumming, GA, Acura Integra, 13.
4, (7), Jon Sewell, Tallahassee, FL, Acura Integra Type R, 13.
5, (6), Max Gee, Bellville, OH, Honda Prelude, 13.
6, (10), Tom van Veen, Bellingham, WA, Honda Civic CX Hatch, 13.
7, (11), Adam Sargis, Mt Pleasant, WI, Mazda Miata, 13.
8, (15), Maxwell Kittleson, Sussex, WI, Ford Focus SVT, 13.
9, (13), Whitfield Gregg, Manson, WA, Mazda MX-5, 13.
10, (16), Dan Harding, Dover, OH, Mazda Miata, 13.
11, (5), Chuck Hines, Cameron, NC, Mazda MX-5, 10.
12, (9), Amy Mills, Manson, WA, Mazda Miata, 9.
13, (12), Sean Duncan, Kalamazoo, MI, Honda Civic VX, 9.
DNF, (8), Austin Hill, Frankfort, OH, Mazda MX-5, 5.
DNF, (18), Caleb Patrie (Ebben), Waukesha, WI, Mazda RX-8, 4.
DNF, (17), Deacon Greenfield, Bristow, VA, Honda CR-X, 1.
DNS, (2), Danny Steyn, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Mazda MX-5, 0.
DNS, (14), John Elder, Bloomington, MN, Mazda Miata, 0.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 52.62 miles
Overall Time of Race: 39:19.993 (avg. 80.274 mph)
Margin of Victory: 01.635 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:30.245 (96.994 mph)
Lap Leaders: #199 - Laps 1, 3-13; #36 - Lap 2
Sunoco Hard Charger: #79 Dan Harding
Photo by: Rick Corwine
