Before the race even began, intrigue surrounded Sunday afternoon’s GT-3 contest during the third and final Hagerty Race Day of the 60th anniversary SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® presented by Sunoco, which took place Sept. 28-Oct. 6, 2024, on Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit in the Kettle Moraine region of Wisconsin.
Tony Ave came into the 13-lap race having won the previous two GT-3 Championships. Earlier in the week, he also gathered up another Tire Rack Pole Award for being the fastest GT-3 vehicle after three days of qualifying. Adding to the tale, the GT-3 race would be Ave’s fifth winner-take-all Championship challenge in three days.
Ave had already added to his overall medal count coming into Sunday’s penultimate Runoffs race. He finished second in Touring 1 and third in Formula Atlantic. Medals eluded him in the GT-1 and GT-2 contests, so GT-3 was the last chance to grab gold in 2024 at America’s National Park of Speed.
Adding to the drama, Ave switched motors in his Honda Civic after qualifying. That moved him to the rear of the 13-car field. So Jeff Dernehl’s Mazda RX-7 led racers to the green flag. Next to him was Michael Lewis, of SCCA’s San Diego Region, in the No. 32 Goodyear Mazda RX-7 machine.
As the field climbed the hill toward the starter’s stand, driver Stacy Wilson slowed his Mazda RX-7 and allowed all the other competitors behind to slip by, leaving Ave with one fewer competitor in his way. By the end of the first lap, which was led by Dernehl with Lewis in tow, Ave had already climbed up to fourth. Only third-place runner Tony Rivera and his Mazda RX-3 stood between Ave and the leaders.
Going into Turn 5 on lap two, Lewis got by Dernehl for the lead, and Ave claimed the third position after passing Rivera. A lap later, Dernehl slowed to a stop after the Carousel, promoting Ave to second and Rivera to third. Behind them was Rob Warkocki, in another Mazda RX-7, who was trying to hold off Blake Wilson’s No. 55 Wilson Racing/Appalachian Race Tire Mazda RX-7 that started in the 12th position.
On lap five, Lewis’ lead was 4.6-seconds over Ave. On lap six, it was 4.2-seconds, then 3.6-seconds on lap seven. By lap 10, the difference was just .567sec as the duo crossed the start-finish line. But as Ave chased Lewis down Kettle Bottoms and into the Kink, his car let loose a plume of smoke and he fell off the pace. That brought Ave’s Runoffs adventure to an end a few laps sooner than planned.
Lewis completed a few more laps unchallenged before crossing the finish line for his 11th Runoffs gold medal in 47 starts.
“I wanted to win this race against these guys and have it be a battle, which it certainly turned out to be,” an emotional Lewis said as his daughter placed the gold medal around his neck. “Tony (Ave) certainly had the bit between his teeth, and he was coming hard. I’d saved a little bit and thought I could hold him off, but I’m glad I didn’t have to.”
Lewis noted in the post-race interview that his car was experiencing a serious overheating problem, and it looked like he wasn’t the only one. Seems all the colorful fall leaves around Road America may come with a drawback. As much of the GT-3 field circulated around the track, the nose grills of cars became increasingly covered with said leaves, severely hampering fresh, cool air from finding its way to engines – which might have been a problem for the hard-working motors.
As mentioned, racers Rivera, Warkocki, Blake Wilson and Chris Edens where racing to fill out the GT-3 podium. On lap 12, Rivera’s car slowed before he pulled out of the race. Then on the same lap, Warkocki’s car pulled off track in the Kink after an amazing, multi-lap battle with Blake Wilson.
That left the final two podium steps to be filled by Wilson and Edens. But Edens’ Mazda Miata pulled off in the Carousel, and the No. 39 Sport&Specialty/Goodyear Mazda RX-7 driven by George Cichon came across the finish line in third.
Wilson’s work netted him a silver medal and first trip to the victory podium in three Runoffs appearances.
“We just drove as hard as we could,” Blake Wilson said. “We were planning on the car being good for the second half of the race, and it really was. It was a lot of fun.”
Chichon’s ability to care for his machinery resulted in his first bronze medal and first Runoffs podium appearance in seven tries. He also earned the Sunoco Hard Charger award after starting in the 11th spot.
“I figured there was going to be a lot of attrition, but the way they were falling out was incredible,” Chichon noted afterwards. “Every time I saw a car parked on the side of the track, I just thought ‘that’s one more position.’”
Armen Megregian finished fifth in a Mazda Miata, and Taz Harvey came home sixth in a Honda Civic.
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 Sunday's GT-3 race at the 2024 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs, with finish position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, and laps completed.
1, (3), Michael Lewis, Poway, CA, Mazda RX-7, 13.
2, (13), Blake Wilson, Etowah, TN, Mazda RX-7, 13.
3, (11), George Cichon, Caledonia, IL, Mazda RX-7, 13.
4, (10), Armen Megregian, Naples, FL, Mazda Miata, 13.
5, (4), Taz Harvey, Danville, CA, Honda Civic, 13.
6, (8), Chris Edens, Sherwood, AR, Mazda Miata, 12.
7, (12), Ken Nelson, Novi, MI, Nissan 200SX, 12.
8, (6), Tony Rivera, Oceanside, CA, Mazda RX-3, 11.
9, (5), Rob Warkocki, Frankfort, IL, Mazda RX-7, 11.
10, (1), Tony Ave, Maiden, NC, Honda Civic, 10.
11, (2), Jeff Dernehl, Cumming, GA, Mazda RX-7, 9.
DNF, (9), Paul Young, Commerce Twp, MI, Ford Probe, 2.
DNF, (7), Stacy Wilson, Englewood, TN, Mazda RX-7, 2.
Race Stats
Length of Race: 52.62 miles
Overall Time of Race: 31:54.375 (avg. 98.960 mph)
Margin of Victory: 13.919 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:22.863 (102.005 mph)
Lap Leaders: #65, Lap 1; #32, Laps 2-13
Sunoco Hard Charger: #39 George Cichon
Photo by: Rick Corwine
