Mother Nature was less than cooperative Saturday as the second half of Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour’s (HST) 2025 season got going at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit (HMRC) in Oklahoma. Part of the Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing program, the April 26-27 weekend hosted by SCCA’s Ark Valley Race Group is the sixth of 10 HST events on this year’s calendar, and it’s a long-loved destination for many drivers.
Right around 10:30 a.m. Saturday during qualifying, a lightning strike brought things to a halt for safety’s sake. The weather delay ended up lasting until 2:30 p.m., at which time the final two of seven run groups got to complete their qualifying sessions around the 1.8-mile, 10-turn circuit that was soaked.
After that, Hawk Brakes were heated up and Sunoco race fuel powered some drivers to victory across the first three run groups during shortened contests. ‘First’ races for the remaining run groups will be conducted tomorrow morning, along with a second set of races for all drivers. More information is included below about Sunday’s revised plans.
Wet or Dry, New Hallett Still Neat
Racers this weekend were greeted with an entirely repaved circuit, along with other enhancements. Over the last couple years a permanent victory circle was created, as well as a tunnel so vehicles have easy infield access during events. Then there’s the 1,800 square-foot, climate controlled, glassed-in pavilion erected last year that certainly came in handy during Saturday’s inclement weather.
Rocky Entriken, 84, of SCCA’s Salina Region, joined the Club in 1971 and is actually working Grid this weekend at HMRC. He made his first visit to the circuit nearly five decades ago.
“I drove Hallett when it was the newest, during a driver school in 1976,” Entriken stated. “In fact, it was my first Road Race event in my then G Production Spitfire.
“That first race was in October of ’76,” Entriken noted. “The track wasn’t even completely built yet. We were driving on the asphalt’s sub-base. Most remarkable feature was the uphill climb from Turn 3 to Turn 5 which had a ridge of loose gravel up the middle. Drivers had to choose the inside or outside line, being careful not to cross the gravel ridge because it would spin you out.”
Time changes things, but Hallett anchors itself in tradition while moving forward. Perhaps the morning “chicken song" delivered over PA speakers cements things. It’s a raucous version of Glen Miller’s In the Mood clucked out by Ray Stevens. It’s a cacophony that serves as an anthem reminding everyone on site that it’s time for a day of racing and fun.
Speaking of fun, Entriken has been mining fun in multiple ways for many years thanks to his involvement with SCCA. Becoming a member of SCCA and volunteering at events opens a whole realm of experiences previously unfathomable. Learn more about volunteering with SCCA by clicking here.
Reunited, and it Feels so Good
Derrick Ambrose is no stranger to SCCA Road Racing. Nonetheless, he’s experiencing a lot of ‘firsts’ this weekend in Oklahoma.
The 50-year-old driver from SCCA’s Oregon Region is making his first HST appearance of the 2025 season, and this is his first-ever visit to HMRC. It is also the first time in a decade he has been reunited with the first race car he ever built, that being B-Spec’s No. 62 CorkSport Performance/Goodyear/Versatune Mazda 2 currently owned by Chris Taylor Racing.
In exchange for driving a hauler from Austin, TX, to Jennings, OK, Taylor is letting Ambrose borrow the car this weekend so he can begin to satisfy qualification requirements for the 2025 National Championship Runoffs®. Ambrose actually built the car in 2012, and the vehicle made a few Runoffs appearances. It was also used for TCB competition within Pirelli World Challenge.
“I’m actually really excited,” Ambrose said about the reunion. “I knew this was going to be a super fun and tight race. But I was a little rusty on racing.”
Some people believe Ambrose’s car may be the winningest Mazda 2 of all time. Unfortunately, another victory was not added to the tally Saturday as Ambrose finished fourth in a wet B-Spec race. The victory, however, actually went to Chis Taylor driving the No. 134 CorkSport/Goodyear/G-Loc Mazda 2 car.
Sunday Plans for Hallett
Due to Saturday’s weather delays, plans have changed for Sunday HST activities at HMRC. On-track action will still begin at 8 a.m. Central Time, but there will be no second round of qualifying. Instead, run groups four through seven will each have 20-minute races.
From there, organizers plan to execute a Sunday schedule where each of the seven run groups will have 35-minute or 27-lap contests. A lunch break will be slotted in after the first run group’s second race.
To make this schedule possible, Sunday will run on a “followed-by” basis. The revised schedule can be viewed at https://www.scca.com/downloads/75406/download.
This means Sunday’s HST event will be packed with excitement as drivers battle to earn trophies and commemorative bottles of Mazza Vineyards sparkling wine. Tune into the HST video broadcast produced by DriversEye Live at the SCCA YouTube channel so you don’t miss a moment of the action. Announcers Brian Bielanski, Tom O’Gorman and Gregg Ginsberg will again supply corner-by-corner commentary, and Sunday victory podium celebrations can be viewed at the SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.
As always, you can also find live HST Timing & Scoring at scca.com/live.
Saturday Race Winners
Below are provisional race winners from the Hoosier Super Tour classes that were able to compete Saturday afternoon at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit. Each entry includes Car Class: Driver Name, SCCA Region, and Car.
B-Spec: Chris Taylor, South Texas Border Region, Mazda 2
E Production: Bill Miller, Kansas City Region, BMW 328is,
F Production: Ken Kannard, Atlanta Region, Acura Integra
H Production: Jesse Prather, Kansas Region, Mazda 2
GT3U: Tony Rivera, San Diego Region, Mazda RX-3
Spec Miata: Logan Stretch, Texas Region, Mazda Miata
Super Touring® Lite: Ryan Gutile, San Francisco Region, Mazda MX-5
Super Touring® Under: David Fiorelli, Texas Region, Ford Mustang
Touring 3: Brian Dombroski, Oklahoma Region, Mazda
Touring 4: Marc Cefalo, Northeastern Pennsylvania Region, Mazda MX-5
Photo: Chris Taylor forged ahead to B-Spec victory at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit Saturday during a Hoosier Super Tour race.
Photo by Tim Turner/Hallett Foto Shoppe
