Competition Sunday at Road America brought to a close the 65th running of the WeatherTech Chicago Region® June Sprints®, part of this year’s Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour. With two days of intense battles completed, SCCA road racers now have an idea who should be considered “favorites” to bring home a National Championship this fall as the Runoffs® return in October to Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Big Time: There were nearly 480 entries at this year’s June Sprints, and more than 120 of those entries participated in Spec Racer Ford Gen3 (SRF3) and Spec Miata (SM) races. It was Brian Schofield, in the No. 61 PM Racing SRF3, who claimed victory Saturday over the 60-car field. On Sunday, Schofield did it again, but not without pressure from folks like Scott Rettich, John Black, Bobby Sak, Denny Stripling and TJ Acker, who led a great deal of Sunday’s 13-lap race. But Schofield was able to eke it out on the last lap for the win.
“I sat for 12 laps right underneath TJ. I just waited until the last lap,” Schofield said about his race. “The car is phenomenal here at Road America.”
The SM class saw two different winners over the weekend for the 60 competitors in that group. Saturday’s race had teammates Jim Drago and Preston Pardus hook up and decide the race amongst themselves, with Pardus coming out ahead in the No. 32 Danus Utilities/East Street Racing/5x Racing/ PR Mazda Miata. On Sunday, Pardus and Drago looked as if they were going to duplicate their performance from the previous day, but Kyle Greenhill threw a wrench in that plan. He managed to split Pardus and Drago on several occasions, which also gave Chris Haldeman and Danny Steyn a chance to mix it up for the lead.
As the last lap opened, it was still anyone’s race for the front five. Drivers moved around and tried to gain whatever advantage possible, but it was Drago in the No. 2 East Street Racing/G-Loc Brakes Mazda Miata who was best at that chess game and came home the winner.
“Preston and I thought things were going the way we planned. But all of a sudden, Kyle didn’t like the way we were doing it and he got in between us,” Drago joked after the race. “I kept putting myself in a really bad spot. I was in prime drafting area where the guys could just pull right up on me. I was just praying they’d push me rather than go around me. And they usually did, and things worked out.
Sweeping the June Sprints: Looking ahead towards the Runoffs at Road America in October, those drivers who swept class wins Saturday and Sunday at the June Sprints should be noted. Let’s start with Touring 3’s Jason Ott in the No. 99 Apex Motorsport/Hoosier/BimmerWorld/BimmerHaus BMW Z4 M. Touring 1 was won both days by the No. 3 Van Winkle Baten/Priority/Hoosier Chevrolet Camaro of Bill Baten, and Touring 4 driver Michael Borden’s No. 42 Coinigy/Advanced Autosports MX-5 Mazda was undefeated on the weekend.
David Fiorelli won both days in Super Touring® Under driving the No. 190 Subaru BRZ, and Joe Moser did the same in Super Touring® Lite with his new No. 36 Hoosier/King Motorsports Honda CRX SI.
With two wins on the weekend, E Production’s Jesse Prather looked strong in the No. 34 Prather Motorsports/ Hoosier/Carbotech BMW Z3, as did GT-1 ace Tony Ave in the growling No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette. Tim Day Jr. swept. Prototype 2 in the No. 8 Mere Mortal Apparel/George Dean Racing Engines Stohr WF1, and Richard Zober did the same in Formula Atlantic piloting the No. 66 Zober Industries Swift 016a Mazda.
And while not a class eligible for Runoffs competition in 2020, GT-X still provided intrigue during both June Sprints races won by Luke Lange in the No. 61 CB Motorsports/Brian Herta Auto Sport Hyundai Veloster.
Tripled Up: Mark Boden was the winningest man at this year’s June Sprints. Driving the No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports Porsche 991.2 Cup car, he swept the GT-2 class. On Sunday, he miraculously took a Touring 2 (T2) win in the No. 180 Fall-Line Motorsports Porsche 996 after starting at the back of the field as a result of a car switch. With tremendous skill and patience, Boden carved his way to the front. Then he encountered Fall-Line Motorsports teammate Alan Kossof, who put up a tremendous and entertaining fight for the T2 lead before finishing in the runner-up spot.
“This was a great weekend,” Boden said. “Thanks so much to the SCCA and Hoosier for putting on a great event. And all the workers and SCCA, thanks for what you all do. This is a big family.”
Winning Comments: Want to hear directly from those who claimed victory during two days of racing at the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour WeatherTech Chicago Region June Sprints at Road America? Then check out a whole host of post-race winner interview videos found here.
Mid-Ohio Next for Competitors: Moving from the parklike setting of Road America to the lush, rolling hills of Central Ohio, the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour’s next race weekend is July 17-19 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. That event will be the sixth of eight weekends now part of this year’s adjusted Hoosier Super Tour schedule.
Sunday Winners: Below are provisional race results from Sunday’s Hoosier SCCA Super Tour WeatherTech Chicago Region June Sprints at Road America with Class: Name, Hometown, Region and Car.
American Sedan®: Andrew McDermid; Howell, MI; Milwaukee Region; Ford Mustang
B-Spec: Fritz Wilke; Chelsea, MI; Detroit Region; Ford Fiesta
E Production: Jesse Prather; Topeka, KS; Kansas Region; BMW Z3
F Production: Eric Prill; Topeka, KS; Kansas Region; Mazda Miata
H Production: Christopher Schaafsma; Wheaton, IL; Chicago Region; Volkswagen Golf GTI
Formula 500: Eric McRee; Lapeer, MI; Detroit Region; NovaRace Blade
Formula Atlantic®: Richard Zober; Croydon, PA; Philadelphia Region; Swift 016a Mazda
Formula Continental®: Christopher Miller; Minneapolis, MN; Land O'Lakes Region; Van Diemen Zetec
Formula Enterprises 2: Max Grau; Port Byron, IL; Great River Region; FE2/Mazda
Formula F: Simon Sikes; Martinez, GA; Atlanta Region; Mygale SJ12
Formula Vee®: Hunter Phelps-Barron; Garland, TX; Texas Region; Mysterian M4
Formula X: Jason Vinkemulder; Spring Lake, MI; Milwaukee Region; Star Mazda
GT-1: Tony Ave; Maiden, NC; Central Carolinas Region; Chevrolet Corvette
GT-2: Mark Boden; Buffalo Grove, IL; Chicago Region; Porsche 991.2 Cup
GT-3: George Cichon; Caledonia IL; Blackhawk Valley Region; Mazda RX-7
GT-X: Luke Lange; Dallas, TX; Texas Region; Hyundai Veloster
GT-Lite: Christopher Bovis; Lawrence, KS; Chicago Region; Honda CRX SI
Prototype 1: Chip Romer; Lake Havasu City, AZ; Las Vegas Region; Elan DP02
Prototype 2: Tim Day Jr.; Scottsdale, AZ; San Francisco Region; Stohr WF1
Prototype X: Judd Miller; Katy, TX; Houston Region; Radical PX
Spec Miata: Jim Drago; Memphis, TN; Mid South Region; Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford 3: Brian Schofield; Lakeland, FL; Central Florida Region; SRF3
Super Touring® Lite: Joe Moser; Wilmette, IL; Detroit Region; Honda CRX SI
Super Touring® Under: David Fiorelli; Coppell, TX; Texas Region; Subaru BRZ
Touring 1: Bill Baten; Carmel, IN; Indianapolis Region; Chevrolet Camaro
Touring 2: Mark Boden; Buffalo Grove, IL; Chicago Region; Porsche 996
Touring 3: Jason Ott; Littleton, CO; Colorado Region; BMW Z4 M
Touring 4: Michael Borden; Greenfield, WI; Milwaukee Region; Mazda MX-5
Photo: Jim Drago (No. 2) leads a tight Spec Miata field on his way to victory Sunday during the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour WeatherTech Chicago Region June Sprints at Road America.
Photo Credit: Mark Weber
