The past couple Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour (HST) events of 2023 have been a bit moist, to say the least. February’s visit to Buttonwillow Raceway Park saw an unprecedented rainfall, so much so that last-minute adjustments were made to the track configuration. And HST’s March visit to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta left everyone wringing water out of gear.
But it can’t keep raining forever, right? So, with fingers crossed and high hopes, SCCA’s top road racers descended upon VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) April 7-9 for the fifth of 10 HST weekends, this one hosted by SCCA’s North Carolina Region.
VIR’s 3.27-mile, 18-turn circuit is again in play for the weekend. That is the exact same layout used for the 2022 Runoffs, and will be deployed again in 2023 for the upcoming VIR Runoffs in fall. And to further mimic Runoffs conditions from last year, rain just kept falling during Friday qualifying. But on Saturday, things were dry to start the day as racers went out for 25-minute contests.
A Thrilling Start to Saturday: The excitement level cranked up quick Saturday morning thanks to the first race group. In H Production, Mike Ogren grabbed the early lead driving the No. 199 fwdracingguide.com/MO Motorsports Volkswagen Scirocco. But Will Perry stayed right with him in a Honda CRX. In fact, Perry got by Ogren for the lead after a couple laps.
Undeterred, Ogren remained on Perry’s bumper, then retook the lead on lap four. The duo kept dicing throughout the race, skillfully managing traffic until the checkered flag, which Ogren reached first by only .511sec ahead of Perry.
“Will Perry is a heck of a competitor in a really fast car,” Ogren admitted after the race. “We both got a really good start, and ended up scrapping back and forth for a little while.
“This race was about managing traffic,” Ogren continued. “I got a little lucky early on, and Will got lucky late. Then things got real tight. It was a heck of a battle.”
F Production kept things interesting, too, in the first race as Mason Workman jumped to the front early in his Mazda Miata. But a little past the halfway point of the race, Charlie Campbell had the lead in his Mazda Miata.
Unfortunately, Campbell’s car suffered a mechanical issue on the last lap, and it was Cliff Ira who got the victory driving the No. 36 Cliff Ira Motorsports/JPM Honda Civic Del Sol VTEC.
“I felt like we were catching Charlie, and I just kept digging as hard as I could because that’s what I always do,” Ira said after finishing the race. “It just happened to work out this time. I had a great run, and the car was really good.”
Fierce Formula Vee Free-for-All: Anyone who didn’t love Saturday’s Formula Vee race must simply not be a fan of motorsports. There were five or six drivers in the lead pack most of the race, and they were constantly swapping positions in cool conditions.
Jonathan Weisheit was out front for a good chunk of the event in a JK Technologies XP-1 racecar. Stevan Davis and his Vortech were in the mix, too, along with a Scaler Mk 1 driven by Alex Scaler, and a Protoform wheeled by Trevor Carmody. But it was Donnie Isley, who started the last lap fourth in the No. 30 Sleeper Cell Trailer Alarms Agitator 016 car, who made amazing moves and ended up with the win by .072sec over Weisheit.
“I didn’t know what was going to happen on that last lap because I was in fourth place, but it all came together right at the end,” Isley said. “We’ve got some great competitors in Formula Vee. That’s what SCCA racing is all about.”
First Firsts at VIR: Saturday at VIR, at least four drivers won their very first Hoosier Super Tour race. One such winner emerged in the B-Spec class. There, polesitter Steve Introne drove his Mini Cooper off track in turn one at the start, opening the door for Blair Deffenbaugh to assume the lead in the No. 87 RFALS/FasterSkunk/GLOC/Hankook/Me Honda Fit. Then right behind Deffenbaugh was Luke Russell in a Mazda 2 racecar.
Russell managed to take the lead, but Deffenbaugh came right back and retook the position. Then the two diced back and forth at the front for a few laps, with Russell having some issues with his car. In the end, Deffenbaugh emerged victorious for his very first HST win.
“Luke and I pushed and were able to drive away from the field,“ Deffenbaugh said about the early portion of the race. “We were working together. But at some point Luke decided we were near the end of the race and we’re going to start fighting now.
“He could out brake me in turn one, but I had a little more power and could stay even with him. We were scrapping like crazy, having a great race,” an exuberant Deffenbaugh added.
Another first-time winner also emerged in Touring 4 (T4) during the third race group. Just as that field of cars headed out on track, it started to spit rain a bit. Several cars went off track on the first lap, and that left T4 driver Christian Braunlich leading in the No. 83 Braunlich Motorsports/Eckerich Race Engineering/Hawk Mazda RX-8. He then went on to lead every lap along the way to his first HST victory at his very first HST event.
“It was a little hairy,” Braunlich said of track conditions for his race. “This is very exciting for my first Hoosier Super Tour race, and I’m excited for many more to come.”
The Spec Racer Ford Gen3 race, which took place in the rain, also saw a new winner. Bobby Sak was on pole for that event, but sailed out of the lead in turn one on the opening lap. Eventually, S. Sandy Satullo III claimed the lead, but was being hunted by Morgan Burkhard in the No. 02 Dog Gone Racing/CDA/OG Racing/Kids Sea Camp car.
Those two drivers battled it out for the front spot, and Burkhard was out front when a full-course yellow came out and bunched up the 34-car field. However, the race couldn’t be restarted, which gave Burkhard his very first victory at his very first HST race.
“I’m feeling wonderful. This is amazing,” Burkhard said while surrounded by enthusiastic supporters. “I was able to run with Sandy a little bit until he made a mistake in turn one, then I picked him off. Then I got lucky with the full-course yellow right after that.”
Rounding out the list of first-time winners is Clark Cambern, who triumphed in American Sedan driving the No. 78 Bilstein Shocks, Wesley Motorsports Dodge Challenger. Conditions were treacherous during his race, but Cambern skillfully kept the car on course and came home victorious.
“The car drove really well. It’s very controllable in the rain,” Cambern said. “But visibility was terrible. We were running with the McLaren and the Radical, and those things put up so much spray. You just can’t see.”
Sunday’s Schedule: SCCA road racing competition continues Sunday morning from VIR at 8 a.m. Eastern Time with 14-lap or 35-minute events for each of the nine race groups.
Follow the action live, online with the new Hoosier Super Tour enhanced video and audio broadcast. Gregg Ginsberg and Brian Bielanski will be calling the play-by-play action, and DriversEye Live delivers live video from upwards of 12 cameras positioned around the circuit.
Watching the HST VIR broadcast online is simple. Coverage is streamed live at the SCCA YouTube channel and SCCA Facebook page. Post-race video interviews with many winners from Saturday, and Sunday victory podium celebration videos, will be viewable at the SCCA Road Racing Facebook page. And as always, live Timing and Scoring is also available throughout the weekend at www.scca.com/live.
Saturday Race Winners: Below are provisional race winners from Saturday’s Hoosier Super Tour at VIRginia International Raceway with Class: Name, Hometown and Car.
American Sedan: Clark Cambern; Dewitt, MI; Dodge Challenger
B-Spec: Blair Deffenbaugh; Sylva, NC; Honda Fit
E Production: Greg Ira; Fort Lauderdale, FL; BMW Z3
F Production: Cliff Ira; Kansas City, MO; Honda Civic Del Sol VTEC
H Production: Mike Ogren; Dunedin, FL; Volkswagen Scirocco
Formula 600: F Russell Strate Jr.; Alden, NY; QRE F-500 Invader
Formula Atlantic: Jim Booth; Daniel Island, SC; Swift 016 Mazda
Formula Continental®: Michael Varacins; Burlington, WI; Van Diemen
Formula Enterprises® 2: Charles Russell Turner; Montpelier, VA; SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
Formula F: Jonathan Kotyk; Atlantic Beach, FL; Mygale SJ13
Formula Vee: Donnie Isley; Fletcher, NC; Agitator 016
GT-1: Mark Boden; Buffalo Grove, IL; Porsche 992.1 Cup
GT-2: Barry Boes; Austin, TX; Ford Mustang
GT-3: Ray Stephenson; Miami, FL; Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite: Graham Fuller; Summit Point, WV; Honda CRX
GT-X: Jim Booth; Daniel Island, SC; Radical SR-10
Spec Miata: Charles Mactutus; Little Mountain, SC; Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford Gen3: Morgan Burkhard; Charles Town, WV; Spec Racer Ford Gen3
Prototype 1: Chip Romer; Lake Havasu City, AZ; Elan DP02
Prototype 2: Michael Moulton; Wilmington, NC; Stohr WF1
Super Touring Lite: Danny Steyn; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Mazda MX-5 Miata
Super Touring Under: Mark Liller; Bowie, MD; Dodge Neon SRT-4
Touring 1: Scotty B. White; Auburn, WA; Dodge Viper
Touring 2: Scotty B. White; Auburn, WA; Dodge Viper
Touring 3: Rob Hines; Arlington, VA; Nissan 350Z
Touring 4: Christian Braunlich; Fort Mill, SC; Mazda RX-8
Photo: Blair Deffenbaugh, in the No. 87 RFALS/FasterSkunk/GLOC/Hankook/Me Honda Fit, on his way to victory in B-Spec Saturday at the VIR Hoosier Super Tour.
Photo by Jeff Loewe
