It was a wonderful spring Sunday in the Osage Hills of Northeastern Oklahoma as blue skies prevailed all around Hallett Motor Racing Circuit during the second day of Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour (HST) competition in Jennings, OK, at an event hosted by Ark Valley Race Group.
Temperatures were chilly in the low 40s both mornings during the April 23-24, 2023, weekend. But Sunday saw a very pleasant jump into the 60-degree range after 15-minute qualifying sessions opened the day. Conditions were downright perfect all afternoon for competitors across seven run groups during 35-minute or 27-lap races, whichever came first, around the rolling 1.8-mile circuit with 10 turns.
Action Cranks Back Up: Lots of great racing took place Saturday, and Touring 3 (T3) challengers kept that energy going Sunday during the first run group. Multiple lead changes, split amongst three drivers, kept onlookers interested throughout the contest.
At the start, T3‘s Robert Schader took his Nissan 370Z to the front. Hot on his heels were Camden Jones and Bryan Heitman in Mazda MX-5 Global Cup Cars. The shenanigans then began on lap two when Schader dropped to third, moving Jones to first and Heitman to second. Those positions, however, lasted only one lap as Heitman soon led the tenacious team.
It wasn’t long before Jones was back up front with a slight 0.447sec advantage on Heitman. That gap disappeared when Heitman regained the lead, only to be dropped back to the runner-up spot again by Jones at the race’s halfway mark.
Heitman then fell into the clutches of Schader, who had been keeping up with the lead duo. With 10 laps remaining, Schader was within .640sec of Jones. Then on lap 18, he moved around Jones to regain the top spot.
Schader couldn’t keep hold of the lead, and Jones went back by with about six laps remaining driving the No. 30 Velocity Mazda/Castrol/Sparco/BFGoodrich Mazda MX-5 Global Cup Car. He was not challenged again as Schader dropped off the pace. In the end, the winning margin was 20 seconds over runner-up Heitman.
“It was a great race, and we had a lot of fun,” Jones said. “I can’t say enough about Hallett. This track is amazing.”
SRF3 Weekend Breakdown: Just short of 30 entrants, Spec Racer Ford Gen3 (SRF3) had the largest field at Hallett, which was the sixth of 10 HST events on the 2023 schedule. Saturday’s race had David Ogburn on pole, with Denny Stripling alongside at the start.
Saturday’s 25-minute race saw Ogburn and Stripling swap the lead spot for a bit, but it was Stripling in the No. 4 Lightspeed Motorsports SRF3 who eventually emerged victorious.
“I had a little better start than Dave, so I got the lead. But my tires didn’t heat up quickly, so he passed me back,” Stripling said after Saturday’s win. “Dave was all over me … then I was all over him. But I was just a tick quicker than him.”
Come Sunday, starting positions were swapped. Stripling was on pole with Ogburn alongside as the field came to the green flag. Again, Stripling jumped to the front, but he departed the race after a few opening laps. From there, Ogburn was ahead most of the race. Following behind in the breakaway pack were Peyton Long, Richard Stephens and Grayson Strathman.
Everyone watching trackside knew someone had to make a move as laps dwindled. Sure enough, it was lap 22 when Stephens, Ogburn and Long went three-wide into Turn 2 while dealing with traffic. Stephens shot low into the corner, and came out ahead. From there, it was all about defense as he drove the No. 56 Dalrymple Racing Services SRF3 car to victory with a 0.307sec victory margin over Ogburn.
“Honestly, Dave and Peyton were super fast. I was just following and trying to figure out what I could do,” Stephens said while holding his first-place trophy. “Opportunity came my way, and I took it to pass them both.”
Stripling, however, still departed Hallett with two HST first-place trophies. Prior to Sunday’s SRF3 race, he drove the No. 88 BMW M2 to victory in the Touring 2 event.
Only Takes Two: Sunday’s Touring 1 (T1) field was small with only two drivers. But two is all you need for a great race, as proved by Paolo Salvatore and Michael Pettiford.
Salvatore, driving a Ford Mustang FP350S, led a half-dozen laps to start. Then Pettiford, who won Saturday’s T1 race, popped up to the lead for a lap before Salvatore regained the top spot.
A dozen laps into the race, Pettiford showed dominance and took the lead again. But Salvatore came back and was out front with only a few laps remaining. When the checkered flag waived, Pettiford and his No. 41 GO4IT Racing Schools/Hoosier/Hawk/Emich Chevrolet/Forgeline/Phoenix Performance Corvette Z06 was ahead by only 0.532sec over Salvatore.
“Whenever you go against Paolo, you got to bring your ‘A’ game,” Pettiford said. “But whenever you go against me, you got to bring your ‘A’ game. So, we both brought our ‘A’ game. And in Turn 2 just on the last lap, I got him. Another two laps, who knows what would’ve happened. But I’ll take this.”
GT-3 competition Sunday echoed a similar scenario. Opening laps were led by Chris Edens, who won Saturday driving the No. 26 Two-Six Motorsports/Sherwood Tire Pros/Pinnacle Express/G-Loc/Springfield Dyno Mazda MX-5 Turbo. When the seventh lap came around on Sunday, George Walker and his Mazda Miata had the lead.
Edens and Walker, the only two GT-3 competitors at Hallett, hammered along. But it was Edens who ended up sweeping the weekend’s victories.
New Track Records: SCCA road racers keep getting faster. Because of that, new track records are set nearly every HST weekend – as long as Mother Nature plays nice. Sure enough, conditions were perfect for a few competitors to establish new lap records at Hallett.
Touring 4 (T4) entrant Sergio Zlobin won both races in his class during the weekend. On Saturday, he set the new T4 record around Hallett with a 1:25.668 in the No. 18 Hoosier/RPM Motorsports Mazda MX-5 car.
William Coffey won GT-X on Saturday in the No. 97 TrafficGrafix/P2R Racing/Norwood Auto Italia Maserati MC GT4. He was unable to duplicate that feat Sunday, but did turn a lap of 1:18.513 for a new GT-X lap record at Hallett.
B-Spec ace John Phillips had a pretty spectacular weekend in Oklahoma, winning both races in his class driving the No. 43 PhillipsRacePrep/G-LOC/CARS/ECR Toyota Yaris S. He put a cherry on top by turning a 1:32.651 lap Sunday for a new class record at the track.
And finally, Prototype 2 driver Jack Donnellan set a new track record Saturday by posting a 1:15.586 in his No. 60 Quantum Racing Services/Elite Engines Lola B07/90 Mazda.
On to California and Thunderhill Raceway Park: The HST carnival now heads west to Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, CA, for an incredibly special event taking place May 5-7, 2023, hosted by SCCA’s San Francisco Region.
This will be HST’s very first visit to Thunderhill. The weekend will be unique, too, as it includes HST Nationwide Points races on Friday and Saturday, followed by a non-points Western Shootout Championship race Sunday around Thunderhill’s enormous five-mile circuit. Those who perform best across all three days will take home a magnificent trophy for the inaugural Western Shootout Championship. Worker and driver registration is open now for that three-day experience.
Of course, all three days of racing from Thunderhill will be broadcast live, online and for free thanks to the popular Hoosier Super Tour enhanced video and audio package new this year. Before then, relive the Hallett HST weekend with on-demand video playback of the event available in a couple days at the SCCA YouTube channel. Also find post-race video interviews with some Saturday winners, and Sunday victory podium celebration videos, at the SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.
Sunday Race Winners: Below are provisional race winners from Sunday’s Hoosier Super Tour at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit with Class: Name, Hometown and Car. An asterisk (*) denotes drivers with a weekend sweep in the class.
American Sedan: Sam Daniels; Northlake, TX; Chevrolet Camaro
*B-Spec: John Phillips; Sealy, TX; Toyota Yaris S
*E Production: Matt Reynolds; Fair Oaks, TX; Mazda Miata
*F Production: Sam Henry; Republic, MO; Mazda Miata
*H Production: Ralf Lindow; Bellevue, NE; Volkswagen Golf
*Formula 600: Jeff Jorgenson; Manitowoc, WI; Red Devil
*Formula Atlantic: Paul Ravaris; Aledo, TX; Formula Mazda
*Formula Continental®: Robert Henson; Lee's Summit, MO; Van Diemen RF-93
*Formula Enterprises® 2: Gray Fowler; Sun Lakes, AZ ; SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
Formula F: Camryn Reed; Youngsville, LA; Piper DL7
*Formula X: Broch Evans; Austin, TX; Formula Mazda
GT-1: Dane Smith; Fayetteville, AR; Chevrolet Corvette
GT-2: Mark Kirby; Shawnee Mission, KS; Dodge Viper
*GT-3: Chris Edens; Sherwood, AR; Mazda MX-5
GT-X: Ray Ramirez; Houston, TX; McLaren 570s GT4
*Spec Miata: Logan Stretch; Arlington TX; Mazda Miata
Spec Racer Ford Gen3: Richard Stephens; Bixby, OK; Spec Racer Ford Gen3
*Prototype 2: Jack Donnellan; Chickasha, OK; Lola B07/90
Super Touring Lite: Mike Taylor; Cumming, GA; Acura Integra
Super Touring Under: David Fiorelli; Coppell, TX; Ford Mustang
*Touring 1: Michael Pettiford; Louisville, CO; Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Touring 2: Denny Stripling; McKinney, TX; BMW M2
Touring 3: Camden Jones; Tyler, TX; Mazda MX-5
*Touring 4: Sergio Zlobin; Houston, TX; Mazda MX-5
Photo: Michael Pettiford swept Touring 1 at Hallett driving the No. 41 Corvette Z06 during the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour weekend.
Photo by Tim Turner/Hallett Foto Shop
