2024 scca runoffs at track update

[Speed Sport Engineering]

Runoffs update:

First and most importantly, we're all concerned about our friends and families in the south east affected by the hurricane. Some of our FC and SCCA family were directly affected. Those of us lucky enough to be here have everyone in our thoughts.

The weather at road america has been stellar since load in day on Friday, 70 degrees and nothing but blue sky to highlight the colorful scenery around this magnificent place. Those who could have made it, but chose not to are really missing out on an amazing place and event. I don't ever want to leave if it stays like this. Walking around the paddock tonight there are campfires everywhere and a canvas of stars above. The Racing is just part of the fun.

Speaking of the Racing, it's been a busy few days for everyone. Testing saw a few destroyed motors. Dean lost one early on Saturday, and after a late night road trip was able to find a borrowed motor and made it back out for the last session on Sunday.

Hartley was not so lucky, and after scrambling to find a loaner engine he discovered the subframe was not strong enough to contain the flying engine debris, so without a new subframe he decided his week would be more enjoyable as a spectator.

John LaRue had a family emergency and quickly left this morning, leaving a much smaller but still potent field for today's qualifying.

Tim minor continued to show the speed he had during testing and is holding the provisional pole. Being the last session of the day there wasn't much time to catch up with everyone to hear more details.

But the track temp today was cool, as it was a late 5:15 setting sun with rapidly dropping temps. Tomorrow we're a bit earlier, and with a slightly warmer forecast, look for some fast times tomorrow.

[R. Pare]

Runoffs update:
John LaRue had a family emergency and quickly left this morning, leaving a much smaller but still potent field for today's qualifying.

First off, good luck to everyone there in having safe and fun races!

Larue's older brother is in a bad state, so he left early, arrived home early this morning, and I took him to the airport at about 9:30 this morning for their flight down to Florida.

Keep his brother in your thoughts if you can.

[Speed Sport Engineering]

Runoffs update 2:

Another beautiful day at road america. Not much to update today but i wanted to draw attention to an FC hero, Hartley Macdonald. If anyone deserves some recognition for their efforts in helping FC entries, he earned it this week. Being a Florida resident, his travel plans were in chaos to get here due to the hurricane. But he found a way to get here, only to have his engine gernade into many tiny pieces on Sunday. Undetered and after scrambling to find a loaner engine and doing the work to remove the old one, he discovered the subframe was destroyed beyond use. Not wanting to give up and knowing how important the entry was to the class, he managed to find a last minute rental car. After thrashing all day to get the car here, get fitted, get an annual tech done, get the paperwork work scca done, get the Flagtronics system installed, ect, he was hit by an overly ambitious FA in turn 5 and did considerable damage... rear corner, gearbox, bodywork, ect. FA admitted fault. Talk about hard luck. When you see him thank him for his efforts.

Same with rock Beauchamp, who has been struggling keeping his pinto running at full song but is not giving up.

Our session today was shortened to 12 minutes due to a lengthy cleanup from an SM incident earlier. Wishing those involved a quick recovery.

[stonebridge20]

What a heartbreak for Tim. Absolutely gut wrenching.

Congratulations to Michael on a well deserved win. The guy puts in the work and that's what it takes to be on the top step of the Runoffs podium 8 times and in two different classes.

[Purple Frog]

Tim's stub axle broke. Ouch.

I was surprised they didn't have a green-white-checker seeing how fast they cleared Johnson earlier.

[E1pix]

I reluctantly admit to being more disappointed than surprised.

There was plenty of time to lift and tow to 3, IMHO. (Almost) Everyone wants to go to the Checker if at all possible.

Great race regardless.

Sincerest Congrats to Michael and Al, your challenging transition came good — and at Home. This couple from Oconomowoc is really happy for you all.

Wonderful job.

We were also happy to cheer on Rock at his first Runoffs. What a realization to finally be there, hope you had a blast.

Hated to see Tim go out that way…

[rockbeau25]

I reluctantly admit to being more disappointed than surprised.

There was plenty of time to lift and tow to 3, IMHO. (Almost) Everyone wants to go to the Checker if at all possible.

Great race regardless.

Sincerest Congrats to Michael and Al, your challenging transition came good — and at Home. This couple from Oconomowoc is really happy for you all.

Wonderful job.

The drivers I talked to in impound were wondering the same thing. It also seemed like Bill Johnson’s mechanical issue could have stayed a local yellow. We did one lap of local yellow, and by the time it went FCY and we got to T8 again that incident was completely clear.

None of that is to take away from the awesome race Michael drove. I know he’s been chipping away at this for years, so to finally get the monkey off his back and win an FC championship is huge. Congrats Michael!

I had the week (and season) from hell so to end up in impound is nothing short of a miracle. My starter went out between warming up the car and the race. I was ready to climb out and watch from the sidelines before we tried a bump start (which we’ve never been able to successfully do with this car for some reason) but by some stroke of luck it worked today. I had to bump start it multiple times on the way to grid due to a very slow flat tow happening in front of me and then leave it running on grid.

I cannot say enough about the FC community. We dealt with engine issues from the moment it rolled out of the trailer. Most, if not all, of the FC drivers came over to offer help. A special thank you to Mark Bruggink, who spent many hours and late nights at our paddock helping trouble shoot, lending parts, and getting me back in the right direction just out of the kindness of his heart. The issues weren’t ever completely resolved (engine rebuild on the way) but from where we rolled out on Monday to where we were today was a night and day difference thanks to him. Racing needs more people like Mark. Also a special thank you to my dad (Mike B) who spent many late nights and long weekends prepping the car with me and developing some whizzy new parts.

FC also needs more people like Hartley MacDonald, who has poured his heart and soul into this class this year. I hope he has a change of heart and continues racing.

Don’t let the car count deceive you, this was a quality field, and FC is the place to be.

[E1pix]

Thanks Rock — and note I expanded after you quoted me… :-)

Great post. I’d love few things more than seeing more FC cars.

[John LaRue]

It was a great race to watch; I’m sure much better to have run. Congratulations to Tim on a great season that just fell short. Congratulations to Michael and his father on a great season and likely his first of many FC National Championships! Further congratulations to all of the FC competitors at Runoffs for making it a great show. Rob knocked the rust off pretty quickly and showed he hasn’t lost his fast ball. Bill Johnson found speed and is a definite contender. It is up to each of us to support the class and keep up the numbers. Let’s focus on making 2025 an even greater success! John

[Purple Frog]

You have to just feel the pain for Chris Scharnow. First he missed the Runoffs because of hurricane Helene. He has spent all week cleaning out his home. And now, Hurricane Milton is expected to hit his neighborhood this Wednesday morning.

[John LaRue]

You have to just feel the pain for Chris Scharnow. First he missed the Runoffs because of hurricane Helene. He has spent all week cleaning out his home. And now, Hurricane Milton is expected to hit his neighborhood this Wednesday morning.

Absolutely. We are sitting in Naples waiting and watching; this sure isn't Indiana!

[stonebridge20]

Absolutely. We are sitting in Naples waiting and watching; this sure isn't Indiana!

It's going to get frisky in Naples Wednesday with 110mph wind.
I really hope my house is still standing on Thursday.