Editor’s Note: We’d like to extend a warm welcome to the newest member of the OpenPaddock band of misfits, Josh Tons. Josh is the manager of Poor Boys Racing, a rally team out of St. Louis running in select Rally America and regional rallies in the Midwest. Josh is also an accomplished motorsports photographer, owner of Josh Tons Photography, covering many of the events held at Gateway Motorsports Park. Moving forward, Josh will be photographing many of the SCCA, Grand-Am, and rally events around the MidWest. During rally events, he will also be giving us reports from a rally team’s perspective. We’re happy to have Josh on board and we hope you enjoy his photography and writing as much as we do.
The SCCA US Double Majors Tour wrapped up the 2013 season with an event Saturday and Sunday at Gateway Motorsports Park. Seven groups of racers fought door to door in a combined meet for the Mid-States and Northern conferences. The doubleheader weekend began with seven group qualifying sessions on Saturday morning, followed by 28-lap feature races at the seven turn, 1.65-mile road course. Saturday’s races, followed by Sunday’s battles, were the last remaining point scoring opportunities in the season-long title hunts. Each group was given a 10-lap qualifying session both days, with the finishing order determining grid position in the 28-lap feature races each afternoon.
Saturday’s action began with Group 1 and the battle for the Touring 3 class win as Tommy Boileau’s No. 43 BimmerHaus BMW Z4 battled with Mike Kramer’s No. 16 BFGoodrich Tires Saturn ION for the class lead. Boileau took pole in qualifying and never looked back, stretching out a substantial lead on his way to taking the checkered flag. Greg Vandersluis, in the No. 93 Carbotech Ford Mustang took home the win in Touring 4 while Bob Schader, in the No. 5 Hoosier Tires Mazda Miata took home the win in Super Touring Lites. Sunday’s action with Bob Schader in the No. 5 Hoosier Tires Mazda Miata taking the overall win, Tommy Boileau in the No. 43 BimmerHaus BMW Z4 clinched the Touring 3 title. While Greg Vandersluis, in the No. 93 Carbotech Ford Mustang took home the win in Touring 4.
Group 2 began with Denny Stripling taking the Spec Racer Ford win by over four seconds in his No. 4 Lightspeed Motorsports SRF, on Saturday. A lap four accidents wiped out five cars, including the No. 69 Apex Driving Academy machine of Mid-States leader Keith Verges. This DNF for Verges put his title in danger and required him to place at least 14th in order to maintain his championship hopes. Denny Stripling established a four second lead for the second consecutive day to take home the Spec Racer Ford on Sunday in his No. 4 Lightspeed Motorsports SRF.
Saturday’s Group 3 action consisted of Eric Prill’s F Production No. 7 Jesse Prather Motorsports Mazda Miata beating Bill Allman’s E Production No. 28 CarStar RX7 in an interclass battle for the overall lead. Allman took an early lead, but after making the pass for the lead, Prill quickly stretched out a win. The H Production race was a two-car battle between the No. 3 Hoosier Volkwagen GTI of Chris Albin and the No. 87 ReK Racing Triumph Spitfire of Aaron Johnson. The battle continued throughout the race until a spin in turn two on lap 20 by Johnson gave Albin the lead and the victory. Sunday’s race concluded with Jim Daniels’ No. 86 MazdaRacers.com Mazda Miata cruising to a dominating overall and E Production victory. Behind him, Sam Henry pushed his F Production No. 37 Springfield Dyno Mazda Miata past the checkered flag for the class win.
Group 4’s Saturday race began with Jimmy Simpson in his No. 27 RacePro Marketing Swift/Toyota Formula Atlantic powering away from Jacek Mucha’s No. 01 Swift 016/Mazda at the drop of the green flag. Simpson took the lead and never looked back as his dominance throughout the race lead him to victory. Sunday’s race found Jimmy Simpson starting from the rear of the field after the gear shift lever in the No. 27 RacePro Marketing Swift/Toyota broke off in his hand on the opening lap of qualifying. Simpson only needed laps to work his way through the field and into first and eventually the win.
Group 5 began its Saturday race with an overall group win by Michael Lewis in his No. 57 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Phillip Smith took the American Standard class win, withTodd Napieralski taking home the Touring 1 win and Natha Wakldbaum taking the win in Touring 2. Sunday’s action began as Todd Napieralski drove to Touring 1 and overall victory, completing a weekend sweep in the No. 3 Total Performance Racing Chevrolet Camaro. Keith Moody drove his No. 01 Bo-Daddy Shrimp Chevrolet Monte Carlo to two GT-2 wins at Gateway while Natha Waldbaum swept the weekend in her No. 5 Hutter Performance Chevrolet Corvette to earn her Touring 2 title. Chad Bacon swept the event in GT-3 with a pair of wins in the No. 18 FedEx Ground Toyota Celica.
Group 6 began Saturday as Jim Drago piloted his No. 2 East Street Racing Mazda Miata to a win in Spec Miata, Erik Stearns’ No. 97 East Street Racing Miata finished second to Drago, with Bruce Andersen’s No. 17 Senson Racing Grp Miata finishing third. Drago would have to earn an eighth place finish on Sunday in order to take the crown in the Mid-States. Sunday’s race was nearly identical to Saturday’s as Drago took the win with Stearn finishing in second.
Group 7 Saturday race began as Cliff Johnson pulled away from the field after a red flag on a lap four incident to take the Formula F win in his No. 4 Alpine Litho-Graphics Piper DF-5. The battle for the final podium spots began at the drop of the green and lasted throughout the entire race, with Bill Kephart, Lewis and David Livingston each spending time in the second and third slots. Kephart finished as the runner-up in the No. 37 Vestial 10F, with Lewis’ No. 77 Red Line Oil Vestial finishing third. Bill Johnson took an early lead in the Formula Vee race in his No. 42 Portable Work Tools Volkswagen. However in the final laps, Brad Stout in his No. 35 ACI Distributors VW closed the gap and moved to the lead with eight to go. Once in front, Stout kept Johnson at bay to take the win. Sunday’s race saw CJ McAbee drive his No. 1 AJ’s Import GarageRotax to the overall win. After a black flag due to a Formula 500 hitting the wall in turn one, Cliff Johnson piloted his Formula F No. 4 Alpine Litho-Graphics Piper DF-5 to a class win, while Bill Johnson, driving his Formula Vee No. 42 Portable Work Tools Volkswagen, took home the win.
Saturday’s Provisional Winners |
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Class |
Name |
Hometown |
State |
Car |
American Sedan |
Philip Smith |
New Albany |
Ohio |
Chevrolet Camaro |
B-Spec |
Mike Asselta |
Overland Park |
Kan. |
Mini Cooper |
D Sports Racing |
Richard Colburn |
Northbrook |
Ill. |
NosTendo 2 |
E Production |
Bill Allman |
Topeka |
Kan. |
Mazda RX-7 |
F Production |
Eric Prill |
Topeka |
Kan. |
Mazda Miata |
H Production |
Chris Albin |
Maryland Heights |
Mo. |
Volkswagen GTI |
GT-1 |
Michael Lewis |
Poway |
Calif. |
Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
GT-2 |
Keith Moody |
Harrisonville |
Mo. |
Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
GT-3 |
Chad Bacon |
Kingsport |
Tenn. |
Toyota Celica |
GT-Lite |
Steve Sargis |
Frankfort |
Ill. |
Triumph Spitfire |
Formula 500 |
William Cobb |
Cambridge |
Wis. |
CNB Milton Bana |
Formula Atlantic |
Jimmy Simpson |
Indianapolis |
Ind. |
Swift 016a/Toyota |
Formula Continental |
Robert Allaer |
Lithia |
Fla. |
Van Diemen RF02 |
Formula Enterprises |
Henry Donohoo |
Arvada |
Colo. |
Formula Enterprises/Mazda |
Formula F |
Cliff Johnson |
Stilwell |
Kan. |
Piper DF-5 |
Formula Mazda |
Alan McCallum |
Houston |
Texas |
Formula Mazda |
Formula Vee |
Brad Stout |
St. Charles |
Mo. |
Vortech/VW |
Spec Miata |
Jim Drago |
Memphis |
Tenn. |
Mazda Miata |
Spec Racer Ford |
Denny Stripling |
McKinney |
Texas |
Spec Racer Ford |
Sports 2000 |
Rob Sherwood |
Saint Louis |
Mo. |
Carbir CS2/Ford |
Super Touring Lite |
Bruce Andersen |
Sarasota |
Fla. |
Mazda Miata |
Super Touring Under |
Tom Kraft |
Des Moines |
Iowa |
Mazda Miata |
Touring 1 |
Todd Napieralski |
Chelsea |
Mich. |
Chevrolet Camaro |
Touring 2 |
Natha Waldbaum |
Omaha |
Neb. |
Chevrolet Corvette |
Touring 3 |
Tommy Boileau |
Monument |
Colo. |
BMW Z4 |
Touring 4 |
Greg Vandersluis |
North Olmsted |
Ohio |
Ford Mustang |
Sunday’s Provisional Winners |
||||
Class |
Name |
Hometown |
State |
Car |
American Sedan |
Philip Smith |
New Albany |
Ohio |
Chevrolet Camaro |
D Sports Racing |
Richard Colburn |
Northbrook |
Ill. |
NosTendo 2 |
E Production |
Jim Daniels |
Memphis |
Tenn. |
Mazda Miata |
F Production |
Sam Henry |
Republic |
Mo. |
Mazda Miata |
H Production |
Chris Albin |
Maryland Heights |
Mo. |
Volkswagen GTI |
GT-1 |
Michael Major |
Collinsville |
Ill. |
Chevrolet Camaro |
GT-2 |
Keith Moody |
Harrisonville |
Mo. |
Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
GT-3 |
Chad Bacon |
Kingsport |
Tenn. |
Toyota Celica |
GT-Lite |
Peter Zekert |
Maryland Heights |
Mo. |
Nissan 200SX |
Formula 500 |
CJ McAbee |
Topeka |
Kan. |
AJ’s 2012/Rotax |
Formula Atlantic |
Jimmy Simpson |
Indianapolis |
Ind. |
Swift 016a/Toyota |
Formula Continental |
Jim Victor |
Davenport |
Iowa |
Firman RFR/Ford |
Formula Enterprises |
Henry Donohoo |
Arvada |
Colo. |
Formula Enterprises/Mazda |
Formula F |
Cliff Johnson |
Stilwell |
Kan. |
Piper DF-5 |
Formula Mazda |
Alan McCallum |
Houston |
Texas |
Formula Mazda |
Formula Vee |
Bill Johnson |
Leawood |
Kan. |
Vortech/VW |
Spec Miata |
Jim Drago |
Memphis |
Tenn. |
Mazda Miata |
Spec Racer Ford |
Denny Stripling |
McKinney |
Texas |
Spec Racer Ford |
Sports 2000 |
Rob Sherwood |
Saint Louis |
Mo. |
Carbir CS2/Ford |
Super Touring Lite |
Bob Schader |
Longmont |
Colo. |
Mazda Miata |
Super Touring Under |
Tom Kraft |
Des Moines |
Iowa |
Mazda Miata |
Touring 1 |
Todd Napieralski |
Chelsea |
Mich. |
Chevrolet Camaro |
Touring 2 |
Natha Waldbaum |
Omaha |
Neb. |
Chevrolet Corvette |
Touring 3 |
Tommy Boileau |
Monument |
Colo. |
BMW Z4 |
Touring 4 |
Greg Vandersluis |
North Olmsted |
Ohio |
Ford Mustang |