Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA® Super Tour (HST) action from Buttonwillow Raceway Park (BRP) in California’s Central Valley continued Sunday with races that were either 17 laps or 35 minutes in length for each of the seven run groups.
BRP’s 2.92-mile configuration 25 was used throughout the Feb. 23-25, 2024, event hosted by SCCA’s Cal Club Region. The nearly 150 entrants were treated to wonderful weather all weekend, which was a very pleasant change of pace as compared to waterlogged conditions faced last year.
He Was Robbed
Brian Linn, an SCCA member since 1987, has earned two SCCA National Championships in H Production. He usually runs about five race weekends a year, now in GT-Lite (GTL), to prepare for Runoffs® competition. Last year, however, he didn’t run any races because he was robbed – literally.
Just before things got cranking on his 2023 season, thieves broke into where Linn’s 20-foot enclosed trailer and tow vehicle were stored, and stole both in the dead of night. The remains of his gutted tow vehicle were later found, but the trailer never reappeared.
Thankfully, Linn’s race car and most of his important tools were not swiped. Still, the damage was done. Without a tow vehicle or trailer, Linn was forced to sit out the season.
Linn originally approached the setback as just one of those annoying little moments that occur life. As time ticked on, he realized the loss stung more than he thought it would. Strangers entering your life and taking away your toys, hampering your passion? That just stinks.
“It takes a while to rebound from something like that,” Linn said. “It took a few months to get gathered back up, but I had help from friends and family.”
To remain involved in the sport he loves, Linn volunteered his design skills to create a very colorful “60 Years of H-Production National Champions” poster. Proceeds from poster sales are slated to help with the growth and promotion of H Production, a class still very near and dear to Linn.
With an eye toward the 2024 Runoffs at Road America, Linn was back and in fine form this past weekend at BRP for the annual HST visit. He drove the No. 121 Goodyear/Carbotech/Race for RP/Rebello/LINNspeed/SH Consultants Nissan Sentra SE-R in GTL, and actually won both races over the weekend.
“It feels great to be here, to see friends, and see all the racing family again,” Linn said with a warm grin.
Back in the Saddle
On the topic of getting back on track, Formula 600 (F6) driver Jeff Jorgenson certainly did that this past weekend with the No. 72 CTD Motorsports KBS Mark V sled, a car he first drove at BRP nearly three decades ago. Time spent over the past three days, however, was actually a reunion of man and machine.
The car was sold in 2007 by Jorgenson. Although, he and buddy David Greening just bought it back from the previous owner in California. Jorgenson, who lives in Wisconsin, headed west to pick up the car and haul it back to the Midwest. But if you are going to tow a racecar across the country, why not do some racing with it along the way?
That philosophy explains Jorgenson’s appearance at BRP for the HST weekend. At Jorgenson’s side was longtime friend Carl Wassersleben, who flew from Montana to help with the vehicle he has a long history with, too.
Much was learned about the car’s condition as Jorgenson claimed two first-place trophies during the HST event. The exercise also yielded a new F6 record of 1:59.670 around the circuit. Next will be a discussion with Wassersleben and Greening about running an upcoming SCCA event at Podium Club in Arizona as the car meanders its way back east.
“I got out there on track and it was just like getting back on the horse,” Jorgenson said about driving his old car once again. “But this car hasn’t been running in six years, and there’s a lot of work to do on it. I’m not sure it will make it through another race weekend without some TLC first.”
Vintage racing is probably in the future of this particular car. Jorgenson, however, has plans to be back at some SCCA events later this year with the goal of competing in F6 at Road America for the 2024 Runoffs®.
Saddling Up a New Stallion
Glen McCready, who joined SCCA in 2002, earned victories at more than a few HST races driving a black Mazda MX-5 in E Production (EP) over several years. He was at BRP again this past weekend to have more #funwithcars, but not in the EP class or his usual car. Instead, McCready was competing within the GT-2 (GT2) class behind the steering wheel of a new-to-him 1999 Chevrolet Corvette.
Speaking with McCready in BRP’s paddock while he worked on the new toy, exuberant giggling unabashedly exposed his enthusiasm. With twice the horsepower of his EP Mazda MX-5 – a car he still owns – the No. 4 TC Design/Hoosier Corvette is an inviting challenge. It weighs nearly 1,000 pounds more than the EP car and required the purchase of a bigger enclosed trailer to accommodate the wider stance.
The learning process is very much part of McCready’s enjoyment when it comes to SCCA racing. He likes to build a new car every now and then. The development process being very much part of his #funwithcars adventure within SCCA.
Shifting from EP to GT2, McCready now plays with wing and splitter performance augmentations, as well as ABS enhancements. Still, he said the driving style from EP Mazda to GT2 Corvette has similarities.
“You’d be shocked at how similar the driving is,” McCready said. “It’s still all about corner entry speed in these cars and keeping the speed up. It’s not the ‘point and shoot’ that everyone thinks it is.”
During the HST BRP weekend, Tristan Littlehale won both GT2 races in the No. 08 TC Design Motorsports BMW M3 car. McCready finished sixth on Saturday, and fifth on Sunday. As far as McCready is concerned, those results are exactly part of the process.
“It’ll take me a while to get to the pointy end of the GT-2 field in this thing,” McCready noted. “But I hold the E Production track record at Buttonwillow with a 1:55.492 in the MX-5. In the Corvette, I’ve turned a lap of 1:49.073 with more speed to be found.”
Sunday Race Winners
Below are provisional race winners from Sunday’s Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour at Buttonwillow Raceway Park with Class: Name, Hometown and Car. An asterisk (*) denotes drivers with a weekend sweep in the class.
*American Sedan®: Roger Eagleton; Burlingame, CA; Ford Mustang
*B-Spec: Thomas Lepper; Benicia, CA; Mazda 2
E Production: Brandon Droese; Goleta, CA; Mazda RX-7
*F Production: Steven Powers; Phoenix, AZ; Mazda Miata
*Formula 600: Jeff Jorgenson; Manitowoc WI; KBS Mark V
Formula Continental®: Troy Shooter; Mission Viejo, CA; Van Diemen RF99
*Formula Enterprises®2: Caleb Shrader; Tigard, OR; SCCA Enterprises FE2 Mazda
Formula F: Ayrton Cahan; Santa Fe, NM; Van Diemen RF00
*Formula Vee®: Marjorie Lundberg; Beaverton, OR; Caracal C1
*GT-2: Tristan Littlehale; San Jose, CA; BMW M3
*GT-3: Michael Lewis; Poway, CA; Mazda RX-7
*GT-Lite: Brian Linn; Hermosa Beach, CA; Nissan Sentra SE-R
*GT-X: Robert B. Yallen; Woodland Hills, CA; Ligier LMP3-315
*Spec Miata: Wyatt Couch; El Dorado Hills, CA; Mazda Miata
Spec MX-5: Dave Tooker; Concord, CA; Mazda MX-5
*Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: John Black; Olympic Valley, CA; SCCA Enterprises SRF3
Prototype 1: Jim Devenport; Alamo, CA; Elan DP02
*Prototype 2: Tim Day; Scottsdale, AZ; Stohr WF1
*Super Touring® Lite: Ryan Gutile; Madera, CA; Mazda MX-5
*Super Touring® Under: Rylan Hazelton; Soquel, CA; Honda S2000
*Touring 1: Don Van Nortwick; Las Vegas, NV; Ford Mustang S550
*Touring 2: Roger Eagleton; Burlingame, CA; Ford Mustang
Touring 3: Sean Lovett; Petaluma, CA; BMW E46
*Touring 4: Izzy Sanchez; San Jose, CA; Toyota FR-S
HST Headed Back East
The next stop on HST’s 10-event calendar is Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Driver and worker registration is open for that event taking place March 8-10, 2024, in Braselton, GA. SCCA’s Atlanta Region will be hosting that weekend.
Action from Road Atlanta will be presented live, online and for free thanks to the popular Hoosier Super Tour broadcast. Before then, the BRP weekend can be revisited with on-demand video playback available in a few days at the SCCA YouTube channel. Also find post-race video interviews with some BRP Saturday winners, and Sunday victory podium celebration videos, at the SCCA Road Racing Facebook page.