H Production Runoffs 2024 Preview
The 60th anniversary of the SCCA Runoffs is coming up,
September 28 to October 6 at Road America. This is a special year for HP competitors. Only four classes have run continuously from the first Runoffs in 1964 at Riverside; E and F Production, Formula Vee and
H Production.
The HP field this year stands at 21 cars as of this writing and is stout from front to back.
One thing is for sure this year, there will not be a three-in-a-row national champion as
Chris Schaafsma has withdrawn his VW Jetta. Chris said “My younger son is playing his last season of varsity football, and there’s no way I can make his game against their crosstown rival with a Friday afternoon race. We had everything on track to run the Kettle at Road America two weeks after the HPI when I made the decision.”
So with Schaafsma out of the running, who will lead the H Prod pack? There are some obvious answers.
Chuck Mathis has emerged as a favorite to win in his first season of H Prod with the former G Prod Championship winning VW Rabbit. Chuck has gone faster every session this summer, and has Major race wins at Blackhawk Farms and Road America. The motor in his Rabbit has had a lot of development and may have the edge in a drag race up the hill from turn 14.
Jesse Prather’s Mazda 2 is one of the most modern cars in the class from an aerodynamic and engine architecture view. If winning both ends of the June Sprints wasn’t enough, Jesse has a new motor in his car for the Runoffs. His Runoffs strategy is “Execute with the same plan as I used through the year.” That plan produced wins at the Hallet and Ozarks Majors this year.
Back on his home track, 3-time HP National Champion and 2024 Super Tour Champion,
Steve Sargis will be looking for a fourth win in his Triumph Spitfire. Steve holds the current lap record at 2:38.855, set last year and seems to find more speed in his Spitfire every season.
After a few years off,
Matt Brannon is back with a splash in his Fiat X 1/9. Brannon had the speed to run with Chuck Mathis all day at HPI Sunday race. Both Matt and Braydon Connolly are refreshing the drivelines in their Fiats in preparation for the Runoffs. Matt is also thinking about a cold weather strategy if temperatures take a dive in early October Wisconsin.
Northern Conference HP Champ
Gregory Gauper, has been putting in strong season in his Civic, including a third place at the recent Cat Majors at Road America. Greg has finished on the podium three times when the Runoffs have been at Road America, winning in 2011. He knows his way around the place as much as anyone.
Bill Trainer’s Mk2 Scirocco always seems to have the fastest trap speed and he finished second the last time the Runoffs were at RA. “My best Runoff results have been at RA, my favorite track. I have a new engine for the event and have the car in the best shape it has been in for quite a while. Looking forward to the event!” says Bill.
Ralf Lindow is picked by Prather to be one of the front running VWs. Ralf says, “It's been four years since I've been to Road America. Had a great race last time. Some new fast cars have entered this year, so hoping to be in the mix to end up in impound again. Have made some improvements in the car since then, so theoretically should be faster.”
Vesa Silegren and his Honda CRX, the 2019 HP Champion, will arrive at RA second in the Super Tour and South East standings that includes two wins at Road Atlanta.
The fastest improving HP car this year has been
Rob Bax’s MINI Cooper. At Road America Rob scored a fourth at the June Sprints and a third at the CAT Majors. Rob said, “I’m chipping away at small improvements/upgrades and getting some additional weight out of the car. I feel there’s a solid top ten finish in the car but do expect it to be a tough field well beyond the top ten!”
Brayden Connolly, who is the youngest driver entered, is in the sister X 1/9 to Matt Brannon. He took a second and a third in a stacked field at the HPI race.
Vincent LaManna in his Rabbit has been running with the front pack at races this year and has two wins at the Watkins Glen Super Tour. “Only second time ever racing there, previously in my S2, it’s my first Runoffs with the 1.8L engine and Goodyear tires” commented Vince.
Chris Albin, sixth in Super Tour standings has been overwhelmed by a work schedule that has left little time for car prep. “I'll doing the best I can to get the car ready but I don't think it'll be on par with what it should be. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody at the event though.” said Chris.
After running against many VWs, Jesse Prather coined the name “Mid-west VW Mafia”. The group includes Schaafsma, Mathis, Lindow, Albin,Trainer and
Angus Crome. Angus brings his Mk2 Golf powered by a Chuck Mathis built and Andy Whittle tuned engine to his home track.
We will have three cars in the Sprite brigade.
Kendall Jones has been quick this year, but is “mainly looking for a finish” at RA.
Michael Miller is the South East Conference HP champ with three race wins to his credit. Colorado’s
Jerry Oleson is the Mid States Conference champion and wins the ‘Longest Tow’ award by 43 miles over Texan Paul Evans.
Tom Broring is the North East Conference Champion. The question about him is ‘Will he drive his Spitfire or his wife Carolyn’s Rabbit?’
Paul Evans, the only Datsun 510 entered, is the Southern Conference Champion with two wins at Eagles Canyon and two second place podiums from the NOLA Super Tour.
The husband and wife team of
Leanna and
Andrew Wright will bring Andrew’s Spitfire and Leanna’s MINI, which earned three podiums this season.
My own Mk1 VW Scirocco is the only VW running a 1.6 engine at the Runoffs, so we will see how it gets up the hill and into Canada Corner. I had a good season qualifying via the Divisional Path, finishing second in the Great Lakes Division. My last time at Road America was in 1990, but I have been putting laps in on iRacing. With an overall field this strong, I’ll be pleased to crack the top 15.
Safe drives everyone. I look forward to sharing a beer with you in two weeks.
Like all SCCA Majors and Regional races, this event counts towards the 2024 H Production Nationwide Points Championship, presented by the Ignition Speed Shop.
