SCCA National Championship Runoffs

GT1
GT1 and Formula Ford racing action at the 2009 SCCA Runoffs

The SCCA National Championship Runoffs is the end-of-year championship race meeting for Sports Car Club of America Club Racing competitors. Divisional champions and other top drivers from the SCCA's 116 regions are invited to participate at the Runoffs. National championships are awarded to the winners of each class.

History

The American Road Race of Champions (ARRC) began in 1964, as a non-championship round of the SCCA National Sports Car Championship. In 1965 the series was abolished, and national championships were awarded to each regional champion. The champions and other top drivers were invited to the ARRC. Beginning in 1966, only the winners at the ARRC were named national champions.[1] In 1973, the event's name changed to the Champion Spark Plug Road Racing Classic.[2] Valvoline became the primary sponsor in 1985, and the race became known as the Runoffs in 1987.[3]

Sites

For the first six years, the event alternated between Riverside International Raceway on the west coast and Daytona International Speedway on the east coast. The race found a permanent home at Road Atlanta in 1970, staying there until the track's bankruptcy in 1993. The Runoffs moved to Mid-Ohio from 1994 until 2005, then to Heartland Park Topeka from 2006 until 2008. The event moved to Road America in 2009 and was held there through 2013.[4] In July 2013, the SCCA announced, in a break from tradition, that the Runoffs would rotate to three tracks over the next three years. First up in 2014 was a return to the west coast and first time visit to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, which became just the seventh track to host the Runoffs. The event will then alternate to the east coast in 2015 to visit Daytona International Speedway for the first time since 1969 before heading back to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2016.[5] For 2017, the Runoffs will be held on the combined road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[6]

Deadly accidents

Year Driver Track Class Car
1964 United States Jim Ladd Riverside International Raceway D Production Austin-Healey 3000
1989 United States Scott Liebler Road Atlanta Formula Atlantic Martini Mk. 53

Race tracks

Track Location Years
Riverside International Raceway Riverside, California 1964, 1966, 1968
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida 1965, 1967, 1969, 2015
Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia 1970–1993
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio 1994–2005, 2016
Heartland Park Topeka Topeka, Kansas 2006–2008
Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 2009–2013
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California 2014
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 2017

References

  1. Krejčí, Martin. "SCCA National Sports Car Championship". World Sports Racing Prototypes. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  2. England, Nick. "SCCA National Championships Complete Results - The early years 1964-75". VIR History. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  3. Martin, James A.; Thomas F. Saal (2004). American Auto Racing: The Milestones and Personalities of a Century of Speed. McFarland. pp. 134–135. ISBN 0-7864-1235-6. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  4. "SCCA Runoffs 2009 Review". Auto Racing Analysis. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  5. "Runoff Locations Announced for 2014-2016". SCCA. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  6. Indianapolis Motor Speedway To Host SCCA Runoffs in 2017
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