Buttonwillow SCCA U.S. Majors

[Jason@SportsCar]

After a nice long break we are off to Buttonwillow Raceway this weekend for the SCCA U.S. Majors Double National race weekend. Turnout looks great, 137 cars signed up so far, with 40 in my run group (6 H Prod cars) so there will always be someone to race.

There is even one B-Spec car entered, looks like Cork Sport is bringing their Mazda 2.

They should have a live timing feed at this link during the weekend: http://www.scca.com/events/index.cfm?eid=5319

http://www.calclub.com/html/html2/archives/2013/2013-Schedule-April.pdf

Entry list: http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.status/uidEvent/3745A1A1-E62C-8770-A048ACB9184DC40B#.UXV4oIJ1GHk

[racerb]

Good Luck!

My old SCCA Region, NCR just hosted a Majors event this past weekend with they're annual Oak Tree National at VIR!

racerb :thumbsup:

[B2FiNiTY]

one of my fav tracks.

good luck!

[justjesus]

what's the avg number in your run group? 40 seems like a lot of traffic to pass!

[Jason@SportsCar]

what's the avg number in your run group? 40 seems like a lot of traffic to pass!

Typically you would only see 40 cars in a group at the Runoffs - or in Spec Miata or Spec Racer Ford - a normal race weekend we would have 25 cars in the Prod/Touring group.

The event is now approaching 160 cars, which is huge for a National only race weekend, usually you need to incorporate a Regional to get that many.

48 cars in my run group, it is going to be crowded, hope everyone can control themselves.

[justjesus]

Oh. Damn. Seems like a lot of cars, but sounds like you are used to that!

Kick butt :)

[Jason@SportsCar]

MEDIA ADVISORY

Western Conference SCCA Majors Tour
Buttonwillow Raceway Park
April 27-28, 2013

Contact:
Reece White, SCCA PR Manager, (831) 383-9426, rwhite@scca.com

Event/Circuit:
U.S. Majors Tour Western Conference - Rounds Three and Four of Eight
Buttonwillow Raceway Park
12-turn, 3.1-mile road course

Qualifying:
Seven Race Groups
20-minute sessions on Saturday, April 27, beginning at 9:35 a.m. (PDT)
20-minute sessions on Sunday, April 28, beginning at 8:00 a.m. (PDT)

Majors Races Doubleheader:
Seven group races: Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, following qualifying


Race Lengths:
Each group runs a 15-lap race


Timing/Scoring/Audio: Live Timing & Scoring, lap notes and live audio via the SCCA® Pit Board are available for all sessions through www.scca.com/sccalive.

Entry lists, full event schedules, and more information is available at www.sccamajors.com.

Storylines/Things To Watch For
The Dawn Of An Era: In September 2012, the Sports Car Club of America rolled out the U.S. Majors Tour as the top level of amateur racing in this country. With events coast-to-coast and split into four Conferences, the Western Conference season opened at Auto Club Speedway in January and continues this weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. Drivers are coming from all over the western United States to participate in the weekend, featuring an enhanced race experience for drivers and fans, from pre-race to post-race activities.

SCCA Club Racers – The Best In The Country: There many amateur road racing groups in the United States, but the clear leader of top drivers is with the SCCA. Though most are weekend warriors who take vacations from their full-time jobs to attend races, it’s a craft taken seriously. Bobby Rahal, Mark Donohue, Roger Penske, Michael Andretti and actor/driver Paul Newman got their start in SCCA Club Racing. More recently, you could have seen current stars Boris Said, Graham Rahal, Sam Hornish or J.R. Hildebrand at an SCCA Club race. This weekend features National Champions, professional race winners and series champions, and up-and-coming stars on the entry list.

Majors Count: Through early-season races in the Eastern, Western and Mid-States Conferences, the Majors program has gotten rave reviews from participants. Each of the early season events has seen increased participation from comparable National Races a season ago. Sunshine and high temperatures for this weekend’s Major indicates another increase, with 156 entries on the entry list.

Green Flags: This is the third and fourth rounds of the Western Conference Majors Tour, following a doubleheader at Auto Club Speedway in January – also a Cal Club event… Chris Qualls swept the American Sedan race in January, and is back again this weekend…The point leaders in both the Sports Racing classes will be at Buttonwillow. Joseph Schifini was a winner at Auto Club on Saturday, but fell to third on Sunday. Chris Farrell swept DSR…Philip Royle and Aaron Downey split the opener with 1-2 finishes, reversed each day. They’ll resume the point battle at Buttonwillow, as will Jason Isley in H Production following an opening weekend sweep…Among the formula cars, Les Phillips has a two-race streak in Formula Continental; Steve Brown and Brad Drew split at Auto Club in Formula Mazda…Michael Lewis swept GT-1 and is hoping to extend his streak. Erich Joiner and Tom Wickersham swapped the top spot in GT-2 in the opener, with both back again. Wolfgang Maike leads in GT-3 with a win and a runner-up. John Bower’s sweep carries him to Buttonwillow in GT-Lite…Elliott Skeer is second in the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, and leads the Spec Miata points entering Buttonwillow…Todd Harris and his Pro Drive team have towed from Portland for both Majors events. It’s been worth the trip, as he leads the Spec Racer Ford points entering the weekend…Oscar Jackson brings his STL-leading Honda back to Buttonwillow, as does Marc Hoover with his Mazda in STU…Ken Davis and Tom Wickersham have two wins each in Touring 1 and Touring 2, respectively… Lee Niffenegger and Lance Stewart battled in each of the Touring 4 races, with Niffenegger coming out on top each day. Expect more of the same this weekend.

Sports 2000: A seemingly unique twist to this weekend’s Majors schedule is the 15 cars in the Sports 2000 class, running as a standalone group. The class, within the Majors Championship, is running the S2 Cup. This weekend doubles as the group’s season opener, and has been supported with a strong turnout.

Free Family Fun: Cal Club has invited everyone to attend this weekend’s races for free. Members, guests, friends and family will be admitted to Buttonwillow for no charge.

[ilikerice]

I missed it.. Sooo.. how did you do?

[Jason@SportsCar]

I missed it.. Sooo.. how did you do?

Started off a little slow, but the weekend went great. The setup on the car was horrible on Saturday, I qualified 2nd in HProd, about 4sec off the pace. :barf: I could not remember the last time the car was so slow. Before the race we changed rear springs, front ride-height and camber, bolted up some newly scrubbed in tires and took the green. Caught the leader sleeping, took 1st and never looked back. The car was greatly improved with the changes and was back on pace.

On Sunday we made a few more small tweaks, I got the HProd pole, took the win and reset the track record for Buttonwillow 25CCW. :thumbup:

Lots of great action both days with our massive 40+ car run group. I have never seen the tow trucks so busy, lots of broken cars. Had a front row seat to a turbo Miata Car-b-que. And I need to "adjust" one of my fenders after giving a love tap to a GTL Nissan. :laugh:

Man was it hot, in the 90s both days as we raced. A plastic bag full of ice in your drivers suit works wonders. :cool:

[ilikerice]

sounds awesome.. Glad it worked out in the end. Love hearing about you and your yaris. Did you get some incar footage? I like watching your races sitting shotgun.

[racerb]

Some results from the Oak Tree National (Majors) from VIR, didn't make it up but maybe next year!
Saturday:
http://www.ncrscca.com/sites/default/files/results/club/2013/OakTree/Group07%20Sat%20Race.pdf
Sunday:
http://www.ncrscca.com/sites/default/files/results/club/2013/OakTree/sun%20group07%20Race_0.pdf

racerb :w00t:

[Jason@SportsCar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SVVhmxMa5Q&feature=youtu.be

Nice little clip from the FP Miata of Brian Linn. We had a split start, so the cars on DOT race tires were about 30sec ahead of our group on slicks. Linn had the pole for our group (and FP) with the GTL Nissan taking P2. I am trying to keep the green MG and yellow Bug-eye behind me, as they are in my class. I entered Turn 1 a wee bit to hot considering the cold tires and brakes on the first lap and give the Nissan a tap - did not even leave a mark on his car, and only knocked my plastic headlight cover out of alignment by about a 1/4".

At about 60sec into the video the Nissan misses a shift and I had to mark a hard left to avoid shortening both of our cars. It was an exciting race.

[Jason@SportsCar]

A few laps from in the car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOhAfa2S1fE&feature=youtu.be