SCCA National Championship Runoffs notebook 6

ABOVE: The Huffaker paddock space shows that SCCA's traditional British sports cars still have a place in modern racing.

Huffaker Returns to SCCA Racing in a Big Way

In the history of SCCA Club Racing, there are few more famous names than Huffaker. The Sonoma-based racing family has a multi-generational history of championships, but it's been 10 years since Joe Huffaker, Jr. competed at the Runoffs.

Huffaker turned that around this year, bringing 12 cars to the Runoffs, and finishing on the podium twice himself, with a championship in the GT-Lite class and a second place finish in F Production. Both podium performances were delivered in the traditional Huffaker British cars – a Mini Cooper and an MG Midget.

"I was hoping for more, but I didn't have a chance in the F Production race," Huffaker said.

Of the 24 races completed so far in this year's SCCA National Championship Runoffs, drivers from SCCA's Western Conference have claimed 11 on-track victories. This represents a substantial shift from the usual dominance of Eastern and Midwest drivers.

"I think it's a tremendous advantage. Every lap I turn here, I learn something new. So with the limited laps that the East Coast guys have here, they don't have that luxury," says Andrie Hartanto, who won the hard-fought STU class on Friday. "When we go to Daytona, I'll have to do some testing there. I think it's really important."

By comparison, three winners have come from the Mid-States Conference, six from the Northern Conference, and four from the Eastern Conference.

Next year, the SCCA Runoffs move to Daytona,, which should allow drivers from the East to earn their moments on the national podium.

The 2014 Spec Miata champion turned out to be Erik Stearns after the technical inspection was completed.

Spec Miata Tech Shed Bloodbath

The mechanical protest filed against several top Spec Miata competitors has been resolved with cataclysmic results. The top six finishers and two others have been moved to the bottom of the results for running non-compliant engines. Additionally, the 4th place finisher was disqualified. The stewards’ action removes the entire original podium.

The new winner of the Spec Miata championship is Erik Stearns of Ohio. He finished in 7th position on the race track, with Matt Schultz of Oregon and Matt Reynolds of Texas rounding out the final podium in second and third positions.

The stewards’ action is unprecedented in SCCA history because of its depth into the field, but similar actions have been taken before.

“What happened this week, with so many cars being non-compliant, is unfortunate,” said SCCA President Lisa Noble. Other SCCA officials declined to comment.