At the SCCA National Championship Runoffs: Going international

Two of the youngest winners at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB are also international drivers who looked to the SCCA national program as a stepping stone to professional racing.

Joseph Burton-Harris (RIGHT) is just 18 years old, and the young Australian driver won this year’s Formula Mazda national championship.

“I started go-karting at eight, did a little bit in Europe, and won two world championships at the age of 15 and 16. When I reached 17 it was time to go to cars,” Burton-Harris says. “We had opportunities in Europe or we could go through Formula Ford to V8 Supercars, but I love the USA and I’m a massive fan of Indy Car. We met with Moses Smith and Tara Wilson at Texas Autosport, and they showed us the Formula Mazda Class. We’re looking to get into Pro Mazda next year and get on the Mazda Road to Indy.”

In Formula Continental, 17-year-old Yufeng Luo (ABOVE, Jay Bonvouloir photo) from China took the national championship and ran the SCCA Pro Racing US F2000 series this year. He also has his sights set on a professional racing career.

“Next year we have plans to do another year of US F2000 and win the championship. I would definitely like to go to Europe after next year and see what I can do there,” Luo said from the podium.

Racing to beat childhood cancer

The most popular sticker at the Runoffs had nothing to do with contingencies and awards. It was the Go Gold sticker promoting childhood cancer awareness. The SCCA Club Racing community has come together to support this cause due to the efforts of SCCA Chief Operating Officer and F Production racer Eric Prill.

“Only 4% of the National Cancer Institute budget is dedicated towards childhood cancer initiatives, and cancer kills more children than all other diseases combined,” Prill says. “It’s an important initiative to try to raise awareness of that, and we’re trying to get people to step up and make this a priority the way they’ve made other cancers a priority. Because if our kids aren’t a priority, what is?”

In addition to his duties with SCCA, Prill is the chairman of Maxton’s Fight, Inc., a 501(c)3 charitable organization.

“We raise money to support families and children facing cancer,” Prill says.

To find out how to support Maxton’s Fight and defeat childhood cancer, you can visit www.maxtonsfight.org.

See you next year at Mid-Ohio

The SCCA National Championship Runoffs were held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for 12 years from 1994 to 2005, and the premier event in North American amateur racing will return to the rolling hills of Ohio next year.

Mid-Ohio is known as a challenging technical race course, with plenty of elevation and camber change in a variety of corner styles. Nestled among the farms of central Ohio, the course is also known as one of the most beautiful racing facilities anywhere, with fall color typically arriving during Runoffs week.

Throughout this week under the warm skies of Florida, Midwestern drivers consistently mentioned their enthusiasm for the return to one of SCCA’s favorite courses. Turnout for next year’s Runoffs is expected to be record-breaking, and the venues for the 2017-'19 championship races will be announced during next year’s Runoffs.