Who will win the SCCA Runoffs? Part 3: Spec classes

Spec Miata
In the 11-year history of Spec Miata as a National class, Jim Drago is the only driver to earn a repeat National Championship. For the 12th year, we think that pattern will continue, and Danny Bender is our choice to wear the Spec Miata crown this year. Bender has run strong all year, taking the Sunday race win and fast lap time at the June Sprints, among other victories.

In the time remaining before the race, two things are on every driver's mind. One is that Indianapolis is a new track for the Runoffs, and no one has real experience here. The second is that with the 3,700-foot front straight, drafting could be critical both in qualifying and the race.

"That's one of the nice things about having a bunch of different practice sessions," Bender observes. "You get some time to try a couple different things. I've got a couple ideas on things I want to find."

Racing on a new track, drivers are looking for any advantages they can find. "I'm not going there to finish second," Bender declares, "so I plan on watching a bunch of video, and talking to a lot of the Global MX-5 Cup guys because they were there earlier this year. I want to see if any of them have some advice in terms of strategy. But we all just have to play the chess match and see how it works out."

Jim Drago will also be part of this chess game, and he doesn't plan to watch the race from the back. He's our pick for second place, and 2016 National Champ Justin Hille gets our bet for third place.

"I think Danny has top-five potential," Drago says. "He's a nice guy, [it's a] very good car, and he is driving well, but my picks this year would be Chris Haldeman, myself, or Tyler Kicera. Haldeman is driving really well and will have his car ready to race."

Not surprisingly, Spec Miata has a deep bench, and there's a long list of drivers who could pull off the win on this unfamiliar racecourse.

"There's definitely a few off the top you can just sort of pick," Bender says. "Obviously, Jim Drago will be there; other guys I think have a chance include Voytek Burdzy, Justin Hille, and Tyler Kicera. I actually like Adam Roberts. I'm a big fan of his racecraft, so I think he's got a chance to be a dark horse."

Just to hedge a little bit, we'll also add Alex Bolanos, Selin Rollan, and Michael Carter to the list of contenders. It's a new track and a very full field, so anything could happen.

Spec Racer Ford, Spec Racer Ford Gen 3, Formula Enterprises
The final Spec Racer Ford championship in SCCA history promises to be one of the most hard-fought races ever seen at the Runoffs. Defending National Champion Todd Harris has thrown down a challenge. "If they want it, they have to come and get it," he declares. "I really look forward to defending my SRF championship. This is the last one, and I plan on defending it as well as I can."

Harris will be hard to beat, but our pick to take that final win is four-time SRF champion Mike Miserendino. "I'd be cool with that," Miserendino jokes about his friend Harris' comment.

We also like six-time Formula Enterprises National Champ Scott Rettich for second place, and perennial contender Denny Stripling for third. But with Harris in the race, anything could happen. Everyone agrees that at a new – and mostly unknown – track, racecraft will be critical. "I think it will be like [Auto Club Speedway] where you just have one really long drafting stretch," Miserendino conjectures. "I think the draft will be very important. You've got to have a dancing partner for qualifying."

"I love to go to brand-new tracks because it creates an equal opportunity for everybody," Harris notes. "There's always new blood that wants to shake it up. There's no backing into an SRF win, and that's what's cool."

Despite writing this month's feature prior to the Runoffs, we already know that SRF3 has set an all-time record for Runoffs entries this year. The number of cars on track will make the entire qualifying week as interesting as the race because the Runoffs rules allow only 72 cars on course – dozens of drivers might not even qualify for the championship race.

"I just ran with 72 cars at Road America for the June Sprints, and it was nuts," Harris says.

"I'm sure it will be chaotic," agrees Mike Miserendino, "but everyone's in the same boat. There could be quite a bit of luck involved with getting a clear lap on the days of qualifying."

Our pick to win SRF3 this year is the reigning champion, John Black. The four-time champion in SRF, SRF3, GT2, and GT3 has shown no signs of slowing down this year, and he's certain to be a front-runner. That is, if he can get a clean qualifying lap.

"Track position will be unbelievably important," Black says. "If you don't do well in qualifying and you're starting sixth, seventh, or eighth, you're going to be out of luck."

The long entry list for SRF3 reads like a who's who of Spec Racer championship history. Four-time SRF champion Miserendino is entered, along with three-time champion Cliff White, two-time champion Brian Schofield, current SRF champ Harris and 1993 Spec Racer champion Jim Marinangel.

Also in the mix is our pick for second place, Bobby Sak, who finished second last year and brings an impressive pro racing and Runoffs resume to the event. Six-time FE champion Scott Rettich will try again for his first SRF3 crown, and he's our pick for third in this race. Other drivers who could make a play at the front include TJ Acker, Tray Ayres, Steve Fogg and John Tipton.

"This is the most stacked field I've ever seen in the time I've been doing this," Miserendino says. "It's everyone who has ever been fast in the world of Spec Racer, so that's pretty cool."

While Scott Rettich is our pick for two podium finishes this year, he's not our pick to win Formula Enterprises. Why isn't the most celebrated driver in the history of Formula Enterprises our pick? The six-time FE champ is devoting his attention to Spec Racers this year and dabbling in P2 instead. Therefore, our pick to win is Elliot Finlayson. Finlayson has been tearing up the Hoosier Super Tour this year, and is clearly the driver to beat in this class.

"I've had a pretty good year so far and we've been competitive pretty much everywhere we've gone," Finlayson says. "There have been a couple mishaps along the way with mechanical failures, but we're definitely hitting our stride and we're definitely figuring out the car."

Quinten Nelson is our pick for second. He's backed by Rettich and is rumored to be running Rettich's personal car, so he's set up to succeed. Our third-place nod goes to Paul Schneider, who finished third last year at Mid-Ohio.

"Yeah, Paul is a veteran with the car so he's good," Finlayson says. "Quinten has done really well this year. We ran up against him at the June Sprints. He was able to out qualify me, but we were able to beat him both days. I guess we'll see when we get down to Indy!"

Other drivers who could make a play for the front in Formula Enterprises include Justin Gordon, Dean Opperman, Flynn Lazier, and past SRF3 champion Kerry Jacobsen.

This article originally appeared in the October 2017 issue of SportsCar magazine, SCCA's official member magazine, which mails monthly to all members of the Sports Car Club of America. For more information about how to join the SCCA, head to www.scca.com.