RACE: Series Super Sweep Qualifications news 2009-07-16

Drivers Complete First Round of SCCA Super Sweep Qualifications

TOPEKA, Kan. (July 16, 2009) -- Nearly 200 drivers are still in the hunt to earn the SCCA Club Racing Super Sweep, having won one of the nine qualifying National events that make up the first of four legs in SCCA's toughest road racing honor.

With the July 12 Finger Lakes Region Glen Nationals at Watkins Glen International, came the completion of that first leg, which also included races at Buttonwillow (SPDiv), Daytona (SEDiv), Heartland Park (MWDiv), Portland (NPDiv), Mid-Ohio (GLDiv), Road America (CEDiv) and High Plains (RMDiv). Drivers winning their class at these events advanced to the second "leg" of the Super Sweep--a Divisional Championship in their class. The final two legs will be determined at this year's SCCA National Championship Runoffs, where a driver will have to win their National Championship race and clinch the year-long Nationwide Point Championship for their class, which factors not only finishing position throughout the year, but the number of people a driver has beaten along the way.

Of the nine qualifying races (one per SCCA Division), nine drivers did their best to block out the competition by winning two races. One driver, James Place, of Colorado Region, took three of the qualifying races, winning at Texas Motor Speedway, Portland International Raceway and High Plains Raceway in Showroom Stock C.

The majority of the 25 eligible Super Sweep class Nationwide Point Standings are led by qualifying event winners, however, several classes have drivers atop the chart hoping to play spoiler come September and the Runoffs at Road America. Formula 500 (Jeff Jorgenson), Formula Enterprises (Paul Schneider), F Production (David Bryson), GT-1 (David Fershtand), H Production (Tim Pitts), Sports 2000 (Edward Guenther), Spec Racer Ford (Brian Schofield), Showroom Stock B (Stan Czacki), Showroom Stock C (Joe McClughan) and Touring 2 (Michael Pettiford) are all currently led by drivers who either did not attend a Super Sweep qualifier or did not win when they did.

All is not lost for the Super Sweep event qualifiers, though. With nearly one fifth of the National Club Racing schedule remaining, several opportunities still exist to score points.

A complete list of Super Sweep qualifying event winners and Nationwide points is available at SCCA.com under Club Racing>National>National Point Standings or directly through this link.

-credit: scca