(St. Louis, MO) - Anticipating a typical St. Louis late July/early August "Heat Wave" the St. Louis Region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) will host a hot weekend of motorsports competition at Gateway International Raceway. The road racers will turn up the heat on the road course for Club Racing events while the Solo II competitors burn up the adjacent parking lot in an event benefiting the Darrell Russell Memorial Fund. Both events are FREE and open to the public, with no admission or parking fees.
Twenty-four National and 13 Regional Club Racing classes will take to the 1.6 mile road course in six race groups this Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, racers will have 25 minute qualifying sessions starting at 8 a.m., followed by 20-lap Mid-Am Regional races. Sunday's action begins at 8 a.m. with 20 minute qualifying sessions for the National Club Racing drivers, then 28-lap National events and two Improved Touring (IT Tour) events.
St. Louis area drivers who won at the May "Spring Fling" event that are expected to compete this weekend are John McMurray of University City in Formula Continental (FC), Duke Johnson of Eureka in Sports 2000 (S2), Fulton's Dick Davis in F Production (FP), and Brad Stout of Webster Groves in Formula Vee (FV). Stout has won more Pro and National titles than any other St. Louis Region member. He has four Pro Formula Vee and three SCCA National Club Racing Championships to his credit, and has won the FV class in the prestigious "June Sprints" six of the last seven years. Brad's overall winning percentage in this class is an astounding 84%.
The Solo II (or autocross) on Sunday is a Test-n-Tune giving its entrants practice time and the opportunity to hone their skills behind the wheel of their "daily driver" or their Solo II prepared car on a course marked by pylons against the clock. This portion of the "Heat Wave" weekend will be held on the Gateway parking lot, located next to IL Hwy 203 and I-55/70. Proceeds from this event benefit the Darrell Russell Memorial Fund. Russell was a NHRA pro drag racer who lost his life at the Sears Craftsman Nationals on June 27 at Gateway. This event, like the road race, is open and free to spectators.
St. Louis Region members are always available to offer information to potential new members (in autocrossing/Solo II, road racing, or one of the three forms of rallying). Contact the Solo Test-n-Tune event chair, Jan Rick at 636-225-3236 for details or check the Solo II website at www.stlsolo.org. Additional information on the St. Louis Region is available on their website at www.stlscca.org.
Club Racing vehicles will fall into one of eight basic categories: formula cars (open-wheeled, purpose-built racing cars), sports racing cars (these are also purpose-built, but with wheels and tires under bodywork), production cars (factory built cars with the body/frame, engine, and drive train originally supplied by the manufacturer), GT cars (also production-based, but allowed to conceal specially built racing chassis underneath their bodies), showroom stock and touring cars (cars as they come off the dealers lot with only safety modifications), American sedans (slightly older American "muscle cars"), improved touring cars (regional-only classes which allows older showroom stock and touring cars to compete), and "spec" classes (that use only a specific type or model of car to emphasize driver skill and not mechanical advantages).
The SCCA is comprised of 110 regions throughout the U.S. St. Louis Region hosts competition events in all five forms of motorsports offered by the SCCA. They will hold a total of four Club Racing events at GIR, a 12 event Solo II series (single-car, timed events around pylons on asphalt), a six event Road Rally series (participants use their "daily driver" on public roads, in a test of driving and navigational skill that do not require high speed, but precise driving and control of speed to win), a six event RallyCross series (the same as a Solo II event, only on dirt), and two Performance Rallies, the 100 Acre Wood and Trespassers Wil, both held in late February, (involving both controlled driving on open public roads with high-speed "special stages" on closed public roads).
Twenty-four National and 13 Regional Club Racing classes will take to the 1.6 mile road course in six race groups this Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, racers will have 25 minute qualifying sessions starting at 8 a.m., followed by 20-lap Mid-Am Regional races. Sunday's action begins at 8 a.m. with 20 minute qualifying sessions for the National Club Racing drivers, then 28-lap National events and two Improved Touring (IT Tour) events.
St. Louis area drivers who won at the May "Spring Fling" event that are expected to compete this weekend are John McMurray of University City in Formula Continental (FC), Duke Johnson of Eureka in Sports 2000 (S2), Fulton's Dick Davis in F Production (FP), and Brad Stout of Webster Groves in Formula Vee (FV). Stout has won more Pro and National titles than any other St. Louis Region member. He has four Pro Formula Vee and three SCCA National Club Racing Championships to his credit, and has won the FV class in the prestigious "June Sprints" six of the last seven years. Brad's overall winning percentage in this class is an astounding 84%.
The Solo II (or autocross) on Sunday is a Test-n-Tune giving its entrants practice time and the opportunity to hone their skills behind the wheel of their "daily driver" or their Solo II prepared car on a course marked by pylons against the clock. This portion of the "Heat Wave" weekend will be held on the Gateway parking lot, located next to IL Hwy 203 and I-55/70. Proceeds from this event benefit the Darrell Russell Memorial Fund. Russell was a NHRA pro drag racer who lost his life at the Sears Craftsman Nationals on June 27 at Gateway. This event, like the road race, is open and free to spectators.
St. Louis Region members are always available to offer information to potential new members (in autocrossing/Solo II, road racing, or one of the three forms of rallying). Contact the Solo Test-n-Tune event chair, Jan Rick at 636-225-3236 for details or check the Solo II website at www.stlsolo.org. Additional information on the St. Louis Region is available on their website at www.stlscca.org.
Club Racing vehicles will fall into one of eight basic categories: formula cars (open-wheeled, purpose-built racing cars), sports racing cars (these are also purpose-built, but with wheels and tires under bodywork), production cars (factory built cars with the body/frame, engine, and drive train originally supplied by the manufacturer), GT cars (also production-based, but allowed to conceal specially built racing chassis underneath their bodies), showroom stock and touring cars (cars as they come off the dealers lot with only safety modifications), American sedans (slightly older American "muscle cars"), improved touring cars (regional-only classes which allows older showroom stock and touring cars to compete), and "spec" classes (that use only a specific type or model of car to emphasize driver skill and not mechanical advantages).
The SCCA is comprised of 110 regions throughout the U.S. St. Louis Region hosts competition events in all five forms of motorsports offered by the SCCA. They will hold a total of four Club Racing events at GIR, a 12 event Solo II series (single-car, timed events around pylons on asphalt), a six event Road Rally series (participants use their "daily driver" on public roads, in a test of driving and navigational skill that do not require high speed, but precise driving and control of speed to win), a six event RallyCross series (the same as a Solo II event, only on dirt), and two Performance Rallies, the 100 Acre Wood and Trespassers Wil, both held in late February, (involving both controlled driving on open public roads with high-speed "special stages" on closed public roads).
