EVENT // SCCA ARRC RACE @ ROAD ATLANTA

The ARRC race, or American Road Race Championships, should really just be called the SCCA Road Race Extravaganza!

This event is really one of the showcase SCCA events, the other being the SCCA Runoffs. It’s 3 days of solid racing with cars ranging from Formula FST cars powered by air-cooled VW motors all the way up to the SPO cars which are big block V8’s. All speeds, all classes, all great racing. We saw wheel to wheel battles, bump drafting, off-road excursions, massive carnage and even an SCCA PDX all wrapped up in the scenic confines of Road Atlanta... [read more]

The day starts at 8am sharp, every day, with the sounds of race motors and announcers, practice, qualifying, hard ship laps and races are almost non stop. The exception is lunchtime which is a great opportunity to inspect the race hardware, talk to the teams and drivers. Two paddocks full of cars, haulers and people littered the track from gate to gate.

Amongst the varied classes in attendance were the open wheel race cars, which included Formula Mazda, Formula Continental and Formula Atlantic chassis.

This year also featured the Optec-Monnette Veterans cup, dedicated to those men and women who fight and have fought for our country, which was populated by all the American V8 muscle you could ask for.

The race saw a GREAT battle between father and daughter (Paige and Bob Monette) with close racing, fireball belching exhausts and a down to the wire finish when Bob’s car started having a fluid leak issue, which of course went right to his daughters tires! The race was won by the #1 of Lee Arnold but Bob Stretch tried his best to catch and pass him.

The PRO-IT race was another nail biter, 54 cars strong and wheel to wheel for the entire 20 laps. Early in the race the Miata of  Danny Steyn was collected by the #5 ITS BMW in spin after turn 10b, while the ENTIRE filed flowed around them like water around a rock. I can only imagine how scary that would be as 52 cars came screaming at and past you while you sat there helpless. 

The weekend culminates in a 3 hour long endurance race with two mandatory 5 minute pit-stops. Keep in mind these cars are not built from the outset as ‘enduro cars since most SCCA racing is of the sprint variety.

Some drivers come with a dedicated pit crew and second driver, where others rely solely on themselves to drive, fuel, change tires and maintain the car during the entire event. It is truly a grassroots effort which should be no surprise that the event is sponsored by Grassroots Motorsports magazine.

The ITR section was won handily by the #57 Mazda RX8 while ITB was a close fought battle between Chris Albin in his #4 VW and Ian Stewart in the #9 Mazda Protégé. This class literally came down to the last turn as Stewart was lapping 1.5seconds a lap FASTER then Albins car! Pit strategy at its best put #4 in the lead and in the winners circle.

The weekend also features a SCCA PDX event. For those who don’t know, a PDX is an SCCA run drivers school for novice to expert drivers alike. These events, run nationwide, are a great way for people with the urge to get on track to be able to do so in a safe and controlled environment. During this time a local well to do entrepreneur had generously brought out his Ferrari F430 16M and his Aston Martin DBS. He and a friend then gave the volunteer SCCA corner workers rides at speed around the track they so willingly work every weekend. What a treat it was to hear those two exotics at full chat around this twisting turning and diving race track in the gorgeous fall weather.

Per usual (for me at least) we drove down and camped there on site in the infield. The weather is great, the night life is fun with camp fires and parties all over the infield, where else can you see a magnesium wheel get tossed into a campfire for fun (a tradition from what I’m told).

The track and facilities are great, the town has everything you could want or need and the people are just fantastic. We met a group that had been coming to the track for 40 years straight, they invited us to share their campfire (wow what a fire it was too!) and shared their spirits and stories with us (Thank you guys!). If you’ve never been to a SCCA race or never realized the scope and variety of the series they support and host, you owe it to yourself to make the drive, spend the time, and enjoy the action that is the SCCA ARRC race.

Photo/Editorial: Shawn Manny