This weekend, while the Canadian Formula 1200 Championships were wrapping up at historic Mosport (CTMP) the United States crowned its National Champion in Formula Vee (F1200) at the SCCA Runoffs. Below are excepts from a RACER article.
The SCCA National Championship Runoffs, the Pinnacle of American Amateur Motorsports, annually crowns Sports Car Club of America’s Road Racing National Champions. This year, a Formula Vee (F1200) field consisting of 28 drivers took to a drying track late Saturday morning to contest the 59th SCCA National Championship, which took place from September 24th to October 2nd, 2022, at Virginia International Raceway.
After setting a new track record in qualifying, Brian Farnham was the Tire Rack Pole Award winner and led the field to the green flag in the No. 15 Quixote Racing / Kearney DD / Autowerks Silver Bullet FR-S. Beside him was defending FV National Champion Andrew Whitston in the No. 12 Rocket Motors / Hoosier / Speedsport Protoform P2 car.
With nearly everyone on slick tires, Farnham got a fantastic start and ran uncontested into Turn 1 with the lead. But down the 4,000-foot backstretch, Farnham ended up three-wide with Andrew Whitston and Alex Scaler in the No. 79 Advantage Mtrsprt / Autowerks / Hoosier Scaler Mk1. As the trio plunged towards the Roller Coaster section of the 18-turn, 3.27-mile circuit, Whitston was out front with Scaler second and Farnham third.
On lap two, at the exit of Hog Pen, Whitston went off into the grass and managed to come to a stop just short of the tire wall. That moved Farnham to first, followed by the No. 25 LDE Equipment / Hoosier / Vector AM-1 of Andrew Thomas Abbott, and Zachary Whitston was third in the No. 27 Whitmoore and Assoc / LOA Roofing Protoform P2 car.
Working lap six, Farnham managed to build a two-second lead on Zachary Whitston who had gotten around Abbott. Mitchell Ferguson, who started ninth in the No. 52 Vorscha Racing Vorscha GB-4, was fourth and within striking distance of third.
Halfway through the 15-lap race, Farnham had worked up a 4.4-second lead, even though the right-front shock had broken on his car. The fight for the remaining two spots on the victory podium, however, was hot and heavy between Zachary Whitston, Abbott and Ferguson.
Typically, Formula Vee races are close ones, with the winner being decided by hundredths of a second at the very last moment. That was not the case Saturday as Farnham, from Medina, OH, went on for the uncontested victory and his first win at the Runoffs in half-dozen tries.
Zachary Whitston, of Austin, TX, and Abbott kept sparring throughout the race. On the last lap, Abbott applied as much pressure as he could, but Whitston held tough and finished second for his second Runoffs podium appearance.Abbott, of Livonia, MI, came home third for his third Runoffs victory podium in 13 attempts.
After falling away from the podium battle, Ferguson finished fourth. Fifth was Andrew Whitston, who fought back from the rear of the field after going off track. And the Sunoco Hard Charger award went to Russell Fredericks after starting 27th and finishing ninth in the No. 23 Northshore Vet Hospital Caracal D car.
Provisional results from Saturday’s Formula Vee race at the 2022 SCCA National Championship Runoffs (with starting position in brackets):
- (1), Brian Farnham, Silver Bullet FR-S
- (3), Zachary Whitston, Protoform P2
- (5), Andrew Thomas Abbott, Vector AM-1
- (9), Mitchell Ferguson, Vorscha GB-4
- (2), Andrew Whitston, Protoform P2
- (7), Trevor Carmody, Protoform
- (16), Donnie Isley, Agitator 16
- (4), Alex Scaler, Scaler Mk1
- (27), Russell Fredericks, Caracal D
- (17), Steve Whitston, Protoform P2
- (19), Jeffrey Valeo, Mysterian CM2
- (15), Roger Siebenaler, Mysterian M3
- (22), Ray Qualls, Protoform P3
- (26), Dermot Ennis, Protoform P2
- (8), Brandon Abbott, Vector AM-1
- (25), Ron Whitston, Protoform P3
- (24), Ryan Donaghy, DRT 1
- (23), Stuart Delaney, Caracal C
- (12), Chris Jennerjahn, Vortech
- (14), Jeff Filipkowski, Vorscha GB-4
- (29), Iqbal Bashir, Caracal C
- (28), James Brookshire, Agitator 15
- (18), Derrick Moennick (Canada), Mysterian M3
- (20), Gerard Owen Callaghan, Citation XTC-41
- (6), Laurin Brallier, Caracal D
- (11), Stevan Davis, Vortech
- (21), Anthony Henderson, Vortech
- (10), Jonathan Weisheit, JK Technologies XP-1
- (13), Rick Shields, VDF
Length of Race: 49 Miles
Time of Race: 35 min 13.643 sec
Margin of Victory: 2.462 seconds
Fastest Race Lap: 2:18.093 (85.247 mph)
Lap Leaders: No.12 – lap 1, No.15 – laps 2-15
Sunoco Hard Charger: No.23 Russell Fredericks
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