Victory Lane Magazine – July 2023: Volume 38, No.7

Summit Point Motorsports Park, Summit Point, WV – May 19-21, 2023

Story by Terry Johnsen

Just a short trip from the nation’s capital, nestled in the rolling hills of West Virginia, sits Summit Point Motorsports Park. The mid-Atlantic region of the United States loves their sports car racing. So annually, in the month of May, passionate sports car enthusiasts gather at Summit Point for the traditional Jefferson 500. 2023 marks the 28th running of the event. 

This year included a special feature with the inclusion of the Marlboro Motor Raceway Reunion. The gathering was hosted by noted Marlboro racetrack historian, Steve Lloyd. The link between Summit Point and Marlboro is significant, in that they each have served as the DC region’s ‘home track’ dating back to 1952 when Marlboro began their race activities. Marlboro eventually closed its doors in November 1969, just as Summit Point was making its mark on the racing scene. The racers instinctively moved their allegiance to Summit Point. When asked to describe the similarities between Marlboro and Summit Point, Lloyd chose the French phrase, ‘je ne sais quoi’, meaning he found it hard to accurately put it into words, but then added, with a smile, “it’s not the same feel, but pretty damn good”.

The Jefferson 500 is Vintage Racer Group’s marquee event, and each year it has gotten bigger and better. It’s a full week of activities for everyone. Tuesday began two busy days featuring the VRG Licensing School, along with registration, tech activities, and load-in of race trailers and equipment. Thursday got down to business with a full day of practice for all the group categories, along with school participants. The day concluded with a track walk.

Racing activities for the Jefferson 500 got underway Friday morning, May 19^th, with timed qualifying sessions for all groups 1-6, finishing with a practice session for Group 7. The afternoon saw the running of the first sprint races, finishing with a Group 7 qualifying session. After track activities concluded, Steve Lloyd held an historical look-back at Marlboro Motor Raceway in the paddock classroom with his talk entitled, ‘Marlboro: The Mob, The Moolah, and The Madness’. It was a thrilling and insightful presentation. Vintage motor sport mainstay and reunion contributor, Bob Houston, described the reunion as fantastic! He said, “it was great to see people who hadn’t seen each other in over 20 years, sit down and talk”. He added, “I like the old saying…the end product of motor racing are race stories”. He summed it up perfectly.

Vintage Racer Group has long honored the history of sports car racing by featuring the names some of the great competitors of the past to identify their race groups. Names such as John Wyer, Briggs Cunningham, Mark Donohue, Phil Hill, Charlie Gibson, Lola sports cars, along with a nod to Marlboro Motor Raceway. The Sunday Enduro’s also pull from the legends of the sport with names such as Brian Redman, Dan Gurney, and Bill Scott.

Saturday afternoon was highlighted by the running of the feature races. First on the docket was Group 1 (Wyer Cup) for the IMSA RS – 2.5 Challenge. Steve Byrne (#3) was the class of the field driving his 1970 Datsun 510. It was a dominant performance which saw him capture the fastest lap of 1:26.592. Byrne captured fastest laps of the two sprint races as well. His main rival of the weekend was David Porter (#58) in a 1973 Ford Escort RS1600. He came second to Byrne in the feature event and the Friday sprint race. Porter found the top step of the podium in the Saturday morning sprint.

Next came the competitors of Group 2 (Cunningham Cup) for the Big Bore cars. Clarke Ohrstrom (#72) drove his 1971 BMW 3.0 CSL to victory, securing the fastest lap of 1:24.492 along the way. This was his best result of the weekend. Douglas Hagopian (#24), driving a 1974 Porsche 911 came in second, and bettered that by winning both of the sprint races.

Third on the schedule of feature events was Group 3 (Marlboro Cup) for Small Bore over 1.3L cars. Robert Andersson (#78) piloted his 1970 Vitesse Sports Racer for the win. He also claimed fastest lap with a time of 1:28.365. Mike Moore (#167) was right on Andersson’s tail in a 1962 Triumph TR4 finishing second. Moore also won both sprint races.

Next on track was Group 4 (Lola Cup) for Small Bore under 1.3L and Formula Vee cars. Will Thomas (#191) won the event behind the wheel of his 1965 Austin Cooper S. The fastest lap of the race was set by David Gussack (#188), driving a 1963 Triumph Spitfire. He dropped out at the midpoint of the race. But Gussack showed his pace earlier by capturing both Friday and Saturday morning sprint events. 

Immediately following, the cars and drivers of Group 5 (Donohue Cup) for Production and Specials through 1960 rolled out for their race. John Styduhar (#9) bested the field in his 1962 Triumph TR3B, which included taking the fastest lap with a time of 1:33.309. Styduhar battled with Vic Schuster’s (#57) 1957 Triumph AMBRO for first and second all weekend. Schuster took the win in the first sprint race, while Styduhar edged him out in the second sprint.

Later that afternoon saw the running of Group 6 (Gibson Cup) for Sports Racers and Non-FFCS Open Wheel cars. Brandon Weber (#8) rocketed his 2004 Carbir CS2 around the track, leaving the rest of the field to battle amongst themselves. Weber set a fast lap of 1:15.584, which was the top time of the entire weekend. He was in a class of his own, finishing a lap ahead of the second-place finisher. Weber swept the weekend sprint races as well.

The final feature race of the day was Group 7 (Phil Hill Cup) featuring the Formula Ford Challenge Series. The highlight of any VRG event is when the cars and drivers of Group 7/FFCS take to the track. It is extremely competitive racing, and with a stacked field anyone can win. 37 starters took the green flag. Scott Fairchild (#20), driving his 1978 Zink Z10 won the closely contested event, just ahead of second place finisher Doug Meis (#27) in a 1974 Lola T340. Third place finisher Chris Fahan (#70) captured the fastest lap of 1:25.594 in a 1981 Van Dieman RF81. 39 cars ran in the Saturday morning sprint race, won by Leon Hodges-Austin (#6), driving a 1978 Zink Z10 C. Stefan Vapaa (#97) won the Sunday sprint race with his 1969 Macon MR7.

The Sunday morning enduro events allowed the cars and drivers to stretch their legs one last time. Douglas Hagopian (#24) won the Brian Redman Enduro (Groups #1, #2, #6 closed wheel only) in his 1974 Porsche 911. David Biegert (#1) won the Bill Scott Enduro (Group #3, #4, #5), with his 1990 Mazda Miata. Doug Meis (#27) won the Dan Gurney Enduro (Groups #6, #7 open wheel only) driving a 1974 Lola T340. By early Sunday afternoon a dwindling field of drivers took to the track one last time for the All-Comers Sprints, but by then everyone seemed to have had their fill. Stuffed with lasting memories from another memorable Jefferson 500.

It’s these types of events that make vintage racing so attractive to the racing enthusiast. The Jefferson 500 is a fun event, a social event, a feel-good type of event. From this, old friendships are rekindled, and new connections are made. It brings me back to Bob Houston’s wise words, “the end product of motor racing are race stories”. For sure another wonderful chapter of race stories were written at this year’s Jefferson 500.

TJ – 2023