Summit Point Motorsports Park, August 16-18, 2024

Victory Lane Magazine, October 2024: Volume 39, No. 10

Story by Terry Johnsen

It’s the middle of August, summertime in the beautiful rolling hills of West Virginia, and for the second year in a row the SVRA SpeedTour show descended upon Summit Point Motorsports Park. This event did not feature the usual SpeedTour headliners (Trans-Am or International GT), which in turn provided a bit more valuable track time for the SVRA foundational core, the vintage racers. The weekend also included the Formula Vee Challenge Cup Series, and Formula Race Production’s (FRP) Atlantic, F2000, and F1600 series cars. This set the stage for very an exciting weekend of racing!

The entrant sheet I was provided on Friday listed 36 vintage racers. I thought this may have been a mistake, but quickly learned it was not. Regardless, the drivers that were on hand put on a mighty show of spirited racing. Summit Point will do that, with its unique characteristics that generate energized competition. I spoke with two drivers piloting Yenko Stinger Corvairs, Michael LeVeque (#23) and David Clemens (#24), and asked them their impressions of the track. 

Michael praised the overall smooth racing surface, along with the elevation changes, particularly from turn 3 down into the carousel. David agreed and noted he enjoys tracks like this that provide a challenge. They also commented on the high-speed elements of Summit Point, making it a lot of fun to drive.

The SVRA vintage groups were split into three race classifications: Groups 1, 2, 11; Groups 3, 4; and Group 6, 8, 10, 12. Again, the individual fields per race were not large, but the competition was fierce. 

The races for Groups 3, 4 featured the speedy Corvairs. Michael LeVeque (#23) won the first two feature races with his white and blue 1966 Chevrolet Yenko Stinger Corvair. In race 1 David Clemens (#24) battled in second place until lap five, dropping back to his eventual fifth place finish. Steve Schardt (#17) inherited second place and made it a close finish to LeVeque, also in a Stinger. The most heated battle was between Brian Cunningham (#48) and Allen Goode (#44), Stinger vs. Triumph TR4A. Try as he might, Goode just couldn’t slip past when the checkered flag was waved. Gary Jebsen (#41A) finished second in race 2 in his 1962 Volvo P1800.

All three feature races for Groups 1, 2, 11 were dominated by Garry Gray (#379) driving the rocket ship that was a 2014 Radical SR8. He captured the fastest lap in each of the races, with his best in race 2, clocking a 1:19.531, and average speed of 90.531mph. That’s fast! Paul Read (#54) drove his 2019 Revolution 500SC to a very respectable second place finish in the first two races. Gerald Spitler IV (#1), driving a 2018 Sebecco NP01 took the checkered flag in race 3, but only after Gray pulled off with only one lap to go. 

The first two races for Groups 6, 8, 10, 12 were dominated by the Group 10 and 12 cars of Scott Kissinger (#222), Rene Tercilla (#009), and Jonathan Hansen (#92). Kissinger drove into the distance and away from the pack in his beautiful 2015 Porsche GT3. His race 1 fastest lap was a whopping 1:17.328, with an average speed of 91.785 mph. That’s impressive! Tercilla and Hansen finished second and third respectively in both races. The most compelling battle in race 1 was between Hansen in a 2019 Ford Mustang, and Clarke Ohrstrom (#72) piloting his 1973 BMW CSL. Ohrstrom held on to third place for three-quarters distance until Hansen was finally able to slip by and capture the final podium spot.

The third race for Groups 3 and 12 were combined due to many competitors deciding to leave early Sunday afternoon. Storm clouds were brewing, and some wanted to get on the road towards home sooner than later. Rene Tercilla (#009) won the race in his 2017 Ford Mustang FP350S, with Michael LeVeque (#23) in his Stinger and Clay Hargitt (#79) in a 2013 Ford Mustang Boss S finishing second and third. Lowell Huston (#71) was the top finisher in Group 3 (4^th place), driving his 1965 Datsun 510.

Next on the agenda for the weekend was the Formula Vee Challenge Cup Series. A hefty field of 23 cars provided exciting action on Saturday and Sunday for their feature races. The Saturday race was setting up for a fantastic finish, with close nose-to-tail pack-racing highlighting the first seven laps. And then the heaven’s opened up, at first only affecting a portion of the track, and then the weather cell quickly covered the entire circuit. The rooster-tails were flying high when the race was black-flagged, with the official results reflecting the running order of lap 8. Samuel M. Ryan (#07) driving a 1995 Protoform P2 was declared the winner, with William Hannum (#95) in second, and Trevor Carmody (#7) in third.

Sunday’s Formula Vee feature was also won by Ryan (#07). A slight rain fell for five minutes before the start, but this race went the entire distance of 14 laps. Mike Lawrence (#36) diced with Ryan throughout in his 1996 Protoform P2 but could not find the opening to make a pass for the lead. The most heated battle was for third place between Garrett Villano (#65) in a 1991 BRD Formula Vee and Jack Herberger (#0) driving a 1997 Womer EV-3. Herberger held a small lead for most of the race, until a last lap pass sealed the final step on the podium for Villano.

Fairly new to the SVRA SpeedTour calendar has been the inclusion of the Formula Race Promotions (FRP) categories that now fall under Parella Motorsports Holdings. Summit Point was the last event on their calendar, and series champions were officially crowned and recognized. The FRP Formula Atlantic series races were both won convincingly by Matthew Butson (#24), driving his 2006 Swift 016 Mazda. This sealed the 2024 championships for Matthew in the 016 Class, while Nathan Byrd (not in attendance) had already clinched the Open Class.

The FRP F1600 races were very competitive affairs and provided exciting action for the fans. Race 1 was won by Jack Sullivan (#45), driving his 2012 Piper DF5. He was challenged throughout by Karsten Defonce (#41) in another 2012 Piper DF5. Cooper Shipman (#14) followed with a strong third place finish in race 1, and a flag-to-flag win in Sunday’s feature race, driving a 2018 Piper DB7. Afterwards, the 2024 champions were officially crowned: Sebastian Mateo Naranjo (F1600), and Scott Rubenzer (F1600 Masters).

During the Saturday feature race for the FRP F2000 class, they were paired with Formula Atlantic. Timothy Minor (#88) was sixth overall, but won the class driving his 2010 Citation. He followed that up with a dominating win on Sunday. Dane McMahon (#266) and Brandon Dixon (#5) swapped podium finishes, with McMahon taking Saturday’s second spot and Dixon the Sunday second step. Gabriel Cahan (#11) was ultimately crowned the 2024 F2000 season champion.

SVRA and their SpeedTour events always put on a first-class show. This was no exception, though it would have been nice to see the vintage grids a bit healthier. Some of this can be attributed to the unique circumstances in 2024 affecting a significant change in the SVRA calendar, precipitated somewhat by a combination of NBC’s Summer Olympic coverage, and NASCAR ‘s second half of the season being broadcast on NBC. Caught in the middle was SVRA and Watkins Glen who needed to shift their scheduled dates. The new SVRA Watkins Glen date now being the following week after Summit Point. The vintage competitors I spoke with stated they like the option of going back home and having the benefit of time to properly prepare their vintage racers for their next event. Not many of them liked the idea of back-to-back events. 

For those who came to Summit Point, they enjoyed plenty of track time on this fast and smooth circuit, set deep in the beautiful rolling hills of West Virginia. It was an exciting weekend with great action. I’m already looking forward to SVRA SpeedTour’s visit in 2025!

Terry Johnsen ….2024