2004 Sports Car Club Of America Runoffs

Nothing beats a great dogfight in the amateur ranks. As cool as the multimillion-dollar budgets in Formula One and Champ Car look on TV, there's still something special about watching the middleweights of motorsport have a good thrash.

Since 1964, the pinnacle of the U.S. club racing scene has been the Sports Car Club of America's National Runoffs. Each year the best competitors from each of SCCA's 24 national classes come from all over the country to one track during the same week. Each class has its race. Each winner is crowned the champion. There's no points system. No math. No backing off to save the car. They go to the runoffs to win. Period.

We decided it was time to check out the hype. The racing might be fierce in Formula Vee, but what do we care? Air-cooled Volkswagen open-wheeled cars? Please. We want door slammers. Imports. Domestic compacts. Turbos and all-wheel drive, maybe.

We went to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to see what SCCA had for us. What we found was world-class competition, beautiful cars, great people, an above-average snack bar, and just a bit of fear. Fear of the modern gearhead. Of intercoolers and of center differentials. Of a generation of racers grown up with EFI, ECUs and laptop computers. Fear that the carburetor, the British roadster, or Detroit's interest might become extinct.

They like us. They want us. They need us. But they're not quite sure what to do with us yet. Check it out.

Deciphering The ClassesFiguring out the SCCA's alphabet soup classification system isn't easy. And with classes for everything from a carbureted, tube-frame, rear-wheel-drive Mazda wagon to a bone-stock Civic Si, the racing is diverse to say the least. Here's a quick guide to help you out.

GT Classes (1,2,3,4,5)GT Class cars are purpose-built, highly modified "silhouette" replicas of series-produced sports sedans. GT cars are permitted tube-frame chassis with performance being equalized by allowing cars with smaller engines to compete at a lighter weight. GT1 is the fastest SCCA class with a roof. Higher numbers mean slower cars.

Production Classes (E,F,G,H)Production Class cars are allowed a range of performance modifications while retaining their original design, structure and drive layout. There is no age limit, so Production includes cars as old as 50 years and as new as current body styles. E Production is the fastest and largest of the Production classes.

Touring Classes (1,2)Touring classes are designed for mass-produced, high-performance cars, which, because of their performance potential, require changes to their wheel/tire and suspension components. Touring 1 features the fastest street cars you'll see at the Runoffs and is faster than Touring 2.

Showroom Stock Classes (B, C)Showroom stock features late-model, mass-produced street cars that aren't quick as the those in the Touring classes. Aside from a bolt-in roll cage and safety equipment, there are very few modifications allowed to the cars. Showroom Stock B is the faster of the two Showroom Stock classes.