Perfect weather and some record-setting runs were the story in the first day of action at the Piggly Wiggly 52nd Annual SCCA Chicago Region June Sprints®.
Running in the heat of the day generally translates into somewhat slower lap times, but three of the classes ran faster than the existing track records, thanks to sunny skies and temperatures in the lower 70s.
Brian Novak, of Dearborn, Mich., captured the provisional pole in race one and for Formula 500 in his Novakar J360. His time of 2:25.732 (98.812 mph) around the 14-turn, 4.0-mile circuit fell just short of the track record, but Saturday morning could prove record-setting as Novak missed the last half of the session with a mechanical issue. Michael Varacins, of Burlington, Wis., earned the provisional pole in Formula Vee, with a fastest time of 2:43.432 (88.110 mph).
Defending Formula Mazda National Champion Jim Goughary Jr. earned the provisional pole for Race Two with a best time of 2:17.267 (104.905 mph). Tony Coello, of Palmyra, Wis., ran faster than the current Formula Ford track record to take the provisional pole in that class with a 2:22.577 (100.998 mph).
Defending E Production National Champion and June Sprints winner Lawrence Loshak, of Glendale, Wis., entered his qualifying session late, but still had time to uncork a 2:30.360 (95.770 mph) in his Honda Prelude and take the overall provisional pole for Race Three.
Defending F Production June Sprints winner Steve Sargis, of Frankfort, Ill., went nearly two seconds faster than his current track record in F Production with a fastest time of 2:34.106 (93.442 mph) to hold provisional pole by more than six seconds in his Triumph Spitfire.
Defending National Champions Chuck Mathis (St. Jacob, Ill. ) and Jim Dentici (Oconomowoc, Wis. ) took the provisional G Production and GT-Lite poles, respectively. John Salisbury, of Bristol, Wis., was fastest in H Production.
In Group Four qualifying, which will race first on Sunday, Robert Huffmaster, of Rochester Hills, Mich., bettered the Touring 3 track record by nearly three seconds with a 2:39.876 (90.070 mph) in his Mazda RX-8. Jim Drago, of Memphis, Tenn., was fastest in Spec Miata, turning a 2:46.416 (86.530 mph) in the closing moments of the session. Jack Tippens (Woodstock, Ill. ) and Joseph McClughan (New Braunfels, Texas) earned provisional poles in Showroom Stock B and C, respectively.
In the final qualifying session of the day, Jeff Beck, of Ingleside, Ill., edged John Annis for the Spec Racer Ford provisional pole with a time of 2:38.661 (90.760 mph), 0.047-second faster than the current track record.
Saturday morning kicks off with final qualifying for the three afternoon races, with the other six groups having one session each for their Sunday contests.
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