Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
— Lexington, Ohio
Mid-Ohio was the home of the National Run-Offs.
QUALIFYING FOR AN INVITATION
Each of the Divisions hold a minimum of six National events where drivers compete for national points to gain an invitation to the Runoffs. Each contender can participate in as many National races as they want, but can only count the points from their top six finishes. Only the top 10 competitors per Division in each of the 24 classes are invited to the Runoffs, so competition usually comes down to the last National events of the year held over the Labor Day weekend. Many drivers spend the end of the summer "chasing points" by traveling to races out of their own Division and acquiring the extra points necessary to guarantee them an invitation to the prestigious Runoffs.
WHY GO TO THE RUNOFFS?
While the big names make thousands or even millions of dollars a year, normally club racers compete for trophies. There are a few classes supported by contingency sponsors throughout the season, but most of the time when a club driver is on the track it is for fun and to test himself against his fellow competitors. Winning a National Championship at the Runoffs means defeating the best club racing has to offer as well as bragging rights to say "I am the best in the country."
The long list of past National Champions reads like a "who's who" of motor racing. Bobby Rahal, Jimmy Vassar, Scott Sharp, Elliott Forbes Robinson, Skip Barber, Paul Newman, and Dave Weitzenhof are just a few of the familiar names. For many of these drivers, a National Championship was just a stepping stone on their way to making a name for themselves in auto racing. A National Championship looks good on the racing resume and can help with sponsorship proposals for the following year. Securing a sponsor can help with a bigger and better season for the following year, be it in Club or Pro.
THE HISTORY OF THE RUNOFFS
Over the years the name has changed as well as the method of qualifying for the event, but the idea has remained to gather the best amateur road racers in one place and let them compete against each other. The National Championships spent their first six years alternating between Riverside International Raceway in California (1964, 1966 & 1968) and Daytona International Speedway in Florida (1965, 1967 & 1969). For the next 24 years the Runoffs were held at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. The Runoffs moved to Mid-Ohio in 1994.
During the early years the event was known as the American Road Race of Champions (ARRC). The first year at Riverside saw 183 cars entered in 13 races for 17 classes. Practice began on Wednesday with qualifying Thursday and Friday and races Saturday and Sunday. In 1983 when Champion Spark Plugs signed on as the event sponsor the name became the Champion Spark Plug Road Racing Classic (CSPRRC). In 1983 the words "The Runoffs" were added to the Champion Spark Plug Road Racing Classic and then in 1985 Valvoline Oil took over as sponsor of the event and it became the Valvoline Road Racing Classic - The Runoffs (VRRC). 1987 saw the name shortened to just "The Valvoline Runoffs" and that has remained the name to this day.
Many Club drivers do not want to be professional drivers one day and are content to test themselves each year at the Runoffs, which makes for lots of return entries each year. During the 24 years the Runoffs were held at Road Atlanta, many of the competitors gathered quite a following of local fans. The move to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was the perfect opportunity to expose these same drivers to a whole new group of spectators and race fans. The number of entries have grown steadily over the past 30 years. The 1995 Runoffs had 692 entries, the highest number ever. The spectator attendance over the past 30 years has averaged 15,000 people per year, and the move to Mid-Ohio has seen that number increase dramatically with the large motorsport fan base in the area. The biggest race in Club Racing has always been supported by the workers from across the country, with workers from as far away as Hawaii and British Columbia, Canada.
For more information about Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course visit their website: MidOhio.com