62 OCTOBER 2019 scca.com
INSIDE SCCA
The history of the Runoffs is alive and well in the SCCA Archives
WORDS Jeff Jacobs, Vice Chairman, SCCA Foundation | IMAGES SCCA Archives
SCCA FOUNDATION
COAST TO COAST
The first SCCA
Runoffs, then called
the American Road
Race of Champions,
took place in 1964 at
Riverside International
Raceway (LEFT) in
Southern California. The
following year, the event
headed east to Daytona
International Raceway
(BELOW), which offered
a very different course
configuration compared
to when the Runoffs
returned to the World
Center of Racing in 2015.
All of these memories,
and more, are preserved
in the SCCA Archives.
RUNOFFS PAST
This year we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the SCCA by bringing the
Club’s most prestigious championship event,
the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, to
VIRginia International Raceway for the first
time. It might surprise some members to
learn that it wasn’t until nearly 20 years into
the Club’s history that a formal road racing
championship event was organized. And, with
funding from the SCCA Foundation, the SCCA
Archives at the International Motor Racing
Research Center in Watkins Glen documents
this event’s prestigious history, from initial
planning to its participants and their results.
An article by John M. Bishop in the
January 1964 issue of SportsCar records
that the proposal for the championship
event was first made by the Eastern
Tennessee Region more than year before.
“Publication of the proposal resulted in
a wave of favorable comment from all over
the country,” reported Bishop. A 1964
press release from the SCCA National
Office announced the “first inter-divisional
runoff, scheduled for Nov. 12-15, 1964,”
at Riverside International Raceway. “The
runoff, designed to bring class champions
from six SCCA Divisions face-to-face in an
‘American Road Race of Champions,’ is
being sponsored by Petersen Publishing Co.,
publishers of Sports Car Graphic magazine.”
The press release explains there would
be a mileage-based expense reimbursement
for participants. There would be 17 classes
with the top six Divisional class competitors
invited. The race weekend would include
practice on Thursday and Friday followed by
45-minute races on Saturday and Sunday.
Bishop’s article goes on to detail the
several provisions being made to help the
competitors who would be traveling great
distances and incurring significant expense
to compete. “Every entrant will receive a
free double-room for four nights in Riverside
as guests of the sponsors,” he explains.
The weekend would include “at least one
party,” in addition to one free lunch and
three free dinners. All competitors would be
provided with free access to working garage
space and mechanical assistance. Perhaps
most interestingly, Bishop’s article also
announced: “There will be no entry fees.”
SCCA Archives technician Joe Cali recounts
his personal recollection of the announcement
of the first championship. “In high school study
hall, instead of reading my math and science
books, I read Sports Car Graphic. It was an
exciting day when I read John Christy’s column
in the February 1964 issue announcing the
American Road Race of Champions would be
held at Riverside,” says Cali. Today he works
with a team of professionals to preserve that
very edition of Sports Car Graphic, along
with official SCCA records, meeting minutes,
driver applications, scoring records, and
result files associated with the Runoffs.
Fellow technician Rick Hughey notes that
the SCCA Archives collection could benefit
from more. “One thing we would like to have is
more video footage of the Runoffs, if members
could send us copies,” says Hughey.
The SCCA Foundation is raising funding
to ensure the preservation and ongoing
growth of this important part of the SCCA
Archives. One way members can support the
effort is by participating in the “ 75 for the
75th” campaign, which seeks 75 members
(or Regions, Divisions, or corporations) to
pledge $1,000 toward the SCCA Archives.
For details, head to sccafoundation.org
and click on the “Fundraising” tab.
