Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin - September 21, 2013 – Michael Varacins, of Burlington, Wisconsin, drove flag-to-flag to capture his third-career Formula Vee National Championship at the 50th SCCA National Championship Runoffs® at Road America. Roger Siebenaler, of North Hero, Vermont, and Brad Stout, of Webster Groves, Missouri, finished second and third, respectively.


Varacins, the defending race winner, started from the SafeRacer pole position in the No. 65 SpeedSport/Veetech/Hooiser Speedsport AM-5. When the green flag dropped, Varacins drove into Turn One with the lead and never looked. Varacins was never seriously challenged and won the race by 20.252 seconds over Siebenaler.

“I kind of lucked out a little bit on the start,” Varacins said. “I got a good one. When I looked back, halfway through the first lap, I knew that I had a pretty good gap. I had a feeling if I just put my head down there was a good chance I could get away. Then, towards the end of the second lap, I could see the white Mysterian with the red nose (Seibenaler’s car) back there. I was afraid if he was leading the train and the other driver’s teamed up that they would run me down and I would be a sitting duck. I just focused on turning the fastest laps I could. Every time I looked back, they looked like they were further and further back. Then, my dad came on the radio and said that we were pulling away. Then, it was just a matter of hoping that everything just stayed together until the end. You start hearing every little noise and every little vibration – the same old story that everybody talks about. Everything held together and that was it.

“This certainly is a special one [win] being the 50th [anniversary] and the last one being here at Road America. This is the one that I will probably remember the most. ”

Varacins had the GoPro Hero Move of the Race for his dominating performance en route to his third Formula Vee National title.

Siebenaler, who is a three-time Formula Vee National Champion, started sixth on the No. 72 Autowerks/Hoosier Mysterian M2 and was up to second after two laps. However, two laps later Siebenaler dropped back to sixth. As the 13-lap race progressed, he consistently ran between second and sixth. In the end, he just nipped Stout for second.

“For a short period of time, when I got in front of the pack, I thought I might have a break if they kept fighting each other and I could do what Mike did,” Siebenaler said of the side-by-side racing for second place. “That wasn’t going to happen. They put their heads together and they basically freight trained me, and that was the end of it.

“It was a battle for second place out of six or seven cars. Like Brad [Stout] said one lap you’d be sixth, the next lap you’d be first in line. Then, you’d be stuck somewhere in the middle. Basically, you had to pace yourself because there were a few times when you might get a break. At this place, it’s not going to happen. There is a draft. If these guys work together, they’re going to get you. But unfortunately, we didn’t work together to catch Michael [Varacins]. We had our own race going, while he took off. We were racing for second place.

“But, it was a great race. Everybody behaved quite well. There is a lot of talent. I was pretty impressed with the number of cars that were able to get through that whole race pretty clean. We were battling at every corner – especially in Turn Five.”

Five-time Formula Vee National Champion, Stout started on the outside pole in the No. 35 ACI Distributors/Noble Racing. Much like Siebenaler, Stout spent the entire race battling seven other cars for second and third place. Stout ran as high as second and as low as sixth, but finished third.

“I wouldn’t call it so much a battle as I would [call it] a bee hive,” Stout said of the seven-way race for second place. “To go from second, to fifth, to seventh, back to second, back to third all in one lap is about as crazy as it gets. We were kind of hoping to stay with Mike [Varacins]. We got separated early on. Mike did a fabulous job, kept his down. He went off and won the race and left the rest of us racing for second place.

“Anything on the podium, at the Runoffs, is a wonderful result. I’m glad to be here. You know, it’s a deep, talented field. I don’t know how many National Champions we had [in that race]. But, Vees are extremely competitive. It’s hard to do what Mike did. The race kind of showed just how competitive the class is.”

Jonathan Weisheit, of Baltimore, Md., finished fourth in the No. 61 JK Technologies, LLC. Jeff Loughead, of Darien, Ill., finished fifth in the No. 8 Hoosier Tire/L.L. Loughead, DDS Vortech CR04.

Stevan Davis, of Danielsville, Ga., turned the Hawk Performance Hot Lap with a 2:41.007 (89.437 mph) in the No. 80 Hoosier/Butler Engines/Roxxannes Head Racer’s Wedge SB-1. Mark Edwards was the Sunoco Hard Charger; he advanced 19 positions.

The 50th SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, The Pinnacle of American Motorsports, will crown Sports Car Club of America’s Club Racing National Champions at Road America, Friday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 22.

Follow all the live timing and scoring and get results at www.scca.com/runoffs. Live Twitter stream is available @SCCALive. Follow this weekend’s races on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SCCAOfficial.

The live broadcast of all 28 National Championship races will be available through Sunday at www.SpeedcastTV.com/scca and later available On Demand from the same site.



Provisional results for Saturday’s Formula Vee national championship at the 50th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America, with finish position, starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, car and laps complete.

1, (1), Michael Varacins, Burlington, WI, Speedsport AM-5, 13.
2, (6), Roger Siebenaler, North Hero, VT, Mysterian M2, 13.
3, (2), Brad Stout, Webster Groves, MO, Vortech FV, 13.
4, (13), Jonathan Weisheit, Baltimore, MD, Protoform XP-1, 13.
5, (3), Jeff Loughead, Darien, IL, Vortech CR04, 13.
6, (15), Gary Blanarik, Baden, PA, Silver Bullet AR-1, 13.
7, (12), Charles McCormick, Clarkston, MI, Vortech CM1, 13.
8, (19), Terran Swanson, Petaluma, CA, Mysterian M4, 13.
9, (17), Chris Jennerjahn, Hartford City, IN, Vortech FV, 13.
10, (21), Bruce Livermore, Stillwater, MN, Mysterian X-M2, 13.
11, (10), Dale Rader, Reading, PA, Vortech FV, 13.
12, (16), David Scaler, Flemington, NJ, Vortech FV, 13.
13, (5), Gary Kittell, Tully, NY, Caracal D/SB, 13.
14, (4), Bill Johnson, Leawood, KS, Vortech FV, 13.
15, (20), Andy Pastore, Watertown, MA, Citation 89FV-06, 13.
16, (8), Ron Whitston, Neenah, WI, Protoform P2, 13.
17, (18), Rick Shields, Bridgeville, PA, Volkswagen VDF-2, 13.
18, (23), Andrew Abbott, Livonia, MI, Vector AM-1, 13.
19, (29), Charlie Rogers, Powder Springs, GA, Protoform P2, 13.
20, (27), Guy Bellingham, Brantford, ON, BRD AFV-02, 13.
21, (25), Russell Fredericks, Northport, NY, Caracal D, 13.
22, (28), Jim Dziewior, HINSDALE, IL, Citation Speedsport, 13.
23, (39), Dave Weitzenhof, Bath, OH, Vortech FV, 13.
24, (43), Mark Edwards, Los Angeles, CA, Glamdring , 13.
25, (34), Ron Wake, Lafayette, CA, Mysterian M4, 13.
26, (32), Michael Saltenberger, Chicago, IL, Citation BK, 13.
27, (36), Stuart Delaney, Plymouth, MI, Adams J, 13.
28, (22), Dean Curtis, East Stroudsburg, PA, Womer EV3, 13.
29, (37), John Petillo, Acton, MA, Speedsport V, 13.
30, (40), Charlie Turner, Mission Viejo, CA, Vortech 1, 13.
31, (33), Mike Landon, Zionsville, IN, Dunlap Wasp, 13.
32, (41), David Satterley, Belleville, MI, Protoform P2, 13.
33, (30), Lisa Noble, Manhattan, KS, Vortech FV, 12.
34, (45), Jack Maloney, Potomac, MD, Lynx Bullet, 12.
35, (44), Hughie Maloney, Freeland, PA, Womer EV-3, 12.
36, (47), Duke Waldrop, Winter Haven, FL, Predator P3, 12.
37, (7), Stevan Davis, Danielsville, GA, Racer's Wedge SB-1, 11.
38, (46), John J Maloney, Conyngham, PA, Womer EV-3, 11.
39, (9), Robert Neumeister, Pueblo, CO, Vortech FV, 9.
40, (48), James Vaseff, Decatur, GA, Citation XTC-41, 9.
41, (26), Donnie Isley, Fletcher, NC, Agitator 16, 8.
42, (11), Andrew Whitston, Neenah, WI, Protoform P2, 7.
DNF, (24), Dennis Andrade, Brush Prairie, WA, Vortech FV, 3.
DNF, (14), Brandon Abbott, Livonia, MI, Vector AM-1, 2.
DNF, (42), Stephen Smith, Reston, VA, Caracal D, 1.
DNF, (35), Alexander Rizer, Warrenton, VA, Vortech FV, 0.
DNF, (38), Brian Swanson, Petaluma, CA, Mysterian M4, 0.
DNS, (31), Robert O'Connor, Woodbridge, VA, Vortech FV, .

Overall Time of Race: 35:13.616
Average Race Speed: 88.569 mph
Margin of Victory: 20.252 seconds
Hawk Fastest Race Lap: 2:41.007
Fastest Race Lap Average Speed: 89.437 mph
Sunoco Hard Charger: #4 Mark Edwards
Lap Leaders: #65 – Laps 1-13