built to conquer the greatest battle of all. your ... - World Challenge

The Series
Wheels
GT: The wheel diameter used in the GT class is 18”. The maximum wheel width range from
9.5”-13” based on the tire size(s) permitted on each car. The wheel offset is free provided
that the approved bodywork covers the portion of the tire that contacts the track.
TC: The wheel diameter used in the TC class is 17”. The maximum wheel width is 8”. The
wheel offset is free provided that the approved bodywork covers the portion of the tire that
contacts the track.
Tires
GT: Tires are the Toyo Proxes ® R888 DOT-approved tire, in widths ranging from 245mm
to 335mm.
32 2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide
SCCA SPEED World Challenge - History
In 1972, the Sports Car Club of America formed a new club racing class for absolutely
stock street automobiles. The class was called “showroom stock,” and the original rules
imposed a price ceiling on the cars of $3,000–pennies in comparison to today’s racing
budgets. From those humble origins, showroom stock racing grew in popularity over time,
manufacturer interest, cost and number of participants.
On the first day of summer, 1980, a 24-hour showroom stock race was staged at
Nelson Ledges Road Course near Youngstown, Ohio. The success of the Nelson Ledges
“Longest Day” and the amazing response to a second such event at the Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Course in August, 1984, prompted the SCCA to combine several existing endurance
races into a manufacturers’ series for 1984.
This new series was expanded into a six-race professional showroom stock endurance
racing series for 1985. The 1985 series was billed as the Playboy United States Endurance
Cup, with Playboy Magazine its title sponsor. There were four classes in 1985 (GT, A, B and
C) with a per-race purse of $20,000 and year-end bonus of $60,000.
A number of changes were made in 1986, as Escort replaced Playboy as the sponsor
and the class structure was altered. A new class was introduced–Super Sports (SS) and
the B and C classes were combined. The per-race purses jumped to $28,000 and the yearend
points fund was increased to $80,000–split among the four classes. Once again, six
races were held, including two 24-hour events.
The series continued to grow in 1987, as the number of races jumped to eight and the
per-race purse was upped to $36,000. The class structure remained intact and Escort was
retained as the series’ title sponsor.
In 1988 and 1989, the SS class was eliminated, thus making the GT cars the premier
class with the A and B classes remaining unchanged.
A dramatic off-season followed the 1989 Escort Endurance Championship, in which
the series was completely restructured and renamed. For 1990, the Escort World
Challenge Championship was born.
The new series featured cars homologated by manufacturers. The rules were along
the same lines as the European Group A specifications, rather than the showroom stock
configuration of the series from 1985 through 1989.
The 1990 Escort World Challenge featured two classes of competition following the
restructuring. The top class, World Challenge, showcased high-performance sports cars
like the Chevrolet Corvette and Lotus Esprit Turbo.
The second class, Super Production, was for lower-horsepower sports cars including
the Honda CRX, Eagle Talon and new Mazda Miata.
There was concern of whether or not anyone could compete with the Corvettes, which
moved over from the Corvette Challenge to World Challenge. Doc Bundy and Scott Lagasse
put those ideas to rest, winning the inaugural World Challenge race for Lotus–a three hour
event at Sears Point. Bundy would win twice more on the season, but a poor finish at Dallas
allowed R.K. Smith to win the Championship in a Powell Motorsport Corvette on the
strength of three solo wins.
In Super Production, Bobby Archer’s HKS Performance Eagle Talon waged a seasonlong
battle with the American Honda Honda CRX Si of Peter Cunningham. In the end,
Archer drove to victory in the season-ending St. Petersburg round to take the Drivers’
Championship and clinch the Manufacturers’ title for Eagle.
In 1991, a third class, Super Sport, was included for Camaros and club-configured
Mustangs. Shawn Hendricks had a banner year in his Bakeracing Corvette, taking the
World Challenge title with top-five finishes in all eight races and two wins. Actor Bobby
Carradine was second in a Lotusport Lotus Esprit, followed by Andy Pilgrim’s Goodyear
Corvette. Lou Gigliotti took his first Drivers’ Championship in Super Sports, winning three
of the six races in his Young Chevrolet Camaro. Mitch Wright earned the Archer Brothers
2009 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Media Guide 33
The Series