SCCA Time Trials

Eagles Canyon Raceway (ECR) may not be the most famous of the Texas tracks, but the 15-turn, 2.7-mile layout is always a hit amongst the Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty attendees – and the April 23-24, 2022, event was no exception.

As to be expected, Texas was Texas – unpredictable, windy, cold, warm, and rainy, all within 48 hours. ECR management and the facility has embraced this event, however, and with the blessing of the workers, Sunday’s schedule was adjusted so that each of the 57 competitors got one Time Attack session in the dry before Sunday’s storms rolled in.

ECR Competition Snapshot

Larry Waterman, driving a Chevrolet Corvette in Max 1, took king of the hill for the weekend’s quickest lap – but only barely. His 2:02.971 on the first day barely topped Tom Bergeron (not the television host) in a Sport 1-classed Corvette with a time of 2:02.990. Those runs boosted both to class wins in the event.

The closest battle of the weekend came in Tuner 2. Brian Matteucci held a slight advantage over Chris Weelock on the full circuit, but Weelock found nearly a half-second in the TrackSprint. At the finish, Mateucci’s Corvette was an aggregate 0.383sec ahead of Weelock’s ‘Vette to clinch the class win.

Below are the top five finishers from ECR with name, class, car, and overall time:

1. Larry Waterman, M1, Chevrolet Corvette, 5:01.815
2. Mark Poling, M3, Porsche 911, 5:02.587
3. Tom Bergeron, S1, Chevrolet Corvette, 5:03.330
4. Brian Phillips, M1, Chevrolet Corvette, 5:04.266
5. Ryan Harness, S2, Ford Mustang, 5:08.886

Complete event results can be found here.

More Texas Achievements

Following Sunday’s KONI Podium Celebration, the traditional Time Trials Superlatives were also handed out.

Tom Harness, second in T1, took the top Novice award for his final combined time of 5:36.024 in his Ford Mustang.

Jeff Velker was Most Improved, attributing much of his whopping six-second improvement from Saturday to Sunday on the full course to the TrackSprint, which helped him find time through that particular section of the course in his Porsche Cayman.

The Spirit of Time Trials award goes to a participant who embraces the idea and themes of the Time Trials program, and while the Eagles Canyon award went to Daniel Moore, it was a team effort. Moore was ready to pack up on Saturday following a blown head gasket on his Honda Civic, but with assistance from Mat Beck and Jim Rowland, Moore was back on track to finish the event after an overnight repair, running all day Sunday.

The Time Trials Champion award is not for performance on the track, but for those who promote and make the event happen. Taylor Burnidge has been to every Time Trials event at ECR to help out, making the TrackSprint portion of the event his own and jumping over to the grid in between. His dedication to the program, both at the National level and within his own Texas Region, makes him an overall champion of the Time Trials program.

The Granddaddy of Them All

Up next for the Time Trials National Tour program is the big boy – the one that started it all – the Tire Rack Time Trials Nationals Powered by Hagerty at NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, KY. The keystone event is four days of Time Trials action, elevating the Time Trials National Tour to an event unlike any other on the tour. An impressive 174 drivers are already on the entry list for the May 12-15, 2022, event, which features more track time, more competition, and more fun than any event on the calendar.

Photo By Gregory Pfaff