January 4, 2022
With 2022 upon us, and the inaugural SCCA Enduro National Championship at Sebring International Raceway just three months away — March 31 – April 2 — the application for event invitations has been opened at scca.com.
To manage any potential high-demand, team leaders should fill out the online form so that the Endurance Racing Board can evaluate each potential entry and ensure a well-rounded, high-quality event.
“When we announced the inaugural SCCA Team Endurance National Championship, we knew that we would draw interest from teams that race with a variety of organizations, not just within SCCA,” said Eric Prill, VP of Road Racing. “Teams will be invited to enter based on their racing histories, regardless of the organizational affiliation. The first step in the process is for a team to request an invitation.”
The application consists of a section for basic team information including contact information for the team lead and team history; a section on the vehicle, including an optional image upload; and a section for individual drivers, their contact information and driving history.
“The application should give the review committee a good snapshot of your team, car and drivers,” added Prill. “While regular season events will be a good opportunity to get new racers involved in the sport, Enduro Nationals is about showcasing talent and experience, with the best teams earning the inaugural SCCA Team National Championships.”
The first round of acceptances will be sent out in mid-January, and each week more teams will be notified if they are accepted. SCCA’s goal is to have the field set by the end of February. If a team isn’t sent an invite in the first round, they will remain eligible for future invitation rounds.
Though event-specific rules and procedures haven’t been posted yet, the schedule will consist of optional testing during the day on Thursday, March 31, with a night practice the same evening for all entered teams. There will be a qualifying session for all teams on Friday morning, April 1, and the race will consist of two separate segments. The first eight hours will take place on Friday, with the final 12 hours on Saturday, April 2. The race will run into darkness and finish with headlights on and fireworks in the sky.
To ensure a quality, amateur-based championship, SCCA has set minimum and maximum experience standards for the event.
On the lesser-experienced end, all drivers wishing to enter must have verifiable wheel-to-wheel racing experience, and on the more experienced end, a team may only have one Silver-rated pro driver in their lineup. No Gold- or Platinum-level pro drivers may run.
“We want this to primarily be an amateur event, and while the line is often blurred in sports car racing, we feel limitations on those who make their living racing cars works to secure the intent,” said Jon Krolewicz, Enduro Nationals Event Lead. “But we will have a Driver Mentor Center for any mid-race coaching a driver may need or desire, so if one of the pro-racing elites would like to engage in the event, we’d love to have them as driver mentors.”
Technical and vehicle safety regulations were finalized in December, and competition rules for the event — including pit stop rules — are expected by the end of January.
Photo by Anna Lisa Photography
