SCCA Time Trials

Vegas is a party town – but the Strip, laden with casinos and bright lights, isn’t the only place to have a blast in the city. The Sports Car Club of America® proved as much on Feb. 17-18, 2024, during the season opener Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty (TTNT) hosted at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, thanks to help from SCCA’s Las Vegas Region.

This was the first time TTNT visited Sin City, and the weekend’s playground was the 2.4-mile, 12-turn Outside Road Course located just a stone’s throw from the famed Las Vegas Motor Speedway banked oval. The weather played nice with temperatures topping out in the upper 60s both days with nary a drop of rain, meaning the fun was flowing for the more than 100 TTNT and Track Event participants.

The TTNT drivers were on hand to lay down their fastest times on the fun, winding, and challenging circuit. The Track Event participants, meanwhile, spent Saturday and Sunday navigating the course without the competitive aspect to get in the way of their personal SCCA adventure.

An added bonus was the appearance of Cody Loveland’s Pikes Peak competition vehicle, the Enviate Hypercar. The twin-turbo machine, which produces 1,200 wheel horsepower and 7,200 pounds of downforce, made exhibition runs on track during lunch to show off the engineering feat. Enjoy a lap around the Vegas Outside Road Course in the Enviate Hypercar by watching this video.

Victories in Vegas

This being TTNT’s first trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, new records were going to be set for others to aim at in the future. TTNT’s Track Records and Personal Bests webpage is where you’ll find top times for drivers across all circuits visited over the years, but Unlimited 1 driver Clayton Yates proved to be fastest in Vegas.

Yates and his 2019 Chevrolet Corvette were atop the time sheet in each of the weekend’s three scored segments. He opened his effort Saturday afternoon with a 1:46.044, then shaved that down to a 1:45.335 on Sunday morning. Before KONI Podium Celebrations were held late Sunday afternoon, Yates had further whittled down his time to 1:45.333 – which now stands as not only his new Personal Best, but also the overall TTNT lap record at the circuit.

Below are the overall top five TTNT finishers from Vegas, with name, class, car, and total time produced from three scored segments during competition.

1. Clayton Yates, Unlimited 1, 2019 Chevrolet Corvette, 5:16.712
2. Danny Weller, Max 1, 2019 Chevrolet Camaro, 5:26.616
3. Brian Peters, Max 1, 2024 Chevrolet Corvette, 5:34.827
4. Tom Bergeron, Sport 1, 2009 Chevrolet Corvette, 5:36.921
5. Stan Whitney, Max 1, 2022 Ford Mustang, 5:37.686

The newly established TTNT class track records in Vegas with class, time, name, and car are:

Unlimited 1 - 1:45.333, Clayton Yates, 2019 Chevrolet Corvette
Unlimited 2 - 2:05.064, Austin Kirk, 2004 Mazda RX-8
Max 1 - 1:48.608, Danny Weller, 2019 Chevrolet Camaro
Max 2 - 1:53.215, Sean Mullen, 2020 Toyota Supra
Max 3 - 1:59.222, Corey Miller, 2001 Mazda Miata
Max 4 - 2:01.757, Brian Maskrey, 2013 Scion FR-S
Max 5 - 2:06.558, Scott Hanson, 1999 Mazda Miata
Sport 1 - 1:51.750, Tom Bergeron, 2009 Chevrolet Corvette
Sport 2 - 1:55.947, Cameron Goode, 2024 Ford Mustang
Sport 3 - 2:06.631, James Moss, 2016 Ford Focus
Sport 5 - 2:01.928, Taylour Wargo, 2014 Scion FR-S
Sport 6 - 2:07.420, Nicholas Zelisko, 2013 Honda Civic
Tuner 1 - 1:55.620, Josh Cummings, 2016 Porsche Cayman
Tuner 2 - 1:54.717, Marc Segal, 2020 Toyota Supra
Tuner 3 - 2:11.888, Jim Bunch, 2015 Ford Mustang
Tuner 4 - 2:02.157, Joshua Thompson, 2017 Mazda MX-5

Complete results from this weekend’s Vegas event can be found below.

 Event Results

More Vegas Winners

Before packing up and heading to its next event – which will be the March 9-10, 2024, TTNT and Track Event at VIRginia International Raceway – KONI Podium Celebrations saluted top drivers, as well as those who earned superlative awards.

That included the Top Novice honoree, Kevin Berba. The Scion FR-S driver competing in Tuner 4 was always working to better himself as a driver and teammate on track throughout the weekend.

The Crossover award, bestowed upon a participant coming from another SCCA discipline, went to Clay Larson. An autocrosser taking part in his first real track event, Larson wound up taking third in the Sport 1 class in a 2019 Chevrolet Corvette.

Honors for being the fastest rear-wheel-drive competitor went to Yates in Unlimited 1, and the fastest front-wheel-drive competitor was Sport 6’s Nicholas Zelisko. The fastest all-wheel-drive performer was Brandon Hurst, who turned a lap of 1:54.938 in a Tesla Model S within the Max 1 field.

Spirit of Time Trials recognition went to Josh Cummings. The Tuner 1 driver displayed fantastic energy and excitement after each session. He also focused on enjoying on-track improvements he made throughout the event and delighted in achieving new personal bests.

The Time Trials Champion award is not for performance on track, but for those who promote and make an event happen. As such, the Las Vegas Region received that award this past weekend. The Region has built its program from the freshly introduced and reimagined Time Trials program unveiled in 2018, then kept working to grow involvement. The Region’s effort and dedication to building its program speaks volumes to its dedication to both the sport and SCCA as a whole.

Even More...

This is a reminder that there’s a $1,000 SCCA Women on Track scholarship up for grabs for a female participant looking to head to the Oct. 24-27, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals at NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, KY. Apply for that scholarship by clicking here.

Stay tuned to SCCA.com, the SCCA Time Trials webpage, and SCCA Time Trials Nationals on Facebook for the latest SCCA Time Trials news.

Photo caption: Sean Mullen drove his 2020 Toyota Supra to the Max 2 win.
Photo by Lionel Fiel