INDIANAPOLIS – Joe Moser won in the Super Touring Under class to capture his third career SCCA National Championship on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 58th SCCA National Championship Runoffs.
Chip Herr and Axel Cabrera joined Moser on the podium in their respective Runoffs debuts.
Moser led all 19 laps, including three under full course caution, on his way to a 20.824-second victory.
The victory adds a second career STU title to Moser’s résumé, adding to a class victory in 2016 at Mid-Ohio and alongside a Super Touring Light class victory a season ago at Road America.
“This one feels great because it was an idea that we hatched on the back of a napkin last summer,” Moser said. “We were going through weights and estimated power. This is the same car we won STL with last year and my crew chief, Chad, pulled his two-liter out of his Honda CRV and said, ‘What do you think if I build this up for STU, you think we got a winner?’ The car was a little pocket rocket out of the box.”
Behind Moser, the battle raged for the final podium spots. Anthony Geraci and Axel Cabrera moved around Chip Herr on the lap five restart and the three mixed it up to the finish.
Herr claimced a podium finish in the same Stassis-build Audi he used to win four SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge races in 2006 and ’07, complete with dents on the roof from standing on it after his first win at Mid-Ohio.
“It’s awesome to be here,” Herr said. “I started my racing in SCCA and when you’re a pro driver that’s getting paid to drive a race car, you have a responsibility. I started driving touring cars in the Dominican Republic and I realized how much fun I was having just downright street racing.
“Those guys are good, and they race close,” he added. “I bought my old race car and we put a plan together and have had so much fun. The only time I ever came to the Runoffs was when I was hired to announce the event (for TV) in 2010. I’m just glad to be here. Indianapolis is great. I want another shot at Joe, to be honest with you. I’m in a good spot in life and having fun, and I’m happy to be on the podium.”
Cabrera had enough in his No. 86 Eight-Six Racing Honda Civic to hang with Herr, but not enough for another spot.
His team and crew swapped motors on Wednesday evening, giving him more power but negating his earlier qualifying times and giving him just two laps to test the setup under the new weight requirements. Still, the young racer was happy with his podium finish.
“It feels pretty awesome,” Cabrera said. “I never imagined anything like this, I feel like a Formula One driver. I come from go karts, some grassroots stuff and this is definitely a step up. We started fourth, just hung in there the whole race waiting for something to happen. We didn’t have enough pace to pass anyone, but just held in there.”
Geraci crossed the line in fourth-place followed by Jose Osiris Pena in fifth-place. Peter Federlin earned hard-charger honors in a drive from the 28th-starting position to 20th.