If you’re wondering what a Daytona Prototype, Ford Falcon and BMW E30 have in common, it is that they all competed in the first ever vintage race at Apex Motor Club and as part of the club’s race series the Scottsdale Ferrari Apex Challenge presented by Coffin & Trout.
Race car collecting and vintage racing are booming in the U.S. Giving members dedicated to the hobby the opportunity to showcase their incredible machinery was both an onlooker’s paradise and to get more members involved in Apex race day events.
“It’s a really great spectacle and should more than exhibition. The vintage stuff you rarely see, and to see it perform on a racetrack is really special,” said Apex Motor Club CEO Jason Plotke. “The drivers in the vintage class really appreciate it, so we’re going to build on it.”
Video highlights:
In the wheel-to-wheel action, Lucas Barnett has been sniffing a win in MX-5 Cup all season. Sniff no more! Barnett took a multi-second win over a field where recent races have been decided on the last lap. It wasn’t an entire cake walk though. Newcomers Stone and Slater Colby lurked in the shadows, with Slater and Barnett swapping the lead early on. Joey Rainey was in the mix too, but a mid-race lock up separated the field with the Colbys then rounding out the podium.
Rainey made amends in the GT4 race a few hours later, coming from the back of the field for his fourth win over the first five races of the season. The multi-time GT4 club champion picked off challengers one by one, including Matt Crandall who led early but couldn’t hold off the hard-charging Rainey. Crandall did notch his second, second-place finish of the season with senior Joe Rainey rounding out the GT4 podium.
“It’s probably the most fun race I have out here, starting at the back and coming all the way to the front — picking through all the people and picking the places to pass,” said Joey Rainey.
Radical Gold saw Jace Bacon take his third straight win, followed by Andy Voelkel and for the first time on the gold podium, Lucky Ludwig. It was a complete 20-something champagne celebration. Ludwig notably moved up from the silver class in 2024 based on his results. Bacon ran flag-to-flag as the leader, after also capturing his second pole position of the season, and now also leads the gold championship points standings.
“Felt good to get up on the podium for the first time in the gold class. I had a rough start to the season and this accomplishes one of my goals for the season,” said Ludwig.
In Radical silver, it is increasingly looking like the Ryan Fisher show. An expert in drifting yet a rookie in Radical, Fisher recovered from an off at the race start while battling gold level drivers. It was his fourth win of the season and he now has a commanding 27 point lead in the silver points championship.
And finally, in Time Attack Street, it is now official: there may be an arm wrestling match in the Sawalqah household to determine this year’s champion! Husband and wife Jordan and Star Sawalquah each have 90 points after five rounds and Jordan’s weekend victory.
“I think it’s awesome. I started doing this when Star was riding with me. She really took an interest and now she’s doing it. And I mean I’m fighting for my life out there, dude,” added Sawalquah.
Mark your calendar for Round 6 of the Scottsdale Ferrari Apex Challenge series presented by Coffin & Trout on March 22. Interested in becoming an Apex member? Email us at info@apexmotorclub.com.
Here’s a look at the midseason standings:
Radical Gold
97 – Jace Bacon
95 – Chris McMurry
69 – Andy Voelkel
65 – Jason Plotke
53 – Ralph Gilles
Radical Silver
114 – Ryan Fisher
87 – Evan Wolf
80 – Jason Dyer
79 – Carl Fredrickson
50 – Niko Kourouglos
GT3
77 – Brannan Hankins
56 – Chris Hanson
49 – Jordan Darling
43 – Ralf Ludwig
11 – Scott Needham
GT4
122 – Joey Rainey
97 – Joe Rainey
70 – Matt Crandall
66 – Matt Williams
51 – Scott Dehlendorf
Mazda Miata
90 – Tom Tait
77 – Lucas Barett
74 – Joey Rainey
66 – Joe Rainey
64 – Jessica Rainey
Time Attack Street Car
90 – Star Sawalqah
90 – Jordan Sawalqah
81 – Jeff Koning
56 – Brett Voelkel
25 – George Leon
GTX
25 – Richard Strahota
20 – Ernie Spada
17 – Richard Kinsey
Time Attack Race Car
100 – Joe Cattaneo
25 – Jeff Koning
20 – Rich Gramlich
