G.J. Dixon, of Scarsdale, N.Y., rocketed to a 0.694-second advantage in the 41-car Super Stock field in his Grand Prix of New York/Monticello Motor Club Porsche 911 GT3 on the West course. The driver in second, Steve Telehowski, of Shelby Twp., Mich., was a bit of a surprise, as it’s the two-time C Stock Champion’s first Nationals since 2005. In fact, his sponsor denotes his absence with the “It’s been how long?” Chevrolet Corvette. Behind them, it’s a who’s who of stalwarts, including defending Champion Matthew Braun, Gary Thomason and Sam Strano, among others.
Coming off his win in the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Finale and the Gumout Super Challenge, Joe Tharpe, of State Center, Iowa, carried that momentum into the first day of Super Street Prepared runs with his RS Racing/Loctite Chevrolet Corvette. He holds a sizeable 0.831-second lead over multi-time Champion Ryan Buetzer in Mike “Junior” Johnson’s Evolution/ChaseCam/Motion Control Suspension/OS Giken Chevrolet Corvette. Katy Nicholls, of San Diego, Calif., sits third and could be a threat to be the fourth-ever woman to win in an open class with her Three Wheel Racing Lotus Elise.
One duel to keep an eye on through the final day is the X Prepared class battle between former National Champs. Fred Zust, of Tempe, Ariz., has dominated the class during his four-consecutive National Championships in the Blackwatch Racing Lotus Elise. To keep that streak alive, however, Zust is going to have to make up some ground on Andrew Mckee, of San Jose, Calif. Rather than defend his Super Street Modified, title, McKee moved his Mazda RX-7 to XP and is the clubhouse leader going into Friday by 0.330-second.
Dan Wasdahl, of Massillon, Ohio, leads the charge toward the Small Fortune Racing FTD trophy for the fastest time of the event. After Nick Roberts ran the first sub-50-second time (49.957) in Formula SAE earlier in the day on the West course, the challenge was on to see if anyone could top it, or if the honor would go to FSAE for the second-straight year. Wasdahl rose to the occasion, turning a blistering 47.659 in his Wing Shop/Hooper BBR/Phantom DVS-1 to lead A Modified by more than three seconds.
There’s a family rivalry afoot in F Modified, as defending Champion Jeff Colegrove, of Rochester, N.Y., leads brother Stefan, of Fairport, N.Y., by just 0.082-second. The pair shares the Mitchell Racing Services/Berg Racing Red Devil F500. Jeff has finished one spot ahead of younger brother Stefan each of the last two years, topping him for the title in 2011 by 0.148-second.
Thursday’s runs also marked the debut of the Road Tire Category as supplemental classes at the Tire Rack Solo National Championships. New at the National Level for 2012, the Road Tire classes get the full treatment as every class, but will not be recognized as National Champions as they are in their infancy. Within the category, Stephen Hui, of Bellevue, Wash., leads the Road Tire RWD class with an indexed time that is just 0.051-second ahead of Lance Keely, of Brookfield, Wis. Hui’s Honda S2000, Keeley’s Hyundai Genesis, and the rest of the category are given an indexed time based on their full-class counterparts.
Thursday morning was also the first of two Gumout Use Your Motorhead All-Star Challenges this week. Top PAX Index drivers from each heat from Tuesday and Wednesday runs all went head-to-head in the Gumout/Black Magic/BFGoodrich Tires/Hawk Volkswagen Golf. Street Touring X National Champion Bryan Heitkotter posted the fastest time and claimed the $500 grand prize, with Jeff Cashmore (D Modified) and Mark Smith (D Stock) completing the top three.
Some of the sport’s highest honors were handed out at Wednesday night’s banquet honoring the newly crowned National Champions. The Solo Cup, given to the person who has made an outstanding contribution to the Solo Events Program, went to former SCCA Board member and Solo Events Board Chairman Marcus Merideth, of Westland, Mich. A shocked Sam Strano, of Knoxdale, Pa., was awarded the Solo Driver of Eminence, given annually to the Solo driver who has consistently demonstrate excellence behind the wheel and an exemplary degree of sportsmanship. The Johnson Spirit of the Sport award was given to Danny Kao, of North Potomac, Md., for his enthusiasm for Solo.
In Wednesday’s National Championship release, the G Stock National Champion was incorrectly identified. William Loring, of Osceola, Ind., is a repeat winner in G Stock after coming from behind during the second day of runs in his Hoosier Tire/Tire Rack Toyota Celica GT.
Follow the action through live timing at www.sololive.scca.com, live audio from the east course at www.ustream.tv/channel/solo-nationals-east and from the west course at www.ustream.tv/channel/solo-nationals-west, or on Twitter @sccalive.
More information on the Tire Rack SCCA National Championship is available at www.scca.com/solo.
Follow SCCA on Twitter @SCCAOfficial.
RESULTS
LINCOLN, Neb. — The top two runners in each of the 43 classes competing Thursday and Friday in the 40th Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships at Lincoln Airpark with class, leading driver, hometown and car; second place driver, hometown, car and gap behind first place.
Super Stock: G.J. Dixon, Scarsdale, N.Y., Porsche 911 GT3; Steve Telehowski, Shelby Twp., Mich., Chevrolet Corvette, -0.694.
Super Stock Ladies: Holly Schwedler, Medina, Ohio, Chevrolet Corvette; Shelly Monfort, Saratoga, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette, -0.184.
B Stock: Jeff Janzen, Winnepeg, MB, Honda S2000 CR; James Yom, Los Angeles, Calif., Honda S2000 CR, -0.037.
B Stock Ladies: Roberta Wenzel, Pensecola, Fla., Honda S2000; Emily Bashford, Winnipeg, MB, Honda S2000 CR, -0.104.
E Stock: Eric Chiang, Somerville, Mass., Mazda Miata; Bartek Borowski, Elmwood Park, Ill., Mazda Miata, -0.069.
H Stock: Greg Reno, Lawrence, Kan., Mini Cooper; Tim Carritte, Avon Lake, Ohio, Mini Cooper, -0.554.
H Stock Ladies: Gwen Baake, Bahama, N.C., Mini Cooper; Linda Duncan, Topeka, Kan., Mini Cooper, -1.962.
F Stock: Brian Peters, Litchfield Park, Ariz., Ford Mustang; Mark Daddio, Beacon Falls, Conn., Ford Mustang, -0.742.
F Stock Ladies: Mary Lou Holmes, Los Alamos, N.M., Ford Mustang; Dawn Ammirata, Caldwell, N.J., Ford Mustang, -0.258.
C Prepared: Michael Maier, Livermore, Calif., Ford Mustang; Todd Farris, Bryan, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro, -1.755.
C Prepared Ladies: Donna Bartling, Katy, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro; Brianne Maier, Livermore, Calif., Ford Mustang, -1.159.
D Prepared: Ron Bauer, Issaquah, Wash., Mazda MX-5; Drew VanderPloeg, Pflugerville, Texas, Mazda Miata, -0.387.
D Prepared Ladies: Tami Daniels, Gladstone, Ore., Mazda Miata; Vickie Livengood, Kennewick, Wash., Mazda MX-5, -2.131.
F Prepared: Andrew Pallotta, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Mitsubishi Evo; Tom Holt, Round Rock, Texas, Datsun 280Z, -0.023.
F Prepared Ladies: Christy Carlson, Papillion, Neb., Subaru Impreza; Jennifer Parker, Kailua, Hawaii, Datsun 280Z, -3.987.
X Prepared: Andrew McKee, San Jose, Calif., Mazda RX-7; Fred Zust, Tempe, Ariz., Lotus Elise, -0.330.
A Street Prepared: Aaron Miller, Auburn Hills, Mich., Mitsubishi Evo 8; Marshall Grice, Los Angeles, Calif., Mitsubishi Evo 9, -0.299.
A Street Prepared Ladies: Christine Grice, Los Angeles, Calif., Mitsubishi Evo 9; Lorien Feighner, Howell, Mich., Pontiac Solstice GXP, -1.032.
B Street Prepared: Mark Baer, Loveland, Colo., BMW M3; Jason Uyeda, Canoga Park, Calif., Honda S2000, -0.068.
C Street Prepared: Scott Fraser, San Jose, Calif., Mazda Miata; Matt McCabe, Omaha, Neb., Mazda Miata, -0.386.
C Street Prepared Ladies: Sue Eckles, Malcom, Neb., Mazda Miata; Jodi Fordahl, Bremerton, Wash., Mazda Miata, -0.315.
D Street Prepared: Nathan Whipple, Marlborough, Mass., BMW 325is; Doug Rowse, Phoenix, Ariz., BMW 330, -0.075.
D Street Prepared Ladies: Olga Bogdanova, Clifton Park, N.Y., BMW 330Ci; Melanie Pora, Arvada, Colo., BMW 325is, -0.185.
A Modified: Dan Wasdahl, Massillon, Ohio, MMR/Phantom DVS-1; KJ Christopher, Redondo Beach, Calif., BBR/Phantom Menace, -3.035.
F Modified: Jeff Colegrove, Rochester, N.Y., Red Devil F500; Stefan Colegrove, Fairport, N.Y., Red Devil F500, -0.082.
F Modified Ladies: Michelle Quinn, Dublin, Ohio, KBS MK7; Katelyn Johnson, Plano, Texas, KBS MK4, -2.294.
Street Modified: Mike Simanyi, Santa Ana, Calif., BMW M3; Michael Fineberg, Blue Bell, Pa., Mitsubishi Evolution, -0.235.
Street Modified Ladies: Lana Tsurikova, Farmingham, Mass., BMW M3; Laurie Hyman, Redmond, Wash., Nissan GT-R, -0.028.
Super Street Modified: Carter Thompson, Murfreesboro, Tenn., Mazda RX-7; Brian Johns, Murfreesboro, Tenn., Mazda RX-7, -0.665.
Super Street Modified Ladies: Tara Johns, Murfreesboro, Tenn., Mazda RX-7; Kandy Johnson, Glen Allen, Va., Chevrolet Corvette Z06, -1.921.
Street Modified F (Supplemental Class): Jinx Jordan, Terrell, N.C., Honda Civic; Bryan Mancuso, Enfield, Conn., Honda CRX, -0.616.
Street Modified F Ladies (Supplemental Class): Ginette Jordan, Terrell, N.C., Honda Civic; Rebecca Zacharda, Sherwood, Ore., MINI Cooper S, -2.719.
Street Touring Compact: Jason Frank, Racine, Wis., Honda Civic; Jeff Wong, Moorpark, Calif., Honda Civic Si, -0.551.
Street Touring Compact Ladies: Nicole Nagler, Moorpark, Calif., Honda Civic Si; Shauna Rios, Corona, Calif., Honda Civic Si, -0.961.
Street Touring F: Andy Hollis, Austin, Texas, Mazda 2; Ann Hollis, Austin, Texas, Mazda 2, -1.335.
Street Touring F Ladies: Jan Rowe, Houston, Texas, MINI Cooper; No other entrants.
Super Street Prepared: Joe Tharpe, State Center, Iowa, Chevrolet Corvette; Ryan Buetzer, Hermosa Beach, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette, -0.831.
Road Tire AWD (Supplemental Class): Andrew Barrett, Old Greenwich, Conn., Subaru WRX; Andy Smedegard, Stevens Point, Wis., Subaru WRX, -0.242.
Road Tire FWD (Supplemental Class): Mark Allen, Petaluma, Calif., Mini Cooper; Adam Barber, Anoka, Minn., Dodge Neon, -0.329.
Road Tire FWD Ladies (Supplemental Class): Liz Foreman, Lewis Center, Ohio, MAZDASPEED3; Jody Bedell, Farmington, Minn., Mazda3, -0.927.
Road Tire RWD (Supplemental Class): Stephen Hui, Bellevue, Wash., Honda S2000; Lance Keeley, Brookfield, Wis., Hyundai Genesis, -0.051.
Road Tire RWD Ladies (Supplemental Class): Brooke Bierman, Ankeny, Iowa, Scion FR-S; Kathryn George, Chicago, Ill., BMW Z3, -2.087.
Formula SAE (Supplemental Class): Nick Roberts, Olathe, Kan., University of Kansas; Christopher Moulckers, Arlington, Texas, University of Texas, -0.633.