It may have been a new area at Spence Field that was utilized for the March 22-24, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA® Red Hills Solo® National Tour in Moultrie, GA, but the results were standard – which is to say exceptional – in both car count and on-course action all weekend.
Red Hills Region hosted yet another amazing event – which, once again, is the standard for the Region. An impressive 205 competitors took to the pair of Mark Canekeratne-designed courses, making for very close competition.
On-course action equaled the event hospitality, which included a Saturday night pizza party and a Mexican food truck on site to quell hunger.
As is the norm at all Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour and ProSolo events in 2024, one recipient was selected by SCCA Women on Track to get additional coaching through the weekend to enhance the experience. Melissa Hoover’s instruction at Spence Field came from autocross stalwart Linda Duncan, and it worked – Hoover got quicker each day relative to the field in her STS-prepared Honda Civic Si (running this weekend in Ladies Street Tire Bump Class).
Adding to the SCCA Women on Track theme, Wendi Allen Scholarship winner Ashley Weaver was on hand in a C Street-prepared Mazda MX-5. Against stout competition, Weaver finished third in the same Ladies Street Tire Bump class as Hoover, earning her second National event trophy.
Class Competition Elsewhere
Let’s start with close – a whopping four classes were settled by less than one-tenth of a second at Spence Field.
Rob Clark gave it a go on Sunday, but Christian Kolmers held on in C Street for a 0.011sec win. In fact, if we’re using “one tenth” as a benchmark, third place’s Randall Wilcox just missed the mark himself, finishing 0.101sec behind Kolmers himself. It was an impressive feat for the trio, who stayed in front of 23 (mostly) other MX-5s in the class.
If close is your thing, turn your attention to the Miatas of E Street. Darrin DiSimo had a lead of less than a tenth after Saturday’s competition, but George Schmitt flipped that on its head during Sunday’s runs. Schmitt jumped into the lead with a best on his final run, which was enough for an astounding 0.003sec win.
Let’s hear it for twins! In Street Touring™ Xtreme, Josh Fowler (Subaru BRZ) found six tenths of a second on Jesse Naughton (Toyota FR-S) on Sunday’s course, but it wasn’t enough – Naughton escaped with a 0.042sec victory.
Robert Pendergest and Steve O’Blenes shared a Mazda RX-8 in D Street Prepared, and it’s safe to say no one gained an advantage. O’Blenes was quicker on Sunday, but at the end of the weekend, Pendergest had a 0.064sec win.
Since we mentioned her competition at the top of the story, we would be remiss to not also offer a shoutout to Langlee King. King topped the Ladies Street Bump class by more than two seconds at Spence Field.
There was way more action that took place during the weekend – too much, in fact, to list here. For that, check out the complete event results.
Get In Gear
There’re no excuses for staying home from a Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour event in April.
Up first is the South Texas SCCA Solo National Tour at Naval Air Station Chase Field in Beeville, TX, on April 12-14. Following that is an East Coast event at Charlotte zMax Dragway on April 19-21, which itself is immediately followed by a trip to the West Coast for the Crows Landing SCCA Solo National Tour in Crows Landing, CA, on April 26-28.
And April’s not the end. Events keep running through the year, culminating in the 2024 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships in Lincoln, NE, this September.
For information on all of these events, check out the complete 2024 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour event schedule.
Photo by Tane Hopu
