zMax Dragway in Charlotte, NC, is known in some circles for its four-wide racing, but for SCCA members on the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour, it means one run at a time, the way the autocross gods intended it. During the April 19-21, 2024, weekend, more than 260 competitors agreed, battling through a spring shower on Sunday to provide the ultimate test for those determined to take home trophies.
The weekend really started on Friday, where a sold-out field of 24 took the opportunity to improve by participating in the Evolution Driving School. That gave way to runs on a pair of Mike Kuhn-designed courses that were described as “among the best they have seen at a National Tour event” – high praise indeed.
Event chair Jason Amistadi and his Central Carolinas Region team hosted a fantastic event that was enjoyed by many, including this weekend’s recipient of the SCCA Women on Track Driver Development Program Ashley Ludwick. The initiative aids one randomly selected woman at each Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour and ProSolo Series event with an opportunity for a one-on-one, 30-minute virtual coaching session with a top-tier driver from the sport. In this instance, Ludwick, who competed during the weekend in H Street, received tutelage from four-time SCCA Solo National Champ Cindy Duncan.
Fast Cars and Trophies
You want action? Charlotte had it.
Starting with the largest class in the field, C Street’s 23 competitors came to play. Andrew Aul was a half-second behind after Saturday, and while that was good for second, seven cars were within a second of the lead on the dry day. Sunday’s rain opened up the field to everyone, an Aul played rain master to take a 0.690sec win.
After 260 drivers completed their full allotment of weekend runs, Deana Kelley found herself on top of the Super Street Modified class. Unfortunately for Kelley, her co-driver was the 261st and final driver on the course. Eric Anderson took the class win on the final run of the weekend, dropping his rain time by 1.5sec on his final run to top Kelley and the rest of the SSM field.
Langlee King made things interesting in the Ladies Street Tire Bump indexed class, but only on Saturday. A pair of DNFs to open the weekend left her behind the proverbial cone, but once she jumped to the lead on the third run, she never looked back and took the title in her C Street Mazda Miata.
At least two drivers had the honor of winning their first Solo National Tour events this weekend (and if we missed any others, we apologize in advance). Myke Dziengel topped the field in D Street Prepared, leveraging his wet weather run on Sunday to take the top spot in a Mazda RX-8. Chip Manuel took a different approach to his first win. He led Solo Spec Coupe wire-to-wire, taking a 1.564sec victory after posting the quickest time on each day.
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Go West
The Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour now shoots the full length of the country for the April 26-28, 2024, Crows Landing Solo National Tour in Crows Landing, CA. The Crows Landing Solo Nat Tour comes on the heels of the ProSolo at the same location running concurrently with the Charlotte event. That sets the stage for the famous “Spring Nationals” event at Lincoln Airpark, the Tire Rack ProSolo/Solo National Tour double during Memorial Day weekend.
To learn more about the Crows Landing Solo National Tour, Spring Nationals, or the rest of the Solo National Tour season, follow this link.
Photo by Sarah Miles
