The third of four competition days has ended in Lincoln, NE, at the 52nd Tire Rack SCCA® Solo® National Championships, jamming Sept. 1-5, 2025, at Lincoln Airpark. As such, The Time Has Come Today for competitors to take a break from on-course action around the two main stages laid out at this year’s rock ‘n’ roll themed motorsport festival being held on 100 acres of concrete.
Weather conditions Thursday were simply fabulous. It was dry, the winds were fairly reasonable for this part of Nebraska, and temperatures peaked in the mid-70s under skies that vacillated between overcast and hazy.
What did those conditions produce as far as Thursday’s competition goes, where roughly 700 drivers boogied around either the West or East Course on Thursday, with them slated to tackle the other course on Friday? Check out the liner notes below for some insight.
West Course Thursday Recap
Heat 1 on the West Course saw a very big not-surprise when Meredith Bunsawat found herself leading H Street Ladies by the end of third runs – this is Bunsawat’s second Solo Nationals, and if she pulls off the win on Friday, she’ll be two-for-two when it comes to winning her class at Nats.
Given his experience at the event and in the class, Sam Henry wrapping Heat 1, day one leading F Prepared (FP) on the West Course wasn’t a complete surprise, but it undoubtedly was a welcome one for Henry considering the drivers he was facing. As you would expect, with three-time FP champ Wes Hughson sitting just 0.170sec back in second, Henry most definitely does not have this one in the bag.
In Heat 2, Evan LeBlanc concluded his three runs in D Street Touring with a 0.183sec advantage over Riley Heaton. While LeBlanc hasn’t won at the Solo National Championships before and Heaton has four Nationals wins, LeBlanc has shown serious speed in his previous Nats appearances, so it’s only a matter of time before he earns his first jacket.
Heat 3 saw intense C Street Touring action, with day one wrapping with a 0.116sec gap between perennial Solo Nats podium finisher Garrett Cogburn and six-time National Champion Jonathan Lugod. With this much talent – and the knowledge that in Cogburn’s previous four Solo Nats appearances his worst finish has been fourth – this top-step battle was bound to happen.
Arguably the biggest not-a-surprise day-one result in Heat 4 came in A Street, where newly-minted 2025 Solo Driver of Eminence winner Billy Davis leads the 38-car field into Friday. Can his 0.426sec advantage hold up?
And finally, in just as big of a not-a-shocker as the aforementioned A Street battle came Solo Spec Coupe (SSC) competition in Heat 5 (the final heat of the day). Here, 40 drivers took a turn at the West Course, and as you’d expect, you’d be hard pressed to fit a freshly shaved piece of OPR between the times of most of these drivers. Here, though, there was a big surprise: The day-one lead, held by Joey Green, was 1.098sec! Now keep in mind that last year’s two-day margin of victory in the class was less than half a second. Will this year’s SSC competition be a runaway?
East Course Thursday Recap
Thursday’s East Course launched into action with several surprises. One of those came in E Street Ladies, with Solo Nats rookie Katherine Clark leading the five-car field, which includes the likes of 20-time Solo Nats winner Karen Babb. In another Heat 1 East Course class, Katja Seltmann leads the field into day two in B Street Touring Ladies – her previous best finishing position at Nats so far has been fourth, so she is undoubtedly loving this surprise.
Many probably expected multi-time Solo National Champs Laura Harbour or Ginette Jordan to be leading F Street Prepared Ladies during Heat 2, but instead it was Sara Odioso up front in only her third time at Nats. Will her 0.264sec lead over Harbour hold through Friday’s competition? Odioso undoubtedly hopes so.
Looking for another shocker? E Street is being led by Trevor Renson. Admittedly, Renson has been working his way to the top of the Solo Nats results sheet through the years – now consider that his 0.288sec day-one lead is over none other than 11-time Solo National Champ Bartek Borrowski and you’ll see why Renson’s lead caught our attention.
The biggest surprise of them all on the East Course came in E Modified during Heat 3, where…Jeff Kiesel led the field. OK, not a shock. But his day-one advantage over son Zak is only 0.775sec, both driving the KFR Turbo Sprite, with Jason Minehart a scant 0.4sec further back in his Stalker AXR. Last year’s overall E Mod margin of victory was well over two seconds – this could turn into a day-two nailbiter like we had in 2023.
Heat 4 saw two Tsangs topping the charts, with Mack leading Justin. Mack advantage wasn’t a tale of domination in B Street Touring, with only a 0.221sec gap splitting the two – in this competitive class, that’s no surprise. The interesting part is that with Justin’s position, he could be on his way to earning his first Nationals jacket, which would stop Mack from adding a third to his closet.
Club Spec Mustang Ladies was part of closing down the day’s action in Heat 5. There, six-time winner Crissy Hedderick leads the field into the final day of competition. The surprise here? Her advantage is a miniscule 0.023sec. Who’s in second? Last year’s C Street Modified Ladies winner Carla Russo. This one’s going to be a Friday throwdown for sure.
Final Chords to be Played Friday
There’s only Friday on My Mind as tomorrow is the day a second set of Solo Nats rockstars will be named at Lincoln Airpark. Get that day rock ‘n’ rolling about an hour before cars head on course with the Solo Nationals Morning Show seen at the SCCA Official Facebook page. That’s where knowledgeable hosts interview special guests that bring everyone up to speed on the experience going down in Nebraska.
The motorsport concert on concrete can then be followed all day at sololive.scca.com. Live timing/scoring is featured on that page, as well as current results and audio coverage for each Heat. More insight can also be drummed up at the Tire Rack SCCA National Solo Facebook page, as well as SCCA.com.
Not enough Solo tunes yet for you? Journalist Brian Bielanski got you covered with conversations around the paddock to uncover slice-of-life stories for special Inside the SCCA segments posting to The Racing Network YouTube page.
Photo: Sara Odioso, in a Mazda 3, led the F Street Prepared Ladies class after the first of two competition days at Solo Nats.
Photo by Will Huxtable
