More than 60 drivers came out this weekend for the second CAM Challenge powered by SCCA event of the year. The Texas CAM Challenge took place at Mineral Wells Airport in Mineral Wells, Texas, on courses created by Brad Maxcy and Terry Fair. The Texas Region executed an amazing event, with support from presenting sponsors Ridetech, Falken Tires, Detroit Speed, Speedway Motors and Wilwood Brakes.
Saturday’s competition again produced a fantastic Chevy vs. Ford fight in CAM-C with Brian Matteucci taking the win in a 2015 Mustang. Fords claimed five of the top six CAM-C finishing positions. In CAM-T on Saturday, multi-time National Champion Mark Madarash won the Class in his 1988 Trans Am. Derrick Torres took second in a ’68 Camaro while Feras Qartoumy took third in a 1972 Nova. And in CAM-S, David Whitener walked away with a victory Saturday in a Borg Motorsports 2004 Corvette. For Whitener, this was his very first time driving in the CAM Challenge.
A heavy fog descended on the course Sunday morning, but soon made way to another gorgeous day. Ryan Harris stepped up to win the CAM-C Challenge Sunday after claiming ninth the previous day. He beat his co-driver, Matteucci, by two tenths of a second.
Madarash repeated his performance Sunday and won the CAM-T Challenge. He beat Mike Trenkle, the CAM-T Champion from the previous event in California, and seven others in the Class.
In CAM-S it was Mike Dusold, whose Dusold Design was a sponsor of this weekend’s Texas event, that took the win in a 1967 Camaro. He then went on to defeat Madarash by two tenths of a second in the CAM Challenge Finale, with Harris taking third.
Full results can be viewed at the Texas CAM Challenge webpage. All winners from the weekend have earned a bid to the CAM Challenge Invitational taking place at the SCCA Solo Nationals in September. Additionally, Torres claimed an invite to November’s Good Guys Finale in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Also honored with the “Spirit of CAM” award during the weekend was Jay Payne for his support of the CAM program in the Midwest, and for the gracious help he provides fellow competitors. Payne also easily owned the long distance award for traveling nearly 1,300 miles from Saginaw, Michigan, to attend this weekend’s event. And it was Scott Steider who won the Wilwood Brakes raffle.
The next CAM Challenge is the August 12-14 Indiana CAM Challenge at Grissom Aeroplex near Peru, Indiana. More information can be found at the CAM Challenge webpage.
The three CAM Challenge Classes (CAM-C, CAM-T, CAM-S) were developed to give traditional and contemporary American muscle car sedans and coupes — with front-engine, rear-wheel-drive configurations — and American sports cars from the 1960s and 1970s a place to compete in a controlled environment. Each car must be street legal, licensed and insured, have intact interiors and use a 200 treadwear street-legal tire.
Photo: CAM Challenge drivers prepare for battle in Texas