For the second weekend in a row, Sports Car Club of America soloists were at the Hampton Mills Old Lumber Yard in Packwood, Washington, for some thrilling competition. Two weekends ago it was the Tire Rack Packwood Championship Tour. This past weekend it was the Tire Rack Packwood ProSolo that hosted nearly 140 drivers.
The Tim Weidemann-designed courses were transition heavy and rewarded drivers who were looking ahead. Rolling surface bumps also challenged the suspension of some cars. The times on course averaged around 25 seconds. The time difference between the two courses was about .8 second.
In Ladies Class 3, Tasha Mikko in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo jumped out to an early lead Saturday in the 11-car field and held on to claim the win by .484 second over Annie Gill in a Scion FR-S. Then in Ladies Class 2, Jessica Gauthier ended Saturday in third, but worked hard Sunday in her Subaru WRX to earn a .160-second victory over Kristi Brown’s Porsche Cayman. And in Ladies Class 1, Caitlin Snell was in control all weekend in her Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and ended up atop the 9-car field by .837 second over Bonnie Mueller in a Ford Focus.
The F Street brawl saw Chevrolet vs. Ford with Ryan Otis taking the win in a Camaro by .199 second over the Mustang of James Paulson. The B Street battle was controlled by Dan Bullis in his Corvette as he bested the rest by .563 second.
Street Touring Xtreme had stiff competition all weekend. The 14-car field was led by the smallest of margins Saturday by Chris Thorpe in a Volkswagen Golf. But when the dust settled Sunday, Pirelli World Challenge racer Bryan Heitkotter in a BMW 325is took the top position by only .072 second. Then in Street Touring Roadster, Ron Bauer held the lead all weekend in a Mazda MX-5 Miata and ended with a winning margin of .042 second over the Honda S2000 of Kevin Dietz.
After winning Ladies Class 3, Tasha Mikko went on to win Sunday’s Ladies Challenge by beating Annie Gill, Laura Molleker and, finally, Lacey Otis. The Bonus Challenge saw Joey Sim, who fought car troubles both days, beat out Brian Crow in the final after besting Carson Orud and Richard Willy. And it was F Street winner Ryan Otis who went on to claim Super Challenge honors after getting the better of Glen Hernandez in the final. Otis fought past Stacey Molleker, Dan Bullis and Kevin Dietz on his way to that final accomplishment.
Full results can be found at the Tire Rack Packwood ProSolo webpage. Next on the SCCA ProSolo calendar is the July 29-31 Tire Rack Wilmington Summer ProSolo at Wilmington AirPark in Wilmington, Ohio. For additional information on Tire Rack SCCA Solo, visit http://www.scca.com/solo.
Photo: Tasha Mikko took the win in L3 at the Packwood ProSolo
Western Conference SCCA U.S. Majors Tour Championships Claimed
The 2016 Western Conference SCCA U.S. Majors Tour is in the books. More than 350 drivers competed in Western Conference events this season that covered 1,100 miles from Seattle to Southern California. The reward: a Western Conference Championship.
Two competitors managed to claim double Western Conference Championships this year. Oscar Jackson Jr., driving a Scion FR-S, nabbed the top spot in both Super Touring Lite and Super Touring Under. Tom Wickersham did the same driving a Mazda RX-8 in Touring 4, and also got the Touring 3 title in a Ford Mustang.
While Jackson and Wickersham had dominant performances most of the season, a couple other drivers managed to claim a Western Conference Championship without winning a single race. Michael Boyle earned his Championship in Spec Racer Ford by competing in the Conference’s first eight rounds. He never claimed a win, but finished second a few times in races. Tim Linerud, piloting a Volkswagen GTI, did the same to win the GT-Lite Conference Championship by competing in the first ten rounds, claiming multiple second-place honors.
As is often the case, several titles were decided by the slightest of margins. In Formula F, Edward Erlandson grabbed the Western Conference Championship by only eight points over Charles Horn, both driving Swifts. Then in E Production, Kale Swift won out over Anthony Jimerson by only seven points, both driving Mazda RX-7s. And in GT-3, Gary Bockman claimed victory in a Mazda RX-3 by only two points over Collin Jackson behind the wheel of a Nissan 240SX.
The Western Conference began its 12-round schedule in late January with Round One and Round Two east of Los Angeles at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Then in February, Round Three and Round Four took place north of Los Angeles at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California. April saw two events, the first being Round Five and Round Six at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, California; followed by a visit to Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Buttonwillow, California, for Round Seven and Round Eight. Next, the Western Conference headed north for Round Nine and Round Ten at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington. Then the Conference finale took place at Portland International Raceway in Oregon for Round Eleven and Round Twelve.
Conference points are awarded to the top 20 finishers in each Class. Winners earn 25 points, and 21 points go to second. Points are then doled out to others starting with 18 and descending to a single point for the 20th finisher. Only the best eight races count towards a driver’s point total. Below are Western Conference Champions with Class: Name, Hometown and Car.
-American Sedan: Christopher Qualls; W. Los Angeles, CA; Ford Mustang
-B-Spec: Kyle Keenan; Vancouver, WA; Kia Rio 5
-E Production: Kale Swifts; Surrey, BC; Mazda RX7
-F Production: Tom Tuttle; Windsor, CA; MG Midget
-H Production: Jason Isley; Cota de Caza, CA; Toyota Yaris
-Formula 1000: John Labrie; Draper, UT; Phoenix Works F1K12
-Formula Atlantic: Edward Lever; Bakersfield, CA; Swift 014a
-Formula Continental: Robert Armington; El Dorado Hills, CA; RF2000
-Formula 500: Lance Spiering; Beaverton, OR; KBS MK VII
-Formula Enterprises: Jeff Read; Vacaville, CA; Formula Enterprises/Van Diemen
-Formula F: Edward Erlandson; Burbank, CA; SWIFT DB-6 Honda
-Formula Mazda: Austen Charles; Newhall, CA; Formula Mazda
-Formula Vee: Dennis Andrade; Silverlake, WA; Vortech
-GT-1: Michael Lewis; Poway, CA; Jaguar XKR
-GT-2: Dylan Doherty; Fallbrook, CA; Porsche 997 GT3 CUP
-GT-3: Gary Bockman; Portland, OR; Mazda RX-3
-GT-Lite: Tim Linerud; Belmont, CA; Volkswagen GTI
-Prototype 1: James Devenport; Modesto, CA; Norma M20FC
-Prototype 2: Dave Tweedlie; Riverside, CA; Radical SR3
-Spec Miata: Steven Powers; Mesa, AZ; Mazda Miata
-Spec Racer Ford: Michael Boyle; Santa Clara, CA; SCCA Enterprises Spec Racer Ford
-Spec Racer Ford 3: John Black; Olympic Valley, CA; SCCA Enterprises Spec Racer Ford 3
-Super Touring Lite: Oscar Jackson Jr.; Chino, CA; Scion FR-S
-Super Touring Under: Oscar Jackson Jr.; Chino, CA; Scion FR-S
-Touring 1: Marc Hoover; Shingle Springs, CA; Mazda MX5 Miata
-Touring 2: Guy Dreier; Indian Wells, CA; Ford Mustang GT
-Touring 3: Tom Wickersham; Piedmont, CA; Ford Mustang
-Touring 4: Tom Wickersham; Piedmont, CA; Mazda RX-8
The SCCA Majors Tour is a gateway to the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Garmin VIRB being held September 19-25 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Drivers earn an invite to the annual festival by participating in a minimum of three separate U.S. Majors Tour events and have a minimum of three individual race finishes, all in the same Class. Competitors must either finish in the top 10 of a Conference Class with 20 or fewer participants, or be in the top 50 percent of a Class with more than 20 drivers. Another route to the Runoffs is to score points in the top 50 percent of the nationwide point standings within a Class.
The Sports Car Club of America, Inc., founded in 1944, is a 67,000-member motorsports organization that incorporates all facets of autocross, rally and road racing at both club and professional levels. With headquarters in Topeka, Kansas, the SCCA annually sanctions over 2,000 events through its 115 Regions and professional subsidiary. Much of the SCCA’s activities are made possible with support from the following Official Partners: Chevrolet, the Official Truck of the SCCA; Garmin VIRB, the Official Camera of SCCA; Hawk Performance, the Official Brake Products of SCCA; Mobil 1, the Official Oil of SCCA; SafeRacer, the Official Safety Provider of SCCA; Sunoco, the Official Fuel of SCCA; and Tire Rack, the Official Tire Retailer of SCCA. To learn more, please visit http://www.scca.com.
Photo: Jason Isley claimed the H Production Western Conference Championship
The “Road to Lincoln” is getting shorter. No, it still takes about three days to drive to Lincoln, Nebraska, from either coast. But we are now only a few weeks away from the start of the extravaganza called the Tire Rack Solo Nationals, presented by Garmin VIRB. In just seven short weeks, many will find themselves standing amongst 1,300 friends on Lincoln Airpark’s runways to compete in the Tire Rack ProSolo Finale, the Tire Rack Solo Nationals and the CAM Invitational.
In 2015, a record was set for participation at the Tire Rack Solo Nationals, presented by Garmin VIRB. Considering participation levels in this year’s National Solo events around the country, 2016 could be even bigger. So you don’t miss the fun, here are a few upcoming Tire Rack Solo Nationals registration deadlines:
– August 10th — first late fees begin.
– August 29th — last day to get a partial refund for cancelled registration.
In the meantime, there are a few more National Solo events where drivers can fine-tune skills before the Nebraska visit. There are two Championship Tour dates available, two ProSolo events, and a CAM Challenge over the next several weeks. The dates are as follows:
Championship Tour
– July 22-24: Tire Rack Wilmington Championship Tour; Wilmington AirPark; Wilmington, OH.
– July 29-31: Tire Rack Colorado Championship Tour; Pikes Peak International Raceway; Fountain, CO.
ProSolo
– July 29-31: Tire Rack Wilmington Summer ProSolo; Wilmington AirPark; Wilmington, OH.
– August 5-7: Tire Rack Blytheville ProSolo; Arkansas Aeroplex; Blytheville, AR.
CAM Challenge
– August 12-14: Indiana CAM Challenge; Grissom Aeroplex; Peru, IN.
Come on out and play, and we’ll soon see everyone in Lincoln!
Only 5 days left until we return to Wilmington, but this time instead of side-by-side racing we’ll go one-at-a-time with the Tour format. It’s another packed house as the entries are filled to capacity (and overflowing into a waitlist), as competitors flock to the huge expanse of concrete which will be sure to host a fun, fast course on some of the stickiest concrete known to autocrossers.
One of the headlines of the event is sure to be one of the most respected classes in Super Street-R, as for the first time this year, defending National Champion Grant Reeve goes toe-to-toe against Sam Strano in the 3-run-per-day format. They’ve competed on Ohio concrete twice so far this year in the ProSolo series, with the score at 1-1 for wins. However, these aren’t the only 2 in the class, as a host of other drivers will be vying for the top spot. Josh Luster and Evan Shickel have both shown great pace at events this year, and a pair of good days for either could easily put one of them in the lead.
C-Street happens to be the largest class with 29 entries with 5 models across 4 manufacturers (counting certain siblings separately). Chris Harvey pilots the lone ND in this group, and he’ll be looking to lead the way. The Potocki pairing in their FR-S weren’t very far behind at the previous ProSolo in Wilmington, but only time will tell if the Tour format be kinder to their car.
Street Touring-R has been turned upside down this year with the introduction of the ND MX-5/Miata. By the numbers, it’s seemed as though it was sure to be the car to have, and the rumor mill has been buzzing with whispers of extra horses lying in wait for the right header to let them loose upon an unsuspecting transmission. The last east coast tour was won with Honda power, although some suspect that some unearthly forces had influenced that victory. This begs the question: if an S2000 can win this tour, could the driver be the next alien?
