For some, the Packwood ProSolo® is a pilgrimage. For others, it’s a tradition. Regardless of why competitors were at the event, this past weekend saw great competition, surrounded by even greater views in the shadows of Mt. Rainier. This year featured a different course and grid layout with competitors launching toward the north and the grid in the southwest corner of the lot. This reduced congestion but did make paddock to grid access a bit more distant. The course layout was slalom/transition-heavy with a tight turnaround. The left course was about 0.6-0.7 seconds longer than the right and featured more off-camber corners due to the crown in the lot.
Some classes ended up with surprisingly small margins of victory. In Street Touring Ultra, Doug Mikko took the lead by 0.006 second on his last run, only for Bill Zerr to retake the lead on his final run, winning by 0.001 second. Ladies Index 3 was won by a 0.011-second margin with Kim Whitener taking the victory over Tasha Mikko. Jessica Podhola and Catherine Tran claimed the remaining trophies and Tran went on to win the Ladies Challenge. In C Street, Brian Coulson claimed victory by a relatively large margin of 0.273 second. But just behind him, Andrew Kessel and Charles Crampert tied for second. Their second fastest pair of runs placed them in second and third respectively.
Street Touring Xtreme had a lot of movement in the trophies as Saturday’s leader and runner-up finished second and fourth respectively. Steve OBlenes proved that a Mazda RX-8 could still hold its own, finding nearly a second on Sunday morning to take the win. Tony Rodriguez improved on his last views of the course, but it’d only be enough for him to hang onto second, behind OBlenes by 0.360 second. Michael Carpenter’s BMW 128i is a rare car for the class but seemed to be effective as he claimed third. Mack Tsang held onto the final trophy position in fourth.
Dave and Kim Whitener made the pilgrimage to Packwood, staying in their traditional STS and L3 classes, but hopping into Eric Stoltz’s Mazda Miata. David and Eric finished first and second respectively in STS, with Kim winning L3 as mentioned above. The car was up for the challenge it’s new driver’s put it through, going deep in both the Super and Ladies Challenges.
The Bump Class made for an interesting mix of cars and speeds as cars as slow as H Street and as fast as E Modified came together. Most drivers put down their fast time on their last two runs of the weekend, with Jeff Kiesel taking the win in his E Modified Sprite, 0.305 second ahead of Ryan Otis in the STP Chevrolet Camaro. Mitch Fagundes and Ron Bauer claimed the remaining trophies in third and fourth respectively.
CAM was tight, with the four trophy spots separated by only 0.352 second after their index adjustment. James Paulson took the victory in his Chevrolet Camaro SS with John Laughlin just 0.155 second back in a Ford Mustang. Both of those drivers made the Super Challenge. David Rock and Dennis Healy were close behind, claiming the third and fourth place trophies.
Complete results from the Tire Rack Packwood ProSolo can be found here.
Challenge Winners:
Super Challenge: Michael Carpenter, STX
Ladies Challenge: Catherine Tran, L3
Bonus Challenge: Karl Coleman, STX
With each passing day, the 2018 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® at Sonoma Raceway get a little bit closer. And as such, it’s time for racers and workers to be aware of key dates approaching for the event taking place Oct. 16-21 just north of San Francisco, California.
For competitors, Aug. 1 is the first important date to mark on calendars as that is when Garage Lottery registration begins at 10 a.m. Central Time. Lottery entry cost is $1,050 — the equivalent of a Runoffs entry. Drivers need NOT have fulfilled Runoffs eligibility requirements to register at that time, and Garage Lottery registration will be open until Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. Central Time. At that point, names will be drawn randomly to award garage space and create the ordered waitlist. Those receiving garage spaces will be notified by Wednesday, Aug. 22 and charged the balance of the garage space fee (pricing available here). All registrants will receive a credit of $1,050 to their MotorsportReg.com account to be applied to a 2018 Runoffs entry.
Also beginning Wednesday, Aug. 1 at 10 a.m. Central Time is the online request process for Prep Shop and Multi-Car Team spaces. The online request form is for Prep Shops and Multi-Car Teams needing paddock spaces 60 feet or larger who meet the minimum requirements for the plots. All drivers who intend to paddock with a team must be registered for the Runoffs and list the Multi-Car Team in their event entry before a paddock space will be assigned. Spots will be assigned in a way that maximizes the area with some consideration given to the order in which requests are submitted. This process is only for space requests, not reservations, and will be open online until Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. Central Time.
Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. Central Time is when online registration opens for drivers and workers through MotorsportReg.com. Prior to registration opening, competitors are advised to log into their MotorsportReg account to make sure SCCA member numbers, license expiration date and vehicle profile information are all up-to-date in the system. This will save time and reduce frustration during the actual registration process. Competitors will be able to sign up for Test Days, taking place Oct.13-15, during event registration. Competitors will also be asked for their paddock intention (Single-Car space, Prep Shop, Multi-Car Team or Manufacturer if offered). While there will not be manufacturer tents this year, there will be designated space for Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota drivers. Space will be limited, but attempts will be made to accommodate as many requests as possible. Those who plan to paddock with a Prep Shop or Multi-Car Team should be sure to list the team name during registration.
Free tent camping is being offered for participants at Sonoma Raceway. Those who intend to camp using a tent, be sure to check the box in the registration form stating such. And as has been the case the last several years, participants may camp within their paddock space at no additional charge. A limited number of free RV spaces are available for workers and can be reserved during the registration process. Others needing RV spaces beyond the paddock will be able to make reservations beginning Aug. 8 at a cost of $150 with reservations being good for the entire event. Non-worker RV reservations are being handled by Sonoma Raceway. RV services will be available for a fee through United Site Services, with pricing and contact information to be posted at a later date to the Runoffs event page. Those searching for hotel rooms, the SCCA has made advance arrangements to get the lowest group rates available for lodging near the track. Learn more about hotel accommodations at the Runoffs event page.
Once the Garage Lottery and Prep Shop/Multi-Car Team process has been closed, it will be time to open Single-Car paddock reservations on Sept. 5 at noon Central Time. Given the topography of the roads and paddock areas, special consideration will be given to classes with low-clearance cars. A limited number of spaces in the Main Paddock will be held for this purpose for one week, September 5-12. All drivers must be registered for the Runoffs before a paddock space will be assigned. Additional paddock and registration information can be found here.
The 55th running of the SCCA Runoffs will again crown national champions in 28 separate classes. For 2018, SCCA will use Sonoma Raceway’s traditional 12-turn, 2.52-mile course layout. The configuration is the same that made Sonoma a favorite of drivers, starting with the venue’s first-ever race, an SCCA enduro held Dec. 1, 1968.
The National Championship Runoffs has evolved into what is now commonly agreed to be the pinnacle of American motorsports. Since 1964, the SCCA has crowned Road Racing’s National Champions at the winner-take-all, single race Runoffs format through dozens of separate races over three days. As host of the 55th Runoffs in 2018, Sonoma Raceway will become the third California track to host the SCCA’s National Championship, joining Riverside International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
About an hour’s drive north of San Francisco, Sonoma Raceway’s road course features more than 160 feet of elevation change. With track activity scheduled an average of 340 days a year, it is one of North America’s most complete and versatile motorsports complexes and home to one of the nation’s only high-performance automotive industrial parks with approximately 75 tenants.
The Sports Car Club of America®, Inc., founded in 1944, is a 67,500-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 116 Regions and subsidiary divisions. Much of the SCCA’s activities are made possible with support from the following Official Partners: Chevrolet, the Official Truck of the SCCA; Hawk Performance, the Official Brake Products of SCCA; Mobil 1, the Official Oil 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.
Scott and David Lloyd come by their love of cars honestly. Their grandfather, a mechanic during WWII, was the type of guy that could, from across a parking lot, hear a motor running and tell which cylinder had a valve out of adjustment. It was that level of passion for cars, and motors, that was passed down from their grandfather, through their dad and uncles, to them. And because of that passion, as kids, they had always dreamed of racing around the country, driving different tracks, and experiencing the thrill of speed. As they reached adulthood, however, life happened, and those childhood ambitions got put on the back burner. But in October of last year, after an ALS diagnosis, the brothers decided that it was time to make those dreams happen. It was time for them to go have #funwithcars together. And while that idea is noble enough, the brothers decided to make this about more than just running tracks with his brother. They decided to go flatout against ALS.
Already experiencing success doing a Walk-A-Thon, at which they helped raise $20K for the fight against ALS, the brothers decided to combine their passion for cars and their desire to help fund research to find a cure for ALS, and came up with the Lap-A-Thon idea. Armed with a couple of Hennessy modified Chevy Camaros, they hit the track, attending their first SCCA Track Night in America event at Charlotte Motor Speedway under the Racing for ALS banner. That first event netted $650 toward their charity, the ALS Therapy Development Institute, a nonprofit biotech, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is “100% dedicated to ALS research”. From reading their comments about the event on their Instagram page, RacingforAls, you can tell they had an amazing time running the track together, as they had dreamed about when they were kids.
Their next scheduled stops are Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina on August 21st, and Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania on August 28. You can follow them as they go on their Facebook page, their Instagram page, and, if you would like to, donate to their cause by clicking here.
*photo credit: Scott Lloyd
