Thursday Leader Rundown — The 2019 Tire Rack SCCA® Solo® Nationals Championship has wrapped up Thursday activities at Lincoln Airpark. That leaves only one day left for drivers to put their best foot forward and claim one of more than 30 championships up for grabs in the second half of Solo Nats. Class leaders from the afternoon run groups after the first day of competition include: Josh Luster in AS, Shawn Kiesel in EML, Crissy Weaver in XPL, David O’Maley in AM, Christopher Mayfield in STU, Raymond Dsouza in STX, Tommy Pulliam in CP, Bob Tunnell in DM, Wes Hughson in FP, Jason West in FSP, Ron Williams in GS, Ron Bauer in BSP, Tom Berry in ASP, Shauna Rios in BSL, Monty Pack in SS, Eric Stemler in SSP, Eileen Blando in STUL, Jessica Yeung in CSL, Stephanie Reynoso in DSL, Jeff Kiesel in EM, Craig Wilcox in SMF, and Andrew McKee in XP.
For a list of leaders from the morning run groups, click here. And be sure to follow all the action Friday with live timing and audio at https://sololive.scca.com/, or keep track of the competition at the SoloMatters Facebook page. And don’t forget to tune in each morning an hour before competition begins to the Solo Nationals Morning Show at https://www.facebook.com/sccaofficial/. If you miss the live morning broadcast, the show is archived at Facebook for you to go back and watch later. Oh, you’ll also find some event updates available periodically each day at SCCA.com.
Throwback Thursday — Last Sunday as the SCCA transitioned from ProSolo to Tire Rack Solo Nationals, down in Dixie the boys of NASCAR were running the Southern 500 — an event which has become known as the “throwback” race because of the many tributes to historical liveries which the teams apply to their cars.
Solo Nationals is not immune to the historical respect that the NASCAR teams show, and a walk of the paddock will display quite a few driver, sponsor or manufacturer historical tributes. Here are just a few of the eye-catching throwbacks you can find on course this week.
– Kai Jones and Justin Metz in the STU class BMW M3 which sports a tribute to the 2010 Jeff-Koons penned BMW art car.
– Andrew McKee and Teresa Neidel-McKee in an XP Mazda RX-7 dressed in Gulf colors.
– Jeremy Foley and Kerry Emmert in the B-Street Gulf-inspired BMW 1M.
– Ian Baker and Mike Snyder in a Gulf-colors STS Honda CRX.
– Will Lahee’s F-Modified Red Devil in Marlboro colors from IndyCar and F1 racing.
– Paul Neal’s D-Prepared Datsun in the traditional BRE colors.
Tire Rack SCCA Solo Nationals is always a sight to behold. Great competition, great fun, and great for any fan of motorsport.
He Didn’t Go to Jared — Love is in the air at Solo Nats, and we’re not talking about the lovely smell of hot tires or gasoline. When you find someone who shares your addiction and can be passionate about it with you, you should hold on to that for life. This morning in the Street Touring Sport grid, AJ Snyder asked Lexie Murray to share the rest of her life with him, and Lexie said yes. The pair has been friends for years, but officially a couple for a little over a year.
The joke for a while has been that Lexie would say yes even if he proposed with a ring pop. So, when she came in from her final run, there AJ was on a knee with a ring pop. She questioned for a moment if it was really happening, but of course she said, “yes.”
We can’t wait to see the permanent piece of jewelry! Congrats to both AJ and Lexie!
Photo: Kai Jones running his STU BMW M3 around Lincoln Airpark
Group Two Takes the Tracks — The first set of Tire Rack SCCA® Solo® Nationals Championship winners have been crowned. Thursday starts the second half of competition with a whole new set of drivers competing for another round of championships to be decided by the end of Friday. Temperatures are expected to get above 90 degrees later today with mostly sunny conditions, so things are going to get hot on course! Follow all the action throughout the day with live timing and audio at https://sololive.scca.com/, or keep track of the competition at the SoloMatters Facebook page. And don’t forget to tune in each morning an hour before competition begins to the Solo Nationals Morning Show at https://www.facebook.com/sccaofficial/. If you miss the live morning broadcast, the show is archived at Facebook for you to go back and watch later. Oh, you’ll also find some event updates available periodically each day at SCCA.com.
Annual Solo Awards — Wednesday night was the first of two Tire Rack Awards Ceremonies, conducted at the Lancaster Events Center in Lincoln, that take place during the Tire Rack Solo Nationals Championship week. The first set of new champions received their awards. And as SCCA does each year, several members of the Solo community received special honors.
The Solo Cup was awarded to Jim Garry of SCCA’s Mohawk Hudson Region. The Solo Cup is presented to Sports Car Club of America® members who have made an outstanding contribution to the Solo events program. Winners are selected by the Solo Events Board from nominations submitted by the membership at large.
The 2018 Driver of Eminence is Frank Stagnaro from SCCA’s San Francisco Region. The Solo driver who has consistently demonstrated excellence behind the wheel, and an exemplary degree of sportsmanship, dedication and unselfishness receives this honor. The winner is selected by the Solo Events Board from nominations submitted by the membership at large.
The Johnson Spirit of the Sport Award was presented to Bryan Hayes of SCCA’s South Carolina Region. This recognition goes to Solo community members who bring the spirit of fun to their fellow participants, as symbolized by the message engraved on the perpetual award: “Johnson Spirit of the Sport Award, presented annually by the Royal Order of the Sheep to a member of the flock that upholds the spirited virtues of Fun, Camaraderie and Tomfoolery.” This award is named in honor of the inaugural recipient, the Exalted Grand Shepherd, Roger E. Johnson. The award is selected annually by the previous three recipients.
And finally, the Dick Berger Perseverance Award went to Raleigh Boreen of SCCA’s Indianapolis Region. The award recognizes someone each year who is undaunted by limited success over many National Championship events, but keeps coming back to enjoy the camaraderie, community, and hopes for a trophy in competition.
Early Thursday Runs — We’ve just barely cracked the seal on the second set of Tire Rack Solo Nats competitors, but early day-one leaders in a few classes include: Lana Tsurikova in ASL, Mike Leeder in DS, Emily Danti in FSPL, Monique Forsythe in SMFL, Patty Tunnell in DML, Alex Piehl in STH, Eric Stoltz in STS, Mark Scroggs in CS, Annie Gill in GSL, Dallas Cutler in SM, Ron Bauer in BSP, Tracy Lewis in CPL, David Marcus in BS, Charina Jones in FPL, and Tara Shapowal in SSL.
TOPKEKA, Kan. (Sept. 5, 2019) — Runners … start your engines!!! Sports Car Club of America® has announced the fourth annual SCCA Runoffs 5K and Checkered Flag Dash will take place on Saturday evening, Oct. 12, during the 2019 SCCA® National Championship Runoffs at VIRginia International Raceway.
The course will be an out and back, beginning at the Gallery winding through the scenic grounds of VIR to the South Paddock, passing by the historic Oak Tree Turn. Due to daylight restrictions in Virginia in October, the course will not run on the actual racetrack surface this year and timed using the tear-tag method. As in previous years, the green flag waves for the 5K at 6:30 p.m., with the one-mile Checkered Flag Dash beginning at 6:00 p.m.
In support of SCCA’s annual fundraising efforts for children’s charities, all proceeds from the event will benefit Victory Junction. A dream of the late Adam Petty, Victory Junction is a camp that provides positive, life changing experiences to kids with serious medical conditions.
“The Runoffs 5K and Checkered Flag Dash has become a fun tradition at the Runoffs and we’re happy to be able to do it this year at VIR,” said SCCA Road Racing Director Deanna Flanagan. “It’s a great opportunity to bring families, crew members, club volunteers, and race fans together for a little exercise and a great cause!”
To continue the excitement for this fun event, there have been a number of sponsors pledge their support of the SCCA Runoffs 5K, donating lots of great door prizes. Prizes will be drawn for at the finish party.
“We have another fun evening planned for this year’s Runoffs 5K, and with each installment, the event keeps getting better,” said 5K Race Director and SCCA road racer, Jason Stine. “We’ve had runners, walkers, hand-bikes, patriotic costumes, and even wildlife at the event over the years, and it’s always exciting to see what shows up any given year. With this year’s event being two weeks before Halloween, there will be a door prize for best costume this year.”
Registration for the event is now open online at https://runsignup.com/Race/VA/Alton/SCCARunoffs5k. Please register early to help us plan for shirts. A discounted entry is available for teams of three or more. Contact Race Director Jason Stine at [email protected] for details.
Link to course map: https://dk1xgl0d43mu1.cloudfront.net/user_files/scca/site_assets/000/033/412/original.jpg?1567202798
