Opening beats have been recorded at the 52nd Tire Rack SCCA® Solo® National Championships. Some Soloists played the hits while others missed a note or two. But the rock ‘n’ roll themed autocross festival — taking place Sept. 1-5, 2025, in Nebraska’s capital city at Lincoln Airpark — will Turn It On Again Wednesday morning with the first set of Solo Nats victors crowned by day’s end.
Below is a quick glimpse at action from the East Course and West Course after day one. Keep in mind this is just one half of the week’s headliners. If you missed Tuesday’s action, be sure not to miss the rest of the show over the next several days.
As always, hear the whole song online at sololive.scca.com where you’ll find live timing/scoring, current results, and audio coverage for each Heat every day.
East Course Tuesday Recap
Action began early Tuesday morning, and over on the East Course the D Modified field led the way. Jeremy Ellerby will sleep on a lead in his Sprinto RC 1.4T, but the Hoosier-shod Lotus Elan of Jeff Cashmore is just 0.354sec back.
If you’re looking for the closest battle of the day, look no further than E Street Touring®. How close is it? So close that Adam Barber is fifth, and he’s only 0.335sec back. So close that Rich DiMarco is third, and he’s 0.007sec behind. So close that Eric Stolz and Kim Whitener are in a dead heat after the first day! Should Whitener hang on, she would be just the eighth driver eligible for Ladies Classes who took victory in an open class, and just the fifth titled National Champion (following three in supplemental classes).
By comparison, G Street is a runaway. Nicholas Mellenthin holds a 0.036sec lead over Lance Keeley and is just 0.047sec ahead of Duston Grubbs in third. For those scoring at home, that’s two Volkswagen GTIs and a Honda Civic Si leading the way.
Forty cars set times in C Street, but none were as quick as Julian Garfield. He is looking for his second consecutive win in the class and moved to the top with a clean run on his third and final look at the course. He holds a 0.332sec lead over Jack Crissey and a 0.349sec advantage over Andrew Pallotta.
West Course Tuesday Recap
Jeff Wong is an eight-time National Champion (so far), so there’s no surprise to see him up front in Super Street Prepared. Wong coned the first run in his Corvette, then moved past Doug Rowse and GJ Dixon on his second run to jump to the lead. The rest of the field will try to chase him down on Wednesday.
Likewise, Brian Peters will try to chase down James Yom in Super Street. He won’t have far to go — Peters led through his three runs in his Corvette, then watched as Yom jumped to the top of the sheets in his Porsche on the last run of the group. Yom will go to bed tonight with a 0.040sec lead.
No surprise to anyone who knows, but three strong drivers sit closely atop the D Street standings. Alex Piehl leads the way in a Toyota GR86 after a flying final run, with DJ Alessandrini and his GR86 just 0.137sec behind. Michael Yanase is 0.307sec back in his Honda Civic, with others in striking distance to set up a Wednesday showdown.
Solo Nats Show Continues Wednesday
We’re doing it live Wednesday morning about an hour before cars head on course with the Solo Nationals Morning Show seen at the SCCA Official Facebook page. That’s where you’ll find knowledgeable hosts interviewing special guests that bring everyone up to speed on the experience.
The show keeps going all day at sololive.scca.com where you’ll find live timing/scoring, current results, and audio coverage for each Heat. More insight can be discovered at the Tire Rack SCCA National Solo Facebook page, as well as SCCA.com.
Not enough Solo tunes to get you through the work week? 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: Dave Schotz leads CAM-C after the first day of competition at the 2025 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships in Nebraska.
Photo by Philip Royle
Nearly 1,300 Solo® rockstars will perform Sept. 1-5, 2025, during the 52nd Tire Rack SCCA® Solo National Championships going on at Lincoln Airpark in Nebraska’s capital. Those rock ‘n’ rollers will show their Roadrunner ‘stuff’ across 94 different vehicle classes over four days.
(What’s with the music references? That’s because this year’s event theme is rock ‘n’ roll! Why rock ‘n’ roll? Because the event rocks!)
The largest of this year’s Solo Nationals classes looks to be D Street, coming in just short of 65 entrants. Part of the Street category managed by SCCA’s Solo Events Board, that category is designed to provide a low barrier of entry for existing and potential Club members. Cars running in the Street category must have been produced with normal road touring equipment and licensed for normal road use. Such vehicles are sold and delivered through a manufacturer’s retail sales outlets, and Canadian-market counterparts are also eligible for participation.
Oversimplified for the purposes of this article, Street category car prep allowances are minimal but can include changes to shocks, anti-roll bars and tires. D Street (DS), specifically, is a grouping of sedans and coupes classed by performance potential. At this year’s Solo Nats, DS looks to include seven automotive manufacturers and nine models coming from Japan, South Korea, Italy, Germany, and the United States.
“D Street had some life infused into it a few years ago,” said Alex Muresan, a DS competitor who has finished on the Solo Nats victory podium three years running in a Honda Civic Type R. “When it is sort of a random toss-up, it makes things exciting and encourages people to try different makes.”
Reigning DS National Champion Mark Daddio agrees the class is interesting because variables, such as course design and weather conditions, generate parity across the different models. And while he claimed last year’s victory driving a Subaru BRZ, the 14-time Solo National Champion enjoys DS because nothing is necessarily a lock.
“D Street has many cars that end up running very similar times on certain courses,” said Daddio, who was also the 1988 Solo Rookie of the Year and 2000 Solo Driver of Eminence. “It comes down to a crapshoot when you have that many different cars that make their time so differently.”
Making his fourth Solo Nats appearance this year is DS competitor Ross Jacobs in a turbocharged Ford Focus RS. He is pleasantly pleased to have unintentionally landed on an SCCA Solo class that includes some serious car-control experts.
“It’s pretty cool that not everyone is in the same cars, and that’s a challenge,” Jacobs said. “It’s fun to compete against fast drivers in different cars. I like that we’re one of the biggest fields, and there are some pretty big legends as far as drivers.”
Evan Russo, driving a Hyundai Veloster N in DS, is making his second-ever Solo Nats appearance this year. Having only joined the Club last year, the DS squad has provided him much #funwithcars over a brief period of time.
“I’m pretty new to autocross and it was just kind of by chance that I ended up in D Street,” Russo noted. “There’s a huge swath of really competitive cars, and in the right hands any of them can be a winner.”
Following D Street Devotees
Ford, Fiat, Volkswagen, Toyota, Subaru, Hyundai, and Honda — they’ll all be running Tuesday and Wednesday in Heat 4 during DS competition at Solo Nats. It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll, but you’ll like it keeping with this year’s Solo Nats theme.
Catch all the sick slides and dinged cones thanks to live coverage provided by SCCA. Follow the competition online at sololive.scca.com, which includes live timing/scoring and audio coverage during each Solo Nats Heat. Be sure to monitor the Tire Rack SCCA National Solo and SCCA Official Facebook pages, too, for updates and photos over the next four days of #funwithcars.
Photo by SCCA Staff
It’s the opening day of competition for the 52nd Tire Rack SCCA® Solo® National Championships taking place at Lincoln Airpark in Nebraska’s capital city. This year’s rock ‘n’ roll themed autocross festival won’t be a Slow Ride Sept. 1-5, 2025, as around 1,300 entrants will attack two different course layouts to find out who is fastest in various car classes over the next four days.
The first set of Solo National Champions will be decided from those competing Tuesday and Wednesday within 40 eligible car classes. Stay in the groove from afar by following the action online at sololive.scca.com, which includes live timing/scoring, as well as audio coverage throughout each day. Also monitor the Tire Rack SCCA National Solo and SCCA Official Facebook pages, too, for updates and photos over the next several days of #funwithcars.
Monday Night’s Battle of the Bites Blowout!
“Come for the cars; stay for the people,” is an unofficial motto amongst Sports Car Club of America™ members. But after Monday night’s Battle of the Bites, perhaps the saying for Solo Nats should be: Come for the food and party; stay for the people — and some car stuff, too.
Weather conditions on Monday were a bit annoying, with a light rain persisting most of the day. Still, it’s honestly amazing what culinary delights can be created outdoors on a giant slab of concrete at Lincoln Airpark. Made possible thanks to support from Visit Lincoln and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, the alluring aroma of fantastic food floated across the paddock after Mother Nature brought the rain to a halt late in the day.
Zesty mac and cheese with banana pudding for desert was what SEDiv brought to the party. The ChiWaukee contingent delivered fried cheese curds, which was only appropriate. Something called a Rochester Garbage Plate was doled out by the Rust Belt Super Region, and the squad from Road Trip Racing/Spokes delivered rice bowls filled with smoked chicken.
Furthermore, Saginaw Valley Region held a fish fry utilizing six different types of fish. St. Louis Region served up toasted raviolis, and Tony Packo hotdogs were available thanks to Northwest Ohio Region. Also available were adult beverages and soft drinks reflecting the unique areas from which each group came. Rumor has it there were vegetables served at a stop or two as well.
Tire Rack hosted a cone toss inside the Tire Rack Event Center (TREC) VIP Backstage Tent, with players receiving tickets for a raffle that will lead to drum sets being given away during the week. The Backroads band filled the venue with tunes, too, accompanied on drums for a bit by SCCA President and CEO Mike Cobb.
Folks chatted and laughed well into the night, having fun like Nothing Else Matters. But being a Club with competition in its DNA, a champion will be selected from the Battle of the Bites chefs. The winner will be announced Wednesday evening during the annual Tire Rack Solo Awards Celebration held inside the TREC VIP Backstage Tent.
Here Comes the Sun; or Here Comes the Rain Again
Longtime Solo Nats participants and followers know Mother Nature’s whims can vary widely the first week of September in Lincoln. It can be doggone windy at times, have some high-water moments, then the whole concert venue can get hotter than an amplifier sitting in the sun.
This year looks to embrace two of the three conditions mentioned above. Here Comes the Sun is a song that applies to Tuesday, then Here Comes the Rain Again looks to perhaps be the theme for Wednesday. Thursday and Friday look to be pretty good, but Nebraska’s forecast can change a lot in 72 hours. Thankfully, the forecast predicts winds will not exceed 20 mph, and temperatures will not get above 80 degrees — a true blessing when seated out on 100 acres of concrete.
How will conditions impact competition? Tune in to sololive.scca.com and find out by monitoring live timing/scoring complemented by audio coverage provided each day.
Photo: Cones were flying Monday evening in the Tire Rack Event Center VIP Backstage Tent during the Solo Nats Welcome Party and Battle of the Bites.
Photo by Philip Royle
