LINCOLN, Neb. (September 3, 2012) – Joe Tharpe, of State Center, Iowa, won the TireRack ProSolo Finale this weekend at the Lincoln (Neb.) Airpark, while a third-round finish in the Gumout Super Challenge was enough to hand Andy Hollis, Austin, Texas, the season-long point championship.
Tharpe was the top qualifier in the Super Street Prepared class to qualify for the 32-driver Gumout Super Challenge bracket in the R and S Racing/Loctite Chevrolet Corvette. Tharpe rolled through three rounds to match-up with Doug Rowse’s Hoosier/Evolution/Cortez BMW 330, the second qualifier in the D Street Prepared.
After dispensing of Rowse in the single-elimination Challenge, Tharpe topped Kart Modified fast qualifier Paul Russell, in the Seventh-Gear.com Tony Kart Honda in the final for the event win.
Russell had eliminated Jeff Kiesel, who qualified his Goodyear Tire/Racing Beat KFR Turbo Sprite in the semi-final round. Kiesel topped Rowse in the consolation bracket for third place.
Though eliminated by Kiesel in the round of eight, Hollis scored 91 points throughout the year with a win in Blytheville to take the Gumout Super Challenge title. Hollis got an assist from Tharpe, as a final win would have tied the pair for the TireRack ProSolo point title. Russell’s runner-up left him with the season-long silver medal, four points behind Hollis.
Leslie Cohen, of Cardiff by the Sea, Calif., was the top qualifier for the Ladies Challenge and held serve in the 4 Sale Civic/Toyo Tires/C2 Motorsports Honda Civic Si, topping Kim Whitener in the final.
Whitener’s second-place finish clinched the year-long Ladies Challenge point title, scoring 138 points in the Texas Track Works/Motion Control Suspension Honda CRX to top Rachel Saunders by four. Saunders made the round of eight in Lincoln.
The checkered flag on the Tire Rack ProSolo season marks the opening of the 40th Tire Rack Solo National Championships. Runs begin on Tuesday to crown a National Champion in each of the SCCA Solo classes, with the first round of titlists crowned on Wednesday.
Results and more information from the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo finale is available here.
2012 ProSolo Finale
