Blytheville, Ark. (June 15, 2011) - For the second consecutive week, the Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Tour took to the pavement, this time on the tarmac of the Arkansas Aeroplex for the Blytheville National Tour and the Southern States Championship. The weekend story was the extremes in the weather, and the way the Solo community banded together to protect the cars and people on site during the Arkansas Region-hosted weekend. Temperatures soared during the day, with the local Blytheville EMS team distributing waters to those in need during the hottest parts of the day. In addition to the heat, there was a significant wind storm late on Saturday evening. While most of the participants were off site, approximately 25 competitors risked their safety to protect the cars and trailers still exposed. While several tents were lost, the damage to cars was mostly eliminated by the efforts of those few competitors. As has become a tradition, the event was part of the Cars And Cycles Against Breast Cancer weekend in Blytheville and Relay For Life charity event. A number of spectators participating in the local show got their first introduction to the Solo National Tour. Those spectators were treated to a bonus “challenge” bracket event in the elimination-style of the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo, pitting the top 32 competitors from day one with a 2012 National Tour entry on the line. At the end of the bracket challenge, John Brown, from Knoxville, Tenn., earned the free entry in his 1990 Mazda Miata from the Street Touring Sport class. Laura Harbour, from Stomping Ground, Ky., won the Ladies Challenge in her 1991 Toyo Tires Mazda Miata, also out of the Street Touring Sport Ladies class. The class competition throughout the tour brought 157 competitors to test their pavement, with a number of storylines developing throughout the weekend that didn’t involve the heat. Carter Thompson, form Murfreesboro, Tenn., had been struggling for pace in the Super Street Modified class with a “new” race car, a 1993 Mazda RX-7. It all seemed to come together in Arkansas, where he earned a 2.845-second win over Brian Johns, also from Murfreesboro. Both Thompson and Johns’ 1993 Tweakit/Run Cool/ABC Plumbing Mazda RX-7 are hoping to be contenders in Lincoln this fall for the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships. Tom O’Gorman, currently enrolled at Ohio State, was the defending Super Tour R class winner at Blytheville and backed it up this year in Super Touring Sport. As a college student, O’Gorman has spent the season without this own autocross car and has driven a variety of cars this season, including the 1989 Honda CRX co-driven by Dave Montgomery this weekend. O’Gorman edged 1988 Texas Time Trials Honda CRX of David Whitener by 0.254-second to take the class win. The battle of the weekend came in the 13-car Street Touring Ultra class, where the first four places were separated by just 0.184-second. Luke Oxner eventually earned the class title in a 2006 WMMFT Racing Mitsubishi Evo, with his times totaling just 0.092-second quicker than Tom Sotiropoulos’ 2005 Subaru STi. Only 0.039-second behind Sotiropoulos was Robert Carpenter in a 2002 Volunteer X-Ray/Plastic Fantastic BMW M3, followed by Dan Vehe’s 2005 Grand Subaru/SWFC Subaru 4x4 an additional 0.053-second back. Because Blytheville was the Southern States Championship, each class winner has earned one leg of the Solo Triad Award. The Solo Triad Award requires a win in a States Championship, a Divisional Championship, and a National Championship, all in the same class. The Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour continues July 2 at the Tire Rack Toledo National Tour and Northern States Championship, with just three more events remaining on the “Road To Lincoln.” For more information on the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour, visit www.scca.com/solo. Results from the Blytheville National Tour are available directly at http://www.scca.com/eventresults.aspx?event=17116&hub=3.