NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 29, 2008) – The second annual RallyCross National Championships welcomed nearly 70 entrants to Nashville Superspeedway. Challenging course conditions ensured that each of the eight class championships was well-earned. Heavy rain on Friday meant few drivers took to the course for the scheduled Test n Tune, but the rain stopped just in time for the Tennessee Region’s welcome party, held beneath the track’s grandstands. The sun returned on Saturday, making for a course that was continuously changing, while more warm weather on Sunday created conditions closer to asphalt than dirt as several drivers even managed to create some tire squeal. Both courses, designed by Charles Wright and David Brooks, were long (more than a mile) and fast, making the most of the ample space and clay/limestone terrain. Two of the closest contests came in the Stock category. Robert Johnson took the day one lead in Stock All-Wheel Drive piloting a Mitsubishi Evolution, but was shadowed on day two by the Subaru Impreza of Chris O’Driscoll. Neither could match the Sunday pace of Josh Armantrout, however, who was flying in a Mitsubishi Evolution. Armantrout had unfortunately dug himself into a deep hole with a poor showing on Saturday, and despite his best efforts, could not overcome the gap to Johnson and O’Driscoll. At the end of Sunday, Johnson had the win over O’Driscoll by 3.680 seconds, with Armantrout in third. In Stock Front-Wheel Drive, Tim White got off to a slow start in his Honda Civic Si, but was able to settle into a rhythm, ending day one nearly a second ahead of Jeff Parker’s Dodge Neon. Brian Johns was the man to beat on Sunday though, his Dodge Neon setting the fastest time on each run, save for his first, on which he incurred a two-second cone penalty. Johns was able to pass Parker on the time sheets, but came 1.977 seconds shy of beating White for the class win. Stock Rear-Wheel Drive went to the Mazda RX-7 of Michael Byington, who bested Keith Little’s Mazda Miata by 9.255 seconds. Douglas Harvey’s Plymouth Neon was untouchable in Prepared Front-Wheel Drive, where he beat out second-place Zbigniew Lornec, in a Volkswagen GTi, by more than 32 seconds. Shelton Wright performed a similar feat of domination in Prepared Rear-Wheel Drive, where he drove his Mazda RX-7 to a 27.707-second victory over Charles Wright. Brent Carlson had some steep competition from Tyler Patik in Prepared All-Wheel Drive. Unfortunately for Patik, his Subaru Impreza only made three cone-free runs, which relegated him to second, 11.322 seconds behind Carlson. There were very few cone penalties in the battle for the Modified Two-Wheel Drive title. Clean runs paid off for Harold Denham and his Volkswagen GTi, who was the class leader after Saturday. David Feighner in a Volkswagen Rabbit may have ended day one on top had it not been for a single coned run. Feighner came back strong on Sunday, laying down two quick runs right off the bat and continuing to enter solid times throughout the day. Feighner managed to make up enough time to move ahead of Denham for the class win. A late charging Kevin Turner nearly wrestled second-place away from Denham, but had to settle for third. The largest class of the event, Modified All-Wheel Drive, nearly lost two competitors on Saturday, when the Audi A4 co-driven by Warren Elliott and Justin Baltrucki suffered a terminal mechanical failure. Fellow drivers Eric Genak and Ken Cashion were kind enough to offer a co-driver spot in their vehicles. The move to Cashion’s Mitsubishi Evolution paid off big time for Elliott who took the class win after Mark Utecht was disqualified. Utecht is appealing the decision and the M4 results remain provisional until further notice. “We were a little bit worried with the rain on Friday, but were pleasantly surprised with what mother nature gave us over the weekend,” SCCA Rally Manager Pego Mack said. “The continuously drying surface made for some challenging conditions, which is ideal for a Championship event. “I can’t thank the Tennessee Region enough for its hard work. The welcome party and dinner on Saturday night were outstanding. Everyone had a blast, whether it was competing on course or socializing afterwards.” Full results are available on the RallyCross National Championship event page. Information regarding the 2009 SCCA RallyCross season will be announced shortly.