EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (May 12, 2015) – Mark Daddio, of Beacon Falls, Connecticut, was the Super Challenge winner, following a long drought, at last weekend’s Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo meet, held at the MetLife Stadium complex. Stephanie Reeve, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, took home the victory in the Ladies Challenge bracket.
The event took place in the shadow of the stadium that plays home to the National Football League’s New York Giants and Jets franchises. The weather conditions themselves gloomy as high temperatures ranged from the low 70s to the low 80s cloudy skies. The sun finally broke through the cloud cover as the three Challenge winners were crowned on Sunday.
The course, itself, was designed by Mark Labbancz and was challenging for many of the drivers. Aside from the technical challenge of the course, there was also a straight that featured a wonderful view of the New York City skiyline from which was hard to look away.
Daddio, in his Daddio’s New Auto Parts, Inc. Chevrolet Corvette, qualified for the Super Challenge in the 22nd position after narrowly winning the A Street class over Mike Johnson. The battle proved to be one of the best during the class-based portion of the competition as the winner was decided by only 0.019-second through eight runs.
In the Super Challenge, Daddio defeated No. 16 seed Bill Rogerson (A Street Prepared, Subaru STI) in his first-round matchup. That win allowed Daddio to move forward to the second round.
There, Daddio met and downed Dick Rasmussen (F Street, 50 Years of Employment Ford Mustang). Following the win, Daddio moved on to a quarter-final meeting with Grant Reeve.
Daddio proved too much for Reeve (Super Street R, iRacing.com/G-Fab Racing Chevrolet Corvette) and took the win to move him onto the penultimate round of the competition.
In the semi-finals Daddio defeated G.J. Dixon (Street Touring Roadster, Monticello Motor Club/Grand Prix New York Honda S2000) earning Daddio the right to move to the final meeting with Evan Schickel.
Schickel (B Street, HAMFIST Racing Chevrolet Corvette) started his march to the final round with wins over Ron Bistrais (E Street Prepeard, Evolution/Stranoparts.com Ford Shelby) and Todd Kean (Street Modified, G-Fab/iRacing.com Nissan 240 SX) in the first two rounds, respectively.
In the quarter-finals, Schickel took out Martin Kriz (Street Touring Ultra, IAG Performance/OS Giken/MCS/Evolution Subaru WRX), then got to the finals by beating Erik Carlson (E Street Prepared, CarTuned.com Ford Mustang).
When the dust from the final runs came to rest, Daddio was the final competitor standing. Dixon completed the top three positions after beating Carlson in the third-place runoff.
“I was beginning to think that I would never win another Challenge, so I was as shocked as I was excited with the win,” Daddio said. “It has been a really long time since my last one, and Super Challenge wins are really tough to come by. Not only do you have to be consistent, but you always seem to have to have a little bit of luck on your side. Luck was definitely on my side for this one.
“The biggest hurdle for me was from being a bit rusty. This is only my second event of the year, and was a crash course in figuring out the car setup with the new tires. I am really looking forward to the rest of the season. I plan on running two more ProSolo events, a National Tour, the ProSolo Finale, and Nationals. I am just planning on taking one event at a time, and seeing what happens.”
In the Ladies Bracket, Reeve (Ladies Class 1, iRacing.com/G-Fab Racing Chevrolet Corvette) started the bracket portion of the meet as the three seed. She defeated Tamara Hunt (Ladies Class 2, Honda S2000) in the opening round.
The win moved her forward in the competition, where she was paired with Elisabeth Flannagan (Ladies Class 2, Honda Civic Si). Reeve downed Flannagan, and moved to a final-round meeting with Kandy Johnson.
Johnson (Ladies Class 2, Evolution/BFGoodrich Tires/MCS Chevrolet Corvette) was the top qualifier in the bracket and matched up with Dawn Ammirata in the opening round.
The win moved her to the semi-finals, where she met Rachel Baker (Ladies Class 1, Thanks PJ/G-Fab PPR Nissan 240 SX). Johnson won the matchup with Baker, allowing her to move forward in the bracket.
In the final round, Reeve ended up as the driver on top after besting Johnson. Baker completed the podium positions after beating Flannagan in the third-place runoff.
“I couldn't believe that I won and smiled so much that my face hurt,” Reeve said. “Once the high wore off I started wondering how I actually pulled it off. Luck…lots of luck.
“Self-doubt is one of my biggest hurdles. I get to run with some of the quickest and most talented women around. I trust Horse, my Corvette Z06, completely, but often don’t trust myself to carry that extra speed into a turn or figure I’ll blow it somewhere. I tried to push myself to focus on what was in front of me, to forget about the mistake I just made, and to give it my best. My husband Grant and my G-Fab family help me remember to have fun and enjoy myself. It feels strange to be the Reeve who brought home the most tires this time. I don’t know if this will ever happen again, but I will continue to enjoy running with my friends.”
Michael Buck (F Street, Lexus IS300), of North East, Maryland, was the winner of the Bonus Challenge as he defeated Nathan Young (B Street, Honda S2000) in the final.
“I am shocked more than anything,” Buck said. “The whole challenge happened so fast. It was the biggest moment of my autocross career and I got to share it with lots of folks. My wife and sister-in-law were at the event as co-drivers in L2, along with many drivers from our Region. My two-year-old daughter and wife's parents came on Sunday afternoon, just in time. It was a really proud moment for me.
“I didn't drive very well all weekend until the Challenge. I red-lit five consecutive runs on Saturday and was well behind my co-drivers on the right course. I knew that if I could stay clean in the Challenge that I had ‘time’ in hand that could work to my advantage. Somehow I held it together for all three rounds and went faster and faster while staying clean.”
Additional information on the Tire Rack SCCA New Jersey ProSolo, including full results, can be found here.
Facts on the entire Tire Rack SCCA National Solo Program can be found by visiting SCCA.com/Solo.
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2015 Tire Rack New Jersey ProSolo
