FARMINGTON, Utah (July 1, 2015) – Christopher Cook, of Clearfield, Utah was the Super Shootout Champion at the Tire Rack Utah Match Tour event this past weekend. The event, which took place June 27-28, was the third of four scheduled Match Tours to take place in 2015. Eric Gustavson, of Farmington, Utah, was the Club Shootout Champion while Brian Kelly, of Sherman Oaks, California, won the Bonus Shootout.

For each Tire Rack Match Tour event, Saturday is a full day of traditional class-based competition. Sunday morning’s three runs set the field for the Super Shootout brackets. From each heat, the top eight indexed times were placed into a Super Shootout bracket. The next eight qualifiers were seeded in the Club Shootout, while the remaining competitors were eligible for the Bonus Shootout.

In both the Super and Club Shootouts, the bracket competition whittled the field down to one driver from each heat. In the final round of both the Super and Club Shootouts, each driver took one run to determine the bracket winner. The winner is the driver that was closest to their dial-in time.

At this event, 109 drivers were in attendance. Of those drivers, roughly 70 percent were fresh faces on the Tire Rack National Solo scene. The focus of this program is to give regional Soloists a chance to get their feet wet in National-level competition before jumping into the deep end of Tire Rack Championship Tour or ProSolo competition. The format rewards consistently fast runs as opposed to being able to pull off a single blindingly fast, but unrepeatable, lap.

Temperatures in the mid to high 90s lingered throughout the entire race weekend. In addition to the high temperatures, newly laid asphalt at the competition site led many drivers to have their best runs during their first or second lap of the course on both days. When it was time for the bracket portion of the competition, it forced each driver to be on top of their game right out of the gates.

In Heat One of the Super Shootout, Cook (G Street, Ford Focus ST) faced Michael Carpenter (Street Touring FWD, Honda Jazz) and was able to take home the win. That moved him to the semi-final round of the Heat One bracket.

In the Second round, Cook took down Mark Cornelius (F Street, Ford Mustang GT). That pushed Cook to the final of the traditional bracket, where he was pitted against Michael Heinitz (Street Touring FWD, Yawsport/Abe’s Garage Acura RSX Type S). In the final, Cook proved to have the hot hand as he beat Heinitz. That secured Cook’s position in the two-way battle for the Super Shootout win.

Once the dust settled from the finale, Cook emerged as the winner of the Super Shootout. He was able to set a time closer to his dial-in than that of his final challenger, Ryan Dillin (Street Modified FWD, R/D Automotive/Dillford Racing Engines Mazda MX-6).

“The feeling of passion, excitement and the joy of my fellow competitors is a feeling described by no other,” Cook said. “As I went through the rounds knocking out my competitors, one-by-one, they came to my aid; checking tire pressures, cooling the car and helping keep me cool. Their excitement for my victory was something that cannot be replicated and was the ultimate pleasure.

“This win really motivates me to get out more, try harder and enjoy the camaraderie that this level of competition brings. The bond with fellow racers strengthens after each event, as they no longer become friends but extended family from around the country. My plans for the remainder of the season is to rest, race and repeat. Just might see you all at Nationals!”

Gustavson (Street Modified FWD, Streamline Industries/GIAC Volkswagen GTI), a winner during the class-based portion of the competition, met David Benson (Street Touring Xtreme, Mazda MAZDASPEED3) in the opening round of the Club Shootout. Gustavson got the edge over Benson in the first round, moving him to a semi-final matchup with Jonathan McTaggart (Street Touring Xtreme, Scion FRS).

In his penultimate traditional bracket matchup, Gustavson took down McTaggart easily. McTaggart had some on-course issues which landed him nearly 2 seconds off his dial-in time. Gustavson showed patience by putting down a quick enough lap to ensure his victory, but not throw away the opportunity to advance further in the bracket.

In the Heat Two bracket final, Gustavson met, and bested, Stephen Curtis (Street Touring Roadster, Curtis Team Racing/Murray School Honda S2000). The win moved Gustavson to the Club Shootout final.

In the one-run, winner-take-all Club Shootout Final, Gustavson proved to be the master of consistency as he took out Chad Langley (Super Street, Big 5 Tire/Langley Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette).

“It felt great to win my first Shootout!” Gustavson said. “I was happy to run consistent times even in high heat. I definitely have to thank Utah Region members for helping me cool the car and tires between runs.

“The biggest challenge of the weekend was the extreme summer heat. The GTI's engine, like any turbo car, doesn't like high ambient temperatures. The car is also more front-heavy than most, so we work the tires quite a bit. The quick turnaround of Shootout format meant getting the car as cool as possible as quickly as we could, so I could try and stay close to my dial-in.”

Kelly (B Street, Thanks Flavio! Mitsubishi Evolution) started his march to the Bonus Shootout with a first-round win over Perry Taylor (CAM-Contemporary, Canyon Data Solutions Chevrolet Camaro SS).

In the final round, Kelly beat Matthew Villescas (B Street, High Altitude Automotive Nissan 370z) and took home the Bonus Shootout crown.

“I felt very surprised and excited,” Kelly said. “It was my first time doing well at a National event. I had missed the Club Shootout by a single spot, and was excited to have made it into the Bonus Shootout. The final round was against my good friend Matt Villescas, and he had been driving very well all weekend. So, I was pretty nervous during my final run.

“The biggest hurdle was trying to figure out the car. My friend Fabian took me along as a co-driver this weekend, and it was my first time driving his Evo. It's set up a bit loose, but I managed to figure out its quirks by the second day. Locally I'll be continuing to drive in E Street, but am going to try to go to my second Nationals this year. At this point, I'm not sure what I'll be driving. It could possibly be a friend's WRX in D Street.”

For more information on the Tire Rack SCCA Match Tour from Utah, including full results, click here.