Unlike the East Course, the West Course has a reputation of being the faster drying of the two. That held true, once again, as a technical course, with the addition of wet but drying conditions, made finding suitable grip difficult. In B Street, Andrew Smedegard may have been the best example of how finding the right line paid huge dividends. Smedegard found 2.5 seconds on his third run pushing him to second. That leaves him only 0.425-second behind class leader Alex Muresan, well within striking distance.
In E Street Prepared Ladies, Carol Kolk leads the field by a margin of 1.251 seconds. In her return to Nationals competition, following a six year hiatus, Kolk said her focus was on smooth driving and clean runs. Laura Campbell, a 2014 National Champion in her own right, knows she has her work cut out for her if she wishes to collect another title. After taking two cones on her second run, she cleaned up her third to slot into second in class. Showing some frustration, Campbell said, “You can’t suck on the first day at Nationals.”
