ATLANTA, Ga. (May 20, 2014) – James Feinberg, of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, captured the Super Shootout win at this past weekend’s Tire Rack® SCCA Solo® Match Tour event in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, Laura Johnson, of Guyton, Georgia, took home the Ladies Shootout title.
Saturday’s short rain shower, followed by Sunday’s predominantly wet conditions, was not enough to dampen the spirits of the 150 entrants that arrived to compete in Atlanta. The meet took place at in the parking lots outside Turner Field, the home of Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and no stranger to high-level competition.
The courses themselves offered a challenge to each competitor, forcing each driver to keep his or her focus down track. Elevation changes, and a difference in racing surface, added to the difficulty of driving the course cleanly.
The Atlanta Region has become known for putting on top-notch events, and they certainly did not disappoint this time. A game of kickball took place after the Saturday’s awards party, with the inlaid brick mosaic of a baseball diamond in the parking lot acting as the field of play. Incidentally, this was the same change in surface that baffled some drivers earlier in the day.
Feinberg (D Street, SoloPro Driving School Audi TT) started his Super Shootout title run after registering one of the top-eight indexed times in Heat One. As a result of a random draw, in which the top-eight drivers from each of the three heats were subjected, Feinberg was slated to take on Edward Fisher (B Street, Chevrolet Corvette) in the opening round of the Heat One Bracket.
Feinberg would emerge the victor over Fisher, moving him to the semi-final round. There, Robert Carpenter (E Street, Mazda Miata) was the next driver to fall to Feinberg. In his final head-to-head bracket round, Feinberg took out Brian Flanagan (G Street, SolarTech/Chattanooga Mafia Ford Focus ST).
To decide the Super Shootout winner, Feinberg and the winners from the two other brackets, were allowed to take one more timed run. Of the three drivers, Feinberg from Heat One, Perry Ellwood (Street Touring Xtreme, MAZDASPEED Mazda RX-8) from Heat Two and Justin Barbury (F Street Prepared, Mazda 323) from Head Three, Feinberg set the time closest to that of his dial-in. That game Feinberg the Super Shootout win.
In the Ladies Shootout, Johnson (B Street Ladies, My Wallet Honda S2000) randomly drew a first round matchup with Suzanne Hodges (D Street Ladies, Lane Industries Racing Audi TT). After dispatching with Hodges, Johnson moved to a semi-final showdown with Christy Carlson (Street Touring Xtreme Ladies, Nameless Performance/Bad Panda Subaru BRZ). Johnson moved on the final round of the Ladies Shootout after beating Carlson, where she met Stefanie Stribling (G Street Ladies, Ford Focus ST).
Stribling got to the final round of the Ladies bracket after beating Laraine Wilkins (Street Touring Xtreme Ladies, Allprosubie.com Subaru Impreza WRX) and Patsy Zymowski (C Street Ladies, Holy Crap This is Fun Subaru BRZ) in the first and second rounds, respectively. In the final, Johnson got the best of Stribling and took home the Ladies Shootout hardware. Jesse Waymire (F Prepared, Bad Ideas Honda S2000), of Panama City, Florida, won the Club Shootout. This marked the first national-level Solo win of any kind for Waymire.
The next stop on the schedule for The Tire Rack SCCA Solo Match Tour is set for Devens Airfield in Ayer, Massachusetts, June 7-8.
Additional information, including full results, of The Tire Rack SCCA Atlanta Solo Match Tour can be found here. More information on the entire Tire Rack SCCA Solo program is available at www.scca.com/Solo. Follow SCCA on Twitter @SCCAOfficial and like the Club on Facebook at Facebook.com/SCCAOfficial.
