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Wilmington Spring ProSolo Registration Link
We're just a few short days away from the start of one of the most sought after events in the TireRack ProSolo Series, the Wilmington Spring ProSolo. For 273 competitors, productivity at work has dropped to that of a kid watching cartoons, family time has lately referred to your time with your collection of Snap-On tools, and your brain is already thinking about what you'll be doing Friday. This is your lead up to the Wilmington Pro.
Let's dive right in with arguable the most stacked class when it comes to talent this weekend, L1 will be a battle of Champions. Starting down the list you have 2013 STX National Champion and last years L2 Overall Points winner Dr. Jordan Towns (That's Dr. Towns to you!) driving the Brausen FP Evo. If this car stays together, expect it to be burning up the course with insane straight line acceleration. Traveling almost all the way across the country from California and looking to take handling over power is umpteen time National Champion Shelly Monfort driving the DSP 330i of John Vitamvas. Having won this event last year in this exact car, Shelly is not a stranger to the BMW. Trying to mix the boundaries of power and handling will be last years ESPL National Champion and 2015 Driver of the year Carol Kolk in the same Mustang that brought home last years victory. Looking to bring a little luxury to the sport, 2x National Champion Su Brude will be bringing out her latest creation in a 2008 Porsche 911 Turbo. Boasting 2 turbos and grip levels that rival AWD cars, listen for this beauty to leave the line terrorizing the ear buds of everyone around. And to break the trend of heavy cars in the class, past National Champions Katie Lacey and Tamara Hunt will be bringing out two different generations of Miatas to mix it up with the HP monsters in what is sure to be one hell of a class.
Where can you possibly go from there except onto SSR? Returning National Champion Grant Reeve will be bringing his C5 Z06 to the firefight that is SSR. Also bringing Corvettes are past National Champion Tony Savini, gold chain aficionado Josh Luster, and some guy named Sam Strano (I think he works for a parts store. AutoZone?). The odd cars out are Aaron Ritch and Matthew Braun in the Porsche GT3's of two different generational flavors. Although there is rumor that Matthew might be joining the Corvette crew for the event, nothing is currently confirmed.
To keep everyone from getting too excited, let's talk about some street tires! STS seems to be the class that continues to make the other ST classes feel ashamed. Driving cars that qualify for collector plates (only driven on Sundays right?), these flyweights continue to show that the right line and good suspension can make for crazy fast time. Wisconsin's own Mark McKnight will be bring his Honda Civic CRX to the party in hopes of taking a win back to the state of Cheese and Beer. Not be outdone, Minnesota's John Mensch and graphic guru Mike Snyder will be bringing… CRX's also… Taking a break from retirement and his busy hockey schedule to show up with something slightly different is ex-SEB member Mark Andy in a traditional Civic Si. Always a threat, but not very threatening is Jason Frank driving now Wife Hilary's CRX. A multi-time National Champion in both variations of the Civic's diverse chassis, look for him to be leading the pack from the start. If you want something more to look at in a class of Hondas and Miatas, look no further than Dr. Lowther sporting a 1986 Toyota MR2. With looks of a mini low-budget Testarossa, this will the fish out of water in the class. But dang it, that's cool!
Cycling back to the cars that make grown men giggle, SSM will be the bees knees to watch. Past National Champion Carter Thompson will be bringing the flavor of RX7 that has become synonymous with the class, albeit with a misplaced radiator. Also sporting a jacket in this class is the beautiful orange Lotus Elise of Matt Glagola. With some newly found power, this MR launch monster is sure to turn heads in paddock as well as leaving the line. Not to be left out, last years SSM points winner Randall Wilcox will be returning in the newly improved SSM Miata built by Eric Anderson. With such a mix of crazy cars, I'm not sure how there is anyone who doesn't enjoy this class.
To finish out the cars that make you smile we have one of the most diverse classes around, R2. Driving a car that currently has a string of 3 National Championships in FP (2 of them his), Dave Montgomery will be returning the 914-6 RSR to ProSolo action. With a factory road race package and a truly beautiful build, the 914 seems to float around course rather than drive. Imagine the Lexus Hoverboard, except this actually works. After suffering a power draining intercooler leak at Nationals last year, Chris Raglin and his Pontiac Solstice GXP are looking for redemption. What to do when you can't get any more warranty coverage from a defunct brand? Make it a Prepared car! More people should follow this motto. Trying to break the mold by bringing a "pretty" car to E-Prepared, Chris Delay and Pat Washburn will be bringing out the Lucky Lugnut Racing Civic. Sporting a singular lugnut previously owned by Alien and now avid bicyclist Bartek Borowski, it is believed to have magical powers that channel the spirits of all of the great Polish racing drivers directly into the car. We may need to go to the SEB for a ruling on witchcrafts use in Solo. Luckily there are no car shows nearby, because Adam George will be bringing out his continued build of a 2005 CP Mustang Nevermind, he bought a Corvette.. Last and likely least, Mike Brausen hopes to spoil all of their fun with the bone and diff crushing launch of his Evo 9. Sporting one of the most powerful cars in the group, the car is known for violent launches, and fluids left at the line. If the car holds together, look for it to be very fast. But that's always a big "IF". To misquote another Evo driver Aaron Shoe, "Evo's are fast when they stay together, which is about 50% of the time."
If this doesn't get your mouth wet for Wilmington, I'm not sure what will. Tune in on UStream and to sololive.scca.com for all the ProSolo info you crave starting this Saturday AM.
