Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Date and Venue Change: Southern California
TOPEKA, Kan. (January 25, 2017) – Tire Rack SCCA® Solo events had been living a charmed life for several years when it comes to the old runways of El Toro Airbase at what is now the Orange County Great Park. Unfortunately, it appears luck has run out as Howard Duncan, Sr. Director of SCCA Rally/Solo, announced today that what was to be the 3rd Annual Last El Toro ProSolo must be cancelled.
In its place, Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo organizers have secured a March 31-April 2 date for ProSolo competitors at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California -- located about an hour’s drive northeast of the original Orange County venue. The original date for the annual visit to Southern California had to be adjusted as the Speedway was previously booked.
“Due to pending land development, a formal contract was not offered for use of the Orange County site this year. Instead, a verbal agreement, which could be rescinded at any time, was offered to use a diminished amount of space,” Duncan said. “This was obviously not a situation we could accept, especially for our members traveling in from out of town. So, the decision was made to swap dates and return to Auto Club Speedway, which ProSolo last visited almost a decade ago.”
The new ProSolo calendar is a 10-event, regular season schedule -- running March to August -- that leads to the Tire Rack ProSolo Finale in early September. The 2017 schedule is as follows:
- March 10-12: Tire Rack Fort Myers ProSolo; Lehigh Acres, Florida
Buckingham Field
- March 31-April 2: Tire Rack Fontana ProSolo; Fontana, California
Auto Club Speedway
- April 21-23: Tire Rack Crows Landing ProSolo; Crows Landing, California
NASA Crows Landing Airport
- May 5-7: Tire Rack Blytheville ProSolo; Blytheville, Arkansas
Arkansas Aeroplex
- May 19-21: Tire Rack New Jersey ProSolo; East Rutherford, New Jersey
MetLife Stadium
- May 25-27: Tire Rack Spring Nationals ProSolo; Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln Airpark
- June 2-4: Tire Rack Texas ProSolo; Mineral Wells, Texas
Mineral Wells Airport
- June 9-11: Tire Rack Ohio ProSolo; Swanton, Ohio
Toledo Express Airport
- July 14-16: Tire Rack Packwood ProSolo; Packwood, Washington
Former Hampton Lumber Mills Packwood
- August 4-6: Tire Rack Oscoda ProSolo; Oscoda Township, Michigan
Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport
- September 1-3: Tire Rack ProSolo Finale; Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln Airpark
During ProSolo events, drivers face off, side-by-side, at a “Christmas Tree” start before launching down a straightaway and into mirror image autocross courses. Three heats of Class competition give drivers 12 total runs, six on each course. Like other Solo competitions, runs are timed to 1/1000th of a second and knocking a cone down means a two-second penalty added to a time.
Opening runs determine class rankings and set the qualifying order for the second part of the event which determines the overall winner. The top qualifiers enter single-elimination brackets and conduct runoffs until only one driver remains: The Top Eliminator. Additionally, the Ladies Challenge pits top female qualifiers against one another, while the Super Challenge features the top 28 Open Class competitors in a winner-take-all battle. There is even a Bonus Challenge where randomly selected, non-qualifying drivers can compete for prizes and bragging rights.
Competitors earn class and Challenge points throughout the season that count toward the Overall Ladies and Open ProSolo Championships. Class National Championships and Overall ProSolo Championships are determined by combining regular season points with points earned at the ProSolo Finale in Lincoln, Nebraska.
For additional information on Tire Rack SCCA Solo, visit www.scca.com/solo.
Photo Credit: Rupert Berrington
