TOPEKA, Kan. (May 30, 2017) – Autocrossers from around the country flock to Lincoln, Nebraska twice a year. In May, many make the journey for the Tire Rack Spring Nationals, an unofficial preview of what will come in September at the Tire Rack ProSolo® Finale and Tire Rack Solo® Nationals.
The 2017 Spring Nationals took place this past weekend with 275 drivers attacking the mirrored courses. Class competition was limited to Friday’s two heats as thunderstorms washed out Saturday morning runs. But the Challenge portion of the competition went on unabated later in the morning after the sun came out.
The Ladies Challenge started in drying conditions with the left course retaining water longer, especially at the starting lights. Drivers were challenged to find more time on the right to compensate for slower left-side times. A small handful of ladies made tire changes, hoping for an advantage before the sun and wind returned the venue to dry conditions. Top qualifier Shelly Monfort was among this group. Kim Whitener also switched from her usual BFGoodrich tires to Continentals.
After claiming the L2 victory on Friday, Jordan Towns took her D Street Subaru WRX all the way to the final Challenge Round in dramatic fashion. In the semifinal, Jordan faced L3 victor Kim Whitener in her Street Touring Sport Mazda Miata. Towns started on the right and took a slight lead as she switched to the left, known at that point to be slightly slower due to puddles. As she went through the first turn-around, she held a massive slide that silenced the spectator area. She recovered and continued. As both ladies approached the finish lights, Towns had caught Whitener and took the round by 0.041 second.
Whitener faced Mindi Cross, also from L3, in the third-place runoff and claimed the final spot on the podium, keeping it clean as Cross collected a cone. In the Ladies Challenge final, Towns faced Julie Heaton, sixth-place finisher in L2 who was also in a Subaru WRX. Again, Towns started on the left and was able to stretch a small lead as the ladies switched sides. But again, Towns slid at the first turn-around, but was forced to stop and back up to avoid a DNF. Heaton took the victory, stringing together strong, consistent runs throughout the Challenge to emerge on top.
By the time the Ladies Challenge concluded, the courses were both nearly dry for the Super Challenge. Usually the first round of a Super Challenge is fairly drama free. That was not the case when David Whitener of STS and Sam Strano of Super Street R faced off. The pairing started normally, but after the drivers switched sides, Whitener stopped for a cone out of place on the left side. They came back to the lights and ran it again. And again, Whitener stopped for the same cone, placed on a mark for the next day’s Champ Tour course. Once that was straightened out, Strano set a decisive right-side run to take the round by 2.1 seconds.
In the second round, Strano faced Greg Reno of H Street. Reno emerged ahead by just .064 second. He then bested Wiggy Greacen of G Street and Tom Harrington of Kart Modified to earn a position in the final round. On the other side of the bracket, Mark McKnight emerged from a third-place finish in Street Touring Sport to best fellow STS driver Adam Barber thanks to a cone, then Preston Jordan (E Street) and Philip Mitchell (HS) to earn his place in the final. KM winner Harrington made it to the final four without winning a single round. A bye, two red lights, and a loss to Reno landed him in the third-place runoff against HS runner-up Philip Mitchell. Harrington’s luck had run a little short as Mitchell took the final trophy spot. As for McKnight and Reno, their first runs were uneventful and close. Then the drivers switched sides. McKnight’s lights fell first and as he took off, Reno red lit. When McKnight met Reno behind the trailer, he received the news that he had won the Super Challenge at the 2017 Tire Rack Spring Nationals.
After ensuring that the weather would hold out long enough, the Bonus Challenge was held following the Super Challenge. Of the eight lucky drivers given another chance, Trevor Blackwell of Street Touring Roadster and Mike Brausen of ES faced off for the win. It was Brausen taking the win while testing a new tire setup on his Mazda Miata.
Word was spreading fast around the paddock on Friday that storms were headed in for Saturday morning. With that brought a lot of anxiety and a rush to lay down fast times in the first two heats. In C Street, Mike Cavanaugh led in his Mazda MX-5 after heat one, but was unable to improve. That opened the door for Daniel McCelvey who was able to improve on just one side due to a cone. It was enough for McCelvey to take the win in his Mazda MX-5 by 0.543 second. Tyler Kvetcko and GH Sharp rounded out the trophies, both also in Mazda MX-5s.
H Street finished heat one with Philip Mitchell leading the way in his Ford Fiesta ST, but Greg Reno had the faster raw time in his Mini Cooper and was just looking to clean it up in the afternoon. While Mitchell improved by 0.14 second on one side, Reno succeeded in cleaning up his dirty time and took the victory by 0.043 second. Both trophy winners advanced to the Challenge.
In R1, it was an indexed battle between family as Zak Kiesel faced his father, Jeff Kiesel. Zak, running his F Modified Raptor F-500 took an early lead as Jeff drew a pair of red lights in his E Modified KFR Turbo Sprite. Both improved in the afternoon, but it was the younger Kiesel taking the win by 0.380 second over his father. Daniel Stone claimed the last trophy position in his B Modified LeGrand Mk 18.
In the Ladies classes, the closest battle for the win was in L2, comprised of the Street Category ladies running by index. Jordan Towns took the early lead and held on through the day with Denise Cashmore just 0.286-second behind. This drive placed Towns 15th in the overall index for the event.
Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo competition continues next weekend, June 2-4, in Mineral Wells, Texas.
Photo by Craig Wilcox
