LINCOLN, Neb. (Sept. 6, 2017) – The first 35 winners of the 2017 Tire Rack Solo Nationals received their trophies Wednesday night in Lincoln, Nebraska, along with some special awards honoring members of the SCCA® Solo community.

The Solo Cup was awarded to Paul Brown from the Rio Grande Region. The Solo Cup is presented to Sports Car Club of America® members who have made an outstanding contribution to the Solo events program. Winners are selected by the Solo Events Board from nominations submitted by the membership at large.

Brown has been a competitor for more than 30 years, participating in Solo National, Tour and ProSolo events.  Although mostly associated with Toyota MR2s, he has also successfully driven a Chevrolet Corvette and Chrysler Conquest, winning several championships at Nationals and in ProSolo.  But this award is about service to the Solo program, which Brown has amassed in spades. He served as a valued member of the SEB for years and on several advisory committees, and helped as a Chief Steward at Solo Nationals and ProSolo events for years. Furthermore, Brown has been a SportsCar columnist for over 10 years and was the inaugural winner of the ProSolo Greenlight Award for service to that series.

“It has been a real pleasure working with such a great bunch of people,” Brown said after receiving the award. “You all make this pretty easy.”

The 2017 Driver of Eminence went to Mike Maier of the San Francisco Region.  The Solo driver who has consistently demonstrated excellence behind the wheel, and an exemplary degree of sportsmanship, dedication and unselfishness receives this honor. The winner is selected by the Solo Events Board from nominations submitted by the membership at large.

Maier has nine championships, including eight in the last nine years while dominating the C Prepared class for a decade.  He is well known as a competitor who is fast and smooth, with a perfect “touch.”  He became a preeminent car builder, but is always open to sharing knowledge with everyone and helping fix cars at any event.  Along with that, Maier has coached numerous drivers on how to get more out of their cars, and has been a great emissary for SCCA while competing in a variety of muscle car events.

Next, the Johnson Spirit of the Sport Award went to Tim White of the Central Carolinas Region.  This recognition goes to Solo community members who bring the spirit of fun to their fellow participants, as symbolized by the message engraved on the perpetual award: "Johnson Spirit of the Sport Award, presented annually by the Royal Order of the Sheep to a member of the flock that upholds the spirited virtues of Fun, Camaraderie and Tomfoolery.” This award is named in honor of the inaugural recipient, the Exalted Grand Shepherd, Roger E. Johnson. The award is selected annually by the previous three recipients.

White is known as a welcoming, fun guy who always wants others to have a good time.  He is always helping competitors with whatever they need, including fixing cars.  Known as “Mr. Trasharita” for his ability to masterfully mix mass quantities of an adult beverage with a similar name, White is also held in high regard for his ability to create a killer party with less than $20 in supplies from any home improvement store.

“I come out for the people, I come out for the party, I come out to watch my friends have fun,” White said about his involvement in Solo.  “I’m very humble for receiving an award for making people happy.”

And finally, the Dick Berger Perseverance Award went to Charlie Davis of the San Francisco Region. This award honors those who love Solo no matter the finishing position. Davis has been coming to Solo Nationals for over 30 years, and competed in over two dozen cars in nearly as many classes.  However, he has never finished better than sixth, but has netted a few trophies along the way.  Davis has served Solo Nationals in a number of capacities, including tech, announcing and protest. Plus, he continues to serve SCCA now as a Board of Directors member.  Dick Berger and the two previous award recipients -- Jim Murphy and Rocky Entriken -- selected Davis for the award this year.

“Wow,” Davis said to several hundred in attendance at the banquet.  “We come for the cars, we stay for the people.  When you’re asked to step up, you step up.”

For a complete rundown of competition and scheduled events, visit the Tire Rack Solo Nationals webpage.  Also, follow all the action with live timing and scoring at SCCA.com.

Photo: Mike Maier, of the San Francisco Region, was named the 2017 Driver of Eminence