’23 Las Vegas ProSolo Fast Notes

The second of 2023’s Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Series came up all sevens at Las Vegas Motor Speedway just north of Las Vegas, NV, with 156 drivers recording runs at the Tire Rack SCCA Las Vegas ProSolo.

Wind on Saturday gave way to a breezy, but partly cloudy Sunday, and while temperatures that barely edged into the low 60s was cooler than ideal for standing in the paddock, it proved fantastic for grip and power.

The traditional site for the Las Vegas Region-hosted events is actually one of the most scenic. The large asphalt lot showed off two fun and flowing – yet completely different – Doug Rowse-designed courses. The speedway’s RV Hill provides an elevated viewing area like no other, showing off the full course with the Vegas Valley – and the lights of the strip at night – in the distance.

Forget the Super Bowl or the World Series, the Vegas ProSolo featured an F-16 flyover from one of SCCA’s own. Though maybe not coordinated down to the second, Jonathan Clements and four Air Force brethren took off from Nellis Air Force Base between Heats 1 and 2, providing a thrilling show for those on site – complete with a wing wave. Like the Clements family’s A Mod car, the F-16 is a single seater; unlike the A Mod car, and much to the chagrin of those on site, no tire warmer was necessary.

Drawing a royal flush in Vegas, Darren Mac and Alex Hironaka made their Tire Rack ProSolo debuts thanks to the help of the Howard Duncan ProSolo Greenlight Fund. Recipients of the fund receive free entry to their first ProSolo event, courtesy of the SCCA Foundation. Both made the most of their entries, with Hironaka running second in his A Street Corvette to take a trophy, with Mac taking the third trophy spot in the Bump Class in his C Street Mazda MX-5.

Donations made to the SCCA Foundation can be earmarked for the Greenlight Fund here.

Class Competition

When it comes to class competition, let’s start with Street 2, where 44 National Championship jackets were represented. That was especially heavy at the top, where seven-time Champ Jeff Wong topped 16-time champ Jeff Kiesel, with Wong’s Corvette power overcoming Kiesel’s Porsche 911 GT3 RS by just 0.065 seconds. Wong’s Sunday runs were enough to overcome Kiesel’s day-one advantage for the win.

Solo Spec Coupe is designed to offer close competition with good drivers in the cars – and in Vegas, there were many good drivers in those cars. Taylour Wargo looked to be in the catbird seat for the win, but coned a 0.521 second pickup allowing Kevin Dietz to take home a 0.021-second victory.

Brandon Davis and Jonathan Lugod went toe-to-toe like a title fight in Street 5, each driving (different generation) Honda Civics. At the end, it was Davis over Lugod in a TKO, by just 0.202 in the indexed class.

Challenge Results

Bonus Challenge: The Bonus Challenge in Vegas was a Ladies’ world, as both Jessica Yeung and Suzanne Segal came out of Ladies’ heats to meet in the finals. Segal, out of the L2 class in a Toyota Supra, topped Yeung’s Honda Civic Si for the Challenge win.

Ladies Challenge: Christine Grice put her name in lights, topping Shauna Rios in the semi-finals to meet Nicole Wong in the finals. Wong had already dispatched Kate Fisher, who topped Grice in the L3 index during class competition, to put the two champs in a match for the bracket win. Grice’s Mitsubishi Evo topped Wong’s Corvette to take the points for the Ladies Challenge win.

Super Challenge: After three knockout rounds and a quarterfinal duel in the new Super Challenge format, the semi-finals featured Steve O’Blenes vs Dave Schotz, and Jeff Stuart vs Matt Jones to reach the top two. Schotz’ CAM-winning Chevrolet Camaro SS and Stuart’s Street 3 index topping Porsche Cayman S each advanced, with Schotz taking the Vegas crown home with him at the end of the day.

Schotz, Grice, and Segal all collected trophies and sprayed Mazza Sparkling Wine at the conclusion of Sunday’s festivities.