The Tire Rack SCCA® National Solo program held the first of its 2023 Challenge Series events on May 5-7, 2023, with the Tire Rack SCCA CAM/XS Challenge at St. Charles Family Arena, where 110 drivers recorded competition runs. Both days saw beautiful weather with partly cloudy skies, highs in the upper 80s, and little-to-no breeze.
This was the first time the St. Louis Region hosted a National-level event at the St. Charles Family Arena. Dave Whitworth designed a fast, flowing, fun course on the expansive asphalt lot that has ample room for paddock and grid space – this site has the potential to become a favorite.
More than “just” an autocross, St. Louis Region brought the hospitality. Jacob Mueth led the barbecue on Friday evening to welcome competitors, while the Region hosted a food truck dinner on Saturday night and the arena opened up for inside dining and the awards presentation. Finished? Not a chance. After the awards, JXB Performance served up an ice cream social.
The CAM/XS Challenge shootout featured a new format following class runs. The top qualifying cars from each class ran in a cut line bracket with the quickest half moving on after each round, until only a winner remained.
Each of the three Classic American Muscle (CAM) classes, along with Xtreme Street A, Xtreme Street B, and Xtreme Street S, participated in the event.
Class Battles
The margin in CAM-S was as close as could be, with Dan Simms taking the first-round lead in his 2009 Corvette Z06. William Damhoff came flying back in the second round, however, ripping off a time just quick enough to take a 0.082sec class win in his 2003 version of the same car.
Not to be outdone, the Mustang contingent put on a show of their own in CAM-C. Robert Gosda and Dave Whitworth ran nearly identical times on both days, with Gosda just a hair in front on his best runs in each. How close was it? The total margin, combining both runs, was just 0.089sec.
Jon Nwanagu sure made the CAM-T class fun to watch. Sitting third behind JJ Mallrich’s 1999 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and Sean Aldinger’s 1969 Camaro on the opening day, Nwanagu swung past both late in the contest to take the class win. His ’99 Camaro stretched the margin to 0.898sec on the final run to take victory.
Jason Frank drove his Audi S4 to victory in Xtreme Street A, with Mason McGavock taking Xtreme Street B in a Mazda Miata, and Michael Kopec claiming the win in Xtreme Street S with a Porsche Cayman.
Challenge Action
The CAM Challenge format filed down the classes individually before tossing the three finalists – William Damhoff in CAM-S, JJ Mallrich in CAM-T, and Dave Whitworth in CAM-C – into an indexed battle for the final total. At the finish, Mallrich earned supremacy, with Whitworth and Damhoff on the podium in that order.
Xtreme Street held their own shootout, with Frank backing up the class win over Brandon Parambo and John Powell.
Looking Forward
While CAM and Xtreme Street cars are welcome and active participants in all Tire Rack National Solo events, all have the calendar marked for Aug. 11-13, 2023. That’s the weekend the second CAM/XS Challenge takes place, this time in Peru, IN, at the Grissom Aeroplex. More information can be found here.
Photos by Hilary Anderson
