The SCCA ProSolo program held its seventh event of the 2023 points season with the June 28-30 Tire Rack SCCA Bristol ProSolo at Bristol Motor Speedway, with 236 drivers recording competition runs. However, Mother Nature reminded us that she’s in charge, with rain and lightning delays both days and hot, humid sunny weather for the remainder – in other words, just another summer weekend in Tennessee.
Eastern Tennessee Region hosted the event as part of the Summer National dual event with the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour. That meant the “welcome party” was on Friday night at the conclusion of the Thursday/Friday ProSolo – very much a celebration of a fun couple of days.
Thanks to the Howard Duncan ProSolo Greenlight Fund, Mike Hogate and Nick Browning enjoyed complimentary first appearances at a ProSolo. Recipients of the fund receive free entry to their first ProSolo event, courtesy of the SCCA Foundation. Both had solid runs during the event, with Hogate placing ninth in the CAM category and Browning learning the ropes after being bumped to a very competitive Street 1 index.
Donations made to the SCCA Foundation can be earmarked for the Greenlight Fund here.
Class Rankings
How slim was the margin for error in Solo Spec Coupe at Bristol? Despite six trophy positions and finishing less than a half-second out of the lead, Darren DiSimo didn’t take home a trophy. Mike Ferchak topped the class, followed by William Bostic just 0.108sec back. Tony Savini, Mike Lawson, Paul Brown, and Jeff Jacobs all took home hardware, with DiSimo – just 0.382sec off of Ferchak’s time – heading home empty handed.
Street Touring® Sport wasn’t that close through the field, but it was tight at the top. Andrew Salazar topped David Whitener, both in first-generation Mazda Miatas, by just 0.033sec – quicker than the blink of an eye.
With 22 competitors in Street 3, 21 in C Street and CAM, and 14 in Ladies 2 and E Street, finishing at the top of the results was a tall order – but even in the smaller classes, the battles were tight. Take, for example, A Street, where five drivers battled for two trophy positions – a contest that came down to just 0.697sec with Kevin Wenzel taking victory over Tim White. And then there was the seven-driver Race Tire Index 2, with seven drivers scrapping for three trophies. There, Ryan Huffman bested Adam Norton by 0.302sec, with Fred Zust in third another 0.064sec back.
There was a lot more that happened, and you can view it all by clicking the link below.
About The Challenge
Unfortunately, an on-site medical emergency dictated the suspension and eventual cancellation of the Challenge rounds at Bristol. The Ladies and Super Challenge finishing order, points, and payouts will be done based on qualifying order.
That means David Marcus, Cameron Goode, and Randall Wilcox claim the top three positions in the Super Challenge.
Likewise, Laura Marcus, Caitlin Dunlap, and Jenifer Bedell took podium positions in the Ladies Challenge.
Coming Up Next
The popular Packwood site marks the next event on the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Series, running in the pacific Northwest July 14-16. SCCA Staff, if not competitors, will then hustle back to the Great Lakes for a new event at the I-X Center in Cleveland, OH, replacing the originally scheduled Toledo ProSolo.
Information on both events, and the entire Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo schedule, can be found here.
Photos by Philip A. Young
