The 50th running of the Tire Rack SCCA® Solo® National Championships is about to begin! In 2023, the massive Sports Car Club of America® gathering – considered a Homecoming this year – brings together Club members from all around the country to have #funwithcars Sept. 5-8 on 125 acres of grippy cement found at Lincoln Airpark in Nebraska’s capital.
Even though competition doesn’t start until 8:15 a.m. Central Time Tuesday, the paddock is already abuzz with activity. Cars are being prepped, pop-up shelters erected, sunscreen applied, and Tech Tent activity is plentiful.
Right around 1,300 entries are anticipated this year across the four days, with 44 classes cleared to run Tuesday and Wednesday to decide the first set of SCCA National Champions, followed by 48 different classes able to compete Thursday and Friday to identify a second set of National Champions.
Course Study
The two different courses used at the 50th running of the Solo Nationals have been laid out and are now open for people to walk. The East Course/Plane Side was designed by Karen Babb and is nicknamed "There's No Place Like Home." The West Course/Corn Side, nicknamed "The Big Game,” was co-created by Sam Strano and Shelly Monfort.
Babb, who is from the Northwest Region and is in SCCA’s Hall of Fame, joined the Club in 1980 and has designed multiple Solo Nationals courses over the years, the first being in 1987. Her course for 2023 was conceived with event operations in mind since a lot of drivers will be participating. The layout is relatively easy to follow, contains a variety of element types, and is of moderate length. There is what Babb refers to as an “honest slalom,” as well as sweepers in both directions, various offsets, and turns of varying diameters.
Strano, who joined the Club in 1994, is officially a member of the Washington D.C. Region and designed one Solo Nats course before in 2013. Monfort, who joined SCCA in 1982 and is a member of the San Francisco Region, helped with that course design in 2013, and the duo were happy to collaborate again this year.
Strano and Monfort set out to design a “classic” autocross course with varied and fun elements that also require subtle strategy and observation. The layout’s give-and-take philosophy will separate National Champions from more than a thousand great drivers no matter how much horsepower is under the hood.
Babb, Strano, and Monfort have combined to win more than 40 Solo National Championships, and have created so many Regional autocross courses over the years that it’s impossible to count. They know what they’re doing, and you can see what they’ve done for 2023 by clicking the course map links below.
West Course Map East Course Map
Monday Night Party and Extracurricular Shenanigans
Three runs on the East Course, three runs on the West Course, and work assignments will keep participants busy during the 50th running of the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships. But that still leaves lots of time for other fun, and Solo Nationals is well known for offering way more than just a competitive experience. Like any other Homecoming, there’s a full slate of activities and parties planned for the week.
For starters, each Homecoming day has an attire sub-theme. It’s something fun to let others know you’re vibing with Solo Nats, or feel free to explore concepts and set yourself apart! There’s plenty of room for interpretation, just please keep things family friendly. Here’s the week’s rundown:
- Monday: Sports
- Tuesday: Crazy Socks and Mismatches
- Wednesday: Team/Class/Region Shirts
- Thursday: Throwback (Dress as you did during high school)
- Friday: Pajamas
The first whopper of a blowout is Monday evening’s Homecoming Welcome Party and Opening Ceremony, slated to commence around 5:30 p.m. under the giant Tire Rack Event Center (TREC) tent. Plenty of food, beverages and entertainment will be doled out, and the super rad “Welcome to Lincoln Local Car Show” is only a few steps away.
There’ll also be a dunk tank at Monday evening’s party, with proceeds going to help Hawaii in its recovery from the recent catastrophic fires.
Yes, there’s lots going on during Homecoming at the 50th Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships. The button below is a quick link to all that’s going on.
Crucial Participant Reminders
First and foremost, don’t miss your Run/Work Order assignments. Please be prompt with worker check-in so this large event runs smoothly and on schedule.
Very important partners help keep Solo Nationals going, thus huge thanks go out to Solo Performance Specialties, KONI Shock Absorbers, Blaupunkt eBikes, and Mazda Motorsports. Mazda also helped support the SCCA Women on Track confab Monday at Solo Nationals.
Then there’s SCCA’s Official Sponsors, beginning with Tire Rack – the longtime Official Tire Retailer of SCCA. Tire Rack has supported SCCA since 1995, which (when you think about it) makes them a member of the Solo Nationals Silver Circle.
Then there’s Hagerty, the Official Insurance Partner of SCCA since 2019; Hawk Performance, Official Brake Products of SCCA since 2003; and Sunoco, the Official Fuel of SCCA since 2001.
Follow the 50th
Lots will be going on over the next 96 hours in Lincoln, and there are a couple of ways to follow the action from the 50th running of Solo Nationals. Online at sololive.scca.com is where to find live timing/scoring, as well as audio coverage during each day. Be sure to monitor @SoloMatters and @sccaofficial on social media, too, for updates and photos.
The SCCA Inc. Facebook page is where you’ll find the Solo Nationals Morning Show, a daily video presentation starting at 7:15 a.m. local time. Prior to cars leaving the start line each morning, knowledgeable hosts interview special guests and keep everyone up to speed on the competition. And Brian Bielanski will be chatting with participants around the paddock to uncover Solo Nats slice-of-life stories for special “Inside the SCCA Presented by Mazda Motorsports” segments posting to The Racing Network YouTube page.
Certainly, don’t forget to check back to SCCA.com for additional stories and updates from one of the biggest events SCCA conducts each year. And if you’re at Solo Nationals, be sure to tag your social media posts with #SoloNatsHasStarted and #funwithcars so others can enjoy the event from afar.
Photo: Cars queued up at the Tech Tent prior to the 50th running of the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Champioships.
Photo by SCCA Staff
