Bonus autocross? We have bonus autocross! The final Tire Rack SCCA® Solo National Tour of the season took place during the Nov. 3-5, 2023, weekend, wrapping the season with the chance to add additional points to the season-long championship at the Tire Rack SCCA Moultrie Solo National Tour at Spence Field in Moultrie, GA.
Tires got a workout all weekend, beginning the morning in the 40s and warming as high as into the low 80s each day. In a coincidence, those who began the 2023 season at the Red Hills Region-hosted event lost an hour at the start of Daylight Savings Time got it back this weekend when the clocks were set back on Saturday night.
Two heats kept the pace up, even with a long break between each run group for a change over and lunch break.
Class Highlights
The ladies shone in Classic American Muscle Contemporary, taking two of the three trophy spots in the class. Dave Whitworth won, but Elizabeth Whitworth – his co-driver in life, business, and autocross – scored third place in their Ford Mustang. Cindy Duncan galloped her way to second place in the National Tour debut of the Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
In X Prepared, Wes Hughson and Randall Wilcox stood toe to toe for the win. Wilcox held the overnight lead, but Hughson came flying back and earned the class victory by 0.148sec.
There were no surprises when Solo Spec Coupe was close. Robert Beaver led the opening day, but both Stephen Tyszka and Chip Manuel ripped back on Sunday. At the end, Tyszka led Manuel by 0.194sec, with Beaver another 0.342sec behind.
C Street had some drama that came down to the very last run of the weekend. Christian Kolmers led Kerry Coughlin after Saturday, but Coughlin came back with three clean Sunday runs to put himself into the lead. Kolmers had one last shot at the win and a quick enough time with his final run, but a two-second cone penalty left Coughlin in front by 0.051sec.
They didn’t bring the largest grouping of cars, but these two classes deserve special mention. In Heritage Classic Street Tire, Robert Mason won the class in his 1957 MGA that he drove to and from the event. Meanwhile, Justin Bentley showed up to run CAM-T for his very first autocross ever. We’d all agree he learned a lot, dropping seven seconds from the first day to his final run on Sunday.
Complete event results can be found via the link below.
Looking Ahead
That’s a wrap on 2023! The 2024 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour and Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Series schedules will be out soon, so check this space and begin to make your plans for next season.
(Editor's Note: This article was updated on 11/7/23 to include Elizabeth Whitworth's name.)
Photos by Tane Hopu
