We’ve been touting it, it’s been approaching, and now the fantastic Tire Rack SCCA® Packwood ProSolo® has come and gone. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
One of the most picturesque autocross sites on the calendar is one those on the West Coast (as well as East Coasters brave enough to make the tow or find a co-drive) continue to talk about. In other words, if you missed the July 18-20, 2025, ProSolo Series at Packwood, let us tell you how it all went down so you’ll make the trip in 2026.
Northwest Region did its thing, with event chair Gretchen Weidemann working to ensure all went well. A stout 117 competitors made the trip to Packwood, WA, including many of Canada’s best export: their people.
Though the previous weekend’s Tire Rack SCCA Solo® National Tour was hot, the weather was picture perfect all weekend for the ProSolo. Efficiency? That was perfect, too. The cooperation between staff and competitors meant Saturday was ready to roll 10 minutes early!
Bob Bundy laid out challenging courses, with many frantically looking for time throughout the weekend. That meant a high number of final run cones, leaving results in doubt until the very end.
It wasn’t a Washington-exclusive event. Even Friday night’s ice cream social and pizza party had a multi-state affair, as Cloverleaf Creamery was hand delivered by Eric Stoltz all the way from Idaho. Add in Bill Zerr’s pre-event National Anthem performance and Laurie McCelvey going above and beyond in her debut as a field staffer, and the event was a wild success even before cars took to the courses. Then add to the mix other prizes and surprises – like Dee Dietz earning the most recent SCCA Women on Track Pay it Forward award to bring a local driver of her choice to a future National Solo event – and this was a weekend to remember.
Class Action
You want close competition? CAM brought the heat to Packwood. Three different Corvettes made up the podium, with Brian Coulson leading the way. Kerry Gonzales was just 0.218sec back, with Dan Bullis an additional 0.031sec behind in third.
How about the Ladies? In Ladies 3, specifically, Meredith Bunsawat escaped with a win in her H Street Honda Civic, but Laurie McCelvey and her AST MX-5 was just 0.168sec behind and Heidi Wilson and her C Street MX-5 was just 0.172sec back in third.
We can’t mention “close” and “Packwood” without turning the page to the Super Street category. Monty Pack led the way, appropriately, carrying the No. 1 on the side of his Porsche GT3. The class win wasn’t settled until Ron Bauer’s final run in a GT3 of his own – but he fell 0.004sec (yes, that’s a correct number) behind Pack.
There was more – check out the class results.
Challenge Ahead
The Bonus Challenge, as always, extended the weekend for eight lucky competitors, and Shelby Redding was the one who took most advantage of the situation. Redding was sixth in class competition in the aforementioned Ladies 3 class – perhaps that tough going prepared her for the Bonus Challenge. She sent Aaron Butler and Carl Tanner home, then got the best of Dan Podhola in the final to get her chance to spray the Mazza sparkling wine.
The Ladies Challenge continued the stellar competition at Packwood. Laurie McCelvey flipped the script on Meredith Bunsawat in the opening round, and Dee Dietz marched her way past Heidi Wilson to represent the Ladies 2 class. Dietz and her SSC-prepared Toyota FR-S took down McCelvey in the final to score the Ladies Challenge victory.
All was not lost for the McCelvey tow back to Bellevue, WA, however. In the Super Challenge, Daniel McCelvey knocked off Dan Bullis and Ron Bauer in back-to-back rounds to square off against Michael Yanase in the final round. McCelvey’s MX-5 took down yet another high horsepower machine, wiping out Yanase’s Cayman to taste victory.
How did Packwood’s results affect the battles for the JCJ and Fletcher Cups? Check out the standings for those and overall class competition.
One To Go
The Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Series has made it to the bell lap, with one to go before the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Finale in Lincoln, NE, on Labor Day weekend. That final ProSolo opportunity comes at the Tire Rack SCCA Burns Flat ProSolo at the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority in Burns Flat, OK, on Aug. 1-3.
As you might imagine in a location designed for landing spacecraft, there is lots of wide-open space for courses and, surprisingly, still open spots to earn points toward the ProSolo championship.
Photos by Taylour Wargo
