TOPEKA, Kan. (January 19, 2015) – Three finalists displaying outstanding ability at the 2014 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships have been nominated for the Solo Driver of the Year award, with the winner to be revealed at the 2015 SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet presented by Mazda on Saturday, February 21 in Charlotte, N.C. Nick Barbato, of Wethersfield, Conn., Andrew Pallotta, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and Darren Seltzer, of Orlando, Fla. each earned finalists spots.
For the first time at the SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards banquet, the winner of the year’s best autocross competitor will be announced at the same banquet that honors the 2015 Hall of Fame class.
“Congratulations to Nick, Andrew and Darren on their nominations to the Solo Driver of the Year award,” Lisa Noble, SCCA President/CEO, said. “Each of them is a worthy recipient of the honor, and we’ll find out at the SCCA Hall of Fame banquet who takes the prize. Each of these outstanding autocrossers deserves attention and recognition on our biggest stage of the year. It will be outstanding to bring Solo’s highest competition honor to the awards ceremony as we recognize one of them as the Solo Driver of the Year on the same stage as our SCCA Hall of Fame legends.”
Barbato earned his nomination after winning the Street Touring R class in the KARCEPTS/Adidas Motorsports Honda S2000. The 32-year-old won the normally very competitive 41-car class by 0.604-second, with nearly the entire margin coming on the first day of competition. Barbato was the fourth-highest indexed driver during his session, and won every National Solo event he entered in 2014.
Pallotta’s Street Touring Xtreme title came in the ChaseRace/Strano Parts/Drift Off Scion FRS over the largest class at the event. The 27-year-old’s title came by 0.409-second in a class of 67 top-notch entrants. Pallotta’s title came despite never driving the Scion until he arrived at Lincoln for the event.
Seltzer was nominated on the strength of his dominating three-second win in F Modified. The 29-year-old topped 26 competitors in the class and was the top indexing driver in the entire event, further demonstrating his skill at the event.
Also included in the banquet are the Club Racing President’s Cup award winners, the SCCA Member of Excellence, the RallyCross Dirty Cup, and the Woolf Barnato Award. The finalists for the President’s Cup will be announced on Tuesday, January 20.
Roger H. Johnson, Oscar Koveleski, Ron Sharp, Dr. George Snively and Bob Tullius will officially enter the SCCA Hall of Fame during the evening’s festivities.
The MSX Expo and SCCA Convention will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center February 20-21 and the SCCA Hall of Fame celebration will be Saturday, February 21 at the Hilton Charlotte Hotel. Hotel cutoff for special rates has been extended to January 27; reservations can be made https://aws.passkey.com/g/27699140 online or by phone 877-667-7213.
For more information or to register, visit MSXExpo.com. Tickets for the SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet are $100, and SCCA Members can include either the SCCA National Convention or the MSX Conference, complete with speakers designed to improve motorsports skills, for an additional $95. Admission the MSX Expo show floor is free for SCCA members.
2015 SCCA National Convention
