LINCOLN, Neb. (September 5, 2014) – The final four National Champions were crowned on the East Course of the Lincoln Airpark during heat five on Friday at the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships, which ended just minutes before rain began falling again.
It was fortuitous timing for Mark Scroggs, of San Ramon, Calif., who needed his final run to win G Street in the No. 49 Stranoparts.com/Edge Motorworks Ford Focus ST. Scroggs moved around runner-up Trevor Jones with his final run to win by 0.390-second for his first title.
“I feel very, very good,” Scroggs said. “It hasn’t sunk in just yet. Trevor has been pushing me all week. I knew it was going to be tight between the two of us. I could see him go out because he was ahead of me and I watched him complete his run and I knew all I needed was a tenth. All week, I have been playing protect mode, be safe, get runs in the books. For the first time this entire week, I felt like I good go autocrossing right there. It was all or none. It felt pretty good most of the way though. I couldn’t believe the timer when I came in. It felt really good to get that run out when I really needed to.”
Dave Montgomery, of Cincinnati, Ohio, picked up last year’s F Prepared winning Porsche 914/6 and added to its lore, winning his first National Championship by just 0.292-second over Troy Acosta.
“I didn’t come here expecting to win,” Montgomery said. “I knew the car was good enough to win, but I had some really stiff competition all year. I am just over the moon, I’m so excited. I was nervous after yesterday because it was like a reset button between me and Troy. I came into today just thinking I had to nail it. I must have gone over the course 100 times in my mind. And then there was the threat of weather, so I was just a big ball of stress all day.”
No one knows how sweet a National Championship can be after falling just short better than Holly Schwedler, of Lakewood, Ohio, who has narrowly missed a title for four consecutive years before locking down the H Street Ladies crown this year. Schwedler won by 1.648 seconds for her first National Championship.
“I’m beyond excited excited!” Schwedler said. “This is my fifth Nationals, and every year I’ve been the runner-up until now. I don’t even know what to say. I was just hoping for dry runs. I run really well in the wet, in general, but the course just looked so fun.”
Lacey Otis, of Scappoose, Oregon, dropped a final run that was low enough to win A Street Ladies by just 0.037-second in the No. 80 LocketsByLacey.OrigamiOwl.com Chevrolet Corvette. Otis topped Kandy Johnson with her final run for her first Nationals victory.
“I’m still in shock,” Otis said. “I’m excited and happy, but definitely shocked. When we came, my expectations were that I might finish in the middle of the group. I don’ t compete against these ladies very often, but I listen on Ustream and know how they’re doing and I know it’s a really fast group of ladies. I’ve been driving this car since 2009, but probably in just the last year have gotten more serious in my autocross and trying to learn from my husband Ryan. I don’t have a lot of trust in the car, it’s a little bit scary for me because to go fast you have to drive it at the limit. Coming here, I knew it was tough competition and thought if I finished in the middle of the pack I’d be doing well.”
More information on the Tire Rack Solo National Championships can be found at SCCA.com/SoloNationals.
2014 Solo National Championship
