LINCOLN, Neb. (Sept. 5, 2014) – Heat two of the Tire Rack SCCA Solo Nationals on the East Course was headlined by four classes – F Street, B Street Prepared, Street Modified FWD Ladies and Street Modified Ladies.
David Corsaro, of Denville, N.J., was the big winner on Friday after claiming his first National Championship as he drove the No.76 Hamfist Racing/NJ Drive/SJF Performance Chevrolet Camaro. He finished just 0.074-second ahead of James Yom in his No. 92 BMW M3.
On Thursday, Corsaro set the bar high ripping off the fastest time of the top three finishers in class. With Friday’s conditions threatening rain, Corsaro slowed but had built enough of a lead to seal his Championship after setting only the fifth-fastest time on course.
“The trip out here was not short on drama,” Corsaro said. “I drove out on my competition tires. They’ve had several events on them. Being as the Street classes are new, I wanted to prove a point that you can drive out on your competition tires and win.
“Going into yesterday’s competition, I felt like I had an advantage on the East Course. I have a lot of horsepower available to me, and it was more open over there. Going to the West Course, I knew it was an uphill battle. So, I was able to stay clean on the third run and stay level headed.”
Christopher Mayfield, of Fort Collins, Colo., was able to edge his co-driver, Robert Thorne, for the BSP title driving the No. 80 3R Auto Racing/Weston Auto Gallery/Thanks Robert! Honda S2000. All that separated the two racers was 0.038-second in the consolidated times. Between the two drivers, Thorne was the best on the West Course. But, Mayfield was able to make the most of his time on the more technical East Course.
“I didn’t get out here until about 7 o’clock, on Wednesday night,” Mayfield said. “I felt like I was running behind this whole week. I got one course walk in on Wednesday and didn’t do very well on Thursday. Robert had me by quite a bit, and I knew I had to come out here and get things moving.
“On my first run the tires were cold, and I was way off the pace. We were also fighting with the sound meter to make sure we were under the specified level. We were doing everything but what we usually do, which is focus on the driving and the car. I sat down before my second run, put my helmet on a few minutes before the run, and calmed myself down. Then, I was really able to do what I needed to do by carrying speed and making my car skinny through the slaloms.”
In SMFL, Rachel Baker, of Westford, Mass., cruised to the class National Championship win. After putting down the quick time of the class on Thursday in her No. 137 Pixie Posse Racing/Karcepts/Thanks Kuehls! Honda CRX. She followed that up with another run on the West Course that proved to be the best of the class.
“This is the fifth time I have driven the car,” Baker said. “So, it was really just trying to learn the car, and it’s a great car. This is my second time at Nationals and I was able to finish second at the ProSolo. So, I’m having a really good year and I’m really excited.”
Laurie Hyman, of Fall City, Wash., took home her second consecutive National Champions’ jacket in SML, while driving her No 191. Cobb Surgeline/GT-RR Nissan GT-R. She finished a comfortable 2.093 seconds ahead of her closest competition, Stephanie Reeve in her No. 199 G-fab/Big Budget Racing/Thanks Corraleses Nissan 240sx.
“We’ve had a rough year,” Hyman said. “We’ve had a lot of breakage with the car. During the ProSolo Finale, we had a front differential break. Fortunately we had a spare.
“Last year was my first Championship, so this year I just wanted to have the car stay together and drive my drive. Yesterday was a great day, because I felt like the course suited my driving style well. Today was a little tougher, between the weather and the nerves.”
The Tire Rack Solo National Championships wraps up this afternoon. More information can be found at SCCA.com/SoloNationals.
2014 Solo National Championship
