Lincoln, Neb. (Sept. 5, 2014) – On the West Course the day began with the crowing of four new Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Champions. Super Street, B Street Ladies, Super Street R and Street Touring Sport Ladies were the opening act for a full day of racing.
In SS, Chris Cox, of Morgan Hill, Calif., picked up the pace to secure himself top class honors in his No. 178 Porsche GT3. Cox is no stranger to winning at the Tire Rack Solo Nationals, but it has not happened since 2005 in a different class. On the more technical West Course, Cox was able to erase his deficit and beat out overnight leader John Ma in the No. 30 Clingongrip.com Lotus Elise by 0.062-second.
“I’ll tell you a phrase that sticks,” Cox. “Tom Kotzian says this every year, ‘Whenever I leave Super Stock, I miss it dearly. This is the premiere class to run and everyone wants to win it.’
“He’s right, this is the class everyone wants to win. I may be a little biased, since I’ve been in this class for the past five or six year and tried mightily to win, but I think this is the one everyone wants to win. G.J. Dixon, of Scarsdale, N.Y., claimed the SSR National Championship in his No. 186 Monticello Motor Club/Grand Prix New York Porsche GT3. He beat out Sam Strano, driving the No. 141 StranoParts.com Chevrolet Corvette, by a mere 0.368-second to claim his third consecutive National Championship title.
“My approach was to go for the three-peat,” said Dixon. “I knew I had to come back and try for the third title in a row since it hasn’t been done in this class. An opportunity like this doesn’t come very often, so you have to make it happen.
“It took a lot for me to come here and get this done. I’ve had some personal issues, at home, and this car has been in the body shop for the last two months. We just picked it up last Friday. We’ve had no testing time in the car. We haven’t driven this car since Nationals last year. The win is amazing.”
STSL saw a first-time National Champion crowned, in the form of Lily Liu, of Gardena, Calif. She drove her ProParts/Toyo/Mackin/Evasive/West End Honda CRX Si to a 0.705-second victory over Hilary Anderson, who was driving the Team Undercoat Racing/Meineke/Chuck's Sheridan Auto/Black Armor Helmets Honda CRX Si.
“I don’t know what to say,” Liu said. “It’s my first National Championship, so I’m a little overwhelmed and happy.
“We were here for the ProSolo Finale and knew that the car wasn’t up to snuff. I knew there were some fast ladies here, so I just came in with the mindset that I would do my best and it worked out.”
Barbara LeRoy-Boehme, of San Diego, Calif., claimed her second consecutive National Championship, this time in BSL while driving her No. 23 C2 Motorsports Mazda MX-5. LeRoy-Boehme was the decisive winner on the day as she outpaced her nearest competition, Dina O’Donnell in the No. 193 Honda S2000 by 3.692 seconds.
“This West Course was the most fun of those I have run all year,” LeRoy-Boehme said. “My approach coming into the week was to have the best event I could have, as I had just met these Ladies this week.
“Starting today with such a substantial lead, I just wanted to come in this morning and secure the lead with what I thought was a conservative run. But I think I ended up standing on my first run from both days.”
The Tire Rack Solo National Championships wraps up this afternoon. More information can be found at SCCA.com/SoloNationals.
2014 Solo National Championship
