Heat Two A former Street Touring® X runner-up, Jeff Stuart, of Santa Barbara, California, earned his first SCCA National Championship, topping a 55-car C Street class, overcoming a 0.231-second deficit in his No. 193 Berry Family Racing/www.racetraceapp.com Nissan 370Z. Tuesday leader Chris Fenter, of Greenville, Wisconsin, finished 0.313-second behind in his No. 189 Mazda MX-5.
“Winning a National Championship feels amazing,” Stuart said. “This is my fourth year here and I’d been close before, in second, but it’s nice to get one. I came here with my own car for the first time, and it was real close at the end. After Tuesday, I was feeling comfortable, but then after first runs all that comfort went away, with Chris putting down such a fast run on his first run. There are so many unknowns here and I’m just relieved and very happy.
“I want to thank my co-driver, Mike Nakata, for towing the car here and the Berry Family for all the support and being my home away from home in the Cal Club Region events.”
Despite feeling that he left time on Wednesday’s east course runs, Mark Huffman, of Litchfield Park, Arizona, earned his fourth SCCA National Championship, the second in D Modified driving his No. 99 Lotus Elan. Huffman led by 0.780-second after Tuesday, and held on to top two-time defending class Champion Jeff Cashmore’s No. 197 King Motorsports Lotus 7.
“Jeff has really pushed me the last few years to be a better driver and I know if I’m not on the top of my game, he’s going to capitalize on it,” Huffman said. “Luckily enough, I got to capitalize on it this year. I was not happy with my runs today. The car was pushing a lot and I made a few changes that didn’t seem to help.
“I’d really like to thank my wife for supporting me and pushing me to be faster.”
Michelle Miller, of Federal Way, Washington, earned her second Street Touring® FWD Ladies Championship, leading all the way in her No. 95 TCKline Racing/425 Motorsports/DirtFish Rally School MINI Cooper.
“It feels really great to win another Championship,” Miller said. “The car was great. The courses were fun. It was a good time. I want to thank TC Kline Racing for all of the suspension help, 425 motorsports for all of our safety gear, DirtFish Rally School, Drift Office for the dyno time and, of course, my husband for being awesome and helping me build the car.”
Heat Three Andrew Pallotta, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, took home his second National Championship, this time in at the wheel of the No. 85 ChaseRace/StranoParts/Drift Office/Annie FTW Scion FRS in Street Touring® Xtreme. Starting the day in the fourth spot, Pallotta had a 0.120-second deficit to overcome. On his second of three runs on the fast West Course, Pallotta set a time that would earn him the title provided it held up.
Former National Champion Bryan Heitkotter, in his No. 18 Team KW/Z1 Motorsports/ AIT Nissan 300ZX and Tuesday’s class leader, Lance Keeley in the No. 108 Nameless Performance/Bartuned/Link Garage Subaru BRZ, did what they could to knock Pallotta, but had to settle for second and third.
“I came in without much pressure,” Pallotta said. “I’ve been running Super Street R most of the year, but my co-driver, James Newman, had to have shoulder surgery. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to come to Nationals. I thought STX would be a good fit, since it was unfinished business from last year.
“The competition was really close after day one. I was really happy with yesterday, since I’ve never been strong on the West Course. I did what I had to do yesterday and was hoping to get ahead enough for today’s racing. I wasn’t happy with the last run, because I know there was a 62-second pass in the car. But, it was enough for the win, and that’s all you need.”
The Tire Rack Solo Nationals continues through Friday. More information can be found at SCCA.com/SoloNationals.
2014 Solo National Championship
