PATTERSON, Calif. (June 12, 2014) – Jeff Kiesel, of Poway, California, won The Tire Rack® SCCA ProSolo® Super Challenge at Crows Landing Airport this past weekend. Annie Gill, of Renton, Washington, followed that up with a win in the Ladies Challenge.
With temperatures soaring over 100 degrees, hydration was one key for the 200 entrants to stay in top form. With that said, each driver needed to bring their A game to compete against some of the best SCCA Soloists from around the country on the Charlie Davis-designed course.
Kiesel (Race Tire Index 1, Avon Tire/Roger Kraus Racing/Carvin Guitars KFR Turbo Sprite) began his quest for the Super Challenge winner’s trophy after being seeded third in the bracket. He earned the position by setting the quickest time in his class on Saturday.
Once Sunday’s head-to-head competition began, Kiesel came roaring out of the gate by beating Morgan Trotter (Street Touring Compact, C2 Motorsports/TheRacersStore.com Honda Civic Si) in the opening round. In the second round, Kiesel knocked Will Kalman (Street Touring Compact, Honda Civic) out of the competition.
Kiesel’s next opponent was Ken Motonishi (Street Touring R, OS Giken/ARE/Winmax/Bjoinfilms.com Honda S2000) in his quarter-final matchup. Kiesel took the win over Montonishi, earning a spot in semi-finals. There, Kiesel lined up next to Gary Thomason (Super Street R, ProParts USA Dodge Viper) and emerged the winner.
In the final round, Kiesel faced Paul Russell (Kart Modified, Seventh-gear.com Tony Kart Honda). Russell’s quest for the Super Challenge title began with wins over Sean O’Boyle (Street Touring Ultra, Mitsubishi Evolution) and Jonathan Lugod (Street Touring R, Toyo Tires/OS Giken/A.R.E./Winmax Honda S2000) in rounds one and two, respectively.
Russell continued to claw his way to the final after beating Michael Heinitz (B Street, Mazda MX-5) in the quarter-finals, then getting past Jeff Wong (Street Touring Compact, Toyo Tires/ProParts USA Honda Civic Si) in the semis.
When the dust settled, Kiesel emerged as the winning driver after beating Russell. Wong ended up completing the podium after beating Thomason in the third-place runoff.
Gill (Ladies Class 3, ChaseRace/StranoParts/Drift Office Scion FR-S), a five-time National Champion, started her run to the Ladies Challenge win by beating Jamie Yost (Ladies Class 1, RiptideHosting.com/BMW2002.com Nissan GTR) in the opening round. Gill then took out seven-time National Champion Shelly Monfort (Ladies Class 2, StranoParts.com Ford Focus) in round two. In the final round, Gill met Christine Grice (Ladies Class 1, Berry Family Racing/ChaseCam Mitsubishi Evo IX) – a multi-time National Championship driver in her own right.
Grice got to the final after beating Nicole Wong (Ladies Class 3, Toyo Tires/ProParts USA Honda Civic Si) and Meredith Brown (Ladies Class 2, Nissan 370Z) in rounds one and two, respectively. In the final, Gill managed to get the best of Grice and took home the win. The podium was completed by Monfort, who beat Brown in the third-place runoff.
Dennis Healy (Calculatorz Suk/Tyrez on Fyre Shelby GT500), of Beaverton, Oregon, took home top honors in the Bonus Challenge.
The next stop for The Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo tour will be at the Toledo Express Airport in Swanton, Ohio, June 28-29.
Information on the Crows Landing round of The Tire Rack ProSolo Series, including full results, can be found here. More information on the entire Tire Rack SCCA Solo program is available at www.scca.com/Solo.
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2014 Crows Landing ProSolo
