LINCOLN, Neb. (September 3, 2013) – Sunny skies and a cool breeze greeted the first wave of competitors to the 41st Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships on Tuesday, where 36 classes of competitors battled in the world’s largest motorsports event.

Two distinct courses dotted the Lincoln (Neb.) Airpark tarmac. At the Solo National Championships, competitors are afforded three runs on both the East and West course, with each driver’s single best time on each course added together to determine the Champion.

The Sam Strano-designed East Course ran with longer times than many expected, which may go a long way in deciding the National Champions during the second day of runs.

In this morning’s first heat on the course, Chris Haydu, of Dallas, Pa., took the Street Modified FWD lead by just 0.209-second over four-time National Champion Andy Hollis. Haydu’s best time in the PenTeleData Internet Services Honda Civic will allow him to sleep on the overnight lead. Haydu is looking for his first Solo Nationals trophy knowing that Hollis’ GRM/AST/Hoosier Honda Civic is lurking.

Less than a tenth of a second separate the top two Corvettes in the Super Stock Ladies class. Shelley Monfort has won four SSL titles in-a-row, with six National Championships overall to her credit, behind the wheel of the StranoParts.com/Shameless Tea Chevrolet Corvette. Stephanie Reeve, however, sits just 0.065-second behind in her G-Fab Racing Chevrolet Corvette as the class prepares to move to the West course on Wednesday.

Heat Two belonged to the co-driving brother tandem of Bartek and Hubert Borowski. Bartek, a 32-year-old driver from Elmwood Park, Ill., topped his brother and the E Stock class by 1.212-second in their Mazda Miata, while Hubert has an additional 0.911-second cushion over third place. Bartek is looking for his fourth-consecutive E Stock National Championship, and the sixth of his career.

A Stock left the long course with just 0.178-second separating first from fourth in heat three. Co-drivers Josh Puu and Lane Borg, both of San Angelo, Texas, led the way respectively in their shared Goodyear Eagle RS Chevrolet Corvette. Borg, the defending National Champion in the class, is in his second position by just 0.017 over 2012 runner-up Tony Savini and the Stranoparts.com/Evo School Chevrolet Corvette. Brian Coulson’s Hoosier/StranoParts.com/Thanks Newman Corvette is just an additional 0.058-second behind Savini, setting up the Wednesday showdown on the West course.

Two-time defending D Prepared champion Drew VanderPloeg, of Pflugerville, Texas, and Ron Bauer, of Issaquah, Wash., battled down to the wire last year. The pair picked up on Tuesday afternoon where 2012 left off, with Bauer’s Bauerspeed Racing/Tight n Tidy Racing Mazda MX-5 picking up an opening day advantage of 0.194-second over VanderPloeg’s JC Automotive Specialist/FTW Racing! Mazda Miata. Those two are more than a second clear of the rest of the field, and appear set to decide the Championship.

Heat Four could only watch as Darren Seltzer, of Orlando, Fla., took control of the F Modified class. Seltzer had put a second gap on the rest of the field, then went for broke on his third and final run on the East Course. It paid off, as he lowered his fast time by more than an additional half-second to exit day one with a 1.637-second lead in his Raptor F500.

Jodi Fordahl, of Bremerton, Wash., is attempting to win her second C Street Prepared Ladies title in-a-row, her fourth National Championship in four years, and her lucky 13th career title in her Mazda Miata – but fellow competitor Sue Eckles, of Malcolm, Neb., isn’t just conceding victory. Eckles, a three-time champion in her own right, got a mechanical rerun in the AIM Tuning/Thanks Boreens! Mazda Miata, but coned away a chance to lower her time. Even so, she ended the first day just 0.212-second behind Fordahl in the race for the class crown.

The final heat suggested a Super Stock battle that was a can’t-miss for those spectating. Of the 37 cars in the field, participating driver represented a total of 43 National Championships (led by Mark Daddio’s 10), three former Drivers of Eminence as that year’s top Solo performer (Daddio, Sam Strano, and Gary Thomason), and Chevrolet Corvettes as the majority of the field.

No one told Thomason, of Oceanside, Calif., that the Corvettes were the cars to beat. Thomason, a nine-time National Champion, laid down his best time on the second of three runs in his ProParts USA Dodge Viper, vaulting to the lead.

Just after Thomason’s run, with both Daddio’s Chevrolet Corvette and Strano’s StranoParts.com Chevrolet Corvette on the course, the timing system temporarily failed and forced both cars to a rerun. Daddio improved, but Strano came across a felled cone and was sent to his third attempt at the second lap.

While Strano waited the allotted time for his run, defending champion G.J. Dixon jumped his Monticello Motor Club/Grand Prix New York Porsche GT3 to just 0.081-second behind Thomason. Strano, finally with a completed second pass, hit a cone and failed to improve his time.

With tension building, Thomason failed to improve on his third run. Daddio’s third run left him 0.212-second behind the lead, and Strano also improved on his final run to fourth, sitting just 0.087-second behind Daddio.

By contrast, the Elliott Speidell-designed West Course was shorter and tighter.

Among the first cars to hit the course during Heat One was the G Stock class, which was topped by co-drivers. Andy Thomas, of Adamstown, Md., and Michael Moran vaulted to the top of the class, with Thomas leading Moran by 0.203-second in their shared TeamZipTied/Andytooned Toyota Celica. Pre-event favorite Jonathan Rogers (Hoosier Tire/Redline Electronics Dodge SRT-4) sits in third, well within striking distance of the front runners.

Brian Burdette, of San Antonio, Texas, sits atop F Stock following the opening day, where a fierce battle for the National Championship could ensue Wednesday on the East Course. His StranoParts.com Ford Mustang GT tops a leaderboard where places one through six are covered by less than one second. Kevin Youngers is currently second in his Youngers Insights Ford Mustang GT, well within striking distance of Burdette on the time sheets. However, one slip from the favorites could open the door wide open for an unexpected winner.

Last year’s Super Street Modified National Champion, Carter Thompson, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., finds himself at the top of his class. He leads a SSM group in which the top-eight drivers are separated by less than 0.9-second. Heavy-hitters Brian Johns and Erik Strelnieks are among those lurking in the aforementioned top eight. For Thompson, that means he will need a top-notch performance Wednesday in his KAAZ USA/LMS-EFI.COM/HPP Mazda RX7 if he hopes to have a repeat of 2012.

Aaron Miller, of Auburn Hills, Mich., is in prime position to repeat as National Champion following day one of competition. He guided his Mitsubishi Evo 8 RS to a 0.169-second lead over Tom Berry’s Berg Family Racing/BFGoodrich Mitsubishi Evo 9 RS. Three other drivers, including Marshall Grice (ChaseCam/Berry Family Racing Mitsubishi Evo 9 RS), are within a second of Miller’s time.

Solo standout Bryan Heitkotter, of Fresno, Calif., finished day one of competition atop the D Street Prepared standings. Driving a BMW 325S that Heitkotter laid eyes on for the first time at the event, the four-time National Champion goes into tomorrow’s final runs with a 0.407-second lead.

Follow the action through live timing at www.sololive.scca.com, live audio from the east course at www.ustream.tv/channel/solo-nationals-east and from the west course at www.ustream.tv/channel/solo-nationals-west, on the SCCA Facebook page at Facebook.com/SCCAOfficial, or on Twitter @SCCAOfficial.

More information on the Tire Rack SCCA National Championship is available at www.scca.com/solo.

LINCOLN, Neb. - The top two runners in each of the 36 classes competing Tuesday and Wednesday in the 41th Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Championships at Lincoln Airpark with class, leading driver, hometown and car; second place driver, hometown, car and gap behind first place. *Denotes Supplemental Class.

A Modified: Dan Wasdahl, Massillon, Ohio, BBR/Phantom DVS-1; KJ Christopher, Redondo Beach, Calif, ACME Special, -0.103. A Stock: Josh Puu, San Angelo, Texas, Chevrolet Corvette; Lane Borg, San Angelo, Texas, Chevrolet Corvette, -0.103. A Stock Ladies: Meridith Brown, Los Alamos, N.M., Chevrolet Corvette; Rachel Baker, Westford, Ma., BMW 1M, -1.193. A Street Prepared: Aaron Miller, Auburn Hills, Mich., Mitsubishi Evo 8 RS; Tom Berry, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Mitsubishi Evo IX RS, -0.169. A Street Prepared Ladies: Christine Grice, Redondo Beach, Calif., Mitsubishi Evo IX; Lisa Berry, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Mitsubishi Evo IX, -0.320. B Stock: Marc Pfannenschmidt, Louisville, Ky., Honda S2000; Ryan Clark, Calgary, Alberta, Honda S2000, -0.172. B Street Prepared: Robert Thorne, Littleton, Colo., Honda S2000; Tristan Littlehale, Saratoga, Calif., Honda S2000, -1.530. B Street Prepared Ladies: Amanda Hahn, Littleton, Colo., Honda S2000; Caitlin Dunlap, Alexandria, Va., BMW M3, -3.194. C Street Prepared: John Hunter, Omaha, Neb., Mazda Miata; Bill Schenker, Corona del Mar, Calif., Mazda Miata, -0.312. C Street Prepared Ladies: Jodi Fordahl, Bremerton, Wash., Mazda Miata; Sue Eckles, Malcolm, Neb., Mazda Miata, -0.212. D Street Prepared: Bryan Heitkotter, Fresno, Calif., BMW 325 IS; Alex Shchipkov, Clifton Park, N.Y., BMW 330 CI, -0.407. D Prepared: Ron Bauer, Issaquah, Wash., Mazda MX-5; Drew VanderPloeg, Pflugerville, Texas, Mazda Miata, -0.194. D Prepared Ladies: Anne Robinson, Highland, Ind., Toyota MR2; Paula Baker, Carson City, Nev., Mazda Miata, -0.765. E Stock: Bartek Borowski, Elmwood Park, Ill., Mazda Miata; Hubert Borowski, Elmwood Park, Ill., Mazda Miata, -1.212. F Modified: Darren Seltzer, Orlando, Fla., Raptor F500; Jason Hobbs, Saint Michael, Minn., Novakar F500, -1.637. F Modified Ladies: Tonya Langley, Umatilla, Ore., Dig It Special; Michelle Quinn, Dublin, Ohio, KBS Mk7, -0.311. F Prepared: Tom O'Gorman, Mason, Ohio, Porsche 914/6; Alex Jones, Pemberville, Ohio, Pontiac Solstice GXP, -0.542. F Stock: Brian Burdette, Dewey, Ill., Ford Mustang GT; Kevin Youngers, Greeley, Colo., Ford Mustang GT, -0.116. F Stock Ladies: Kandy Johnson, Glen Allen, Va., Ford Mustang GT; Jill Snell, Puyallup, Wash., BMW M3, -1.919. G Stock: Andy Thomas, Adamstown, Md., Toyota Celica; Michael Moran, Fairfield, Penn., Toyota Celica, -0.203. H Stock: Greg Reno, Lawrence, Kan., Mini Cooper; Tim Carritte, Avon Lake, Ohio, Mini Cooper, -0.318. Street Modified: David White, Chicopee, Mass., Nissan 240 SX; PJ Corrales, Rock Hill, Conn., Nissan 240 SX, -0.175. Street Modified Ladies: Jenna Corrales, Rocky Hill, Conn., Nissan 240sx; Ginette Jordan, Terrell, N.C., Honda Civic, -0.376. Street Modified FWD: Chris Haydu, Dallas, Pa., Honda Civic; Andy Hollis, Austin, Texas, Honda CRX, -0.209. Street Touring Compact: Jason Frank, Racine, Wis., Honda Civic Si; Jeff Wong, Moorpark, Calif., Honda Civic SI, -0.949. Street Touring Compact Ladies: Nicole Nagler, Moorpark, Calif., Honda Civic Si; Kathy Grunenwald, Hilliard, Ohio, Ford Focus, -0.560. Super Stock: Gary Thomason, Oceanside, Calif., Dodge Viper; G.J. Dixon, Scarsdale, N.Y., Porsche GT3, -0.081. Super Stock Ladies: Shelly Monfort, Saratoga, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette; Stephanie Reeve, Sturbridge, Mass., Chevrolet Corvette, -0.065. Super Street Modified: Carter Thompson, Murfreesboro, Tenn., Mazda RX7; Duke Langley, Umatilla, Ore., Chevrolet, -0.265. Super Street Modified Ladies: Kyung Wootton, Austin, Texas, Mazda MX-5; Beth McClure-Strelnieks, Cedar Park, Texas, Mazda MX-5, -0.531. Super Street Prepared: Alex Tziortzis, Palatine, Ill., Chevrolet Corvette; Joe Tharpe, State Center, Iowa, Chevrolet Corvette, -0.196. X Prepared: Fred Zust, Tempe, Ariz., Lotus Elise; Andy McKee, Livermore, Calif., Mazda RX7, -0.485. *Road Tire AWD: Ron Williams, Topeka, Kan., Audi TT; Emmanuel Martin, Urbana, Ill., Subaru WRX, -0.016. *Road Tire FWD: Adam Barber, Crystal, Minn., Dodge Neon; Jeremy Salenius, Bonner Springs, Kan., Mini Cooper, -0.267. *Road Tire FWD Ladies: Barbara Leroy-Boehme, San Diego, Calif., Mini Cooper; Linda Duncan, Topeka, Kan., Mini Cooper, -2.140. *Formula SAE: Christopher Moulckers, Arlington, Texas, UTA; Trent Strunk, Silver Lake, Kan., Jayhawk Motorsports Formula SAE, -0.571.  

Tire Rack Solo National Championships