TOPEKA, Kan. (Aug. 27, 2013) – The final round of The Tire Rack® SCCA ProSolo® Championship is scheduled to hit the course at the Lincoln (Neb.) Airpark, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. With 270 competitors already entered for the traditional Labor Day weekend finale, the field of talent is extremely deep.
The weather conditions for the event look favorable, at this point. Forecasters are calling for sunshine both days of competition, with temperatures in the low to mid 90s. The clear conditions should result in some fast times being laid down by drivers across 26 classes.
Nick Barbato, of Wethersfield, Conn., is the Super Challenge championship point leader heading to the event. After sweeping the East Coast meets, in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., Barbato (B Stock, GT Academy Got it Wrong Honda S200) has collected 105 points.
Though he may hold the lead, the competition is wide open. At the Lincoln Finale, all challenge points are weighted to reflect the championship nature of the event and the strength of the ProSolo field.
Barbato’s closest competition, in terms of points, is Kinch Reindl, of Denver. Reindl (Street Touring Compact, YourFreedomPodcast.com Honda Civic) sits 15 markers behind the top spot, after a win at Lincoln and a runner-up finish at Mineral Wells.
Sitting behind Reindl in the standings, are 24 other drivers who still have a mathematical chance at winning the Super Challenge Points Championship. Instead of the typical 45 points awarded to the Super Challenge bracket winner, the bracket winner for the Finale will be given a 56-point bump. Each of the other finishing positions have also been increased, as a result. Up to 12 points will also be awarded based on qualifying times, with the top seed earning the full allotment.
With that in mind, drivers down to the Stephen Hui, of Bellevue, Wash., have a chance at capturing the title, provided a few things fall their way. Hui (Road Tire 2WD, Honda S2000), who is locked in a three-way tie for 15th in the standings, knows how to win in the bracket-style format, having already scored at Super Challenge win at Packwood, the only ProSolo event in which he competed.
In the Ladies Challenge, Meredith Brown, of Los Alamos, N.M., holds the championship lead with 112 points. Brown (Ladies 2, Plastic PP Racing/MidAtlantic Motorsport/Maurer Collision Chevrolet Corvette) notched two bracket wins, including the meets at Mineral Wells and Farmington.
Nicole Nagler, of Moorpark, Calif., and Kim Whietener, of Fort Worth, are Brown’s closets competition in the championship standings, as they are tied for second, both 13 markers behind. Nagler (Ladies 3, Toyo Tires/ProParts USA Honda Civic) took the season-opening win at El Toro, followed by runner-up finish at Lincoln. Whitener’s (Ladies 3, Texas Track Works/Motion Control Suspension Honda CRX) win at Lincoln and second-place finish at Blytheville were her two top-scoring events of the season.
The action for the SCCA ProSolo® event gets under way Saturday, Aug. 31, at 9 a.m., and concludes Sunday, Sept. 1.
As is tradition, the Tire Rack ProSolo Finale is the lead-in to the week-long Tire Rack Solo National Championships at the same location, Sept. 3 – 6. Nearly 1100 competitors compete to earn the title of National Champion in the world’s largest motorsports event.
Information on The Tire Rack ProSolo Series Finale 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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ProSolo Finale
