TOLEDO, Ohio. (July 30, 2013) – Jason Frank, of Racine, Wis., won his first Tire Rack® SCCA ProSolo® Super Challenge at the Toledo (Ohio) Express Airport. Laura Campbell, of Madison, Ala., also took home top honors, winning the Ladies Challenge.
This was a must-attend event for many soloists from around the country, as the meet hit its cap of 260 entrants, with 70 on the waiting list, minutes after registration opened. The hosting Northwest Ohio Region supported the event extremely well, attracting the most workers at a 2013 ProSolo event in addition to supplying a well-liked course compliments of region member Alex Jones.
Throughout the weekend, competitors experienced below-average temperatures, which did not crack 80 degrees. In addition to the low temperatures, Mother Nature also made herself known through heavy rain that soaked the course on Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s competition started under cloudy skies, but midway through Heat One the skies opened wide, drenching the course. Following some additional runs, the course began to dry out just in time for another deluge that hit late in the afternoon.
The weather saga was much the same on Sunday. The rain held off for most of the day, starting halfway through the first round of the Super Challenge and continuing to the round of eight. Regardless of the continued running, the surface remained wet until the conclusion of the event.
Frank (Street Touring Compact, ProParts USA/Team Undercoat Racing Honda Civic) headed into the Super Challenge after setting his class-winning times during Sunday’s Heat Six. His combined score of 63.483 seconds sealed his class’s top qualifying spot by 0.498-second.
Seeded fourth overall, Frank met Kraig Klippel (Street Touring Sport, Stranoparts.com Mazda Miata) in the first round. He defeated Klippel, and took on the best in Stock/Street Index 2, Alex Shchipkov (SoloRacer.com/MonoBalls.com BMW 330CI), in the second round. Frank took the win over Shchipkov, advancing to the quarterfinal round.
In the quarterfinals, Frank beat yet another class top qualifyier, besting Tom O’Gorman (Stock/Street Index 4, Full Throttle Indoor Karting/G-Fab Chevrolet Corvette) to move forward to the semis. There, Frank met his third straight driver who was fast in class, Ian Baker (Street Touring Sports, Toyo Tires/Strano Parts/SSC Tint Honda CRX SI). Following a win, Frank moved to the finals where he met with Jeremiah McClintock.
McClintock (Kart Modified, Nut Pack Racing!! Honda Renspeed) secured a class win Sunday morning, good enough for the 11th spot at the start of the Super Challenge. In the quarterfinals, McClintock beat Greg Olsen (Stock/Street Index 2, Strano Parts BMW 330 CI), then took out class-winner Mike Johnson (Street Touring R, Evolution Performance Driving School Mazda MX-5) in the semis.
In the finals, it was the nimble kart of McClintock against Frank’s Civic. Frank would prove too much for McClintock, as he took his first Super Challenge win. In the third-place runoff, Baker emerged victorious over Johnson.
In the Ladies Challenge, Laura Campbell (Ladies Class 3, Honda S2000CR) beat Jordan Towns (Ladies Class 3, Dixie Audacity Mazda RX-8), Tammy Breece (Ladies Class 2, Ford Mustang) and Hilary Anderson (Ladies Class 3, Honda Civic SI) on her way to the final. In the final frame, Campbell beat Kim Whitener (Ladies Class 3, Texas Track Works/Motion Control Suspension Honda CRX) and took the Ladies Challenge title.
Michael Bosely (E Street Prepared, Ford Mustang GT) won the Bonus Challenge bracket.
The next stop for The Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo series is the Lincoln Air Park. The finale of the 2013 campaign is slated to start Aug. 31, in Lincoln, Neb.
Information on the Toledo Tire Rack ProSolo Series event 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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Toledo ProSolo
