BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. (July 10, 2013) – Mark Madarash, of Red Oak, Texas, took home the overall win in last week’s The Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo® Super Challenge at Arkansas Aeroplex, in Blytheville, Ark. Tara Johns, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., took home the Ladies Challenge title, winning the final matchup in the bracket competition.
Saturday’s weather played havoc on the performance of the 214 entries. Rain began to fall during the afternoon making the course slick for the third run of each heat, adding an average of 10 seconds to each driver’s time. However, Sunday’s weather was more conducive to fast times, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 90s.
Aside from the challenges posed by the weather, the course was also a challenge for the drivers. The slalom sections and the sweeping turn, for which Blytheville has become known, were two stand-out features.
Madarash (Bump Class 1, Pontiac Trans Am) qualified for the 32-car bracket competition with the second-quickest indexed time in his class, 0.219-second behind the 65.485 of class winner Greg Reno (Bump Class 1, MiniUSA/Baron Mini/BMW/Hoosier Mini Cooper).
Madarash took a winding road to the finals from the middle of his side of the bracket, first taking out Kraig Klippel (Street Touring Sport, Stranoparts.com Mazda Miata) in round one, then class winner Johnathan Lawson (Road Tire 2WD, Io Mini Cooper) in round two.
As part of the final eight, Madarash took a win over class-winner David Whitener (Street Touring Sport, Texas Track Works/Motion Control Suspension Honda CRX). Madarash continued his winning ways in the semifinals, sending Paul Magee (Race Tire Index 2, 95Customs.com KBS Mk. 4) to the third-place runoff.
Jason Collett (Street Touring R, Honda S2000), the finalist from the other side of the bracket, had a similarly twisted road to the final. He took out Robert Irish (Bump Class 1, Mr. Irish Cos. Subaru STI) in the quarterfinals, followed by Alex Shchipkov (Stock/Street Index 2, SoloRacer.com/MonoBalls.com BMW 330 Ci) in the semifinals.
Madarash got the best of Collet in the final matchup, taking the overall win. Magee earned bronze, winning the third-place runoff against Shchipkov.
Johns (Ladies Class 2, Prudential/Tweakit/ABC Plumbing Mazda Miata) ended Saturday at the top of her class. During Sunday’s bracket competition, Johns beat Shelly Monfort (Ladies Class 2, StranoParts.com/Shameless Iced Tea Chevrolet Corvette) and Rachel Saunders (Ladies Class 1, Hoosier Legrand Mk. 25) en route to the final. Once again, Johns took care of business against Kim Whitener (Ladies Class 3, Texas Track Works/Motion Control Suspension Honda CRX) to earn the Ladies Challenge title.
Saunders took home third beating Beth McClure-Strelnieks (Ladies Class 1, Hoosier/OS Giken/JC AutoSpec Porsche Boxster) in the consolation runoff.
The Bonus Challenge bracket was won by Bradley Elliott (Stock/Street Index 5, Raging Panda Racing Mazda Miata).
The Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo series has two more events before the finale in Lincoln, Neb. Round Eight is scheduled for July 20-21 at Hampton Mills, followed by Round Nine, July 27-28, at the Toledo Express Airport.
Information on the Blytheville 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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Blytheville Summer Nationals ProSolo
