PACKWOOD, Wash. (July 20, 2011) While the majority of the country was fighting a record heat wave last weekend, the Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Tour competitors battled cool temperatures and rainy weather for the Western States Championship at Hampton Mills near the base of Mt. Ranier in Washington. The 287 entrants on hand broke the previous site record by nearly 50 competitors at the retired Hampton Mills logging plant. The Northwest Region spent extra time at the site this year, removing lumber and pine needles to prepare a spotless working area for tech and impound. The record attendance also forced the always-popular Saturday night barbecue at the local fire station to a standing room only crowd. Despite the wet weather, the Karen Babb-designed course still bred some close competition. In Street Modified, Jodi Fordahl, from Bermerton, Wash., took advantage of the all-wheel drive in her 2012 Fordahl Motorsports Nissan GT-R to top Don Nimis 1989 Nissan 240 SX by just 0.043-second. Nimi, from Burnaby, British Columbia, was just one of the many Canadians who ventured into Washington for the National Tour event. Two of the Stock Category classes were nearly as close as Street Modified. Brian Coulson, from Idaho Falls, Idaho, topped C Stock by 0.159-second over Mitch Lewis, driving a 2007 focalpointmarketing.com Mazda MX-5. In H Stock, Tacoma, Wash., resident Bill Zerr drove his 2003 Ford SVT Focus to a 0.178-second advantage over Joseph Austin in a 2007 MINIUSA.com/On A Dime Racing Mini Cooper. Shaikh Ahmad, from Redwood City, Calif., jumped to the top of the Street Touring Xtreme class on his final run in his 2004 Fat Cat Motorsports Mazda RX-8 to top Joe Goekes similar car by 0.148-second. In the X Prepared class, a pair of teammates battled for the top spot throughout both days of competition. After all six runs were complete, Britain Smith, from Hillsboro, Ore., topped Adam Ruff by just 0.165-second in the 1974 Where2Race.com/Cobb Tuning Porsche 914 that the pair shared for the Western States Championship. The Tire Rack Solo National Tour has just the Mountain States Championship at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo., July 30-31, remaining on the schedule before the 2011 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship in Lincoln, Neb., August 30 through September 2. For full results from the Western States Championship and more information on all upcoming Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour events, visit www.scca.com/solo. A direct link to results from the Western States Championship is available at http://www.scca.com/eventresults.aspx?event=17146&hub=3.
