PACKWOOD, Wash. (July 8, 2014) – The Tire Rack SCCA Solo® Championship Tour had its most recent event at one of the most scenic backdrops to which the series travels. The competition site is set up in the parking lot of the unused Hampton Mills Lumber Yard, with the towering Cascade Mountains as a backdrop.

Temperatures in the 70s and 80s attracted 267 drivers to the picturesque area. The favorable conditions helped the event pull drivers from as far as California. An international flair was also added by a handful of Canadian racers who ventured south.

The course, designed by Karen Babb, featured multiple challenges for the drivers to overcome including fast sections, challenging transitions and off-camber turns. The result was close competition, with many of the classes being decided by fractions of a second.

The Northwest SCCA Region was the host for this event and did not disappoint anyone involved. On Friday, participants were greeted by a welcome party. The Saturday evening banquet also got rave reviews. Several prizes, including gift certificates to local businesses, an entry to an Evolution driving school and data acquisition software, were raffled off.

Street Modified FWD provided the closest margin of victory during the meet. Quinn Campbell (SMF, Q Tuned Volkswagen Scirocco), of Kent, Washington, emerged the winner by only 0.042-second. Adam McCausland (SMF, Dales Alignment Mazda 323) was the day-one leader; however Campbell came through on his last run to overtake McCausland.

Adam Ruff (Street Touring R, Adrenaline Racing/MCS Mazda MX-5), of Oregon City, Oregon, was the winner in STR, the largest class of the completion with 16 cars. Kevin Dietz (STR, Evo Schools/Jims Detail/Chase Race Honda S2000) was the class leader following Saturday’s three runs. After a night to think about it, Ruff was able to best Dietz on Sunday resulting in a 0.114-second margin of victory.

Ricky Bang (B Street, Mazda MX-5), of Richland, Washington, was able to pull out a nail bitter of a win over David de Regt (BS, Honda S2000) in another large class. After day one, Bang sat second behind de Regt by less that 0.1-second. On Sunday, Bang was the quickest in the class with a lap of 58.632. That was good enough to take the victory by 0.296-second. Street Touring Xtreme provided a feel-good story for those at Packwood. In a large class with closely grouped times, Joey Sim (STX, Nameless Performance/Raceseng Scion FR-S), of Gig Harbor, Washington, was the leader after day one. The overnight break changed nothing for Sim as he went on the score his first National Tour win.

Don Wooten (Street Touring Compact, DirtFish Rally School Honda Civic Si), of Renton, Washington, also celebrated his first National event victory in Packwood. However, his road to the win was not as easy as that of Sim. During Saturday’s competition, a cone hit was called on Wooten resulting in a two second penalty. That put him second, behind Jim Harnish (STC, Honda Civic Si).

On Sunday, the penalty was overturned by officials after evidence showed that a previous competitor had hit the errant cone. With his corrected time, Wooten was the fastest of the drivers on day one. Wooten then sealed the deal with the second-quickest lap of the day, which allowed him to finish in the lead with a 0.130-second gap.

More information, including full results, from the Packwood Championship Tour is available here.

The Tire Rack SCCA Solo Championship Tour Series next heads to the Wilmington Airpark, in Wilmington, Ohio, Aug. 2-3. More information on The Tire Rack SCCA Solo Program is available at www.scca.com/solo.

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