This past weekend was the first leg of the 2015 Speedway Motors CAM Challenge! Last year at the Tire Rack SCCA Solo Nationals, the first CAM Challenge was run in between ProSolo Finale run-groups. It was an incredible success with almost two dozen CAM drivers from around the country bringing cars (some competing themselves, some with National hot-shoes running their cars).

Mary had the following to say about her weekend at the Crows Landing CAM Challenge in her orange Camaro...

Doing well in the SCCA Speedway Motors CAM Challenge Shootout is all about consistency but keeping the ability to improve in your back pocket. The qualifying is so important as you can't sandbag (or if you do, be sneaky about it...) and turn a qualification time that is respectable yet leaves room for that improvement. The rules for the Shootout are somewhat confusing as most "heads-up" style of competition relies on NOT breaking out of your dial-in or having to go off of the fastest qualifier's time like in ProSolo, not the reverse, and then you had to factor in the indexes. We had three qualifying runs and I'd set a time that was the fastest of what I'd run the previous morning. The other two fast guys, Mike Maier and Scott Fraser, run with me and we kick each other around the concrete playground on any given weekend. They scorched the track and I'm thinking, "I've got this qual business down and should be sitting pretty for this." Then I took my second run... and went faster than I had on any run the previous day. Ugh!!! I'm right there in the screw pile with my buds.

I managed to stay ahead of my dial-in on each step down the ladder but kept setting new ones. By the final three pairings, I'm pretty much maxed out and after each run, I'm jumping out, checking tire pressures, spraying tires, and hurrying back inside the car to get ready for the next pairing (I do need one of these "pit boys" for this stuff) and pretty much was unsociable to all that came over to talk. By the final four, and then the last pairing between Carrie and I, I knew I was at the end of that improvement part and had to make this final run a "swing for the fences" one. It was there but got a little greedy at the end and nudged a cone that I didn't feel at all. Coming through the lights, I didn't know if it was enough. My friends told me I'd hit the cone but unfortunately Carrie had gotten two and that ended the most fabulous autocross weekend I can remember in a long, long time.

All of the drivers in the Shootout were excellent and no quarter was given. The pairings were decided by hundredths of seconds based on indexed times. Raleigh Boreen was a great announcer and kept everyone informed on who needed to turn what time and the event was run like clockwork - what you'd expect from an event run by the National SCCA Solo staff. Thanks again to SCCA and to Speedway Motors and the rest of the sponsors.

One last important thing to mention is the progress of several of the Challenge drivers. Stacie Naumann in particular, whom finished in 3rd place, had very few autocross laps under her belt and could be considered a newbie. She improved with with EVERY SINGLE run and was a huge threat to take home all the marbles just on that alone. She had a high dial-in compared to the rest of the field, but she kept turning times that were better than each of her previous laps and moved up the ladder with each pairing. She did great and I made sure to tell her to stay with the sport. Her story is the highlight of the event, I think!