Who's Going?
There are just a few days to go until the 2016 Packwood Pro. This year's Pro is looking to be an exciting one to watch with strong fields in several classes. Be sure to check out Sololive and Ustream as Kevin Dietz will have his cameras set up to capture all of the racing action. Let’s all cross our fingers for a fast Internet connection so those of you at home can watch online.
The largest class so far is STX with 14 drivers. Charlie Davis is bringing his 1994 BMW 325is out of retirement and Bryan Heitkotter will be co-driving with Davis. Everyone will be watching to see what Heitkotter can do. This STX class is full of talented drivers like Justin Tsang, Mack Tsang, Jonathan Lugod, and Karl Coleman, to name a few. We can expect STX to be a really tight battle.
F-Street will be another exciting class to watch as the Mustangs, Camaros, and M3s battle it out. Will the automatic transmission of Stacey Molleker’s Camaro give him an advantage at the line? Will Sean O’Boyles move from an M3 to a Mustang be advantageous? Will the gremlins that affected the Mustang of Des Toups last weekend make a return? So many things could be a factor in this F-Street race! And FS is also where you’ll find Mark Scroggs, Kevin Youngers, James Paulson, Ryan Otis, Brian Meyer, Richard Jones, and Matthew Ales. Who will win is anyone's guess!
Expect to see hometown boys Ron Bauer and Kevin Dietz battling it out in the 7-driver class of STR. While Dietz finished well at both the El Toro and Crows Landing Pros in his 2006 Honda S2000, Bauer is getting his 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata dialed in and he’ll be working hard to earn a top finish.
B-Street will likely be a battle between Brian Coulson and Dan Bullis as both drivers did well at the Crows Landing Pro. This is Bullis' first season driving the Sins Performance 1999 Chevrolet Corvette and he's continued to improve with more seat time. Don’t count out Tony Rodriguez as he also drove well at both the El Toro and Crows Landing Pros earlier this season.
Four of the five drivers registered for C-Street, placed in the top 4 at the Packwood Championship Tour this past weekend. I think that says a lot about the level of competition we are going to see in this class. This season, Oregon Region member Adam Ruff is driving a new to him 2007 Nissan 350Z and he has done quite well with the car at both the national and regional level. Watch for Will Cruz, Chris Miller, and Wayne Dyck to be chasing Ruff down.
In L1 we'll be watching seven ladies battle it out. Caitlin Snell will be piloting the 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution of Geoff Clark Racing. Snell finished well at the 2015 Packwood Pro and at the 2016 Crows Landing Pro. Expect to see Tami Daniels put in some fast times in her 1994 Mazda Miata.
The ladies of L2 will likely be chasing Laura Molleker, a talented driver and past ProSolo Champion, in her 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. Jessica Gauthier has been doing quite well this season in her 2015 Subaru WRX and will likely be a top contender in the six-driver class as well.
L3 is home to some of the fastest ladies in the Northwest. Watch for Gretchen Everett Weidemann, Tasha Mikko, and Annie Gill to make their way towards the top of the order in the eleven-driver class. It will be an exciting race to watch to see if the northwest ladies can hold off Kerry Gonzales, Kate Fisher, and Teddie Alexandrova.
It's sure to be a great weekend of racing in Packwood. The action begins at 9:00am PST Saturday. Don’t forget to tune-in!
