LINCOLN, Neb. (Sept. 3, 2018) -- The scene was like that of an old Western movie – an open expanse with heat visibly rising from the surface and various figures walking in the distance. In the case of SCCA® Solo®, orange cones are seen scattered throughout. And then, the gunfight breaks out and the desolate surface becomes a hub of activity and, in SCCA’s case, cars fill the surface instead of horses and cowboys. That, in a nutshell, explains the visual feast that was this year’s Tire Rack CAM Challenge Invitational.
Saturday morning’s competition was a fantastic lineup of CAM cars with the CAM-T and CAM-S classes going out first, 17 and 32 cars respectively, and the 51-driver CAM-C class taking the course in the afternoon. The day’s racing had some spectacular changes on the leader board with known favorites Scott Fraser and Robby Unser not taking the top spots. In the end, Jadrice Toussaint in a C7 Chevrolet Corvette overtook Fraser in a vintage Cobra with a last-minute run of 37.045 to top Fraser’s 37.2 in the CAM-S class. In CAM-T, Steve Seymore and JJ Mallrich duked it out in the battle of the Fox Body Mustangs with Seymore overtaking Mallrich in the last round with a 38.186 vs. a 38.434. In the CAM-C class, Brandon Porambo and WB Sephus ran neck-and-neck all day with Proambo coming out on top at the end of the day with a .133 lead over Sephus’ 38.351. Trophies and prizes were then awarded Saturday night at the Speedway Museum of Speed.
Stormy weather did not arrive to Lincoln AirPark, site of the Tire Rack CAM Challenge Invitational, until racers were departing the venue Saturday. But a soaking wet track greeted competitors Sunday morning. With standing water and an ambient temp of 68 degrees, tires were not performing to their full potential. Several drivers swapped tires and made the best of it, some more successful than others.
As Sunday progressed, more interesting upsets were seen with big names getting bumped out early. The rain came down in earnest and standing water was present for a majority of the shootout. In the end, Jadrice Toussaint took the top spot for CAM-S, Ryan Finch took the lead for CAM-T and Chris Cox would represent the fastest of CAM-C. All eyes were on the clock as the rain continued and the finalists got in line. In the end, Jadrice walked away with the trophy and a brand-new custom Kiesel guitar.
The Sports Car Club of America®, Inc., founded in 1944, is a 67,500-member motorsports organization that incorporates all facets of autocross, rally and road racing at both Club and professional levels. With headquarters in Topeka, Kansas, the SCCA annually sanctions over 2,000 events through its 116 Regions and subsidiary divisions. Much of the SCCA's activities are made possible with support from the following Official Partners: Chevrolet, the Official Truck of the SCCA; Hawk Performance, the Official Brake Products of SCCA; Mobil 1, the Official Oil of SCCA; Sunoco, the Official Fuel of SCCA; and Tire Rack, the Official Tire Retailer of SCCA. To learn more, please visit www.scca.com.
Photo: CAM-C racer Chris Cox pounding around the Tire Rack CAM Challenge Invitational course at Lincoln AirPark
Photo Credit: Rupert Berrington
Words: Suzy Bauter
