Group Two Takes the Tracks -- The first set of Tire Rack SCCA® Solo® Nationals Championship winners have been crowned. Thursday starts the second half of competition with a whole new set of drivers competing for another round of championships to be decided by the end of Friday. Temperatures are expected to get above 90 degrees later today with mostly sunny conditions, so things are going to get hot on course! Follow all the action throughout the day with live timing and audio at http://sololive.scca.com/, or keep track of the competition at the SoloMatters Facebook page. And don’t forget to tune in each morning an hour before competition begins to the Solo Nationals Morning Show at https://www.facebook.com/sccaofficial/. If you miss the live morning broadcast, the show is archived at Facebook for you to go back and watch later. Oh, you’ll also find some event updates available periodically each day at SCCA.com.
Annual Solo Awards -- Wednesday night was the first of two Tire Rack Awards Ceremonies, conducted at the Lancaster Events Center in Lincoln, that take place during the Tire Rack Solo Nationals Championship week. The first set of new champions received their awards. And as SCCA does each year, several members of the Solo community received special honors.
The Solo Cup was awarded to Jim Garry of SCCA’s Mohawk Hudson Region. The Solo Cup is presented to Sports Car Club of America® members who have made an outstanding contribution to the Solo events program. Winners are selected by the Solo Events Board from nominations submitted by the membership at large.
The 2018 Driver of Eminence is Frank Stagnaro from SCCA’s San Francisco Region. The Solo driver who has consistently demonstrated excellence behind the wheel, and an exemplary degree of sportsmanship, dedication and unselfishness receives this honor. The winner is selected by the Solo Events Board from nominations submitted by the membership at large.
The Johnson Spirit of the Sport Award was presented to Bryan Hayes of SCCA’s South Carolina Region. This recognition goes to Solo community members who bring the spirit of fun to their fellow participants, as symbolized by the message engraved on the perpetual award: "Johnson Spirit of the Sport Award, presented annually by the Royal Order of the Sheep to a member of the flock that upholds the spirited virtues of Fun, Camaraderie and Tomfoolery.” This award is named in honor of the inaugural recipient, the Exalted Grand Shepherd, Roger E. Johnson. The award is selected annually by the previous three recipients.
And finally, the Dick Berger Perseverance Award went to Raleigh Boreen of SCCA’s Indianapolis Region. The award recognizes someone each year who is undaunted by limited success over many National Championship events, but keeps coming back to enjoy the camaraderie, community, and hopes for a trophy in competition.
Early Thursday Runs -- We’ve just barely cracked the seal on the second set of Tire Rack Solo Nats competitors, but early day-one leaders in a few classes include: Lana Tsurikova in ASL, Mike Leeder in DS, Emily Danti in FSPL, Monique Forsythe in SMFL, Patty Tunnell in DML, Alex Piehl in STH, Eric Stoltz in STS, Mark Scroggs in CS, Annie Gill in GSL, Dallas Cutler in SM, Ron Bauer in BSP, Tracy Lewis in CPL, David Marcus in BS, Charina Jones in FPL, and Tara Shapowal in SSL.
Photo: Jim Gerry, 2019 Solo Cup winner
