Whether competitors treated it as a kind of tune-up for the upcoming Tire Rack SCCA® Solo® National Championships or not, the Aug. 9-11, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Grissom Solo National Tour at Grissom Aeroplex was an event worth attending – a sentiment echoed by many who came out for the competition.
James DaPuzzo designed the courses for the Indy Region-hosted event and, as established by one official who has been at every Solo National Tour this year, the weekend at Grissom Aeroplex in Bunker Hill, IN, provided “near perfect weather for the first time all season.”
Class in Session
He doesn’t show as often as he used to, so the first question to be answered was: Is Tom O’Gorman rusty. That was quickly replaced with the question: Can anyone catch Tom O’Gorman? The answers, according to both the F Street field – and anyone watching the PAX Index – was a resounding no. O’Gorman knocked out a 1.2sec win in his class and came away with the top spot overall on the weekend for yet another career Solo National Tour win.
Not even Dave Montgomery, whose car O’Gorman was driving, had an issue with his win. That’s mostly because Montgomery was, instead, in his X Prepared BMW and took a class win of his own.
That’s enough of those who think a win is old hat.
Kevin Buchholz got to celebrate a Solo National Tour win for the first time, conquering the Solo Spec Coupe class over Chip Manuel. Buchholz tossed down a time on his first Sunday run and forced everyone else to catch him. No one did, and he earned that winner’s trophy.
The E Street Prepared band had to hustle, and do it cleanly, to decide who was going to land in the top spot of the class. Bill Rogerson slept overnight on a nearly two-tenths advantage, and he needed every bit of it. His final run on Sunday set the bar while he sat back and watched Ben Edmiston and Rogerson’s co-driver Clint Griest land 0.121sec and 0.319sec behind him, respectively, for a nail-biting victory.
Word on the street is that no one has more fun than the Club Spec Mustang class. Seven were on hand at Grissom, and Joe Tharp had co-driver Chris Harvey lined up in his sites on the final run for a win. Well, he did, until a pesky cone came out of nowhere, leaving him in second place on the weekend and allowing Harvey to leave with the gold medal on the final day of the Olympics. (Side note: Why isn’t autocross an Olympic sport?)
Despite rumors to the contrary, it was the Williams husband-and-wife duo who both took wins at Grissom. While Evan Williams topped G Street, Jessi walked away with the top spot in Ladies Street Tire Bump – both by impressive margins.
Speaking of which, Emily Poe benefited from expert coaching thanks to the SCCA Women on Track Driver Development Program, with legend Cindy Duncan taking her under her wing. Poe improved on each day, cutting significant time throughout her Ladies Street Tire Bump class runs during the event.
Check out the event’s results for a complete rundown of all the action.
On To Lincoln
We can finally say it: The next event on the National Solo calendar is the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Championship Finale and Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships!
Tighten up that lasso (or do you loosen it? We’re actually not sure), because the rodeo that is 1,300 competitors on one concrete cattle drive is fast approaching, with the ProSolo on Labor Day weekend and Wild West themed Solo Nationals the week that follows, Sept. 3-6.
Continue to check this space for more information as the motorized wagon train makes its way across the prairie and the autocross battles begin. Also, keep eyes on SCCA’s National Solo Facebook page for event coverage as it happens.
Photos by Holly Schwedler
