The week that kicks off SCCA® Championship Season each year is chock full of autocross action in Lincoln, NE. In 2024, the Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo® Championship Finale took place Aug. 30-Sept. 1, and that was followed by the Tire Rack SCCA Solo® National Championships on Sept. 3-6. But a third event actually sneaks right in the middle, and it’s an extremely fun Invitational Shootout.
The CAM, Xtreme, and Club Spec Tire Rack Invitational Shootout was held on Saturday, Aug. 31 over on the Test-n-Tune course at Lincoln Airpark, allowing the Invitational Shootout to take place concurrently with the ProSolo Finale. In all, 92 competitors entered the Invitational Shootout.
Shootout competitors received four runs on the course to determine who would go into the event shootouts – 16 drivers qualified for the CAM-T and CAM-C Shootouts, with eight drivers qualifying for the CAM-S, Xtreme, and Club Spec Shootouts.
In the CAM-T, Brian Harvey in his 2000 Camaro was the top qualifier. In CAM-C, John Ward was the top qualifier in his 2019 Camaro. In CAM-S, Al Unser Jr. (yes, THAT Al Unser Jr.) driving a Cobra kit car for Speedway Motors was the top qualifier. In the Xtreme classes, Kyle Gottschalk driving an Eagle Talon was the top qualifier, while in Club Spec, David Hedderick, driving a 2005 Mustang, was the top qualifier.
The Shootouts Begin
In the CAM-T Shootout, Harvey (the top qualifier) went out in the third round. As it turned out, the winner of the CAM-T Shootout was ninth qualifier, Wayne Atkins in his 1985 Camaro. The CAM-C Shootout saw top qualifier John Ward drop from the competition in the third round, leaving room for 12th place qualifier Keith Lamming to take the win. Meanwhile, it came down to the final runs in the CAM-S Shootout, with the number two qualifier Clay Turner beating Al Unser Jr. by 0.133sec.
The three CAM class winners then faced off. There, Clay Turner beat Keith Lamming by 0.085sec; Wayne Atkins finished just 0.019sec behind Keith. The CAM Championship could not have been much closer.
The Xtreme Shootout had eight drivers in it, and the top qualifier Kyle Gottschalk led from start to finish – but that doesn’t mean it was a cakewalk. In the end, Kyle took the Xtreme Shootout by just 0.139sec over second-place finisher Eric Sutton.
In the Club Spec Shootout, David Hedderick led from the start, beating Mike King in the final by 0.023sec.
Meanwhile, Later That Evening
The competition was close all day long for the 92 competitors. To celebrate, all Invitational Shootout competitors and their support teams were invited to an awards dinner at the Museum of American Speed sponsored by Speedway Motors. There, Al Unser Jr. spoke about his favorite race car, the Penske Indy car that he won the 1994 Indy 500 in.
A big thank you goes to all of the volunteers who helped make the CAM, Xtreme, and Club Spec Invitational Shootout a success, with a special shoutout going to Lorien Feighner for bringing Saginaw Valley Region’s timing equipment and leading the timing team.
Photo: (LEFT) David Heddrick (left) and Mike King (right) celebrate their Club Spec Shootout awards; (RIGHT) Kyle Gottschalk finished on top in the Xtreme Shootout; (CENTER) Clay Turner earned top honors in the CAM Shootout.
