The SCCA® Phoenix AZ Solo® Region utilized the land at Arizona Motorsports Park in Litchfield Park to host the season opener of the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour during the Feb. 22-23 weekend – and what a weekend it was. With ample smooth asphalt, sunny skies, and 127 competitors on hand, the weekend was a season kick-off that didn’t disappoint.
The desert southwest was too much for many to resist, with several pulling their cars out of the cold and making the trek. Unofficially, Heidi and Dave Wilson earned the non-existent “furthest travelers” award, making the drive down from Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, to enjoy the sunshine.
Well, sunshine and some amazing competition.
Class Competition
Drama? Phoenix had drama!
Brian Peters earned a solid day-one lead in Super Street, but cones on his first two runs on Sunday left him in a tough position. He backed his drive down by a half second, but ran clean on his final run to claim the class victory with a 0.241sec win over fast-charging Jay Balducci.
A Street followed a similar script. Andre Piernot led Jeff Woodbury and Sebastian Rios after the opening day, but Rios came charging back on Sunday to take the lead after two rounds. Piernot had one left in him, however, and claimed victory by 0.101sec in his Nissan GT-R.
Dan Hawrylkiw led both days in F Street with his Ford Mustang Mach 1, topping Morgan Lee by 0.543sec. Lee’s hometown of Sydney, Australia, technically means he came the furthest – but a Texas residence cancels that out.
The dynamic duo of Kendra Mabie and Jessica Yeung co-drove a Honda Civic Type R to the top of the Ladies Street Tire Bump class. The D Street Ladies-prepped cars were just over a second apart and ahead of the rest of the field, with Mabie out front.
There was a lot more action – for that, check out the weekend’s results.
Up Next: Red Hills
The next Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour is a classic: the Red Hills Solo National Tour in Moultrie, GA. Registration for this event, which takes place at Spence Airport on March 21-23, is now open.
While there’s ample space now, an entry cap does exist, so waste no time and get registered.
Photos by Danny Gross
