The Brunswick Executive Airport in Brunswick, ME, launched the summer months with a pair of magnificent events: the Tire Rack SCCA® Brunswick ProSolo® Series and the Tire Rack SCCA Brunswick Solo® National Tour. The combo event spanned four days (June 4-8, 2025), attracted its fair share of drivers, and witnessed competition that was top notch.
Dubbed the Lobster Nationals, the four days of autocross action (plus setup, practice day, and more, all expertly hosted by New England Region) were successful despite natural challenges that come with an event of this magnitude.
Melanie Kwong found herself chairing the Brunswick doubleheader, and Eric Simmons picked up course design duties for the ProSolo after circumstances prevented Will Koscielny's attendance. Jim Garry, meanwhile, thought on his feet while making adjustments to his Solo National Tour courses just a day before arrival onsite after challenges were identified. And who arrived? A full field, that’s who – 133 for the ProSolo and 143 for the Solo National Tour.
Maine and Mother Nature threw just about everything it had at the Solo National Tour field. From picture perfect Maine scenery and sunny, warm days to chilly and rainy days, it was all there – except, thankfully, there were no lightning delays.
During the ProSolo rounds, there were two Howard Duncan Greenlight Fund recipients: Trevor Frey (running in F Street) and Jeffery Cheng (in D Street) got their first taste of a ProSolo with a free entry each courtesy of SCCA Foundation.
SCCA Women on Track was also in full effect during the weekend with its Driver Development Program, which pairs one female driver with a National-level driver for free coaching. Recipients for this particular weekend were Audra Paradie (for the ProSolo) and Tamra Krystinik (for the Solo National Tour).
Solo National Tour Class Action
We’ll start last and work in reverse – the Solo National Tour (which took place June 6-8, following the ProSolo’s conclusion) brought as many close class competitions as one would expect at an event of this caliber.
E Street, traditionally a playground for NB Miatas, was dominated by a pair of Toyota MR2s at Brunswick. Ed Lange was quickest on day two, but Gavin Faulkner Williams had a large enough cushion after day one to walk away with a 0.166sec victory in the class.
The same occurred in F Street. Clyde Caplain was a full second behind Kevin Henry after the first day of competition, but he closed the gap significantly on day two. Henry managed just one clean run, but it was just enough to hold on by 0.128sec to take the class gold.
C Street Touring was close the entire way. Eric Simmons’s Toyota GR86 had a one-tenth lead over Nick Varjabedian’s Mazda MX-5 on the first day, and held on for a final class win – but by just 0.071sec – over Josh Luster’s Toyota GR86. Luster came from fourth to second and nearly took the win, with Ken Roller third and Varjabedian in the fourth and final trophy spot.
It gets no closer than the Ladies Street Tire Bump class. Amy Houseal’s DST-prepped Mazda RX-8 was just 0.076sec over Meredith Brown’s SSC Scion FR-S at the end of the runs.
Interestingly, Houseal’s win qualified her to win the SCCA Women on Track Pay it Forward award, which would give her a certificate she could pass to another woman in her Region for a free entry to a National Solo event. However (as you’ll soon discover in the coverage below), Houseal’s ProSolo Ladies Challenge win just days prior also earned her this award, and someone can only win this award once per season, meaning the certificate went to Meredith Brown.
Who won the other classes? The complete class results reveal all.
ProSolo Class Comps
Like the Solo National Tour would turn out later in the weekend, the June 4-6 ProSolo class competitions were tight.
Evan LeBlanc was tops on one side, Jon Caserta was tops on the other, but combined, the D Street Touring duo were separated by just 0.026sec, with LeBlanc’s Scion on top.
The same thing happened in Super Street Prepared, with GJ Dixon and Doug Rowse each claiming a side. When those scores were totaled, Dixon’s GT4 Porsche Cayman was 0.097sec quicker than Rowse’s 911 GT3.
The index matched up Josh Luster and Grant Reeve successfully in Street 3. Luster’s CST-prepped GR86 was 0.015sec ahead of Reeve’s SST Corvette at the end of the runs. In Street 5, Ryan Leach and Derek Sivret were just 0.031sec apart, with Leach’s HS Civic ahead of Sivret’s GS Civic.
Michael Reiser’s CAM-S Corvette was 0.181sec ahead of Phil Knowles’s CAM-T Camaro when the dust settled, taking the victory in the Classic American Muscle class.
That’s just a tase of the action. Complete class results can be found here:
ProSolo Challenge Action
The ProSolo Challenges (all Presented by Vitour) were the name of the game at the Brunswick ProSolo.
In the Bonus Challenge, Sam Creasey knocked off three straight Challengers to take the title. Creasey’s E Street Touring Civic topped Lisa Valera, Andrew Edgecomb, and Denis Bucher on the way to the win.
Amy Houseal took the top points in the Ladies Challenge, eliminating Audra Paradie and Meredith Brown to earn those coveted points. Houseal swept the weekend, winning the Solo National Tour, the ProSolo class, and the ProSolo Ladies Challenge in her Mazda RX-8.
Remember the SCCA Women on Track Pay it Forward award we mentioned earlier? Houseal earned that during the ProSolo by claiming the Ladies Challenge win.
Paul Brown topped Tony Savini in Solo Spec Coupe class competition, and then won three straight heads-up battles to take the Super Challenge victory. Brown beat Brad Fiore in the opening round, then dumped Matthew Braun in the semi-finals to set up a match-up with Jon Caserta. He walked through Caserta to claim the finals title and earn the Super Challenge top points.
What’s Next
The Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour and Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Series head opposite directions for their next events.
The Solo National Tour is en route to zMax Dragway for the Tire Rack SCCA Charlotte Solo National Tour, taking place June 13-15, 2025. The Tire Rack ProSolo truck, meanwhile, is off to the Midwest for the Tire Rack SCCA Toledo ProSolo at the Toledo Express Airport, with those lights turning green on June 20-22, 2025. The two series meet again over the Independence Day Weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Check out the complete schedules below.
Solo Nat Tour Calendar ProSolo Calendar
Photos by Andrew Benagh
