Final 43 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Champions crowned in Lincoln

With rain threatening but never steadily falling throughout the day at the Lincoln Airpark, and additional 43 drivers earned their autocross National Championships on Friday at the 42nd Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships.

Friday was the final day of competition for the four-day event, and the second day of heats for the drivers competing in the Thursday and Friday portion of the event.Heat One HighlightsOn the East Course, Doug Rowse, of Phoenix, Ariz., needed every bit of the time he posted on the final run to win D Street Prepared, taking his third National Championship by just 0.017-second in the No. 92 Hoosier/Evolution/Cortez BMW 330.“It was just the last run,” Rowse said. “Everyone is so evenly matched in this class. We were sitting there basically all stacked together, the top four of us were all within two-tenths of each other yesterday. Today, it basically just came down to one run and being really aggressive, really early on the throttle, and being on time for the transition stuff.“It means a lot. Especially with the group of guys we have here, it’s been fantastic. John [Vitamvas, in second place]has been developing this car for quite a while, and now he’s really coming up to speed. Between he and Julian [Garfield, third place], they’re lightning fast, and it means a lot to be able to beat somebody that’s at that kind of level.”Bartek Borowski, of Elmwood Park, Ill., sent the E Street R class out with his fifth consecutive National Championship in the class before the full conversion to street tires for next year.“It was good to close off a very successful year in the R Compound world, where this car has been a blast on the Hoosiers,” Borowski said. “The nicest feeling about it is being able to do it once more on the sticky tires.”In SS, Chris Cox, of Morgan Hill, Calif., picked up the pace to secure himself top class honors in his No. 178 Porsche GT3. Cox is no stranger to winning at the Tire Rack Solo Nationals, but it has not happened since 2005 in a different class. On the more technical West Course, Cox was able to erase his deficit and beat out overnight leader John Ma in the No. 30 Clingongrip.com Lotus Elise by 0.062-second.“I’ll tell you a phrase that sticks,” Cox said. “Tom Kotzian says this every year, ‘Whenever I leave Super Stock, I miss it dearly. This is the premiere class to run and everyone wants to win it.’“He’s right, this is the class everyone wants to win. I may be a little biased, since I’ve been in this class for the past five or six year and tried mightily to win, but I think this is the one everyone wants to win.”Heat Two HighlightsChristopher Mayfield, of Fort Collins, Colo., was able to edge his co-driver, Pirelli World Challenge driver Robert Thorne, for the B Street Prepared title driving the No. 80 3R Auto Racing/Weston Auto Gallery/Thanks Robert! Honda S2000. All that separated the two racers was 0.038-second in the consolidated times. Between the two drivers, Thorne was the best on the East Course. But, Mayfield was able to make the most of his time on the more technical West Course.“I didn’t get out here until about 7 o’clock, on Wednesday night,” Mayfield said. “I felt like I was running behind this whole week. I got one course walk in on Wednesday and didn’t do very well on Thursday. Robert [Thorne] had me by quite a bit, and I knew I had to come out here and get things moving.“On my first run the tires were cold, and I was way off the pace. We were also fighting with the sound meter to make sure we were under the specified level. We were doing everything but what we usually do, which is focus on the driving and the car. I sat down before my second run, put my helmet on a few minutes before the run, and calmed myself down. Then, I was really able to do what I needed to do by carrying speed and making my car skinny through the slaloms.”Ron Bauer, of Seatac, Washington, won an absolutely thrilling D Prepared battle that could have gone either of three directions on the final runs of the East Course. Steve Hoelscher set the mark in the No. 27 Race-Keeper/TerrieHoward.com Toyota MR2 with the fastest class time of the day on his final run, but could only watch as Bauer crossed the line to move 0.271-second in front. Just a few seconds later, the No. 196 K&K Racing/Tight-N-Tidy Racing/Jim's Detail/ChaseRace Mazda Miata of Keith Brown crossed, but didn’t improve his time and remained just 0.009-second behind Hoelscher to complete the podium.“I feel awesome,” Bauer said. “Steve [Hoelscher] put it together on his first run today, and really made it work. I run against Keith [Brown]all the time. We had four of us from the Northwest Region all in the top five at the end of yesterday. I’ve been running really fast at home but the cold temperatures today was not to our benefit. I won back in D Stock in 2004, but it was one of those issues where we had a dry day and the second day was wet. I was able to take the win this year, but it’s always a little tainted when you’re dealing with rain. To basically go out there today and have the wettest of all the runs be my fastest, it just meant a whole lot. And having my best buddies here in DP around to be able to share it with is fantastic.”The fastest time of the day on the East came, unsurprisingly, from the A Modified class, where Dan Wasdahl, of Massillon, Ohio, took his sixth A Mod National Championship. Wasdahl’s two-day time of 97.725 was 3.635-second ahead of his closest competition.Heat Three HighlightsRain tried to play havoc with the Heat 3 drivers, and the short shower followed by drying conditions made sure that each driver got at least one run to let it all hang out, even if the others were more difficult.No one felt the nerves of that more than Mark Daddio, of Beacon Falls, Connecticut, who had to battle more than the changing conditions in his brand-new No. 27 Chevrolet Corvette. Daddio, now an eleven time National Champion after this A Street win, held off the charge of Ryan Otis and Glenn Hernandez to win by 0.309 and 0.481-second, respectively.“I’m relieved,” Daddio said. “It was kind of a nail biter there. Ryan [Otis, the runner-up]and I’s third runs got rained on, and we were way off the pace. So it came down to our second runs, and my second run and Ryan’s second run were both close. Glenn [Hernandez, third place]’s third run, it dried out again. He got me today, but I had him yesterday.“It was more nail biting for me because I’d never driven this car in the rain, because I just got the car, and I’d never driven these tires in the rain, so I had no clue what was going to happen. My fellow competitors were nice enough to tell me air pressures and what to expect, so I’m getting acclimated quick.”Matthew Glagola, of Atlanta, Ga., was able to make a significant turnaround from his performance on Thursday in Super Street Modified. His overnight deficit to the class leader was a manageable 0.625-second while driving his No. 88 Lotus Elise. Glagola claimed the Championship with a 0.158-second margin of victory.“Coming into this week it was about making a no excuse car,” Glagola said. “I was just going to drive the best I could and see where I placed.“Yesterday, Tom O’Gorman drove my car and I got to see the in-car footage of it and I realized left foot braking is not needed in this car. I got lucky with a dry second run, today. Everything came together, and that’s just luck.”Heat Four HighlightsBrian Coulson, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, came from second in the A Street R class to take his first National Championship, posting the best time of the day in the No. 148 Hoosier/StranoParts.com Chevrolet Corvette and then watching Paul Kozlak, Jeff Jacobs and Tony Savini try to top him on their final runs. Kozlak, the Thursday leader, came the closest, but fell just 0.164-second short and an emotional Coulson took the top prize.“I don’t know how to feel,” Coulson said. “Last year I was kind of in the mix, but I fell behind the second day. After first runs, that’s what was happening today. I managed to tune it out and focus on the execution and that second run was just magic. It was enough to hold up. I can’t believe it. I never thought I’d be here.”Anne Robinson, of Highland, Indiana, used her first day lead in D Prepared Ladies to carry through the final day to her fourth National Championship and second in a row. Robinson’s No. 84 Indiana Plastic Surgery Toyota MR2 Spyder wasn’t the quickest on Friday, as that honor went to runner-up Tami Daniels, but Robinson held on by 0.426-second.“It’s been a rough couple of days,” Robinson said. “I really get very stressed about these. It’s fun, but it’s also very hard and I don’t sleep much so it’s nice to have it done and with a good result. I feel good about that. Tami Daniels and I have traded over the years, and knowing there’s only three people in class you win or you don’t get a trophy. I wanted to test myself. It was a little unfortunate for her that her car broke, she didn’t get to drive her own car. I don’t know that I did the best I could do, but I did enough to get out alive.”Amanda Hahn, of Littleton, Colorado, won her second consecutive jacket in BSPL at the controls of her No. 80 3rAuto.com/CorSportUSA.com/EAPW.com Honda S2000. Following three runs on the East Course, Hahn held the lead. On the West Course, she grew her lead to 2.235 seconds over Lana Tsurikova in the No. 27 Lang Motorsport/Ratchet Head/OS Giken BMW M3.“I’m very excited to have been able to repeat as National Champion,” Hahn said. “It was a good day, and the car was doing everything I wanted it to once the tires got up to temperature. Once that happened, I was able to put in a fast, clean run. Watching other drivers on course, it seemed like being clean was most important today.“It was nice to have a full class this year. Having four National Champions as the competition was also great because it showed me I can compete with them. I hadn’t realized Patty Tunnell and Jodi Fordahl were going to be entered, so it was a little bit of a surprise. But, I didn’t let it get to me too much.”Heat Five HighlightsNo one knows how sweet a National Championship can be after falling just short better than Holly Schwedler, of Lakewood, Ohio, who has narrowly missed a title for four consecutive years before locking down the H Street Ladies crown this year. Schwedler won by 1.648 seconds for her first National Championship.“I’m beyond excited excited!” Schwedler said. “This is my fifth Nationals, and every year I’ve been the runner-up until now. I don’t even know what to say. I was just hoping for dry runs. I run really well in the wet, in general, but the course just looked so fun.”Dave Montgomery, of Cincinnati, Ohio, picked up last year’s F Prepared winning Porsche 914/6 and added to its lore, winning his first National Championship by just 0.292-second over Troy Acosta.“I didn’t come here expecting to win,” Montgomery said. “I knew the car was good enough to win, but I had some really stiff competition all year. I am just over the moon, I’m so excited. I was nervous after yesterday because it was like a reset button between me and Troy. I came into today just thinking I had to nail it. I must have gone over the course 100 times in my mind. And then there was the threat of weather, so I was just a big ball of stress all day.”In Street Modified, Todd Kean, of Wallingford, Conn., came from behind to win his first National Championship at the wheel of the No.99 G-Fab Racing Nissan 240sx. Kean overcame his day-one deficit and finished with a 1.645-second margin of victory over Jason Merritt.“I’ve only driven the car a handful of times this season,” Kean said. “I got some good pointers from other drivers that ran earlier in the day and earlier in the week. I knew that the car had the pace to get it done. Today, with the weather, my primary goal was to get a clean run in on the first run and then just work from there to get a little bit faster without getting too crazy in pushing it.“This is something I’ve been working toward for years. I’ve been coming out most of the time with a darkhorse car—not the car for the class, or broken cars. It’s been a struggle. This really means a lot to me. P.J. [Corrales] has done a wonderful job putting the car together, putting me in Street Mod instead of SSM.”More information on the Tire Rack SCCA National Championship is available at www.scca.com/solonationals.LINCOLN, Neb. – The National Champion in each of the 43 classes (plus one supplemental classes) competing Thursday and Friday in the 42nd Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Championships at the Lincoln Airpark with class, winning driver, hometown, car, and total number of National Championships.A Modified: Dan Wasdahl, Massillon, Ohio, BBR/Phantom, third consecutive AM National Champioship, sixth overall.A Street: Mark Daddio, Beacon Falls, Conn., Chevrolet Corvette, 11th Natonal Championship.A Street Ladies: Lacey Otis, Scappoose, Ore., Chevrolet Corvette, first National Championship.A Street R: Brian Coulson, Idaho Falls, Idaho, Chevrolet Corvette, first National Championship.A Street Prepared: Bill Rogerson, Seeleys Bay, Ontario, Subaru STI, first National Championship.A Street Prepared Ladies: Chrisine Grice, Redondo Beach, Calif., Mitsubishi Evo, seventh National Championship.B Street: Lane Borg, San Angelo, Texas, Chevrolet Corvette, second National Championship.B Street Ladies: Barbara LeRoy-Boehme, San Diego, Calif., Mazda MX-5, second consecutive National Championship.B Street Prepared: Christopher Mayfield, Fort Collins, Colo., Honda S2000, second National Championship.B Street Prepared Ladies: Amanda Hahn, Littleton, Colo., Honda S2000, second consecutive BSPL National Championship.C Street Prepared: Billy Davis, New Haven, Conn., Mazda Miata, first National Championship.C Street Prepared Ladies: Gretchen Austin, Minneapolis, Minn., Mazda Miata, second National Championship.D Prepared: Ron Bauer, Seatac, Wash., Mazda MX-5, second National Championship.D Street Prepared: Doug Rowse, Phoenix, Ariz., BMW 330, third National Championship.E Prepared: Chris Dorsey, Littleton, Colo., Toyota Corolla, fifth National Championship.E Prepared Ladies: Deanne Caraballo, Modesto, Calif., Toyota Starlet, third National Championship.E Street: Eric Peterson, Hillsborough, N.C., Toyota MR2 Spyder, first National Championship.E Street Ladies: Jennifer Bedell, Hillsborough, N.C., Toyota MR2 Spyder, first National Championship.E Street R: Bartek Borowski, Elmwood Park, Ill., Mazda Miata, seventh National Championship.F Modified: Darren Seltzer, Orlando, Fla., Raptor F500, second consecutive National Championship.F Modified Ladies: Michelle Quinn, Dublin, Ohio, KBS Mk7, fifth consecutive FML National Championship.F Prepared: Dave Montgomery, Cincinnati, Ohio, Porsche 914/6, first National Championship.F Street: David Corsaro, Denville, N.J., Chevrolet Camaro, first National Championship.F Street Ladies: Jackie Mutschler, Houston, Texas, Chevrolet Camaro, first National Championship.G Street: Mark Scroggs, San Ramon, Calif., Ford Focus ST, first National Championship.G Street Ladies: Laura Harbour, Stamping Ground, Ky., Toyota Celica, second National Championship.H Street: Greg Reno, Lawrence, Kan., Mini Cooper, third consecutive HS National Championship, third overall.H Street Ladies: Holly Schwedler, Lakewood, Ohio, Mini Cooper, first National Championship.Street Modified: Todd Kearn, Bristol, Conn., Nissan 240sx, first National Championship.Street Modified Ladies: Laurie Hyman, Fall City, Wash., Nissan GT-R, second consecutive National Championship.Street Modified FWD: Andy Hollis, Austin, Texas, Honda CRX, fifth National Championship.Street Modified FWD Ladies: Rachel Baker, Westford, Mass., Honda CRX Si, first National Championship.Street Touring Compact: Ron Williams, Topeka, Kan., Honda Civic Si, fourth National Championship.Street Touring Compact Ladies: Nicole Wong, Moorpark, Calif., Honda Civic Si, first National Championship.Street Touring Sport: Andrew Canak, Milwaukee, Wis., Mazda Miata, first National Championship.Street Touring Sport Ladies: Lily Liu, Gardena, Calif., Honda CRX Si, first National Championship.Super Street: Chris Cox, Morgan Hill, Calif., Porsche GT3, fourth National Championship.Super Street Modified: Matthew Glagola, Atlanta, Ga., Lotus Elise, second National Championship.Super Street Prepared: Ryan Johnson, Draper, Utah, Lotus Elise, first National Championship.Super Street Prepared Ladies: Jocelin Huang, Edina, Minn., Porsche 911 Turbo, second National Championship.Super Street R: G.J. Dixon, Scarsdale, N.Y., Porsche GT3, third consecutive National Championship.Super Street R Ladies: Shelly Monfort, Saratoga, Calif., Chevrolet Corvette, sixth National Championship.X Prepared: Fred Zust, Tempe, Ariz., Lotus Elise, sixth National Championship.Supplemental ClassFormula SAE: Christopher Moulckers, Arlington, Texas, UTA FSAE.Image: Dave Montgomery took the F Prepared National title.Credit: Rupert Berrington