Tire Rack Solo Nationals crowns final winners

Friday's fourth day of competition at the 43rd Annual Tre Rack SCCA Solo National Championships Presented by Garmin VIRB, marked the end of the annual season-ending event for 2015. A total of 32 drivers had the title of National Champion bestowed upon them.

Weather conditions for the final two days of the event closely resembled that of the first two days. Wet conditions made their impact felt during the first day of racing, while day two featured sunny skies. Here is a summary of the big stories on each course.West CourseIn Heat One, David Whitener overcame a variety of weather conditions from two days to take home his third Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship. Heading into Friday's three runs, Whitener planned to throw down a fast lap and cruise the rest of the competition. Whitener did that, holding the lead after each driver had taken their first run on the West Course. Whitener then shaved off 1.1 seconds on his second run, which ended up securing his title bid by a 1.170-second margin.D Modified ran in Heat Two as Jeff Cashmore looked like he may cruise to another National Championship title, but that was until the drama occurred. Cashmore put in a stout first run, but it wasn't enough of a cushion with which he was comfortable. After being unable to improve on his second run, Cashmore was hoping for a solid third run to seal the deal. However, on the approach to the finish line, Chashmore's car failed him before he could cross the finish line. Fortunately for Cashmore, his first run was enough to earn him the title over Mark Huffman by 0.253-second.C Prepared is a class known to be hard on equipment. This year's event was nothing different. Eventual champion Mike Maier started the day in third, a place with which he is unaccustomed to at this event. With day one of competition not going his way, Maier said he knew day two would need to be different. However following his second run, that did not seem in the cards. On lap two, Maier's car failed to complete the run because of a broken drive shaft. After replacing the part on the grid with only hand tools, jacks and jack stands, Maier started his third run knowing if he were to capture another title it would come down to this. Maier ripped off a sub 61-second lap, the only one turned in the class on day two. That proved enough to erase his overnight deficit and take the win.In Heat Three, Patrick Salerno started the second day of competition not satisfied with the handling of his Super Street Porsche 911 GT3. Taking the lead on the faster East Course, Salerno said he was battling a tight handling condition all day. In preparation for Friday's more technical West Course, Salerno elected to raise his air pressure in the tires to help the car get around the more technical West Course. It helped, as Salerno set the fastest time on the course while his closest competition, Jacob Dawson, hit two cones on his final run. Salerno walked away with a 0.990-second margin of victory over Dawson.Dave Ogburn made up some serious ground during Friday's three runs during Heat Four on the West Course. Ogburn left the competition site, on Thursday night, as the third place driver in C Street. While other drivers in the class seemed to have issues on the West Course, Ogburn quickly determined what he needed to do on the quicker course and took it from there consistently running faster laps. In the end, he took the championship by 0.453-second over Chris Fenter.Following the terminal damage suffered by their D Modified machine, it wasn't looking good for Denise Cashmore to even make an attempt to claim the D Modified Ladies national crown in Heat Five. Fortunately, Del Long stepped up by allowing Cashmore to drive his car during the final three runs of the competition. After getting accustomed to a car that she had never driven, Cashmore put on a display of skill by taking the DML title by 0.942-second.East CourseIn F Street Prepared Ladies during Heat One, Brittany Edwards captured her first National Championship in only her second trip to the event. She also did it in a car that many felt was not the car to have for the class. Edwards said she tried to push too hard on her first attempt at the East Course. She backed it off a bit and put down a killer second run. She then went out and put an even better lap together on her third run to take home the title.Kencey Christopher made her third, and final, run of 2015 in Kart Modified Ladies count. After two runs, Dana Gill had gotten herself within striking distance of the lead. Christopher then brought out her A-game and put down an untouchable final run. She ended up claiming her first national title by 2.044 seconds.In Heat Two, Nick Bjoin completed the come-from-behind win in Street Touring Roadster. After starting day two in second, Bjoin tried to hit a homerun on his first look at the East Course. Instead, he hit two cones and incurred a four-second penalty. On his second run Bjoin took it easy to get a clean run on the board, but that did not do much when the class leader ran a faster time. For Bjoin, his National Championship hopes rested on his last run. In one fell swoop, Bjoin erased his deficit and took the class lead while Kevin Dietz coned his final run away. Bjoin's margin of victory was 0.060-second.Annie Gill had a fairly straight-forward approach in her defense of the Street Touring Xtreme Ladies title going into her third run: don't hit stuff. Gill ended Thursday's competition after completing two clean runs. However, on her third run, in Heat Three, she took out a single cone incurring the two-second penalty. That fortune transferred over to Friday's runs on the East Course. Gill hit one cone on each of her first two runs. That wasn't going to cut it with a National Championship on the line. Gill was able to complete her third run cleanly, boosting her to a seventh career title.In Heat Three, Kart Modified saw a familiar driver at the top of the standings. Paul Russell said his team has serious issues finding the correct setup for his kart on the East Course. The bumps and seams in the pavement were difficult to negotiate and Russell admitted he felt much more comfortable about his chances of repeating after Thursday. Friday went much better on the West Course as Russell set a scorching opening lap in the low 48-second range, then spent the rest of the day in the 47s and went on to win by 1.744 seconds over Daniel Wendel.In E Modified, Jeff Kiesel did not have the Tire Rack Solo Nationals week he was expecting. The rain that fell in the early part of Thursday's first runs of Heat Five left Kiesel, and many other front-running drivers, in the lurch. Kiesel was only able to get a single dry run in the books, and that included a one-cone penalty. On Friday, under clear skies, Kiesel showed why he has become such an institution in the class by running a best lap that was more than one second faster than the next closest diver. With top times from Thursday and Friday added together, Kiesel finished ahead of day-one leader Jason Minehart by 0.431-second.To find additional information on the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships Presented by Garmin VIRB, including full results, visit SCCA.com/SoloNats.LINCOLN, Neb. – The National Champion in each of the 32 classes (plus four supplemental classes) competing on Thursday and Friday in the 43rd Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Championships presented by Garmin VIRB at the Lincoln Airpark with class, winning driver, hometown, car, and total number of National Championships.A Street: James Yom, Los Angeles, Chevrolet Corvette, second National Championship.A Street Ladies: Jami Olerich, Fairview, Ore., Chevrolet Corvette, first National Championship, in second attempt.C Street: Dave Ogburn, Henrico, Va., Scion FR-S, second National Championship.C Street Ladies: Rachel Kerswill, Reno, Nev., Mazda RX-8, second consecutive CSL National Championship.D Street: Max Hayter, Mission Viejo, Calif., Subaru WRX, first National Championship.D Street Ladies: Kristen Acharya, Ramona, Calif., Subaru WRX, first National Championship in first attempt.G Street: Mark Scroggs, San Ramon, Calif., Ford Focus ST, second consecutive GS National Championship in second Nationals.G Street Ladies: Laura Harbour, Stamping Ground, Ky., Toyota Celica GT, third National Championship, second consecutive GSL title.Super Street: Patrick Salerno, Danbury, Conn., Porsche 911 GT3, fourth National Championship.Super Street Ladies: Jocelin Huang, Edina, Minn., Porsche 911 GT3, third National Championship, second consecutive title.Street Touring FWD: David Whitener, Fort Worth, Texas, Honda Civic Si, third National Championship.Street Touring FWD Ladies: Michelle Miller, Federal Way, Wash., MINI Cooper, second consecutive STFL National Championship, third overall.Street Touring R: Nick Bjoin, Burbank, Calif., Honda S2000, first National Championship.Street Touring R Ladies: Kyung Wootton, Austin, Texas, Mazda Miata, 10th National Championship.Street Touring Ultra: Jeff Stuart, Santa Barbara, Calif., Nissan 350Z, second consecutive National Championship, second overall.Street Touring Ultra Ladies: Mina Ingraham, Lake Oswego, Ore., Subaru Impreza, first National Championship.Street Touring Xtreme: David Marcus, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Subaru BRZ, first National Championship.Street Touring Xtreme Ladies: Annie Gill, Renton, Wash., Scion FR-S, second consecutive STXL National Championship, seventh overall.F Street Prepared: Steven Duckworth, Gastonia, N.C., Volkswagen Rabbit, first National Championship in second career attempt.F Street Prepared Ladies: Brittany Edwards, Thomasville, N.C., Mazda 323, first National Championship in second career attempt.C Prepared: Mike Maier, Livermore, Calif., Ford Mustang, fourth consecutive CP National Championship, eighth overall.C Prepared Ladies: Brianne Maier, Livermore, Calif., Ford Mustang, fourth National Championship.F Prepared: Dave Montgomery, Cincinnati, Ohio, Porsche 914, second consecutive FP National Championship.*F Prepared Ladies: Charinia Jones, Grand Rapids, Ohio, Pontiac Solstice, first class win at Nationals in first attempt.Street Modified: David White, Chicopee, Mass., Nissan 240SX, third National Championship.B Modified: Matthew Ellam, San Jose, Calif., Omnifab Cheetah, first National Championship.*B Modified Ladies: Carol Burger, Noblesville, Ind., LeGrand Mk 18, first class win at Nationals.C Modified: Joshua Parker, Rindge, N.H., Reynard/Acura, first National Championship.C Modified Ladies: Krystal Lavender, Marysville, Ohio, Van Diemen, first National Championship.D Modified: Jeff Cashmore, New Berlin, Wis., Lotus 7/Honda, sixth DM National Championship, tenth championship overall.D Modified Ladies: Denise Cashmore, New Berlin, Wis., Jeep CJ, fifth National Championship, sixth Nationals win.E Modified: Jeff Kiesel, Poway, Calif., Kiesel Sprite, ninth consecutive EM National Championship, tenth overall.E Modified Ladies: Shawn Kiesel, Poway, Calif., Kiesel Sprite, sixth consecutive EML National Championship, eighth overall.Kart Modified: Paul Russell, San Diego, Tony Kart/Honda, fourth consecutive KM National Championship, eighth overall.Kart Modified Ladies: Kency Christopher, Redondo Beach, Calif., Energy Kart/Honda, first National Championship.*Formula Junior A: Zak Kiesel, Poway, Calif., Kiesel Kart, first class win at Nationals.*Formula Junior B: Mason Herrick, McPherson, Kan., CRG Kart, first class win at Nationals.Image: Matthew Ellam makes his way around the solo course at the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships at Lincoln Airpark.Credit: Rupert Berrington