36th Tire Rack Solo Nationals Close
With Final Class Championships of 2008
TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 18, 2008) -- The 36th Tire
Rack® Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships
closed Friday with its fourth-straight day of
beautiful weather at Heartland Park Topeka,
crowning the final 32 class National Champions of
the 2008 season.
Fifty-seven Super Stock class drivers saved the
best for last, with the Championship going down to
the wire. Overnight leader Lance Adams, of Austin,
Texas, couldn't find the handle on the
quick-transitioning East course with his Corvette,
and it looked like reigning Tire Rack ProSolo
Super Stock Champ Matthew Braun, of Northville,
Mich., might have the field covered with a
blistering first run in his Lotus Elise. As the
third, and final, run of the season wound down,
Pat Salerno, of New Milford, Conn., jumped into
the top spot in his Elise. His glory was
short-lived though, as Gary Thomason, of
Oceanside, Calif., laid down the fast time of the
day. Braun was the final competitor to run, and
while he improved, it was not enough--0.091-second
off Thomason's run in his Kumho Tire Porsche 911
GT3. It was Thomason's eighth National
Championship and his first since switching to a
Porsche in 2006.
Like Thomason, Ron Williams, of Topeka, Kan.,
had to come from behind to win H Stock for the
second-straight year in his MINI USA/Hoosier Tire
Mini Cooper. Other Stock class winners included
Vancouver, Washington's Jerry Jenkins, who held
his lead from Thursday to take his first title in
the America's Tire/FCM Mazda Miata and Ryan
Buetzer, of Long Beach, Calif., in C Stock driving
his Evo School/Chase Cam Mazda MX-5 MSR. Buetzer
had to high-tail it out of town right after
capturing his fourth title to make it to Iowa
Speedway for Saturday's Volkswagen TDI Cup race.
Mike King, of Jacksonville, Fla., extended his
Thursday lead to take his second-straight Street
Touring® S2 Championship in his Bridgestone Honda
CRX Si.
C and D Street Prepared featured a pair of
first-time winners from Arizona. Brian Peters, of
Litchfield Park, Ariz., erased over a half second
deficit to take his first National Championship in
the Blackwatch Racing Mazda MX-5. Doug Rowse, of
Phoenix, Ariz., held serve from a Thursday lead in
his BMW 330i to take DSP.
Mike Maier, of Livermore, Calif., had a great
effort Friday, pulling away from the C Prepared
field to take his second title in the Maier
Racing/K&N Ford Mustang by 0.541-second over
Darrel Padberg. Padberg's wife, Desiree, entered
Friday needing only 0.003-second to take over the
CP Ladies class lead in their Mustang. She did
that and more, taking her second National
Championship by 0.711-second over first day leader
Kathy Lang.
John Thomas, of Tampa, Fla., captured his open
class-record 15th National Championship by winning
F Prepared in his ZEE Racing Datsun 240Z.
In Street Modified, Andrew Lieber, of Bay City,
Mich., overtook teammate and early leader Jarrod
Hoops on his final run in their shared Showcase
Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Evo IX R by just
0.008-second to take his second Championship. It
tied for the fourth-closest finish in the 36 years
of SCCA Solo National Championship competition.
Erik Strelnieks, of Cedar Park, Texas, captured
his second-consecutive Street Modified 2 class win
in his JungleCat Racing/Hoosier/7part three-rotor
Mazda RX7, edging fellow two-time class Champion
Andrew McKee by 0.139-second.
After being runner-up three times, Dan Wasdahl,
of Massillon, Ohio, is finally a National
Champion, taking A Modified in his Mid Atlantic
Motorsports Special AM and setting the best
combined time of the four-day event of 70.398
seconds. In B Modified action, Tommy Saunders, of
Southlake, Texas, captured his 12th National
Championship. Eric Leichtle, of Coppell, Texas,
captured the Formula SAE National Championship for
the second-straight year in his University of
Texas at Arlington-built machine.
In other Ladies class action, it took Ginette
Jordan, of Terrell, N.C., 11 tries, but she
finally scored her ninth National Championship,
taking F Street Prepared in her Hoosier
Tire/Koni/RR-AX Honda Civic. Katie Elder, of
Folsom, Calif., drove her Kumho/Bilstein Honda
Civic Si to a sixth-straight STSL Championship,
giving her 11 overall. Theresa Condict, of
Lexington, Mass., came from behind to win D Street
Prepared Ladies driving the SoloRacer.com/TCKline
BMW 325i and take her first National Championship
in only her second attempt.
A total of 1072 drivers competed in the 2008
Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships.
For full results visit www.scca.com.
TOPEKA, Kan. -- National Champions from 32
classes competing Thursday and Friday in the 36th
Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships at
Heartland Park Topeka with class, driver,
hometown, car and notes. Drivers in bold with
asterisk (*) after class were not the day one
leader. Double asterisk (**) and italics denotes
that class results are under protest.
Super Stock*: Gary Thomason, Oceanside, Calif.,
Porsche 911 GT3, Eighth National Championship
Super Stock L: Danielle Engstrom, Frankfort,
Ill., Chevy Corvette; Fifth National Championship
C Stock: Ryan Buetzer, Long Beach, Calif.,
Mazda MX-5 MSR; Second-straight CS Championship,
fourth overall
C Stock L: Mary Bahr, West Salem, Wis., Pontiac
Solstice; Second National Championship
E Stock: Jerry Jenkins, Vancouver, Wash., Mazda
Miata; First National Championship
E Stock L: Meredith Brown, Los Alamos, N.M.,
Toyota MR2; Third National Championship
H Stock*: Ron Williams, Topeka, Kan., Mini
Cooper; Second National Championship. Won GS in
2007
H Stock L: Wendi Allen, Jacksonville Bch, Fla.,
Mini Cooper; Seventh Championship
Street Touring S**: Andy Hollis, Austin, Texas,
Honda Civic Si; Second National Championship
Street Touring S L: Katie Elder, Folsom,
Calif., Honda Civic Si; Sixth-straight STSL
Championship, 11th overall
Street Touring S2: Mike King, Jacksonville,
Fla., Honda CRX Si; Second-straight Championship
Street Touring S2 L*: Michelle Seelig, Edmond,
Okla., Honda CRX Si; Second-straight Championship,
fourth overall
C Street Prepared*: Brian Peters, Litchfield
Park, Ariz., Mazda MX-5; First National
Championship
C Street Prepared L: Kathy Wolfskill,
Nederland, Colo., Mazda Miata; Third National
Championship
D Street Prepared: Doug Rowse, Phoenix, Ariz.,
BMW 330i; First National Championship
D Street Prepared L*: Theresa Condict,
Lexington, Mass., BMW 325i; First National
Championship
F Street Prepared: Kevin Wenzel, Longmont,
Colo., BMW 2002; Fourth National Championship
F Street Prepared L: Ginette Jordan, Terrell,
N.C., Honda Civic; Ninth National Championship
C Prepared: Mike Maier, Livermore, Calif., Ford
Mustang; Second National Championship
C Prepared L*: Desiree Padberg, Muskego, Wis.,
Ford Mustang; Second National Championship
F Prepared: John Thomas, Tampa, Fla., Datsun
240Z; Record-extending 15th Open Class National
Championship
F Prepared L: Elizabeth Leckey, Ann Arbor,
Mich., Lotus Elise; First National Championship
Street Modified*: Andrew Lieber, Bay City,
Mich., Mitsubishi Evo 9; Second National
Championship
Street Modified L: Christine Berry, Alta Loma,
Calif., Mitsubishi Evo; Second National
Championship
Street Modified 2: Erik Strelnieks, Cedar Park,
Texas, Mazda 3-Rotor RX7; Second-straight SM2
Championship, sixth overall
Street Modified 2L: Sue Eckles, Malcolm, Neb.,
Honda S2000; First National Championship
A Modified: Dan Wasdahl, Massillon, Ohio,
Special AM; First National Championship,
three-time runner-up
B Modified: Tommy Saunders, Southlake, Texas;
Legrand Dragon; 12th National Championship
B Modified L: Brianne Corn, San Marcos, Texas,
Legrand Dragon; First National Championship
C Modified: Wendell Karr Ake, Yukon, Okla.,
Citation; Second National Championship
C Modified L: Dawn Odoi, Palatine, Ill.,
Reynard; Second National Championship
Formula SAE: Eric Leichtle, Coppell, Texas,
UTA; Second-straight National Championship
-credit: scca
