There was a sizzling party July 3-7, 2024, in the northeast corner of Tennessee during SCCA’s Solo® Summer Nationals, which consisted of the Tire Rack SCCA® Bristol ProSolo® and Tire Rack SCCA Bristol Solo National Tour. Both experiences were hosted by SCCA’s Eastern Tennessee Region at the famed Bristol Motor Speedway – and, it should be added, the action didn’t disappoint.
Getting things cranking, the Region prepped an Independence Day fajita chicken wrap dinner for Wednesday night’s welcome party, followed on Friday evening with burgers and hotdogs grilled by SCCA National Staff, plus banana splits and an ice cream social provided by JXB Performance. There’s always lots of mouths to feed in Bristol, as many enthusiasts love the venue that includes creek-side paddock parking and copious space to create open, fast asphalt courses that feature plenty of grippage.
The party also included recognition of the 2022 and 2023 Kelly Cup award winners. The Kelly Cup is presented to SCCA members who show extraordinary dedication and contribution to a Regional Solo Events Program. Kelly Cup finalists are chosen by the Solo Development Advisory Committee from nominations submitted by the membership at large, with the recipient selected by the Solo Events Board (SEB). The 2022 Kelly Cup was shared by Nick and Caitlin Dunlap from SCCA’s Central Florida Region. The 2023 Kelly Cup was awarded to Ray Brake of SCCA’s Middle Georgia Region.
The SCCA Women on Track Driver Development Program aids one randomly selected woman at each Solo National Tour and ProSolo Series event with a one-on-one, 30-minute virtual coaching session from a top-tier autocrosser to help drivers meet their performance driving goals. The ProSolo recipient in Bristol was (completely coincidentally) Caitlin Dunlap, who drove a 1999 Mazda Miata to victory in Ladies Class 1 after tutelage from Donour Sizemore. The Solo National Tour recipient in Bristol was F Street Prepared competitor Andrea Albin, who got pointers from Eric Peachey.
The Howard Duncan ProSolo Greenlight Fund also awarded A Street driver Trae Larkin and Street 4’s Tim Pearson with complimentary first appearance experiences at the Bristol ProSolo. Donations made to the SCCA Foundation can be earmarked specifically for the Greenlight Fund here.
Bristol ProSolo Competition
With nearly 250 entrants taking part in the ProSolo, there were lots of competitors on hand to enjoy the asymmetrical courses designed by Jeff Cox. The weather played nice for the most part during Thursday’s ProSolo action, with temperatures being relatively normal for summertime in Tennessee. However, things took a turn on Friday as thunderstorms rolled through and caused delays, ultimately bringing the competition to a premature end.
The largest field was C Street, where Mazda Miatas and MX-5s were the predominant weapon of choice, sweeping all nine trophies in the class with 31 drivers. The incredibly close contest came down to 0.013sec, with Andrew Aul taking the win over runner-up Christian Kolmers. Only 0.014sec behind in third was Will Teller. Fourth was claimed by Rick Cone, and 0.014sec behind him was Rob Clark in fifth. Jack Crissey was sixth, only 0.05sec off Clark, then came Dennis Sparks, who was only 0.074sec slower than Crissey. Chris Harp, who was co-driving with Crissey, was eighth; and rounding out the trophies in ninth was Steven Matchett.
(Sporting a massive field and great drivers, C Street competition was fun to watch.)
The Classic American Muscle (CAM) field, consisting of 20 entries, had an equally tight battle. Michael Hogate, in a 1970 Chevrolet Nova, took the CAM victory by only 0.02sec over a 2019 Chevrolet Camaro driven by John Ward. The third-place finisher was Dave Whitworth in a 2012 Ford Mustang, and 0.049sec behind in fourth was Terry Neuville in a 2021 Chevrolet Camaro. Finishing fifth was Jon Nwanagu in a 1999 Chevrolet Camaro, and 0.020sec behind that was Krzysztof Zielinski who claimed the sixth and final trophy in a 2018 Ford Mustang.
Continuing the theme of close finishes was F Street (FS) and its field of 13 drivers that saw a few lead swaps. The winning margin there was 0.073sec, with victory claimed by Sam Strano in a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1. The runner-up spot went to Chad Englert in a 2022 Ford Mustang, and 0.072sec back in third was Brian Karwan driving a 2021 Chevrolet Camaro SS. The fourth and final FS trophy went to Tim Mason in a 2024 Ford Mustang.
The 18-entrant Solo Spec Coupe class kept things interesting, too, in a fleet of Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ cars. Darrin DiSimo emerged the victor by 0.074sec over Paul Brown. Third went to Joey Green, and fourth was David Spratte who was co-driving with DiSimo. Tony Savini completed his two days of fun only 0.052sec back in fifth, and Ricky Crow was a very slight 0.008sec behind in the sixth and final trophy position.
Super Street had a good time in Tennessee with the top three finishers all in Porsche GT4s. Jay Balducci earned a 0.115sec win over Patrick Gaffney in the 11-entrant field. The third-place finisher, Balducci’s co-driver Jason Bucki, was only 0.014sec behind. Then 0.008sec back in the fourth and final trophy spot was David Entz driving a 2015 Porsche GT3.
With 15 entrants, the Street 3 class had fun as well. The top two spots went to Toyota Supras, with David Marcus eking out a 0.035sec victory over Charles Krampert. Donour Sizemore finished third in a 2011 Lotus Evora, but co-driver Jessica Lewis was only 0.027sec back in fourth. The fifth and final trophy went to Mike King in a 2013 Mazda MX-5.
The Ladies classes were well subscribed at the Bristol ProSolo with nearly 40 entrants across the four different segments. Fourteen of those fun-loving drivers made up the Ladies 2 group, which was won by Laura Marcus in a 2021 Toyota Supra. Cindy Duncan was second and Ivy Chang third, with both driving 2024 Ford Mustangs. Emily Whitaker, in a 2022 Toyota GR86, finished fourth; and the fifth and final trophy went to Jo Jadeke in a 2021 Honda Civic Type R.
(The Ladies 2 group was a fun one, with Laura Marcus (third from the right) taking the win.)
The Ladies Challenge came down to Ladies Class 3 winner Kim Whitener and Chris Peterson, both in Scion FR-Ss. Whitener came out ahead for the victory; and the third-place runoff was won by Laney Blume, driving a 2018 Honda Civic Si, over Jordan Towns in a 2024 Mazda Miata.
Unfortunately, the lightning storm that rolled in Friday afternoon made it impossible to conduct a Bonus Challenge at Bristol, and only a portion of the Super Challenge had been completed when competition was stopped for safety’s sake. The Super Challenge winner was determined by seeding from the previous completed round, so Eric Peterson was crowned the winner in his 2003 Toyota Spyder.
Click the button below for a complete rundown of Bristol ProSolo results.
Solo National Tour Action at Bristol
If you thought the ProSolo was happening, the driver count went up for the next two days at the Tire Rack Bristol Solo National Tour.
The weather remained hot and humid, but the storms from the conclusion of the ProSolo cleared out and left the Sam Strano-designed courses dry. This allowed for an impressive 309 drivers to whip through the courses at the pace of roman candles, one right after another.
C Street went an incredible 34 deep at Bristol, which means Rob Clark’s victory was hard earned. Clark led both days, but held off a late charge from Will Teller to taste victory in his Mazda MX-5. In fact, all but two C Street competitors drove Mazda MX-5s, meaning all 10 trophy winners – which included Andrew Ferrara, Jack Crissey, Andrew Aul, Christian Kolmers, Rick Cone, Brock Clayton, Chris Harp, and Frank Forcino – were all piloting ND-generation MX-5s.
(Perhaps thanks to the JXB-sponsored ice cream social, Rob Clark won C Street at the Solo National Tour.)
The second largest field of the event came in F Street, with 19 drivers battling for six trophies – and at least early on, cones were the name of the game. Eventual class winner Chad Englert put down a solid run in a Ford Mustang, but with a cone. Likewise, eventual second-place finisher Sam Strano’s first run in his Mustang Mach 1 also carried a cone. In fact, of those who eventually claimed the six trophies, four drivers collected a total of six cones on their first runs. Over the course of two days, that top six hit a total of 28 cones.
How about this for Joe Walker’s first Solo National Tour win in Street Touring Hatch? After two days and six runs, he and Dustin Jones came in at a dead heat – to the thousandth of a second. The tie breaker, and the winner’s medal, went to Walker. Sporting only three starters, this showdown proved that you don’t need a giant field for nail-biting action.
C Prepared was another case of a relatively small field bringing the drama. Shane Irving was trailing into the final runs, but drove past Robert Lewis on that last run to take victory. When Lewis caught a cone on his final run, that left the door open for Irving’s Mustang, and he barged right through with the quickest time in class on the day. The margin of victory was an impressive 0.489sec. Just as impressive was the gap the third – Irving and Lewis had roughly four seconds on the rest of the competition.
(Shane Irving pulled off the CP win on his final run of the event.)
The Ladies Street Tire Bump class was packed, with 16 women battling for top honors. Up front, it was Jen Fox in a Mazda MX-5 leading the field from first runs on. At the end, she led the five trophy finishers with a clean 0.500sec margin over Emily Brown, also in an MX-5, with Jessi Williams another 0.102sec back in a Honda Civic Si. Emily Whitaker and Kelley Peterson rounded out the final two trophy spots in Toyotas, with Whitaker in a GR96 and Peterson in an MR-2 Spyder.
Check out the event results for more of the class battles.
Westward Ho for National Solo
The Tire Rack SCCA National Solo program now heads 2,600 miles west to Washington for a back-to-back weekend in Packwood at Hampton Mills. Those events open with the July 12-14, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Packwood Solo National Tour; followed a few days later by the July 19-21, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Packwood ProSolo.
It should be noted that Packwood will be the final ProSolo prior to the Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Championship Finale in Nebraska at Lincoln Airpark, with Tier 1 registration for the ProSolo Finale opening on Wednesday, July 31 at 3 p.m. CT. Packwood is also the last shot competitors have to enhance their regular season ProSolo Points Championship tallies.
For the Solo National Tour, there are a few more parties planned between Packwood and September’s Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships in Nebraska. That includes the July 26-28, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Chicago Solo National Tour at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL; the Aug. 2-4, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Romulus Solo National Tour at Seneca Army Depot in Western New York; and the Aug. 9-11, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA Grissom Solo National Tour at Grissom Aeroplex in Bunker Hill, IN.
More info on SCCA ProSolo can be found here, and additional info about SCCA’s Solo National Tour can be accessed here.
Also, follow the Tire Rack SCCA National Solo Facebook page for the latest news.
Photo by Eric Peache
