Water Fight: Cool, Soggy Conditions Rule Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships Day Three

For Immediate Release

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 15, 2005) - As the chilly rain fell, a few choice
names were given to Mother Nature Wednesday morning as the second half
of the 2005 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships got underway at
Forbes Field.   Whatever monikers were bestowed, however, fair should
have been one of them as Thursday ran under much of the same conditions
that befuddled other Soloists on Tuesday. 

 

If there was a positive to running in the cool and damp conditions, it
may have been the resulting separation, or lack thereof, between several
class leaders and the rest of their respective fields.

 

A Solo National Champion in 2001, B Stock Ladies competitor Anna
Hedly-Goeke, of Kirkland, Wash., improved her time with each attempt in
her Team Butt Heat! 2005 Mazda RX-8, ending up with a 62.498, which was
good enough for a slight 0.067-sec. lead over Annie Bauer, of Renton,
Wash., going into tomorrow.  Bauer, in her Kumho/Bauerspeed Racing 1995
Porsche 968 (the only non RX-8 in the class), is in second by a much
larger margin over current third-place holder Jennifer Isley, of Ladera
Ranch, Calif., who is 1.849 seconds back in her Kumho
Motorsports/Mazdaspeed 2005 Mazda RX-8.

 

While BSL is close, things are nearly as tight in Street Touring Xtreme
as Steve Rankins, of Huntersville, N.C., used a fantastic first run
(66.008) to jump on top of the class leaderboard with one day remaining.
In his Boxer4racing/Subaru/Continental 2000 Subaru Impreza RS, Rankins
leads the motor-force.com 1992 BMW 325is driven by Tommy Regan, of
Leander, Texas, by just 0.085-sec.  Joshua Sortor, of Glendale, Ariz.,
isn't far behind in third, trailing Regan in his
Progressauto.com/Yokohama/5Zig 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX by only
0.163-sec.

 

A Mazda tops more than one class as Peter Maassardjian, of Escondido,
Calif., has his Carvin/Mazda/Hoosier/ARE/7part 1993 Mazda RX-7 in front
of the B Prepared ranks by 0.139-sec. over co-driver Jeff Kielsel, of
Poway, Calif.  Stan Whitney, of Frisco, Texas, is further back in third
place after day one, trailing Kiesel by 0.606-sec. in his LG
Motorsports/Janco/ARE 2004 Chevrolet Corvette.   Running the oldest car
in the class (Reliable Car Shop 1966 Chevrolet Corvette), Randy Dale
Herrick, of Topeka, Kan., is fourth, 0.523-sec. behind Whitney and 1.268
seconds off of Maassardjian's pace.

 

Of continental U.S. competitors, A Stock competitor Paul Kozlak, of
Litchfield, Maine, may have traveled the farthest to come to Topeka.  At
least through the first day of his class' competition, the trip appears
to have been worth it for the seven-time National Champ as his Red Haus
Racing 1997 Porsche 993 leads AS by 0.136-sec. over two-time B Stock
Champ Jason Saini, of Lake Forest, Ill.  

 

Saini, in his over6racing.com/Motorsport-Exchange 2001 Honda S2000, won
B Stock in 2003 and last year and has a 0.531-sec. advantage over
third-place driver Mike Bullis, of Lake in the Hills, Ill., in his
Frohman Racing/R&R Autoglass 1995 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. 

 

After winning the Hawk Performance Super Challenge portion of Tire Rack
SCCA ProSolo National Series Finale last weekend, James Gunn-Wilkinson,
of San Diego, Calif., is halfway to making his Topeka stay a lot
sweeter.  With three runs remaining, Gunn-Wilkinson, in his Maxwell
Racing/Kumho 2002 Porsche GT2, holds a sizable 1.348-sec. lead over
Geoff Newman, of Brier, Wash. (Fordahl/Barstow/Netversant 1999 Porsche
911).  Jeff Barstow, of Federal Way, Wash., is co-driving the Newman
Porsche and is 0.637-sec. behind his teammate.  

 

The 2005 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships come to a close
Friday as the final 32 classes crown their champions.  Competition
begins at 8 a.m. (CDT) Friday at Forbes Field and will finish in the
afternoon. 

 

For schedule information and complete results when they become
available, visit www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com/> .