Johnson Scores Super Upset in Super Stock SCCA Solo Tour in Toledo

 

Johnson Scores Super Upset in Super Stock 

At The Tire Rack SCCA Solo Tour in Toledo

 

TOLEDO, Ohio (June 14, 2005) - Shock waves reverberated throughout the
Solo community this weekend after Michael Johnson, of Glen Allen, Va.,
stormed to a win in Super Stock at The Tire Rack(r) SCCA Solo National
Tour at Toledo Express Airport - in something other than a Corvette.

 

Occasional rain may have played a factor in slowing the Corvettes, but
Johnson's performance in a 2005 Lotus Elise still raised many eyebrows,
even opening the door to conversations that a sizable chink had been cut
into the Corvette's Super Stock armor, which had deflected virtually
every blow over the past five years.  

 

In fact, the last time something other than a Corvette won Super Stock
at The Tire Rack(r) SCCA Solo National Championships was 1999, when Erik
Strelnieks, of Austin, Texas, won while driving a Mazda RX7.   

 

Johnson's times improved nearly every time over his six clean runs,
enabling him to handily beat out Eric Heller of Uniontown, Ohio, in the
Children's Hospital/Kumho 2002 Chevrolet Corvette, by 0.538-sec.
Matthew Braun, of Northville, Mich., came in third in the PowerPlug 2004
Corvette - 0.039-sec. behind Heller.

 

In G Stock, the 2005 Mini Cooper S owned by Jeff Jacobs, of
Philadelphia, Pa., would have been mighty lonely this past weekend at
the Toledo Express Airport had it not been for G.H. Sharp, of
Kernersville, N.C.

 

With Jacobs left stranded in Philadelphia because of weather-cancelled
flights, Sharp decided to jump behind the wheel of the blue Mini of
Charleston/Miniusa.com S for the first time in his career.  From there,
he simply dominated G Stock, taking the win by 1.604 seconds over Robert
Foley, of Randolph, N.J., in his HUOA Racing 2000 Toyota Celica GT.  Jim
Ziesler, of Harrison, Ohio, finished third in his Rite Track Racing 2005
Mini Cooper S.

 

Only 0.008-sec. stood between Bradley Lamont, of Chicago, Ill., and
co-driver Erik Vandermey, of Chicago in C Stock.  Driving the
over6racing.com 1999 Mazda Miata, Lamont held on through a furious
second day charge from Vandermey and squeezed out the win.  Robert
Carpenter, of Knoxville, Tenn., earned third place, 0.381-sec. behind
Vandermey.

 

Kent Weaver, of Beavercreek, Ohio, in his Tire Discounters 2003 Ford
Mustang Mach 1, also withstood a second-day charge; his coming in F
Stock over Ron Bistrais, of West Windsor, N.J., who nearly erased a
large 0.8-sec. first-day deficit.  Bistrais, in his Evolution
Performance Driving School 1997 Chevrolet Camaro, ripped off three times
that were faster than Weaver's best effort on Sunday, but still came up
short, finishing 0.063-sec. off of Weaver's pace.  George Williams, of
Middlebury, Ind., scored two DNF's Sunday, but the lone time he
registered was good enough to put him into third - 0.108-sec. behind
Bistrais.

 

In Street Touring Sport, Robert Seelig, of Edmond, Okla., squeaked past
Craig Mankiewicz, of New Berlin, Wis.  Seelig, in the
Kumho/Carbotech/Redline 1989 Honda CRX, saved his best run of the
weekend for last as he clipped Mankiewicz's 38.597, which came in a 1993
Mazda Miata, with a 38.495 on Sunday to get the win by 0.015-sec.
Michelle Seelig, Robert's wife and co-driver, wound up third.

 

The Grissom Aeroplex in Peru, Ind., is the next stop for The Tire Rack
SCCA Solo National Tour, with the event scheduled for July 2-3.  The
next The Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo National Series event on the slate is
set for June 25-26 at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport in Oscoda, Mich.

 

For more information, visit www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com/> .