Not So Easy: Former Champs Taken Down at The Tire Rack SCCA Solo Tour in Packwood
For Immediate Release Not So Easy: Former Champs Taken Down at The Tire Rack SCCA Solo Tour in Packwood PACKWOOD, Wash. (July 25, 2005) - Many former SCCA Solo national champions competed in this past weekend's The Tire Rack(r) SCCA Solo National Tour in Packwood, and some earned well-deserved wins. Others were brushed aside, however, proving once again that SCCA Solo is the most competitive form of autocrossing in the world. Though he has never won at The Tire Rack(r) SCCA Solo National Championships, Kevin Dietz, of Federal Way, Wash., is no stranger to winning in SCCA Solo competition. Three-time champ Tom Kotzian, of Gladstone, Ore., found that out the hard way early on as Dietz, in the Jim's Detail Shop/K&K Racing 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, was the only Super Stock driver to break into the 48-sec. range Saturday (48.630). From there, Dietz battled some cone troubles on Sunday, but still took the win by 0.831-sec. over Kotzian's Trackside/Coachman Auto Body 2004 Corvette. Nathan Provo, of Ravensdale, Wash., finished third in a 2003 Corvette Z06. In A Stock, two-time former champion Paul Eklund, of Portland, Ore., found himself beat out by his own co-driver as Andrew Howe, of Salem, Ore., nipped Eklund by 0.345-sec. in the pair's shared Primitive Racing 2000 Honda S2000. Canadian Reijo Silvennoinen, of Calgary, Alb., earned third-place honors in his RA Silvennoinen Engineering Inc., 0.613-sec. behind Eklund. Ron Bauer, of Renton, Wash., made sure that not all former champions were left out of the winner's circle in Packwood as the 2003 D Stock winner took the top spot by 1.080 seconds in B Stock in the Kumho/Bauerspeed Racing 1995 Porsche 968 over Joe Goeke, of Kirkland, Wash. Stephen Hui, of Redmond, Wash., co-drove with Bauer and finished third, just 0.030-sec. behind Goeke's Team Butt Heat! 2005 Mazda RX-8. Also representing former title holders was five-time Solo Nationals winner Greg Fordahl, of Bremerton, Wash. Driving the Fordahl Motorsports 1984 Porsche 944 in E Stock, Fordahl (who won four consecutive titles from 1999-2002 in A and F Prepared) overcame a first-day deficit to Mike Lillejord, of Redmond, Wash., to take the class victory. Lillejord, in a 1994 Mazda Miata, wound up 0.361-sec. off of Fordahl's final time, while Jerry Jenkins, of Vancouver, Wash., took third in the Solid Design and Development 1994 Miata. Karl Coleman, of Renton, Wash., won a very tight G Stock battle in Packwood, outlasting co-driver Jacob Nygaard, of Kirkland, Wash., by only 0.137-sec. in the shared Jim's Detail Shop/K&K Racing 2005 Mini Cooper S. Jason Spore, of Bothell, Wash., was third, 0.802 in back of Nygaard while also driving a '05 Mini Cooper S. A Mini also captured the win in H Stock Ladies, where Brett Spore, of Bothell, Wash., took top honors in the Canyon Park Fitness/Jim's Detail 2002 Mini Cooper by 2.016 seconds over co-driver Kristi Brown, of Des Moines, Wash. Carol Leuty, of Federal Way, Wash., was third in the Fordahl Motorsports 2004 Ford Focus ZX3. The closest victory of the weekend distinction went to Mark McCooey, of Auburn, Wash., as he squeaked his way to the D Street Prepared win by a mere 0.079-sec. over Michael Hall, of West Richland, Wash. Almost a half-second down after the first day, McCooey nailed a class-best 49.475 in a 2001 Mercury Cougar on the final day to inch ahead of Hall. The new leader then hit two cones on his final run, but Hall, in a 1992 Nissan Sentra SE, could only manage a 49.972 on his final run, a personal best, which left him an eyelash short of McCooey. Josh Hopwood, of Portland, Ore., was third in the 2000 Acura Integra. Tune-ups for the Solo National Championships are over after this weekend, as Denver, Colo., will host the year's 11th and final The Tire Rack(r) SCCA Solo National Tour this weekend at Denver International Airport. For more information from Packwood, including full results, or for this weekend's regular season Tour finale in Denver, visit www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com/> . -30- Photo Credit: Keith Brown (c) 2005 Photo Caption: Brett Spore was among several SCCA Soloists who earned their first The Tire Rack(r) SCCA Solo National Tour win of 2005 this past weekend in Packwood, Wash. Curt K. _______________ Curtis Kitchen Public Relations Manager Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Inc. ckitchen@scca.com 800-770-2055