History Made on Second Day of 2005 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships
TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 14, 2005) - Many competitors at the 2005 Tire Rack(r) SCCA Solo National Championships were left shaking their heads after a harried first day of competition that included a long delay and instantaneous condition changes. Wednesday, on the other hand, was much different as skies cleared and the first Solo Champions of 2005 were crowned. Showing an amazing ability to adapt over the two-day stretch was Kyung Wootton, of Austin, Texas, who powered through Tuesday's troubles and stayed on top Wednesday in C Stock Ladies for her sixth consecutive Solo Championship. In fact, Wootton has never lost since she began coming to Topeka. So does winning ever get old? "Not yet anyways," Wootton said. "We've spent the past couple of years doing SCCA ProSolo events. They give you a lot of seat time and many top drivers are at those events, which is a plus. It sort of lets you know where you are as a driver throughout the year as you get ready for Solo Nationals." Driving her 1999 Mazda Miata, Wootton turned the CSL battle into a rout Wednesday, turning in a 54.338 - the class' best time of the day by more than 1.5 seconds. With that, Wootton beat out Tristan Kotzian-Coulter, of Hillsboro, Ore., who was 2.102 seconds behind in her Kumho/Loyal Kittson Excavating 1999 Miata. Marchell Fletcher, of Durango, Colo., was third in her SoloArts, LLC. 1999 Miata. Rita Wilsey, of Lake Elsinore, Calif., made it a day to remember for lady Soloists everywhere as she became just the second woman in Solo Nationals history to win an Open class national championship, becoming the first to do so since Shauna Marinus won A Street Prepared in 1998. Wilsey, in her Kumho 1989 Chevrolet Corvette, ran a magical 57.301 on her final attempt (more than a second faster than her previous best) to leap to the front of the pack in B Street Prepared over Lee Piccione, of Severn, Md., who led the class in his BimmerHaus/Autocrossers Inc. 1995 BMW M3 for most of the two-day stretch. Even though his best time (58.289) also came on his final run, Piccione could not touch Wilsey, who finished 0.499-sec. in front. Doug Newhard, of Odenton, Md., was third, co-driving the Piccione BMW. Street Touring S was an absolute barnburner as Ken Motonishi, of Orange, Calif., overcame a first-day deficit to squeak by Kevin McCormick, of Lincoln, Calif. for the STS title. Motonishi, in his Kumho/King Motorsports 1989 Honda Civic Si, blasted the course on his second run Wednesday with a 55.894 - the best in the class. McCormick, also in a 1989 Honda Civic Si, answered back with his best effort of the weekend - a 56.008 - which put him 0.051-sec. behind Motonishi. Motonishi couldn't top his previous mark on his last run, but neither could McCormick, who could only muster a 56.054, which left him in second. Andy Hollis, of Austin, Texas was third in his Soulspeed 1989 Honda Civic Si. Starting the final day in sixth, Brandon Burkhart, of Kansas City, Mo., led a complete shakeup of the Street Touring Ultra podium as he tore his way through the STU ranks to win the class crown by 0.166-sec. in his Dieman Motorsprots, ITM Computers 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX. Michael Neary, of Eldersburg, Md., was even more impressive Wednesday, posting a 61.692 (far and away the best time in the class) and torching his way to second behind Burkhart after a tough Tuesday had left him and his Nisus/Boolistic.com 1995 BMW M3 in 17th. Jeffrey Vogel, of Tulsa, Okla., finished third in his Idiot Savant Motorsports 2004 Subaru WRX STi after beginning the day in fifth. For the second-straight year, Erick Kohler, of Arlington, Texas, won the Formula SAE class, and with it, the second Dr. Bob Woods Cup, which is given annually to the top-finishing student in the class. Co-driving the University of Texas Arlington 2005 UTA Formula SAE ride with the award's namesake, Kohler was never seriously challenged either day and cruised home with the win by 4.075 seconds over Mike Murray, of Ballwin, Mo., who was representing Missouri Rolla University. Dr. Bob Woods finished third for the second year in a row, 0.810-sec. behind Murray. In all, 38 champions were crowned Wednesday, closing out the first of two chapters in this year's Solo Nationals event. The final 32 classes begin competition at 8 a.m. (CDT) Thursday at Forbes Field. For schedule information and complete results to date, visit www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com/> .