Headin' West: 2006 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour in San Diego This Weekend
TOPEKA, Kan. (March 2, 2006) - The 2006 Tire Rack(r) SCCA Solo National Tour is wasting no time in reaching the entire country as the Tour makes the long haul from its stop in Florida to this weekend's run at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif. The entry list for the event, which has ballooned to more than 310 drivers, reflects the extreme shift in geography as many western competitors who didn't make it to Florida will start their Solo National Tour season with this event. Scott McHugh, of Santa Clarita, Calif., is no stranger to this event, or to winning for that matter. The two-time Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships winner (both in A Stock) took control of AS early at this event a year ago and coasted to a win. He's back in the same Kumho/MC Racing 1989 Chevrolet Corvette he won with a year ago, and could very well win the class again if he is able to get by 19 other class competitors, including Joel Schotz, of Phoenix, Ariz., who showed well at San Diego in 2005, taking third in Super Stock. Another National Champion is in this weekend's mix as Ryan Buetzer, of Long Beach, Calif., will try and make it two in a row in C Stock at San Diego in his 2000 Mazda Miata. Buetzer, the reigning E Stock National Champion, turned in a nearly perfect weekend a year ago at Qualcomm, only catching one pylon in six runs. If he should happen to have an off day, however, any number of other CS drivers could leap to the front, including former Solo Nationals podium finisher Ralph Elder, of Folsom, Calif., in his 2000 Honda S2000. Even though Buetzer will be in CS, there will be no shortage of talent in ES as a trio of Washington Soloists converges on Southern California. Kevin Dietz, of Federal Way, Wash., won the class at San Diego in 2005 and will pilot the Jim's Detail/Evolution 1993 Toyota MR2. Greg Fordahl, of Bremerton, Wash., finished sixth at Solo Nationals in ES a year ago, one spot behind Dietz, and will attempt to come out ahead in his 1984 Porsche 944. Alan Dahl, of Federal Way, Wash., could also play a role in who receives which trophy and will drive his 1994 Mazda Miata. Rita Wilsey, of Lake Elsinore, Calif., became just the second woman in SCCA history to win a Solo Nationals Open Class Championship when she won B Street Prepared last September in Topeka. This weekend, she's in Super Stock, running a 2002 Chevrolet Corvette. She may have to shake off any rust from her skills in a hurry if she wants to start 2006 the same way she ended 2005 as long-time SS driver Tom Kotzian, of Gladstone, Ore., is also entered, slated to drive his Trackside/Kumho 2003 Corvette. An entire slew of capable drivers are entered in Street Touring S this weekend, maybe none more so than 2005 STS National Championship runner-up Kevin McCormick. McCormick, of Lincoln, Calif., was only 0.052-sec. away from an out-right title in Topeka and will be ready for the challenge in his Kumho/HAP/America's Tire/Bilstein 1989 Honda Civic Si. But so will the 14 other STS competitors, including standouts Leslie Cohen, of Encinitas, Calif. (Leslie Cohen Design 1989 Honda Civic Si), and local driver Jason Rhoades, of San Diego, Calif. (Yokohama/ProParts USA 1992 Nissan 240SX). The 2006 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour in San Diego begins Saturday at 9:15 a.m., with five heats taking to the course. Second-day action begins at Qualcomm Stadium at 8 a.m., followed by a trophy presentation following the completion of the last heat. For more information, visit www.scca.com <http://www.scca.com/> .