SOLO: Nationals Championship Wednesday report

33 Drivers Take Titles as Opening Half of Tire Rack Solo Nationals Concludes

LINCOLN, Neb. (Sept. 8, 2010) -- The first round of titles were awarded Wednesday after the opening two days of competition at the 38th Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships at the Lincoln Airpark. In all, 25 of the 33 classes were taken by drivers holding the overnight lead, while eight others saw a change at the top for the National Championship.

Leading the list of drivers holding serve from Tuesday's runs were a pair of drivers taking their fourth-consecutive National Championships. Mark Madarash, of Red Oak, Texas, drove his No. 191 Pontiac Trans Am to a 1.384-second victory over Samuel Krauss' Doug's Auto/NEPTune/TRE Eagle Talon in E Street Prepared. Jeff Kiesel equaled the feat in E Modified, taking his Goodyear Tire KFR Turbo Sprite to a dominating fourth-straight title.

Kiesel's wife, two-time Champion Shawn Marie Kiesel, was one of the eight drivers to pass the opening day leader to earn a title. Trailing defending and 13-time Champion Patty Tunnell's BarekAub.com/Hoosier/H&R BMW M3 by 0.137-second after day one, Kiesel took the lead after her second run in the Goodyear KFR Turbo Sprite and was then helped by Tunnell's trouble on her second run, when the supercharged motor expired. The Kiesel family almost had three Nationals wins, as 10-year old son Zak finished second in the supplemental (Non-Championship) Formula Junior B driving a kart he only first ran this week.

In other family news, Jeff and Denise Cashmore, of New Berlin, Wis., took the D Modified and D Modified Ladies Championships, respectively, in the Del Long Sprinto 7. Andy and Anne Hollis, of Austin, Texas, took Street Touring Xtreme and STXL, respectively in their Soulspeed/GRM/PowerCurve Honda Civic Si. Finally, Jinx and Ginette Jordan, of Terrell, N.C., won in F Street Prepared and FSPL, respectively in their SoloPro Driving School/Hoosier Honda Civic.

Jinx Jordan had a particularly memorable title run, holding off multi-time Champion David Fauth by just 0.059-second. It was Jordan's third National Championship, and first since 1988. The 22-year gap is tied for second longest all-time behind Jim Garry and Gerald Fink, who went 23 years between titles.

The driver making up the most ground on the field Wednesday to take a Championship was Tom Ellam, of Livermore, Calif, in E Prepared. Ellam was fifth after runs on Tuesday, but outran the field on Wednesday in his Altamont Tech/Ankeny Racing Mazda RX-3 by enough to secure his seventh title.

Other drivers coming from behind on day one to win their class National Championship Wednesday included: John Ma (D Stock), Kim Whitner (Street Touring Sport Ladies), Andrew Pallotta (Street Touring U), Steve Hoelscher (D Prepared), Anne Robinson (D Prepared Ladies) and Suzanne Segal (Formula 125 Ladies).

Driving his Holeshot! Mitsubishi Evo 8, Pallotta, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was one of two drivers to capture a National Championship as a Rookie at the Tire Rack Solo National Championships. Day one leader Kristi Gaus, of Wexford, Pa., won STU Ladies in her maiden trip to Nationals in her Mitsubishi Evo 8.

In addition to the 33 National Championships awarded, two young drivers earned supplemental class wins at the Nationals. Julian Garfield, of Mount Airy, Md., earned his third-straight win at Nationals, moving up from Formula Junior B to Formula Junior A this year. Tom Regganie, of Shorewood, Ill., took the Formula Junior B win.

Thursday starts the entire process over again for the second half of classes competing for 2010 National Championships. For full results and live timing of Thursday and Friday's runs, please visit www.scca.com/solonats.

-source: scca