TOPEKA, Kan. – The 36th Tire Rack® Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships closed Friday with its fourth-straight day of beautiful weather at Heartland Park Topeka, crowning the final 32 class National Champions of the 2008 season.
Fifty-seven Super Stock class drivers saved the best for last, with the Championship going down to the wire. Overnight leader Lance Adams, of Austin, Texas, couldn’t find the handle on the quick-transitioning East course with his Corvette, and it looked like reigning Tire Rack ProSolo Super Stock Champ Matthew Braun, of Northville, Mich., might have the field covered with a blistering first run in his Lotus Elise. As the third, and final, run of the season wound down, Pat Salerno, of New Milford, Conn., jumped into the top spot in his Elise. His glory was short-lived though, as Gary Thomason, of Oceanside, Calif., laid down the fast time of the day. Braun was the final competitor to run, and while he improved, it was not enough—0.091-second off Thomason’s run in his Kumho Tire Porsche 911 GT3. It was Thomason’s eighth National Championship and his first since switching to a Porsche in 2006.
Like Thomason, Ron Williams, of Topeka, Kan., had to come from behind to win H Stock for the second-straight year in his MINI USA/Hoosier Tire Mini Cooper. Other Stock class winners included Vancouver, Washington’s Jerry Jenkins, who held his lead from Thursday to take his first title in the America’s Tire/FCM Mazda Miata and Ryan Buetzer, of Long Beach, Calif., in C Stock driving his Evo School/Chase Cam Mazda MX-5 MSR. Buetzer had to high-tail it out of town right after capturing his fourth title to make it to Iowa Speedway for Saturday’s Volkswagen TDI Cup race.
Mike King, of Jacksonville, Fla., extended his Thursday lead to take his second-straight Street Touring® S2 Championship in his Bridgestone Honda CRX Si.
C and D Street Prepared featured a pair of first-time winners from Arizona. Brian Peters, of Litchfield Park, Ariz., erased over a half second deficit to take his first National Championship in the Blackwatch Racing Mazda MX-5. Doug Rowse, of Phoenix, Ariz., held serve from a Thursday lead in his BMW 330i to take DSP.
Mike Maier, of Livermore, Calif., had a great effort Friday, pulling away from the C Prepared field to take his second title in the Maier Racing/K&N Ford Mustang by 0.541-second over Darrel Padberg. Padberg’s wife, Desiree, entered Friday needing only 0.003-second to take over the CP Ladies class lead in their Mustang. She did that and more, taking her second National Championship by 0.711-second over first day leader Kathy Lang.
John Thomas, of Tampa, Fla., captured his open class-record 15th National Championship by winning F Prepared in his ZEE Racing Datsun 240Z.
In Street Modified, Andrew Lieber, of Bay City, Mich., overtook teammate and early leader Jarrod Hoops on his final run in their shared Showcase Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Evo IX R by just 0.008-second to take his second Championship. It tied for the fourth-closest finish in the 36 years of SCCA Solo National Championship competition. Erik Strelnieks, of Cedar Park, Texas, captured his second-consecutive Street Modified 2 class win in his JungleCat Racing/Hoosier/7part three-rotor Mazda RX7, edging fellow two-time class Champion Andrew McKee by 0.139-second.
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