More than 200 drivers took to the Buckingham Airfield course in Ft. Myers, Fla. this past weekend, signaling the official start of the 2006 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour season.
And those who flocked to the Sunshine State for good weather in addition to great competition, got exactly what they wanted as temperatures climbed into the lower 80s with no precipitation.
The good conditions, along with the already high level of excitement coming with the season opener, led to several tight battles.
All four B Stock drivers who received a trophy definitely earned it last weekend as Aaron Buckley, of Charlotte, N.C., came out of the pile with a win in the Timeless Machines 2004 Mazda RX-8 by 0.065-sec. over Dr. Bryan Hertweck, of Greensboro, N.C., who co-drove with Buckley. Richard Beecher, of Davie, Fla., was third in another 2004 RX-8, just 0.093-sec. behind Hertweck, while Dennis Sparks, of Madison, Ala., was fourth in yet another RX-8, this one the www.teamTAC.org entry. He finished 0.174-sec. off of Beecher's pace.
B Street Prepared was nearly as tight as local competitor James Ink, of Fort Myers, Fla., squeezed ahead of Michael King, of Jacksonville, Fla. Ink, driving his 1991 Corvette ZR-1, overcame a couple of cone-filled runs to take the victory by a mere 0.050-sec. over King, who drove the www.miamimapstore.com 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STi. Bruce Wentzel, of Milford, Mich., was well back in third in a 1989 Chevrolet Corvette, 3.556 seconds off of King's pace.
In D Stock, Sam Krauss, of Stratford, Conn., picked up the class' first National Tour win of the season, taking the victory by 0.810-sec. in his ileagle racing/tintedtails.com 1998 Eagle Talon. Carl Wener, of Montreal, Quebec (Canada), made his long trip south worth it by finishing second in the TRAC Racing/Motol/Gransport 1997 Acura Integra Type R. Jeff Robinson, of Hilliard, Ohio, was third, coming in 1.492 seconds behind Wener in his Hilliard Kumon Center 1997 Acura Type R.
Turning in six runs over two days without hitting a single cone, four-time Solo National Champion and reigning G Stock champion Mark Chiles, of Mount Joy, Pa., took top honors in G Stock, driving the Mini of Charleston/MiniUSA.com/Sirius Satellite Radio 2005 Mini Cooper S to a convincing win by 1.181 seconds. Matthew Jensen, of Terre Haute, Ind., finished as runner-up in the Way Motor Works 2005 Mini Cooper S, and Thomas Austin, of Tallahassee, Fla., was third, 1.543 seconds behind Jensen in the miniusa.com 2005 Mini Cooper S. Overall, Mini Coopers took the top eight positions out of 12 entries.
It was a Mini that took the top spot in G Stock Ladies as well, as Jodi Bradley, of Atlanta, Ga., drove her 2006 model to the win by 3.013 seconds over Diane Wood-Austin, of Tallahassee, Fla., who competed in another Mini. Nikki Lindell, of Altamonte Springs, Fla., was third in her 2000 Toyota Celica GT.
Steven Rankins, of Huntersville, N.C., unleashed his boxer4racing.com 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STi and won Street Touring Ultra, beating out the P+L Motorsports/Washburn Academy 2004 Subaru WRX STi driven by Dale Bahr, of West Salem, Wis., by 0.596-sec. David Bruener, of Port Edwards, Wis., made it a class sweep of the top three spots for Subaru, finishing just 0.041-sec. behind Bahr in another 2004 STi.
*NOTE: A protest was filed upon completion of Sunday's first heat concerning the course layout. The protest was upheld, which led to an annulment of all Sunday times. As of this release date, an appeal of that decision has been filed and the Solo Events Board (SEB) will consider the appeal as quickly as possible in order to issue a final ruling.
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