Solo Competitors must win in two national-level events along with taking home a Solo National Championship; only six did it in 2015.

The Solo Triad Award has come to symbolize the best of the best in the SCCA Solo world. This year is no different as only six of 75 class winners were able to complete the feat. Among them were some Mazda drivers. Two of Mazda’s 11 Solo National Champions also earned the Triad award – Rachel Kerswill and Steve O’Blenes.

In order to earn the title, a National Champion must have either won one Tire Rack Championship Tour event and one Tire Rack Match Tour event, or have taken home a pair of wins at a Championship Tour event in the same class.

O’Blenes, of Garden Grove, Calif., collected a scant 0.961-second victory in B Street Prepared in his MAZDASPEED Miata. O’Blenes mounted a comeback on the second day of competition to get around Christopher Edens. To capture the award, O’Blenes won the Crows Landing, Calif., Championship Tour and Farmington, Utah, Match Tour.

“The Triad award is something that most competitors don’t even consider during the season as an obtainable goal,” said O’Blenes. “For most in our sport it is a thrill just to trophy at one of these events; but for myself and several others that have had the fortune to have great success in Solo, we have welcomed this new challenge to strive for the Triad and show our talents in both car preparation and driving skills. A win is never a given in Solo and as such, trying for an award such as the Triad is more likely to be an afterthought once you find yourself in the situation of having qualified heading into Nationals. I however, specifically went to Utah to compete for the chance to qualify for the Triad award. I didn’t know who my competition would be or if I could win, but I knew I had a good car and, even better, I would be racing with good friends in a venue I had never been before. That combination excites me and makes the drive worth all the effort.”

Kerswill, of Reno, Nevada, completed the trifecta in wining her second-consecutive Nationals with a dominant 4.309-second victory in C Street Ladies in an RX-8. Kerswill won Championship Tour events in San Diego and Crows Landing, Calif., on her way to capturing the award.