The New Jersey ProSolo is just a few days away, and competitors are gearing up for stiff competition in this sold out event. This race will be held at Metlife Stadium in Rutherford, NJ, with easy access to NYC and surrounding areas to explore. The site is an asphalt lot with large undulations, adding on and off camber elements typically not found at autocross for added challenge.
Ladies first, in L1 at this event there are seven drivers entered. Last year it was a constant battle between Shelly Monfort (this year registered in a different car, a Corvette) and Tamra Hunt (Mazda RX-8), so we expect most drivers to be chasing them down. However, we won’t be counting out Stephanie Reeve (Corvette), Becca Nell (G35), or Dina O’Donnell (coming all the way from Ontario to drive a Datsun 240Z). In Ladies 2 we will be cheering on Tina Moreau in her 1995 Miata, and Katie Barrett in a 2017 Mazda Miata. In Ladies 3, Laura Campbell has been on a winning streak in a 2016 Miata, but we will be keeping a close eye on Rachel Leach, Michelle Knoll, Ally Arts, and Jen Fox, all in ND (4th generation/current) Miatas.
In the open classes, Mazdas will be competing in some of the largest and most competitive classes of the weekend. With 26 entries in STR, it is THE largest class of the event, with many ND Miatas entered along with a few NCs (third gen Miatas). This class typically only has tenths separating trophy positions, so guessing a winner is about as easy as forecasting the weather in New England. Given that, we will be keeping a close eye on Brian Karwan and Mark Dudek (2017 Solo Nationals Rookie of the Year). However, we aren’t counting out site regular Nick Babin, nor those who are driving a long distance and hoping to not go home empty handed, such as Spirit of Mazda winner Brian Garfield, Marcus Pyne, Ryan Davies, Steve Mitchell, Noel Leslie, Matt Cwieka, Greg Pollack, and many others. Trevor Blackwell and Josh Thal-Pruzan will also be trying to prove that the previous generation of Miata (NC) still has what it takes to compete in STR. This class will be a fun one to watch for sure.
Street Touring Sport has 17 entries and is a Mazda vs Honda battle. Personally, we are going to vote for either Shaun Hallam in the “Flying Spaghetti Monster” Miata or the “Mayhem Miata” driven by Mike Kobialka and Michael Roleira, simply because we think they deserve an award for creative car names. We will also be watching locals who have the site familiarity advantage, Michael Shea, Dan Sabon, Zachary Melhus, and Samsel Maciek, but won’t be counting out Rich Dimarco or Andrew Edgecomb. Another interesting entry is the lone RX7 driver, Jeff Wozniak. Can the lightweight, nimble rotary compete? We will see if Jeff can make it happen.
Moving on to the go-fast classes, we will see 15 entries in Street 1, which consists of SM, SSM, and SMF cars running on index. This class allows turbos, some engine swaps, big sticky tires, and other mods for the built not bought enthusiasts. A large variety of cars are represented here, from AWD Subaru’s, FWD Hondas, mid-engine RWD Lotuses, to front-engine RWD cars such as Mazda RX-7s and Miatas. Out of all of the entries, we are placing our bet on a Mazda coming out on top. All eyes will be on previous National Champions such as Randall Wilcox driving Eric Anderson’s SSM Miata, and Jake Namer driving his SSM FD RX-7.
Next up is Street 2 which has 11 entries, and includes SSP, ASP, BSP, and CSP. Despite the variety pack of cars, we expect alien-driver Billy Davis in his car “Jack” to come out 1st. We aren’t sure Billy is aware that placings other than 1st exist? In the normal human competition, we will be watching Timothy “Buckie” Maxey in his BSP Mazdaspeed Miata, along with Matt Meyers and Cody Gromel, also both in Miatas.
Street 3 has 15 entries and includes DSP, ESP, FSP, and STP. This class could be especially interesting to watch this year, as we’ve heard rumors of a lot of off season development happening across many cars in this class. While historical experience would put John Vitamvas in his well-sorted BMW as the favorite, we will be watching locals Tim Kong and Andrew Krystinik in a Mazda RX8. Both drivers and the car have been on a recent winning streak and could be strong contenders at this event. We will also be keeping an eye on up and coming new DSP RX8 builds driven by John Hatakeyama, Evan Shickel, and Nick Pasternack.
Mazda wishes best of luck to all racers, especially those in Mazdas, of course.