One week after the excitement of the SCCA Solo Championship Tour, competitors returned to the peaceful valley between the mountains of Packwood, Wash., for the Packwood Tire Rack ProSolo. While windier than the previous weekend, competitors enjoyed the covered grid and impound.
In the first round of the Ladies Challenge, Ladies Class 2 winner Meredith Brown downed a cone on the left side, giving Jessica Gauthier the win by 0.2 second. Catherine Tran and Jessica Podhola were both slow off the line in the second pairing, and Tran ultimately moved onto round two. In round three, Tasha Mikko red lit, giving the win to Mina Ingraham. In round two, Tran was paired with Gauthier and took the win to move onto the final. Ingraham was paired against Lacey Otis and took the win by 0.9 second. In the final round, it came down to Ingraham and Tran. Ingraham put down a flyer first run, but coned it away early on run two, giving Tran the win in an RX-8 by about one second.
Paul Brown took an early lead in E Street, with a 0.325-second advantage over Jack Yeung prior to Sunday. Yeung was able to drive his 1999 Mazda Miata to a significant enough margin on his final left-side run to take the win by 0.128 second over Brown. Matt Waldbaum took third in Yeung’s Miata.
Street Touring Sport started Sunday morning with Shane Jensen holding a 0.028-second lead over Eric Stoltz. Neither driver improved with first runs, but on Stoltz’s second left-side run, he found a 0.236-second improvement, enough to take his 1992 Mazda Miata to the top spot in STS for a 0.208-second margin of victory over Jensen, who stood on his Saturday afternoon runs.
The final Tire Rack ProSolo of the regular season takes place Aug. 5-6 in Oscoda, Mich. The top-qualifying drivers in the country will then be invited to the Tire Rack ProSolo Finale, Sept. 1-2, 2017, in Lincoln, Neb.
In Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo National Series, Match Tour and Solo Championship Tour events, Mazda offers competitors up to $275 for a win, $175 for second, $150 for third, $125 for fourth and $100 for a fifth-place finish via its contingency program. Challenge winners in the ProSolo series reap rewards courtesy of Mazda with $350 for a win and $250 for a second-place finish.
Mazda’s contingency payouts get even more generous for season-ending events, with SCCA ProSolo points winners earning up to $850 for first, $550 for second and $300 for third, while SCCA Solo National Championship competitors can claim up to $850 for a win, $550 for second, $300 for third, $200 for fourth and $125 for fifth. Solo Triad winners receive a $600 bonus through Mazda.
Full details on Mazda’s contingency program and registration can be found at mazdamotorsports.com.
SCCA Tire Rack Packwood Pro Solo
Packwood, Wash., July 14-16, 2017
Mazda Class Winners
C Street: Bryan Coulson; Idaho Falls, Idaho; 2016 Miata
E Street: Jack Yeung; Coquitlam, BC, Canada; 1999 Miata
Street Touring Sport: Eric Stoltz; Buhl, Idaho; 1992 Miata
C Street Prepared: Matt Zyskowski; Everett, Wash.; 1999 Miata