My experience at the Runoffs was great, didn't do as well as I would have liked, but had a great time. First of all the track was much faster than I thought it would be, but it was a lot of fun to drive. The facilities were great. Nice rest rooms, showers, concessions, the tech building and impound are first class, and all the people were a joy to work with.  I was in some what of a time crunch to get ready for the Runoffs, as I had just purchased a newer car only a couple of weeks before the runoffs, and had not much time in the car, I was a little slow getting up to speed and the fastest time I had for the week got DQ’d for my rear wing being 3mm to high, so for the race I had to start in 23rd place. As the race went on things went well, I turned the fastest time of the week for me in the race and moved up to finish in the 14th place, I would have liked a top 10 but was happy with the results. The competition in my class I felt was much closer than most of the other classes. In most of the classes there was a large gap from the front runners to the back, but in FC it was very close from front to back.  I hope that anyone that has the desire to go to the runoffs will, it is a great experience. It’s a long week, a lot of work, very expensive, but well worth the effort.  I will miss racing with all of you, as I'm retiring next year to live on my boat in the Caribbean, but wish the best for everyone, also both of my FC's are for sale if anyone in interested.

At least it till Speed broadcast (Tues. 11/14 12noon MT) or Sports Car (probably not, they don’t seem to want to give me much ink lately) make me alter it!. I already sent Mike a short report on Jamie Dryden’s Runoffs, but it would be good if he checks in as I was suiting up and going to grid during his race. You can catch Jamie/FC on Speed at 11am MT Tues. 11/14.
We started the week on a gorgeous Sunday practicing at about 3 seconds/lap faster than we had gone in June. Unfortunately that time was only good for 14th on the grid in Monday qualifying. Tuesday and Wednesday were colder and wetter (although our group had all dry sessions) and I noticed all the front runners were going out on “stickers” every session!! I had only one set allocated by Hoosier and they were already scrubbed for the race, so it looked like I would be a victim of the tire wars. Just before the Thursday am qualifying session a pair of (that’s right 2, not 4) sticker A6’s were found and I moved up the grid from the 18th I was mired in Tues. & Wed. to 11th by running a full 2 seconds/lap faster than I had gone Monday!

Friday race conditions were good but cool and we were fired up to take the green. For some strange reason Jack Tippens (2005 SSB Runner Up/BMW) who was gridded directly in front of me in 9th decided to park his car when the green waved. With eyes wide open and as large as my Simpson eyeport, I stood on the brakes and watched the field go by!! Tom Aquilante tells me he has a tape of the incident and I need to get a copy. As soon as my left mirror told me I had an opening, I dropped into 1st gear and shot out from behind Jack thinking my race was over…but as soon as I caught a pack of cars I was able to slice through. I say “slice” cause Mike has the pics of my car after the race and suffice to say Bimmers, Hondas, and Mazdas do not like being passed by a Pontiac ! Don’t think I’ve seen that much body damage in all 6 years of running the Opel, and it reminded me of my Trans Am and GT1 battles 10 years ago. Guess I would qualify for running SpecMiata after this if I wasn’t such a diehard GM lifer. Anyways, the ZOK doesn’t have a lot of power so it usually takes a couple corners of outbraking and shouldering your way through unless someone cooperates (fat chance at the Big Show) and sometimes they get you back coming off the corner. Once they realized I wasn’t going to be stopped, I got to the front pack of 2nd through 5th. Don Knowles had already checked into another time zone, AJ Aquilante had been victimized by the tire wars, and these guys seemed determined to take each other out rather than cooperate and catch Don. I was running several tenths of a second below my qualifying time to catch that group (good for 3rd fastest time of the race, only being bested by the Solsti of AJ and Don), but that came to a halt when I got into that mess. Observers and crew tell me I got into 4th place briefly, but the best t&s ever scored me at start finish line was 6th on the lap charts I can find.

With about 6 laps to go I noticed the check engine light come on. Turned out to be a failed upper O2 sensor and did not seem to affect the power so I kept charging at the ’06 Honda Civics of Gillsinger, Niffenegger, Boileau, and the BMW of two time National Champ Toby Grahovec. All this with GM engineer Alan Yankielun’s Solstice, Tim Brecht’s BMW Z4, and Mike Pettiford’s Camaro looming large in my mirrors. It ended for me on the last lap with 4 corners to go to the checker when a lapped Miata decided to challenge me for the apex I was committed to. When I did my agricultural excursion (Solstices also make good fast lawn mowers), Yankielun and Brecht got through and Pettiford had the pleasure of avoiding my reentry. I do not think he is over that yet as he had words with me after the race. Should I keep sending him customers….I think he wishes I’d take his course!
Since this is starting to sound like take no prisoners NASCAR ® racing, I better wrap up by thanking my outstanding crew, Gregory Mathews and Ken Alderson, Phoenix Performance/the Aquilantes for helping build the car and excellent help and advice throughout, Hoosier’s Bruce Foss for saying it straight and coming up with product when I really needed it, GM Performance for the great tech support and $ help, Summit for $, Redline Oil for Product, Whitehead Chev, Bui, Pont, GMC of TorC,NM for tire changes and diagnostics, Performance Pontiac of Farmington,NM for getting me a ZOK at employee price, Superior Chev for parts….and surely I’ve forgotten somebody. Oh yeah, friends, family, and God! Friends and family checked in person, by email, or phone and I think God, or at least one of his reps was in the Phoenix compound next door to mine, but I better hold that story for a region meeting or some other social event.

One last note of thanks. Doing a program of this level takes a solid high five figures so every penny of support helps and to get those pennies sponsors need recognition. To that end the Topeka Capital Journal did me a great favor by featuring my car in the daily newspaper ad for the Runoffs and GM noticed. Additionally GM did a press release, parts of which ended up in the race program. No matter what happens with my racing going forward, I will forever cherish being briefly mentioned on the same pages as such racing royalty as Dr. Dick Thompson (the first person to win a National title in a GM car), John Heinricy, and the Aquilantes.
Now anyone know of a body shop that would like to sponsor a slightly bent SSB Solstice ZOK??

Stan C

Great job for the 8^th place finish in a brand new car with very little testing time. (We won’t count the street time in TorC). Like they say “ old age and treachery, will over come youth and ambition!” Stan had a fast lap on the 8^th lap and was good for 4^th fastest time in the race.  Race was won by Don Knowles, NE Division, Philadelphia Region driving a 2006 Pontiac Solstice, 2^nd place was Chad Gilsinger, CE Div. Ohio Valley Region in an 2006 Honda Civic Si and in 3^rd Place was the defending SSB National champion, Toby Grahovec, CE Div., Chicago Region driving a 2003 BMW Z4…..also finishing in 4^th Place was RM Div.’s Bob Boileau driving another Honda Civic Si.

Stan, started in 14^th place and consistently moved up in field and was as high as 6^th place on the 16^th of the 18 lap race.

Again congratulations Stan.

Mike Downey
RE- Pan American Region of SCCA

Greetings fellow Soloists

It is getting closer to the 2006 Tire Rack SCCA Solo Nationals – which starting this year will be held at Heartland Park Topeka (HPT) race track. Because it is a new venue and because it is very different from past Solo Nationals sites, there seems to be much speculation and many wild claims flying around the internet and Solo events around the nation. I hope to address some of these speculations and claims in this letter.

I should probably also mention that Karen Babb and Kevin Youngers, arguably two of the nation’s best Solo course designers, have been assigned as the Course Designers for the 2006 Solo Nationals. All of us arrived a day prior to the 2006 SCCA National Convention to visit the site for mapping and planning purposes.

The following is taken from some excellent correspondence recently received from Karen Babb, and I wholly agree with her observations and comments:

      “I have never seen this good of a blacktop surface anywhere. Very close to flat, very smooth. 

      The HPT site is logistically completely different from Forbes, "New-Salina", or "Old-Salina" in that the courses will in essence be side-by side with a "buffer zone" between them, making it somewhat conceptually akin to a typical Pro Solo layout, but rather larger.

      Yes, the overall square footage available to each course is not what it was at Forbes, particularly in comparison to Forbes-North. However, it must be remembered that only a fraction of the Forbes area was actually usable. Typically layouts had to tiptoe among the land mines, trying to use the best (or least bad) of the available surface. Routes were constrained, as were in most cases widths and directions. The actual usable square footage was probably less than 25% of the total area at the North end. The need for overlap and separation had to be dealt with as the surface allowed. 

      At HPT there are no such issues. No grates, poles, peaks, valleys, holes, frost heaves, snakes, etc. So the course can be routed wherever it needs to as the desired elements and separation requirements dictate, not as the surface dictates. This offers considerable freedom in what elements can be used, how they can be connected, and how they can be oriented, even within the constraints of needing the Start and Finish on a particular end of the available area. This type of openness makes possible the use of a variety of space-saving methods that can if necessary compensate for a somewhat smaller overall area.

      The route length on my 2003 South course was approximately 3650 feet; available route lengths in preliminary sketches on the left side of the HPT pad have yielded lengths of 3500-4000 feet. It’s largely a matter of being able to make the best use of the available space. Many details (e.g. Grid locations and ingress/egress points) have yet to be finalized, but it looks pretty good at this point.

      It should be remembered that a very big complaint year after year from members at the Town Meeting was about the deteriorating Forbes surface. The move to HPT was largely driven by this input. It seems counter-productive for members to assume the worst about getting something they asked for, even before they see the actual hands-on results of the change. 

      At this point I'd just ask that people stay tuned and have a little faith in the event Chairman, the course designers, the Nationals event officials team, and the National Staff to provide a Solo Nationals that won't beat their car to death, and will offer improvements they can all appreciate. Yes, it will be different. No, it won't be perfect. Yes, it will evolve. That's all fine with me.” – Karen Babb

I would like to add to her comments that holding the Solo Nationals at a purpose built race facility, instead of a location designed and meant for other uses, really makes a positive impression. Everything at the site is about racing and competition. This means that HPT has erected buildings designed solely to function for the needs of automotive competition. For example, the scales are permanently mounted and located inside tech/impound building – out of the weather. There are real toilets (flushies!), a paddock wide public address system, garages for rent, a registration building/parking lot that is on the way in. There is also a beautiful track that surrounds the paddock and Solo course area. Who knows – there may even be cars running the track while we are there! All of this adds greatly to the overall competitive feeling and gives credibility to what we do. It only seems fitting that the Solo Nationals be held in a purpose built race facility instead of a parking lot – a place where the Nation’s best will compete for a chance to earn their 2006 Solo National Championships.

If I may steal a line from Karen’s correspondence above, I think it is worth repeating: 

“Yes, it will be different. No, it won't be perfect. Yes, it will evolve. That's all fine with me”

See you at the 2006 Solo Nationals

Roger H. Johnson (Houston, TX)

Solo Nationals Event Chairperson