12:50 PM
After a slice of pizza and a few hours of watching the competition, my turn came around. I strapped myself into the car—palms sweaty and my head nearly spinning after having reviewed the course in my mind at least a hundred times. Some people have rituals before lining up for their competition runs: mentally reviewing the course, looking at a course map, breathing exercises, praying and so on. My ritual of mentally talking crap to the other competitors didn’t pay off, as by the end of the third run I was more than 2 seconds behind First Place. On any level, 2 seconds is a good distance. At the Solo Nationals—where, in this case, first and second place were separated by only a tenth of a second—2 seconds is an eternity.
Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me on Wednesday. As four-time B-Stock champion Jason Isley once told me, “Everyone’s going to try and be a hero on Day 2.” True, indeed. While his comment was more in reference to people’s efforts being overdone, usually resulting in a big failure on Day 2, my goal was to be a hero and manage to keep my driving in check.
September 17
6:00 AM
Day 2 used the second of the two courses and favored my background of driving: road racing. The first day’s course was littered with slaloms, high-speed transitions and some insanely technical bits that only reward the most seasoned autocrossers in the country. Dare I say Day 2’s course was “easier,” typically in an autocross setting, however, large sweeping turns instead of tight, twisty transitions usually does mean easier. I was hoping to capitalize on my road racing habits and translate them into some sort of time improvement.
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Wrapping your tires with plastic wrap seems to be a common thing at the Nationals. Apparen
The second day at Solo Nationals is the toughest by far. People whom I talked to just the day before, were less social and more serious, as it all comes down to the final runs. Usually if you’re in a situation such as me, it’s time to just wing it and go for a fast run. For the drivers who are in the top five after the first day, the final runs are the most intense—perhaps the most rewarding, or the most disappointing.
1:20 PM
My theory worked—the wider, more open course on Day 2 felt natural to me. The Integra Type-R was hooked up so well that the inside rear tire was lifting 6 inches off the ground due to all the grip of the Hankook tires. My first run was the “hero” run of the day—a no-holds-barred attempt at a fast lap. After running the first lap and realizing my mistakes, the second run was just a conservative, smooth and clean run with no hit cones to ensure a solid time for the day. The second run would stand as my best, less than a second off the leader’s fastest time.
With the large gap from the Day 1 finish, my overall position in the bottom half of D-Stock surely wasn’t one I’m interested in remembering for any length of time, but it was important to realize the competition level of the drivers who attend the SCCA Solo Nationals.
The experience at Topeka is what motivates people to work endless hours preparing cars and working hard at local events for the other 51 weeks of the year. There’s just something about watching the competition rise to the challenge, motivating the inner racer in everyone who attends Solo Nationals. Parking lot jokes aside, the Solo National Championships is an excellent, and often humbling experience for drivers coming from all types of backgrounds. If you’ve ever taken an interest in Solo with your local club, I dare you to try Solo Nationals for yourself.