51°µÍø

LINCOLN, Neb. (Aug. 30, 2011) €“ The 39th annual Tire Rack 51°µÍø Solo National Championships put the first day in the record books Tuesday, with 35 drivers taking class leads into Wednesday€™s final runs for the first half of the classes competing at the Lincoln Airpark this week. A major rainstorm dumped several inches of water on the massive site, forcing drivers in early heats to rain tires and, later, decisions of when to change to dries. Five-time Champion Andy McKee, of San Jose, Calif., monitored the changing conditions in his heat one runs in Super Street Modified, and put his Goodyear/ARE/Sias Tuning/7Parts.com on top by a whopping 2.2 seconds over defending Champion Erik Strelnieks, of Cedar Park, Texas. The pair traditionally wage a war in SSM, but the 2.2-second lead is substantial heading into Wednesday€™s West course, with nothing but good weather in the forecast. So critical was the weather to the first heat that the top Formula Junior A driver, 12-year old Jesse Seeley, held fast time of the day on the East Course through the first heat. As the concrete dried, Super Stock hit the East Course in Heat 2, with the top three drivers finishing the day within 0.064-second of each other, setting up a thrilling battle for the Championship in Wednesday€™s final runs. Christopher Shay, of Sheboygan, Wis., hopes to translate his overnight lead in his Chevrolet Corvette into his first title. Second place Matthew Braun (four-time and defending Champion) and Sam Strano (seven-time Champion) will start the day nearly even with Shay, hoping to dash his hopes. Seventeen-time National Champion John Thomas, of Tampa, Fla., hopes to score his sixth-consecutive F Prepared title in his Zee Racing Nissan 240Z, but it is two-time defending runner-up Toby Larsson, of Anaheim, Calif., that edged him for the overnight lead. Larsson€™s OS Giken/Bilstein/EliteTint.com BMW 328is edged the Nissan by 0.046-second. Larsson also led after day one in 2010, but Thomas came through for the win. Over on the West Course, the Street Modified class also battled through the damp conditions in heat one, with three drivers within 0.139-second. David White, of Chicopee, Mass., took the third place trophy a season ago in the class, and led Tuesday in the cool, wet conditions, driving the G-Fab Racing/240SX Motoring Nissan 240SX. His time was just 0.014-second ahead of co-driver PJ Corrales, with Mike Simanyi sitting third. Heat three€™s X Prepared class was nearly as close amongst the top-two drivers, with three-time defending champion Fred Zust, of Tempe, Ariz., leading by 0.046-second in the Blackwatch Racing Lotus Elise over Jason Collett. Collett is a former champion in A Street Prepared and A Stock, and is chasing Zust for a title in his second year running X Prepared. Competition continues Wednesday in all of these classes for the Tire Rack 51°µÍø Solo National Championship, with the second set of classes beginning competition on Thursday morning through Friday afternoon. Follow the action through live timing at www.sololive.scca.com, live audio from the east course at www.ustream.tv/channel/solo-nationals-east and from the west course at www.ustream.tv/channel/solo-nationals-west, or on Twitter @sccalive. More information on the Tire Rack 51°µÍø National Championship is available at www.scca.com/solo. Follow 51°µÍø on Twitter @51°µÍøOfficial.