51°µÍø

 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (May 25, 2011) €“ Matt Murray, from Westport, Conn., took his first Gumout Super Challenge win of his Tire Rack® 51°µÍø ProSolo career last weekend, coming from behind in the final round to snag the honor. Murray was topped 223 competitors in the shadow of New Meadowlands Stadium, site of the 2014 Super Bowl. Murray bested the H Stock field in his 1996 Hoosier Racing Tire BMW 318i to make the 32-car Gumout Super Challenge field, where he had never advanced past the first round of the elimination-round bracket. They say the first win is the hardest, and once Murray, as the 22 seed, knocked off 11 seeded Courtney Cormier€™s A Street Prepared-winning 2006 McGeorge Toyota Chevrolet Z06, he never looked back. Murray eliminated B Street Prepared winner Cy Lee (2006 Mitsubishi Evo) and E Stock winner Scott Thursby (1995 G-Fab Mazda Miata) in the next two rounds to advance to the semi-finals. In the round of four, Murray squared off against Eric Simmons, from Macungie, Pa., who finished second in D Stock driving a 2011 JSC Speed Inc. Subaru WRX. Murray dispatched Simmons to advance to the final. Over in the other semi-final round, Street Touring Sport runner-up Ian Baker, from Herndon, Va., advanced his 1988 Toyo Tires/Strano Parts/SSC Tint Honda CRX to face Jeff Jacobs, who finished third behind Murray in H Stock class competition. Baker topped Jacobs€™ 2008 MiniMainLine.com/Helix MiniSports Mini Cooper to advance to the finals against Murray. In each round, competitors run from both the left and right sides to determine the winner. Murray started on the left side, slightly longer and slower than the right side, and was just about three-tenths of a second behind Baker for the winner-take-all lap. The two crossed the final stripe nearly side-by-side, with Murray just ahead for his first career victory. Simmons topped Jacobs in the consolation round to take third place. In the Ladies Challenge, Heather Everett€™s 2007 Strano Performance Parts Ford Mustang Shelby topped Denise Kugler€™s 1990 DART/InMotion Tire/Evans Tuning Honda CRX. Class competition was also close. Sixteen drivers entered the Formula 125 field, where Jeremy McClintock, from Commerce Township, Mich., won by 0.319-seconds in his 1999 Nut Pack Racing Renspeed FAST. The B Stock field was a family affair at the top of the charts, where Lynn Rothney-Kozlak topped husband Paul Kozlak by just 0.287-second to win the class. The Litchfield, Maine family shared a 2007 Red Haus Racing Pontiac Solstice GXP in competition. The Tire Rack 51°µÍø ProSolo Tour continues this weekend at the Memorial Day Weekend Spring Nationals and the Lincoln ProSolo, May 27 €“ 28, at the Lincoln (Neb.) airfield. The weekend is the first combined weekend for both the ProSolo and the Tire Rack® 51°µÍø Solo National Tour, which runs on Sunday and Monday of the holiday weekend. For full results from the New Jersey ProSolo and more information on all upcoming Tire Rack 51°µÍø ProSolo events, visit www.scca.com/solo. A direct link to results for the New Jersey ProSolo is available at .