51°µÍø

LINCOLN, Neb. (Sept. 6, 2009) €“ The first Tire Rack® 51°µÍø ProSolo Finale at Lincoln Airpark ended with Ian Baker, of Herndon, Va., taking the top prize, while runner-up Sam Strano, of Knoxdale, Pa., earned enough points to claim the overall Super Challenge Championship and take home the JCJ Cup. Driving a Stranoparts/SSC/KONI Honda CRX, Street Touring S winner Baker faced off against F Stock winner Strano in the final round of the Super Challenge. Baker, who had yet to win a Super Challenge this season, picked the right event to get it done, beating Strano€™s StranoPerformanceParts/Capital Quest Mtg. Ford Shelby Mustang to the finish. With a sturdy lead in the Super Challenge points heading into the Finale, Strano€™s second-place finish was enough to claim the JCJ Cup for the top Super Challenge point scorer. The leader of the Ladies Challenge points came away with the Ladies Challenge Finale win as well. It was only fitting that after winning Ladies Class 1, Leslie Cohen, of Cardiff by the Sea, Calif., would face off against the woman chasing her in the Ladies Challenge point standings, Meredith Brown, of Los Alamos, N.M. Cohen€™s C2 Racing/Leslie Cohen Design Honda Civic bested Brown€™s Automotive Pros/MidAtlantic Toyota MR2 to take the Ladies Challenge win and Championship. The Honda Tuner Challenge went to Jinx Jordan, of Terrell, N.C., driving a SoloPro Driving School/Hoosier Honda Civic. Jordan managed to beat the Super Challenge winner himself, Baker. In class competition, Jake Namer, of New York, N.Y., stormed to the front of the Street Touring® Ultra field to take the win in his HamfistRacing.com Subaru Impreza. The victory ended Corey Ridgick€™s STU win streak. Ridgick, of Allentown, Pa., would finish second by just 0.026-second in his Bridgestone Mitsubishi Evo, but take the STU ProSolo Championship. In D Street Prepared, Mike Sheilds, of Temple, N.H., took a slim 0.086-second win in his Ambrosia SW BMW 325is over Mark Alan Smith, of Denver, Colo., in a 3Zero3MS.com/Ska Brewing/Bildon Volkswagen. Smith, however, scored enough points to take the overall DSP ProSolo crown. A Street Prepared was shaken up, as Eric Stemler, of Peoria, Ill., took the win in his Chevrolet Corvette over Jason Collett, of Smyrna, Tenn., also in a Corvette, while ASP point leader Jason Uyeda, of West Hills, Calif., finish fourth in his A.R.E./ProParts Lotus Elise. This finish turned the point standings upside down, as Stemler would take class honors with 53 points, followed by Collett, with 52 and Uyeda, with 51. In H Stock, Ron Williams, of Topeka, Kan., made a comeback to take the win in his MINI USA/Hoosier Tires MINI Cooper, beating Joseph Austin, of Montgomery, N.Y., in an On a Dime Racing MINI Cooper by 0.352-second. The win secured Williams€™ H Stock title. The tie for the Ladies Class 2 ProSolo Championship was finally settled, as Annie Bauer, of Renton, Wash., beat Christine Berry. Driving a PMWLTD.com/SignEdge.com BMW 2002, Bauer topped the Hoosier/ChaseCam/BerryFamilyRacing Mitsubishi Evo of Berry, from Alta Loma, Calif., by 0.683-second. Full results from the 2009 TireRack 51°µÍø ProSolo Finale are available at www.scca.com/solo. The pylons won€™t be put away just yet, as the Lincoln Airpark has one more event to contend with. The 2009 Tire Rack 51°µÍø Solo National Championships begin on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and run through Friday, Sept. 11. News and results will be posted, as they become available, at www.scca.com. -30-