51°µÍø

TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 21, 2007) €“ The Tire Rack® 51°µÍø ProSolo National Championship has left the start box at Heartland Park Topeka and first-day leaders are resting up for the conclusion of class competition and Challenge rounds on Saturday.Day one of the ProSolo National Championship was headlined by hot temperatures that baked the asphalt, corner workers and start-light stand, which became temperamental in the scorching afternoon sun, delaying competition briefly.The lights weren€™t the only thing struggling in the Kansas heat, ProSolo favorite Bob Tunnell, of Superior, Colo., who was experiencing differential problems with his BimmerHaus/Hoosier/H&R BMW M3, completed only two runs in the Prepared Index class Friday morning. Tunnell currently sits third in the class which is much larger than usual, with 14 cars. Thriving in the Heartland sun was Topeka driver Ron Williams, who is the early leader in G Stock. The Arkansas ProSolo winner holds a 0.337-second lead in a MiniUSA/Hoosier Tires Mini Cooper S.One of the largest leads on day one came in the largest class of the event. In the 17-car strong Super Stock category, the Maitlandimports.com Porsche 911 GT3 of Ian Stewart, from Orlando, Fla., leads another Porsche GT3, that of Tom Kotzian, from Gladstone, Ore., by 1.016 seconds.Pulling an even bigger lead is Matt Murray, of Westport, Conn., in H Stock. Driving a Higgins Group/Hoosier Racing Tires BMW 318i with more than 147,000 miles on the odometer, Murray has opened up a 1.078-second gap to Chang Ho Kim, of Maynard, Mass., in a Honda Civic Si.Much closer is Street Touring® S, where the Soulspeed/PowerCurveDyno/Bridgestone Honda Civic Si of Andy Hollis, from Austin, Texas, trails the RallyDecals Honda Civic of Nathan Whipple, from Marlborough, Mass., by a slim 0.070-seconds.D Stock gets the award for car diversity on day one. Kinch Reindl, of Denver, Colo., currently leads the field in a 1998 Acura ITR. He is followed by Chris Kline, of Saint Charles, Mo., in a 2005 Dodge SRT-4 and the 2006 Chrysler Crossfire of Bryan Hertweck, from Summerfield, N.C.The final day of ProSolo National Championship competition gets underway Saturday at 8:00 a.m. (CDT) at Heartland Park Topeka, with the three challenge rounds expected to begin at 2:00 p.m. For the latest news and results visit the ProSolo National Championship event page at the link below.