BLYTHEVILLE, June 8, 2010: Returning to Blytheville just a week after the Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Tour saw its competitors take to the grippy concrete of the Arkansas Aeroplex, the Tire Rack® SCCA ProSolo National Series saw hot - and occasionally fiery - action as the 146 competitors fought to make their way into the Gumout Super Challenge. At the end of the weekend, it was H Stock champion Jeff Jacobs, of Philadelphia, Pa., standing tall in his 2008 MINI of the Main Line MINI Cooper. A constant breeze took some of the edge off of a sunny and hot weekend. The conditions were perfect for maximum grip, and the Howard Duncan-designed course offered an engaging mix of offsets, slaloms, and high-speed sweeping turns. The transition-intense course made for close running across the classes, with Matthew Braun's Super Stock-winning 2007 PowerPlug Lotus Elise turning times only three seconds per side ahead of H Stock's fastest times turned by Jacobs. In the Gumout Super Challenge final four, Jacobs met Street Touring Sport class winner Ian Baker, of Herndon, Va., in his 1988 Toyo/Stranoparts Honda CRX. Jacobs fought off Baker, while in the other semi-final, E Stock champ Robert Carpenter, of Knoxville, Tenn., faced Super Street Modified winner Erik Strelnieks, of Cedar Park, Texas. Carpenter’s 1993 Volunteer XRay Toyota MR-2 topped Strelnieks 1993 Hoosier/MAZDASPEED Mazda 3-Rotor RX-7 to advance to the finals, only to fall short against Jacobs. Baker’s got the best of Strelnieks in the third-place pairing, and also claimed the Honda Challenge title in Blytheville. The Ladies Challenge saw the final battle come down to Beth McClure-Strelnieks, of Cedar Park, Texas, in her 1993 Mazda 3-Rotor RX-7 and Michelle Seelig, of Edmond, Okla., in her 1989 Toyo Tires/Redline/Hawk/MaxQData Honda CRX. It was McClure-Strelnieks driving to the win at the end of the day, edging out Seelig to take the top Ladies spot. Bonus Challenge drivers Stephen Rife and Christy Carlson fought it out after advancing past six competitors to make it to the final round. Rife took the win in his 2008 roadraceautox.com Mazda3. The weekend’s class competition to set up the Shootout brackets was just as intense. Ron Williams narrowly missed the class win in H Stock in his 2005 MINI USA/Hoosier Tires MINI Cooper, coming in just 0.061-second behind Jacobs. From Cars, New Cars, New Car Reviews, New Car Research, 2010 Cars, 2010 New Car Reviews, 2010 New Car Prices, 2010 New Car Comparisons, 2010 Car Reviews; 2009-1993 Used Cars, Used Car Reviews and MSRP Pricing, Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars, Clean Diesel, Car
Jeff's various MINIs have been Sponsored by Helix for years--not only is he a perennial threat at the highest levels of Autocross, he's genuinely a nice guy as well: always willing to show a novice the ropes. Recently three of my cousins from Sweden were visiting me, and I decided to introduce them to auto-x. Jeff was there and took time away from his preparation and competition to instruct them. He compromised three of his four runs to allow them to ride along, carrying ballast that certainly cost him several tenths per run. Allaround good guy.