Halfway Through the Season

June is here and we are half way through our seasons points races. PIR is a thing of the past, as the remaining 2 event weekends will take place in beautiful Packwood Washington on Aug 12-13, and Sept 23-24. If you have not been to Packwood to run, you will be blown away by both the size of the lot, and the beauty of the surroundings! Camping is available on site, but no power or water is available.
 
June 10th and 11th events came and went, and it saw some new names top the standings, points battles tighten, and weather coming into play in a big way. Saturday saw a fun course design by Jon Balgley and Scott Turner. Heavy rain in the morning, and drying conditions in the afternoon kept everyone guessing on what fast times would be. Sunday saw a bumpy, yet fast and fun layout by the Orud family, as Carson and Lowell took a turn chairing their first event. Courses both days were fast and a ton of fun to drive.
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 In CAM, Patrick Highsmith has jumped into the point lead with back to back wins.  He looks to keep that momentum going over Sean Fogli heading to the speedy Packwood sight.

NS1 saw new names take wins on both days. Saturday, it was Aaron Safstrom claiming his first win of the season as he and the PRE team continue to dial in the WRX. Sunday, it was the same car, but with Zack Morgan behind the wheel taking a commanding win as they seemed to have found the magic setup moving forward.  NS1L has Andrea Keller running off the rest of the competition as she claimed two more wins.

NS3 followed NS1 with two new faces on top of the podium. Derek Loree was able to take a commanding win over the rest of the guys. But on Saturday Sunday, Ben Cort showed the Z is rounding into form this year, and ready to take on Phil and that Miata. Phil Snodgrass continues to lead in the points, but both Ben Cort, and Scott McCusker are closing in!

NS4 saw the points lead tighten up as Shawn Porter holds a slim 4 point lead over Orlando Rodriguez. Shawn was able to nail down second place finishes on both days as an out of towner showed up to ruin the party. John Jobin from the Sand and Sage racing family out of Tri Cities paid our region a visit taking the top spot both days before losing his transmission Sunday during his third run.

In NS5, Rio Rios was able to win back to back this weekend putting him 7 points up to Bernadette Kuehn.  Rio has really been coming along in his STX Subbie this year, and will be looking to make some waves at the upcoming National Tour and PRO.

NS6 continues to be a dog fight as Rafael Perez and Garrett Cogburn sit tied atop the points after rounds 4 and 5. Garrett with 2 wins in the last 3 events has the momentum, but heading to Packwood anything can and will happen! Expect it all to come down to that Sunday event in September to see who is finally crowned.

PPAX has James Paulson taking a commanding lead over Ryan Otis and Dan Bullis. James was able to sweep the weekend events opening up his lead. Sunday saw him sneak out the win on his final run by just .080 over Dan who is looking forward to some more room for the big C5 Vette to stretch its legs. Ryan Otis found some amazing speed on Sunday, but it was 2 runs too late.

Mina Ingraham was able to pilot her lightning quick Subbie to wins on both days as Lacey Otis was racing out of town. Mina showed the STI can get the job done in both wet and dry conditions, and now has a 4 point lead heading north.

Moving to the street classes, S1 saw its point battle tighten up as well as Jon Balgley swept the weekend events, closing in on the strangle hold Lorin Mueller had.  Jon showed some great speed taking the win both days by over a second.  The sleeper in the group may be Skyler Card who will have some fresh rubber on the Corvette in Packwood, and will be one to watch.  S1L still has the fast Jennifer Mueller showing the way with no end in sight.

The dog fight we predicted in S2 is turning into just that. Blake Anghilante rebounded from a disappointing 4th place finish at event #3 with back to back wins. Carson looks to get back on track in Packwood as his once large points lead is not just 4 with 4 events remaining. Dominic Stone has the experience in Packwood, and will be looking to make it a 3 dog fight. 

The Trophy Challenge class saw its points leader widen up the gap a bit as Jake Hartough swept both weekend events. Sean Funk struggled on Saturday, but was able to rebound and finish in 3rd Sunday to keep some pressure on Hartough heading into Packwood. Bob Thomas sits in 3rd with Bret Stevens and Kris Allison closing in.

The series takes the month of July off as the SCCA National Tour and the PRO comes to Packwood. July 7-9 will showcase some of the best drivers from up and down the west coast as the SCCA National Tour rolls thought. Hotels are already full as a wedding in town has rooms scarce, but on track, the action will be hot as some fast names are already signed up.  July 14-16 will put the drivers to the test as the National PRO points series comes a calling. If you have never ran a PRO before, think about coming out and diving it a try. Side by side competition with dueling courses is a sight to behold. Competition is always close and the challenges on Sunday are worth hanging around! Even if you can’t compete, come out and check out what the National level events are all about.

As usual, keep an eye out on our website and Facebook pages for updates, and fun facts. The looking ahead blog will continue to take questions, and try and steer you in the right direction for going faster! Have a safe and fun 4th of July, and hope to see you all in Packwood!!