Well another SCCA Nationals Solo Championship week has come and gone. The Oregon Region was able to send out a handful of racers to chase the elusive red jacket back in Lincoln, NE. With 1274 racers taking times during the week, obtaining that red jacket is a daunting task to be sure. Even coming home with a trophy in fields of over 50 drivers is a great feat. HOT, HOT weather greeted the driver as they arrived in Lincoln for the 4 day event. Temperatures in the mid 90’s, the racers took to two 60+ second courses there would test both man and machine. Tire maintenance would be a key element throughout the week, with many searching to find ways to keep the tires cool between runs.


In A-Street, Dan Bullis put down a blistering first run that would have him in the lead of the largest class at Nats, 71 cars strong. By the end of the first day, that time would hold up to have him standing in second place, just .183 back. On Day two, he was unable to find the speed necessary to stay on the podium, falling back to claim a well-earned 5th place. Trophy.


DS was posed a tough challenge as the Civic Type R seemed to be the car to have. Ryan Otis took on the open field of 53 drivers in his Focus RS. After a day one where fast times, and a tricky course would prove difficult for many racers, Ryan found himself mired back in the pack sitting 14th in class. A tire brand change overnight, and the car came to life allowing Ryan to put down a blistering quick day 2 time, notching him 4th place in the field. While on the ladies side, his lovely wife Lacey found the Type R Civic to be just as frustrating. Lacey though would find herself sitting in a great spot sitting second on day one, and was able to continue that momentum on day two holding off a tough field of ladies to keep her second place trophy, and a spot on the podium.


Street Mod saw an extremely fast group of racers take to the two courses. Our own Dallas Cutler in his SSB Designs Mitsubishi Evo secured a speedy co-driver to put in the car to warm tires for him, and the move looked to pay off. After day one, both SSB drivers found themselves sitting first and second with Dallas holding on to a narrow .167 lead. On day two, the script would flip as the hot shoe tire warming for Dallas would put down a time that proved too tough to beat. While it still being a SSB top two finish, Dallas would end up just .735 back to claim second on the podium.


CAM-C would find the final trophy winner for the region, James Paulson.  37 cars would take time in the Classic American Muscle field, comprised of mostly Mustangs, Camaros, and an oddball Cadillac. Day one saw James in a fairly under prepped Mustang, cling to tough second place with just .241. ON day tow, James was able to close that margin, but wound up falling short to the class campion by a scant .125.


All in all, it was a great week with many new memories being made by all who showed up. Lincoln possess a great challenge for those of us from the PNW. A surface we don’t see unless traveling to Cali, temperatures and humidity now commonly found locally, and a level of drivers and competition that is outstanding.  S0 a huge congratulation to all who showed up and made the region proud.


Driver and class finishes
AS- Dan Bullis – 5th , AS- Tom Kotzian – 55th ,  DS- Ryan Otis- 4th, DSL-Lacey Otis- 2nd, SSC- Andy Howe- 42nd, STX- Cassidy Coghlin- 31st, STX- Rio Rios- 34th, SM- Dallas Cutler- 2nd, CAM-C- James Paulson- 2nd, CAM-C- Danielle Paulson- 34th,

The fat lady has sung, Elvis has left the building, and the 2019 points championship has come to and end. With the final weekend taking place on September 21-22, new champions were crowned, and everyone got a little wet.


We start in Cam with Brian Duncan edging out Aaron Folkerts by just 12 points. Both won 4 events in 2019, but it was Brain who never finished lower than second that was able to claim the championship.     Duane Schafer rounds out the podium in third.


In NS1, it was the Subaru WRX of Perry Keller showing how to dominate a class winning 9 of 10 events taking home the hardware.


NS2 was a two horse race with Aaron Mauldin and his Honda Del Sol sweeping the final weekend to take the championship away from David Russell in his Miata.


Scott McCusker has the car owner, Ben Cort to thank for an outstanding year piloting the 240Z to the championship in NS3. Ben would gather enough points to lay claim to second, as James Keller battled his way to the third and final podium spot.


NS4 was a battle right to the end with Garrett Cogburn stealing the championship away from Jake Hartough by a slim 22 points. Garrett was the lone STS car on the podium, as both Jake and Dan Kuehn drove STX BRZ’s to podium positions. Dan found himself in a tie with the car owner, Rio Rios for that podium spot, but Dan will get the nudge having complied 2 seasons wins compared to just one for Rios.


NS5 saw Brian Robards at the wheel of his Mazda RX7 winning 4 of his 6 events, and taking home the crown.


Looking to the street classes, S1 was a V8 fest with Mustangs coming home in 1st and 3rd. Shane Kienholz would claim that top spot winning 4 events during the season. Brian Bromley proved he could step up in horsepower leaving his Miata behind and piloting the other podium Mustang to third. The C4 Corvette of Chuck Spittal was able to split the Mustangs, as his 3 wins in during the seasons secured him the second spot.


The typically crowded field of S2 ended up being a new comer to Oregon, George Emery surprising everyone. Locking up the championship early, his Ford Focus ST proved to be a tough act to beat winning 6 of the 13 events.


A familiar car was in the second spot, this year with a new driver. The Yellow MR2 formerly owned and driven by Blake Anghilante had a new owner in Allen Westenskow. Allen showed he knew just how to handle the agile car, and kept the car in the second podium spot. Matt Turned was able to edge out Michael Pinto on the final day by taking a 5th place in the event. That 5th would give Matt the 3 extra points he needed to skate by Michael by 1 point, taking the final podium spot in class.


Two classes that saw rather low attendance all year, S2L and SSC still had two fantastic drivers take home championships. Suzi Schieber had an easy time of it as she takes the win in S2L putting down fast times all season long. And Dominic Stone drove the wheels off his SSC BRZ to win all things in class.


The newcomers in the Trophy Challenge class saw a fierce battle right up until the end. It was Ben Holmesmith in his beautiful blue Subaru taking the top spot. In second, Laura Duncan took two wins during the year, and showed she will be one to watch moving forward. Janik Knittle showed great speed and kept improving all year to claim 1 event win on the final weekend, and secure the third spot in class.


PAX classes were both decided prior to the final weekend with the last name of Otis on top of both. On the Ladies side, it was Lacey Otis who had a strangle hold on the class. Her Ford Focus RS was fast at every event, and she was able to win 8 out of the 12 events she ran in.  Danielle Paulson showed great speed this year as well, as she grew more comfortable with the CAM changes to their Mustang.  That speed nabbed her 1 win this year, and had her securely in second place in the points. Bernadette Kuehn borrowed a Miata from Dave Russel, and she ran that to third in the season points.


Looking at the Open side of PRO-PAX, it was Ryan Otis who showed the way winning 6 event wins was too much to overcome for second place James Paulson.  James would win 1 event during the year, but it was his consistent finishes that would have him lock down that second spot. Dallas Cutler rounds out the Podium in class with the SSB Designs Evo coming home third.
    It was a fantastic year, which saw many new faces join the Oregon Region family. Fun courses, and great people keeps our region strong. PIR events saw some strong numbers, with the final Saturday having 90 racers take time.  Event 3 saw the largest car count in recent years, with 108 taking runs. 2020 looks to be a stellar year with fierce competition coming our way. So get on to those off season projects soon!!
    The awards banquet will be taking place on Saturday September 9th. Information and links can be found on the website, oregonscca.com. We look forward to see you at the banquet.
Until then, we will see you at the races….