SOLO: ProSolo Washington DC event summary

Ridgick Takes ProSolo Super Challenge In D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 22, 2010) -- A hearty crop of 238 Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo competitors descended on the Nation's capital for the 2010 Washington, D.C. ProSolo, June 18 -- 20 in the parking lot of FedEx Field. When the competition concluded, Corey Ridgick, of Allentown, Pa., stood atop all competitors, winning the Gumout Super Challenge.

The DC ProSolo began with questions on how much grip the newly-sealed asphalt at the home of the NFL's Washington Redskins would offer under the scorching sun. In reality, there was plenty of grip to be had, but the alternating surfaces challenged drivers to find the mix and added to the course's difficulties.

To further complicate matters, the ProSolo layout led competitors onto the sealed right side, but the older pavement on the mirrored circuit left drivers battling throughout the competition.

As typical of any difficult conditions, driver skill clearly shone through, and there was no shortage of talent this weekend on the east coast.

For the eventual winner Ridgick and his 2006 MODERacing Mitsubishi Evo, the initial competition came from Cy Lee, of Glenmoore, Pa., his teammate in the B Street Prepared class of the Street Prepared category. Ridgick topped the class by 0.707-second, and won his first three rounds of the Gumout Super Challenge to advance to the semifinals.

Michael Johnson's path to the penultimate round of the Super Challenge took him through the Bump Class 2 in his 2002 EvoSchool.com/OS Giken Chevrolet Corvette Z06. The Glen Allen, Va. racer topped teammate Courtney Cormier and scooted past the early rounds to set-up the Corvette versus Evo battle for a shot at the finals.

Jinx Jordan, of Terrell, N. C., scooted away from the F Street Prepared field by 1.464-seconds in his 1993 Hoosier/SoloPro Driving School to advance to the Super Challenge, also advancing into the semifinals.

It was in that semifinal match-up that he would meet Street Modified FWD class champion Brian Karwan, of nearby Fredrick, Md. In addition to a trip to the finals, the Honda Super Challenge title was also on the line with Karwan behind the wheel of his 1994 Karcepts.com Honda Civic.

Karwan grabbed both the Honda Super Challenge victory and the trip to the finals, where Ridgick would earn his victory.

Just to advance to the Gumout Super Challenge was an honor, though, as class competition was fierce all weekend long. Two classes were decided by less than a tenth of a second, with 0.126-second separating the winner from the runner-up in a third class.

The 19-car B Stock field hosted the closest competition of the weekend. Patrick Griffith, of Harmans, Md., laid down some times early in the weekend in his 2008 Studio 553 Pontiac Solstice GXP to set the bar in B Stock. Two by two, the field tried to chase down Griffith's runs. When the dust settled, Paul Kozlak came the closest in his 2007 Red Haus Racing Pontiac Solstice GXP, but fell just 0.026-second short.

The F Stock battle came down to the wire, with leader Sam Strano, of Knoxdale, Pa., and Jason Burns saving their best runs to the end of the weekend. Strano, driving a 2007 Strano Performance Parts Ford Mustang, scored his best runs on two of his final four circuits of the weekend. Burns, in a 2007 Strano Performance Ford Shelby Mustang, one-upped that drama with keepers on his final two trips around the layout. In the end, however, it was Strano with the class win by 0.093-second over the Burns and the F Stock field.

Yury Kholondyrev, of New York, just missed out on the top spot of the Street Touring Ultra in his 2007 Subaru STI. Kholondyrev's last run of the weekend was one of two that counted, but was just 0.126-second shy of the time needed to top Milford, Conn.'s John Winchester's 2006 Subaru WRX STI best combined circuits.

The Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Tour returns to action at the Toledo ProSolo at the Toledo Express Airport, July 17 -18. For full results on the Washington, D.C. ProSolo and more information on the Toledo ProSolo, visit www.scca.com/solo.

-source: scca