The 2009 SCCA National Tour and Pro Solo schedule was released today. Any Z's gonna come out and mix it up next year?

NATIONAL TOUR
3/14/2009 2009 NT Dixie; Dixie Championship South Georgia Motorsports Park
3/28/2009 2009 NT San Diego; Pacific Championship Qualcomm Stadium
4/4/2009 2009 NT Houston; Texas Championship Gulf Greyhound Park
5/16/2009 2009 NT Farmington; Mountain States Championship McGee Park
5/30/2009 2009 NT Blytheville; Eastern States Championship Arkansas Aeroplex
7/4/2009 2009 NT Peru; Lake States Championship Grissom Aeroplex
7/11/2009 2009 NT Packwood; Timberland Championship Hampton Mills
8/1/2009 2009 NT Vail Valley; Western States Championship Eagle Airport
9/8/2009 2009 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship Lincoln Airpark

PRO SOLO
3/21/2009 2009 El Toro ProSolo El Toro Airfield
4/18/2009 2009 Alameda ProSolo CANCELLED!!!
5/2/2009 2009 Lincoln ProSolo Lincoln Airpark
6/7/2009 2009 Blytheville ProSolo Arkansas Aeroplex
6/20/2009 2009 Washington DC ProSolo Fed Ex Field
7/18/2009 2009 Packwood ProSolo Hampton Mills
7/25/2009 2009 Toledo ProSolo Toledo Express Airport
9/5/2009 2009 ProSolo Finale Lincoln Airpark

I for one am looking forward to hitting as many events as I can next year! (and hopefully NOT cones...)


By fastech at 2008-11-07

 

going to try to do nationals next year in BSP

9/8/2009 2009 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship Lincoln Airpark

 

I'll be there in my Silver 07. Will be trying to run all the events east of the Rockies, but money could play a part. Unless of course you need a tire warmer, Brian

See ya at Dixie!

 

I'm sure to go to Dixie. I like their events.

Arkansas and Peru are the other two I'm interested in. Peru was bumpy but lots of grip. Never been to Blytheville, AR but I hope it's surface is better concrete than Walnut Ridge.

Jason, if Josh bails on me you can have a seat. He's buying a house and will be busy in 2009.

 

Well, I need a tire financier....

 

Yeah the concrete is better in blytheville then walnut ridge IMO. We had our tri- state event last month in blytheville. There is lots of room...and to me it was easier on tires then walnut ridge was...but its still concrete.

I should be there running in BS in a 03 brickyard enth....

 

I am finally graduating in three weeks which should vastly improve my traveling and tire budgets. The only problem is, my 24hours of Lemons adventure has given me the road race bug. BIG TIME. I've already put in a few calls to cage builders and have started looking at trucks and trailers. HPDE's are now also on my schedule. Dixie is my home event and I'm hoping to get some seat time before then. Also eyeing the Time Trial in Gainesville around February.

 

If you want to get a SCCA Time Trial license Tenn Valley and AL Regions will host a TT school at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway this spring. I've worked it the last 4 years and at the end you have a full license up to Level 4 (hill climbs).

 

so how does the national tour, say the one in Dixie compare to your local autocross event

 

I might look into that. JK Jackson in our region has on occasion gotten people from our region a Level 4 license at the Gainesville event. That being the cheapest route, I am looking into it first. I might have to find a car to drive that is eligible first which won't be that hard. I will certainly keep that in the back of my mind though thanks.

 

Obviously there are more people at a National tour and its 2 days long. Other than that there really isn't a difference. Keep in mind those are 2 HUGE differences lol.

 

Planning on toledo and maybe dc pros. Might go to peru. Not to sure yet.

 

I would like to invite everyone to the Mid-South Region's newest autocross site at Blytheville AR. The Mid South Region will be working in conjunction with the Arkansas Region to host 2 of the events announced above. In addition will will host our annual Tri-State Challenge event after the SCCA Nationals.

The site is smooth, well-maintained, SAC concrete. It is about a 1 hour drive on I-55 north of Memphis. Please take note of the dates and plan early to attend.

Whitt Deming,
Regional Executive
Mid South Region SCCA

 

+1

I met you up at blytheville. I was in the brickyard 350z co-driving it

 

There is more to it. A Tour is more formal than a local event. Grids are more stringent in where you park and when you run. You have to be ready when it's your time otherwise you can lose a run and nobody will feel sorry for you.

Worker stations have to note each car that passes and the number of the cone if hit on audit sheets. Since people are hoping to take home contigency money, they look at the other cars in the class closer in impound. Rules are taken seriously.

3 runs each day is the biggest challenge. There are a lot of local events won on the 4th, 5th or 6th runs. My son and I play 3 and done in locals. Whomever has the fastest run in 3 has bragging rights.

There is a mental game that doesn't happen in locals. You do not want to enter the 2nd day dirty but down in the pack is just as bad. Personally, I've got to work on my 2nd day. I seem to kick back and then I get passed by the more aggressive drivers. Jason thinks I take Prozac. Too laid back.

Do not fail to go to a Tour because it is a great experience. Everyone wants to enjoy the weekend and make new friends. After your 4-6 minutes of driving the greatest benefit is getting to know people outside your region and divisions who really have their sh*t together. I've met a lot of very nice people and the social aspect cannot be beat.

 

I think Mike maybe inadvertantly made it sound a bit scary, but it's not. It's not run by a bunch of ****'s! As long as you pay attention and show up where you're supposed to when you're supposed to, it's smooth sailing!

It is definately a different, and in my opinion more fun, experience than a local. You get to meet and run against some of the best drivers in the country (at least within driving distance of the event), people who maybe take the game a little more seriously than the people at your local autocross, but a lot of them are somehow more fun as well! There are some real characters at the tours (and Mike is one of them!), and people who have gone to a few big races and gotten to know the crowd feel like family to each other in a way. It is hard to explain, but it is more than the sum of its parts... Come on out, find Mike or me or one of your other Z driving brethren, and we will do our best to make you feel at home!

Once you're addicted, you'll be just as sick as the rest of us...

 

+1 on attending a Tour. There's nothing like it.

On one hand, you have a bunch of people who want to "kick your butt." On the other hand, if you're having problems, don't be too surprised if you have more hands available than you need.

As an example at Packwood this year, my co-driver and I picked up a puncture. It wasn't a full-out hole, but not by much -- I would leave with 35 PSI and return after my run with 29. If we'd have had more time, we could have plugged it on day one -- I didn't have a plug kit (yet), but there was one in my grid spot for us to use before our next runs. If there had been another Z there, I probably would have had an offer for a spare (a couple of RX-8 guys mentioned that they had a tire that we could use, but on the wheel was the wrong offset).

Fastest run of three on each day, add the times together -- no pressure.

(That being said, I *did* get into the trophies at Nationals in 2007 with my third run -- on both days.)

 

The SCCA has formally announced the 2009 Solo Season. There are a couple of changes to the posted dates.

Story

I expect to get to 3 Tours, Dixie, Peru and Blytheville and the Finals next year.

Should be fun.

 

Well I was gonna edit the post with the updated schedule but I can't see how to do so... So I'm posting the new, official SCCA schedule here:

2009 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour Schedule

March 14 - 15
South Georgia Motorsports Park
Cecil, Ga.

March 21 - 22*
Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, Calif.

April 4 - 5
Gulf Greyhound Park
Houston, Texas

May 16 - 17
McGee Park
Farmington, N.M.

May 30 - 31
Arkansas Aeroplex (Eastern States Championship)
Blytheville, Ark.

June 13 - 14
Seneca Army Depot
Romulus, N.Y.

July 4 - 5
Grissom Aeroplex
Peru, Ind.

July 11 - 12
Hampton Mills
Packwood, Wash.

Aug. 1 - 2
Eagle Airport (Western States Championship)
Vail Valley, Colo.



2009 Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo National Series Schedule

March 28 - 29 *
El Toro Airfield
El Toro, Calif.

April 18 - 19*
Alameda Point
Alameda, Calif.

May 2 - 3
Lincoln Airpark
Lincoln, Neb.

June 6 - 7
Arkansas Aerolex
Blytheville, Ark.

June 20 - 21
FedEx Field
Washington, D.C.

July 18 - 19
Hampton Mills
Packwood, Wash.

July 25 - 26
Toledo Express Airport
Toledo, Ohio

Sept. 5 - 6
Lincoln Airpark
Lincoln, Neb.

*- Tentative
All dates and venues are subject to change

 

Blytheville will be the location of a Middiv Divisional event prior to the tour and pro events, I'll be posting the date as soon as it is finalized.