PYLON PRESS (Jan 05)

ARIZONA REGION – Joshua Sortor is yet another Arizona native. Maybe they're not as rare as commonly thought? Anyway, Josh was born in Phoenix and has lived here all his life, except while attending the University of Arizona in 1994-99.

His father has been a mechanic his whole life (like his father), so Josh spent his childhood and adolescence surrounded by tools, engines, axles, and the like. So, no way to tell when the interest in automobiles began. It wasn't congenital, but it was close to that.

The intense competitive nature may have been congenital. After all, Josh thinks that the stress of trying to do better than everyone else and achieving nearly unreachable goals in competition are large parts of what make it all fun for him. He spent two years racing GP motorcycles, including a year of pro racing in which he finished 6th in points. His best finish was a second place at Datona International Raceway. After his pro season, having realized that even with the purse winnings he couldn't sustain the race team, he spent a year away from motorsports, clearing away some debts.

Josh bought his Subaru WRX simply as a daily driver, but suscribed to the year's free SCCA membership included with the purchase. It was at that time that he noticed the Solo 2 activity, which seemed an inexpensive way to step towards car racing. It has helped satiate his need for competition, too.

Josh took first place novice awards in both the Arizona Region and the Arizona Border Region during his first season. The following season, he won first place in both regions in STX open. He won Pro class in our region's 2004 summer series, including 2 top PAX's. He finished first at the Phoenix and San Diego national tour events, and was undefeated in five Pro Solo events in 2004, including the Finale.

Future racing plans? A different car or class in Solo 2, maybe. Or shifter cart racing, or the Spec Miata circuit, or whatever. Other hobbies include spending weekends on the sand dunes of southern California and on the cinders near Flagstaff, running his dirtbikes and his off-road Jeep. Josh does some non-automotive things, as well. Cowboy action shooting competitions, for example, which he does with his wife Amber and his father-in-law. Those timed events involve shooting at combinations of targets using combinations of 1800's-replica single-action pistols, rifles, and shotguns.

While his work for our club as been somewhat limited (as he himself says), Josh actively assists other competitors, providing advice on tires, setup, and driving techniques. He was one of the instructors at the Drivers' School in December.

Josh works for Discount Tire Company as their Vehicle Applications Specialist. He gathers information and measurements on all vehicle makes and models as well as all the wheel and tire products that Discount Tire carries, incorporating them into the fitment guide used by the 500+ Discount Tire stores across the country. And he's a technical advisor to Discount Tire's legal, operations, purchasing, and IT departments.

16 January 2005, PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY – It was a Chamber of Commerce blue-sky kind of day at Phoenix International Raceway as the Arizona Region SCCA Solo 2 group kicked off the Spring 2005 series in fine style. This was the first local competition event held in a January for several years, and co-chairs Mark Johnson and Mike Driscoll resolved to make it a good one. They set up a scoreboard poker contest that each of the 164 drivers was eligible to win as they shuffled through the three-lot course.

The new year brings new classes, new competitors, new PAX factors and new chiefs. The PIR site was also relatively new for the organizers. Each of these changes represented small but significant hurdles that would have to be overcome. Even though the event chairs were under the gun for the success of the event, their ace in hole was the superb support from the specialty teams such as Equipment, Registration, Tech, and Timing & Scoring – that is, from the people who really make things happen.

Solo 2 Director Tage Evanson kicked off the action with a Drivers' Meeting, reviewing all the dos and don’ts. He might have been mistaken for Kenny Rogers as explained to the assembled crowd that you got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run. With cars in grid and workers headed to their stations, the event got underway at 9:20 AM, only a little late. Event results are detailed here.

The course proved to be a challenge right away. It was approximately one mile long, so many drivers only walked it once. While it was generally easy to read, the topography of the transitions between lots hid some key cones. They were easy to see while walking, less so once in the car and up to speed. And, the region had hosted a Test & Tune session the day before, running essentially the same course in the opposite direction. The areas near the transitions were reconfigured to make them safer going that way. The end result was an easy-to-see rubber road through most of the course except at the transitions. One needed to look at just the cones to stay on course in those areas, because the rubber road deviated off-course there. And some last minute adjustments failed to show up on the course map, further complicating the course finding.

Despite these issues, the course itself was quite fun. Many sections required a distinct strategy to get right and be fast. Sacrifice here and reap the rewards there. The fast drivers found sections where they could get on the throttle quite early once the cones lined up favorably. The course started in the East lot, with medium slalom, and then doubled back on itself, Anaconda-like, with a couple of 180-degree sweepers. This led to a tight right turn and a short slalom that deliberately slowed cars down for the transition onto the South lot. The slalom continued on the other side of the transition as the course bent around to the left. This opened into a big fast right-hander that fed into a long slalom. An error upon entry here was generally carried through the entire slalom before it was possible to correct for it. The slalom terminated in a tight S turn and another short slalom just before the second transition. If on line here, one could accelerate quite early across that transition, taking a leap of faith that the car was lined up correctly.

Once over the second transition, the course changed character a bit. There was a vague left bend that made it hard to estimate a turn-in spot, and then the course wound over to a decreasing-distance slalom that caught many drivers out. There was short chute after the slalom that led to an off-camber right-hander. This opened to long quasi-straight (it is a straight if you are on the power right?) that bowed to the left and into a tight boxed left-hander. After leaving that box, there was a domino-like "double fives" box, where the driver could choose to go left, right or slalom through, on the way to an open right-hander. Then a two-cone slalom led to a short finish chute. The path from the finish back the grid was a bit obtuse; many drivers took a shortcut there, resulting DNFs.

Because of these technical sections and the length of the course, run times varied by quite a bit. The starter could easily overwhelm the T&S crew or, if not careful, allow faster cars to catch up with slower cars. Tage Evanson moved all his chips to the middle of the table on his third run and took home the top time of day with a blazing 81.899 second run. Evanson was the only driver in the 81's and there was only one driver in the 82's, the formidable Brian Peters. The first real group of fast times started in the 83's! Mere mortals were typically in the mid-90's. Josh Sortor took the top PAX award, even with a new and improved STX factor.

Nearly one third of the drivers at the event classified themselves as novices – over 50 people! Indeed, the largest single class was Novice 1 with 21 drivers. Of those, Kelly Olohan hit the jackpot in his Street Mod Mini Cooper S with a PAX score of 891. A pair of B Stock RX-8's captured second and third, piloted by Elliot Speidell and David Moy respectively. Richard Mazur managed an 844 PAX score in his Street Mod M3. Jason Alger led the Flagstaff contingent in his B Stock Corvette with an 841 PAX. Meanwhile Mark Alger driving a Super Stock Viper and Jayme Black in a Street Mod WRX tied at 839 PAX points. Richard Woodruff in his hot rod Street Mod 2 Miata laid down an 834 PAX.

Novice 2 had eight drivers and Trennis Stanley raised the stakes with an 865 PAX score in his H Stock Audi 4000 CS Quattro. No one called him on it. Ron Glass, Gil Harari and Rick Paradis trailed in a tightly grouped bunch. Glass drove his Sephia to an 849 PAX score. Harari's Subaru RS was good for an 849 PAX while Paradis and his Civic Si came in at 843. Rick Oldani was on tilt with an 828 in his Miata. Novice 3 is the land of the STS car, or so it seems. David Green was on fire, laying down an 885 PAX score in his STS 240SX. He was chased by Ryan Hayles in a STS Prelude and Chad Sherman in another STS 240SX. Hayles’ best run was good for an 875 PAX while Sherman managed an 869 PAX. Did anyone notice how fast Derek Letourneau was in the STS Scion Tc? An 852 PAX ain’t too bad. Eric Boyko has a story to tell about his borrowed ride – he couldn't pass Tech in his own car but a buddy let him borrow an STS Integra and Boyko put it to good use for an 841 PAX, just one point in front of Tim Bergstrom in a STS Neon.

What a great turnout in Novice Ladies! Theresa Dorsey has been jumping through hoops trying to get back to an event after November. She drove her WRX to an outstanding 845 PAX score. Markette Licano anted up with a 790 PAX in her Civic, enough to prevail over Elizabeth Young and her Camaro SS. Chanda Child drove the stealth Honda Wagovan to a 752 PAX just ahead of Jennifer Lewis in the RX7. Cherrie Winfeldt brought out a new GTO and gets big points for style, even though she had a little trouble finding the course on each of her runs.

The remaining Arizona local indexed classes drew another one third of the competitors. Of those, Street Tire 1 was most the popular with 16 drivers. Dave Young prevailed once again in his SM M3, but not by much. The rally car invasion is on and Jay Balducci is leading the charge. He had an ESP WRX STi hidden up his sleeve this month to come within four PAX points of Young, 958 to 954. And that was with the OE air in the tires! Greg Rubenstein, in another ESP STi, was not far behind with his 942 PAX. Just ahead of James Frink in yet another ESP STi was rebel Clint Child in a (gasp!) SM Integra. Apparently, Child did not get the word to bring an STi to the ST1 party! Even so, his 937 PAX is more than respectable. Rounding out the top six in ST1 was Bryan Wofford in a BSP 350Z at 899 PAX.

Over in Street Tire 2, the competition was just as intense. Big dog Brad Owen continues make the GS Sentra go faster on will power alone. His 933 PAX was good for the top spot, with Scott Meyers in his HS Corolla GTS taking second with a 917 PAX. Mike Driscoll played aggressively enough in his Audi TT to earn a 910 PAX and third spot. The veiled Christopher Lachlan and his car were but two PAX points in front of the always-quick Will Esker, 901 to 899. John Fleming claimed a solitaire win in Street Tire 3 with 872 PAX score in his MR2. Glenda Meyers eked out a narrow victory over Roseann Tavarozzi in Street Tire Ladies. Meyers got the inside straight to edge her HS Corolla GTS ahead of Tavarozzi’s DS BMW 330i by slim margin of 819 to 814. This could get fun if they go double or nothing!

It looks like one needed a Miata to get anywhere in PAX Ladies. Queen of spades Dawn Maxwell took the top spot in a CS Miata with a 949 PAX score. Mindi Cross’ usual ride had a slight misdeal, so she left that table and borrowed an ES Miata. She seemed well suited for it and managed a 904 PAX. Jodie Warren was not bluffing when she ran a great 883 PAX score in her CS Miata, prevailing over Sharon Roberts in her AS S2000 and Teresa Clement’s DSP Integra GSR.

The PRO class is where the rounders come to play. There is real money at stake for these drivers and they play close to the vest. Pro Solo ace Josh Sortor has the game figured out as he played his monster STX WRX hand to a 1000 PAX score. Dave Webb has turned into a shark, driving his HS Focus to a 984 PAX. He was chased by Dave McCombs in a borrowed SS Corvette Z06 at 975. Steve Ryan caught lucky break when he borrowed a SS Viper after his own Corvette broke a brake the day before. He managed a 969 PAX in the big car. Mark Huffman laid down a 962 as he continues to tweak his new set up on the ASP Lotus. Steve Burger and his SS Corvette Z06 served up a 945 PAX score. Mr. Excitement Ted Lewis has been telling us for years that he is driving the wheels off his Elan and he did literally drive one off during his first run at this event! Fortunately, he was able to pick the car up and move it out of the way without delaying his run group. He borrowed an ES Miata for the remainder of his runs and ran a 943 PAX in the slower car. Steve Ashcraft had been stranded on his island home for most of the week leading up to the event, but managed to escape the flooding on Sunday. Unfortunately, he never sailed cleanly around the course, steaming to a DNF every run.

It is a no-limits table in Sportsman and Tage Evanson put down an all-in run for an all-out top time of day: 81.899 seconds! With his SM factor, that was only good for a 992 PAX, but it was just enough to hold off Brian Peters who debuted his CSP Miata with a 991 PAX score. STS Celica stud Dave Rock overcame the tougher factor he inherited this year with his 981 run. Joel Schotz didn't need to break open his book of excuses, posting a respectable 978, ahead of fellow SS Z06 pilot Steve Eymann at 972. Ron Huber is flying under the radar with his STS Impreza RS at 960 PAX.

The final one third of the drivers chose to participate in the traditional SCCA Open classes, where head-to-head competition is the rule and no indexes are used. In Super Stock, Kim Kemper showed his hand with 935 PAX over Darrell Covert, both in Corvette Z06's. The older S2000's were bumped to A Stock for 2005 and that is all that showed up in January. The silver ones seemed a little faster, with Kevin Gleaton taking the 945 PAX win. Co-drivers Mike Selland and John Sawyer had a great battle with Selland’s 890 ahead of Sawyer’s 880. The black S2000 of Don Roberts came in with an 873 PAX. Brady Dorhmann is looking for anyone to challenge him in B Stock, but his 964 PAX score this month may scare off any potential BS driver. And he was sand bagging, claiming a cone on his fastest run! C Stock has re-emerged as Mark Johnson claimed a win with his 950 PAX. Garry Swanner followed up with an excellent 908 run, while Sean Powers trailed. Doug Rowse, hot off the December Drivers' School, took his lessons to heart. A straight run of 964 PAX set him up for lead in D Stock, over Mike Esker and Mike Rogers. None of these guys is slow either, with Esker at 948 and Rogers at 930. The 94–97 Miatas jumped class to E Stock this year, despite Tom Tkacik's previous outstanding performances. He claims they are just as fast as the newer ones and backs it up with a 961 PAX and a better time than any C Stock Miata could muster. Tkacik was chased by Kirby Goodman in an RX7 and the Miatas of Lee Imler and Greg Hodgdon. Chris Noyes put sticky tires on his Lincoln and kicked serious butt in F Stock with a 931 PAX. Roy Combes tried to keep up in his Cobra but the 888 PAX didn't cut it.

Paul Hamersly procured a new Corvette and won the Z06 show down in A Street Prepared, over Joe Moritz, 877 to 837. Ryan Johnson and Ben Clement ran uncontested in B Street Prepared and D Street Prepared, respectively. E Street Prepared could turn into a street fight as Richard Rippy returns to claim the top spot with his Camaro, just 0.1 of a second in front of Brian Weikert, who was driving a borrowed Firebird, 929 PAX to 928 PAX. He may not get a another invitation because he broke the cardinal rule of borrowing a car by beating the owner, Larry Petrucci, who sat at 842 PAX. Scott Kalna was the lone Ford representative in this bunch, at 824 PAX with his Mustang Cobra. Davis Kofron brought his Rabbit to run in F Street Prepared, where he scored an 883 PAX.

There were only five drivers total in the Prepared and Modified classes. The Beastie has migrated to A Prepared due to its strict Jenny Craig weight loss program. Don Sattler and David Lahey may have found a trump card with the class move, generating 940 and 934 PAX scores respectively. You have to work to win even if you are playing solitaire, as Brian Jackson showed in F Prepared, Alan Wagstaffe in C Modified, and Greg Duncan in E Modified.

In the Street Modified category, guest driver David Schotz showed how it is done, scoring a 974 PAX. Jeff Goggin continues to develop his Audi as reflected by his improving PAX scores, a 925 this month. Geren Smith could not resist the mods to his Subaru STi and found himself in SM with a 908 PAX, followed by Travis Barnes. Street Mod 2 is seeing some action as Jason Kennedy shuffles the deck with a 916 in his RX7, trumping Victor Malchesky and Harry Berzes.

The action in Street Tire S is hot, and with 11 drivers the competition is never far away! Kris Castner is trying very hard to be smooth and it paid off with another win. His 923 PAX just edged Nelson Wilingham’s 917 in his Prelude. Richard Vela was in the hunt with a 913 PAX in his 240SX. Mark Shaw telegraphed his move to STS before making any mods to the car and still turned in a 905 PAX score. Jason Smith and Travis Gianelli had a battle royal, separated by only one PAX point, 898 to 897. It is not any easier in Street Tire X either. Look at the scores these drivers are putting down with street tires! Jeremy Galo squeaked out a victory over Dan Martin, 957 to 953. The Galo Prelude is due for some new modifications in hopes to extend that lead, but the Martin Spec V goes fast in spite of itself. Chad Mizner’s 945 PAX score in his G35 may not be enough to redeem him from all the trash talk he has stirred up, but it was good enough to overcome the 940 of Matt Francis and his WRX. STS2 is a new class designed to attract lower powered two seat cars – kind of a deuce: STS without the back seats. It promises to grow into a fun class. Kevin Venisnik is pioneering its development locally with his Miata.

Although it felt like trying to build a house of cards at times, the organizers kept the event on schedule and finished at a reasonable hour. When the chips are down, the Arizona Region Solo 2 group responds whole-heartedly, with lots of support. While the Equipment team played 52 Pick Up with the help of a few other volunteers, the remaining drivers changed tires, replaying that last hand to see if they could have done any thing differently. The game continues.