Weekend Wrap-Up: ’22 TTNT at Carolina Motorsports Park
Weekend Wrap-Up: ’22 TTNT at Carolina Motorsports Park
The Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials National Tour Powered by Hagerty (TTNT) began its 2022 season March 26-27 at Carolina Motorsports Park (CMP) in Kershaw, SC. Conditions were sunny and a tad chilly for the nearly 120 drivers who took to the fast 2.27-mile, 14-turn circuit, which had been completely repaved only two years ago. Stiff winds added to the challenge Saturday and Sunday at what remains the only purpose-built road racing circuit in the Carolinas.
The paddock was packed in Kershaw as the weekend also saw about 40 drivers join the fun both days as part of the Track Event sessions, supported by Track Night in America Driven by Tire Rack. But plenty of track time was had by all, partially thanks to a new TTNT format that combines Intermediate and Advanced drivers across multiple sessions. The new system was very well received, and the addition of track event participants watching the TTNT action added to the electricity at the venue.
CMP Competition
The circuit was fast. In fact, a handful of drivers across multiple classes bested the previous TTNT track record of 1:40.762 set in 2020 by Chris Ingle driving an Unlimited 1 (U1) 2014 Dodge SRT Viper. The TTNT track record for CMP now belongs to Andy Hollis, who piloted his U1 2018 McLaren 720S to a time of 1:33.131 on Sunday. Hollis’ performance throughout the weekend also netted him the overall and U1 class win at CMP.
Some weekend battles came down to the wire in both the Sport and Tuner categories. Sport 6 was decided by 1.918sec as William Bostic beat out Karl Rickert, with both men driving 2013 Scion FR-S cars. The winning margin in Sport 3 was only 1.472sec as Christian Williams, in a 2018 Honda Civic, earned victory over David Walgrave driving a 2014 Cadillac CTS. But the tightest finish for the weekend went to Sport 2, where Nicholas Phillips and his 2003 Chevrolet Corvette eked out a win of 0.281sec over Zach Williams in a 2022 Chevrolet Camaro.
The margin of victory in Tuner 5 was just about as close. With 1999 Mazda Miatas the chosen weapon for both drivers, Robert McDaniels was 0.653sec faster than Patrick Mangan over the course of two days. Then in Tuner 3, Kevin Batten wheeled a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer to victory by 1.040sec over the 2003 BMW M3 of Lawrence Shue.
Below are the top five finishers from CMP with name, class, car and overall time.
1. Andy Hollis, Unlimited 1, 2018 McLaren, 3:45.937
2. Chris Ingle, Unlimited 1, 2014 Dodge Viper, 3:52.228
3. Justin Neal, Max 1, 2007 Chevrolet Corvette, 3:52.904
4. James Avellina, Max 2, 2020 Toyota Supra, 3:53.867
5. David Marcus, Tuner 2, 2020 Toyota Supra, 3:57.842
First Awards of the Year
Sunday afternoon’s KONI Podium Celebration saw top performers in each class receive their accolades. And as usual, a handful of superlative awards were also doled out, such as Top Novice recognition that went to Robert Ritchey. In a 2013 Scion FR-S, Ritchey began the weekend with the Novice group, but was quickly promoted to the Intermediate/Advanced grouping after showing good awareness, solid speed and developing skills.
The award for Most Improved was given to Nic Spruill. Last year, Spruill was learning about Time Trials. This year, he displayed more confidence in himself and his 1997 Dodge Viper as he drove to a 16th-place finish overall, and third in the U1 class.
The Crossover award, bestowed upon competitors coming from other SCCA disciplines, went to Justin Rest. He is a very accomplished Solo competitor on the national level but is also now playing with SCCA in Time Trials with a Mazda RX-8 fitted with a V-8 engine.
Two Spirit of Time Trials awards were also handed out on Sunday. One went to Terrence Singh for embracing the old “run what you brung” philosophy in a 2019 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen that he skillfully took to a runner-up finish in the Sport 4 class.
The second Spirit of Time Trials award went to Arul Angamuthu. After fellow Max 3 competitor Robert Wilmoth experienced brake issues and had to withdraw from the event, Angamuthu stepped up and loaned his 2018 Audi RS3 to Wilmoth so he could finish the weekend.
On to Sebring International Raceway!
Incredibly, Sebring International Raceway is next up on TTNT’s 2022 schedule. This was a late addition to the calendar, and a very special opportunity, since it’s rare to get an open date at that facility.
Sebring’s full 3.74-mile, 17-turn circuit will be used for the April 1-3 TTNT visit. That’s the exact same layout used by pro racing series, including IMSA’s legendary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours race. The TTNT event schedule for the weekend is also special in that it includes multiple practice sessions Friday on the full course, as well as a special TrackSprint Sunday morning.
Online registration for Sebring is currently open, but slots are filling up. Click the link below and reserve your entry today so this amazing opportunity isn’t missed.
Photo by Tradd Slayton
