December 2010
Volume 55, No. 12
The OfďŹ cial Publication of the Finger Lakes Region, Sports Car Club of America.
Solo and Membership meetings - Tuesday, December 7 Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY
Finger Lakes Region - SCCA www.flr-scca.com
2010 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
REGIONAL EXECUTIVE Michael Toombs ...................... (585) 328-2617 152 Gillette St. Rochester, NY 14619-2227 re@flr-scca.com ASSISTANT REGIONAL EXECUTIVE John Walsh .............................. (585) 546-5670 244 Mendon Center Rd Honeoye Falls, NY 14472-9335 assist-re@flr-scca.com TREASURER Elizabeth Thiel ........................ (585) 671-9995 fax (585) 266-0942 753 Klem Rd. Webster, NY 14580 treasurer@flr-scca.com SECRETARY Carl F. Dresie ......................... (585) 544-6482 119 Brookview Dr. Rochester, NY 14617-3903 secretary@flr-scca.com ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR Barb Lissow ............................ (585) 338-7249 250 Carter St. Rochester, NY 14621-5142 activitiesdirector@flr-scca.com DIRECTORS John Morris ............................. (585) 872-7789 12 Summit Knolls Dr. Webster, NY 14580-2816 director1@flr-scca.com Scott Moller ............................. (585) 230-5464 1301 Whalen Rd Penfield, NY 14526-1917 director2@flr-scca.com Dave Ciufo .............................. (585) 346-5002 6488 Coe Rd. Livonia, NY 14887-9306 director3@flr-scca.com Gene Dinkel ............................ (585) 383-0363 8 Musket Ln Pittsford, NY 14534-3608
RACE
COMPETITION BOARD Rich Smith, Chair .................... (585) 703-0631 clubracing@flr-scca.com Dave Ciufo .............................. (585) 346-5002 Fran McAllister .........................(585) 254-5920 Peter Kummer ...........................(585) 624-2853 Russell Jaslow ......................... (585) 724-5890 Mary Hartman ......................... (585) 426-3288 Erik Shepard............................. (585) 269-7097 “WESTWARD HO” RACE CHAIRMEN Scott Moller ..............................(585) 230-5464 westward@flr-scca.com Meridith Croucher.....................(315) 331-5354 “FUN ONE” RACE CHAIRMEN John Walsh ................................(585) 546-5670 funone@flr-scca.com Elizabeth Thiel ........................ (585) 671-9995 CHIEF REGISTRAR Judy Dennis ..............................(585) 872-1503 registrar@flr-scca.com CHIEF, TIMING & SCORING Carl F. Dresie ............................(585) 544-6482 ts@flr-scca.com
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CHIEF, FLAGGING & COMM. Barbara Lissow .........................(585) 338-7249 fc@flr-scca.com CHIEF, STARTER John Flowers ........................... (607) 546-2369
starter@flr-scca.com
CHIEF, GRID ....................................................................TBA CHIEF, PITS &PADDOCK ....................................................................TBA CHIEF, SCRUTINEERING Bruce Perry ...............................(585) 382-9234 tech@flr-scca.com CHIEF, SOUND CONTROL Jim Craven ................................(585) 889-5363 sound@flr-scca.com NYSRRC REPRESENTATIVE Mary Hartman ...........................(585) 426-3288
RALLY
ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS
MEMBERSHIP Mike Brunner ............................(585) 752-7233 membership@flr-scca.com TOP END EDITOR Carl Dresie ................................(585) 544-6482 cfdresie@cs.com MERCHANDISE Chris McAllister..............(585) 872-2530(days) merchandise@flr-scca.com EQUIPMENT CHAIRMAN Alan Blood ................................(585) 242-9039 equipment@flr-scca.com REGIONAL HISTORIAN Lynn Randall.............................(585) 451-5298 historian@flr-scca.com WEBMASTER MaryAnne Shults ......................(949) 768-2609 webmaster@flr-scca.com
RALLY CHAIR(S) ....................................................................TBA INTERIM CHAIR Tom Langdon ...........................(315) 524-2260 rally@flr-scca.com RALLYCROSS REPRESENTATIVE and COORDINATOR Jim Perrin ..................................(716) 510-5871 rallycross@flr-scca.com
STPR® Motorsports, LLC
SOLO
NEDIV ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS
SOLO BOARD Brian Buchman ........................ (585) 747-3808 solo_chair@flr-scca.com Dave Avery ...............................(585) 425-9610 david.avery@kodak.com Alan Smith ................................(585) 359-4688 asmith2357@aol.com Marnie Soom.............................(585) 233-2760 marniesoom@gmail.com Mike Stutzman ..........................(585) 889-2564 stutz@eartling.net CHIEF, REGISTRAR Cory Kuhns ...............................(585) 210-0824 soloregister@flr-scca.com CHIEF, SAFETY STEWARD Dave Avery ...............................(585) 425-9610 david.avery@kodak.com CHIEF, TECHNICAL INSPECTION Jim Hoelscher............................(585) 247-9596 jhoelsch@rochester.rr.com CHIEFS, NOVICE PROGRAM Alan Smith ................................(585) 359-4688 asmith2357@aol.com TIMING/SCORING & RESULTS Jake Massey ..............................(585) 697-4139 eselred@yahoo.com CHIEF, SOUND CONTROL Edwin Jeffries ...........................(585) 730-2778 edwinjeffries@gmail.com CHIEF, TROPHIES Marnie Soom.............................(585) 233-2760 marniesoom@gmail.com CHIEF, WORKERS Edwin Jeffries ...........................(585) 730-2778 edwinjeffries@gmail.com CHIEF, WAIVERS Brian Buchman ........................ (585) 747-3808 solo_chair@flr-scca.com
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Managers Meridith Croucher.....................(315) 331-5354 meridith1c@msn.com. Lewis Giesy ..............................(315) 597-9637 Alan Smith ................................(585) 359-4688 rallymaster@stpr.org Treasurer Joyce Bucknam .........................(315) 597-5668
AREA 10 DIRECTOR John Sheridan ............................(518) 861-8389 PO Box 739 Altamont, NY 12009 john12009@aol.com NEDIV EXECUTIVE STEWARD, RACE Earl Hurlbut. .............................(585) 219-4891 ehurlbut@rochester.rr.com NEDIV ROADRALLY STEWARD Ted Goddard ............................(802) 263-5678 tedgcb@tds.ner NEDIV RALLYCROSS STEWARD Scott Beliveau ...........................(603) 524-4305 beliveau@aavid.com NEDIV SOLO STEWARD David Newman ....................... (610) 4335690 dn59@verizon.net NEDIV SOLO SAFETY STEWARD Bruce Bellom ............................(914) 739-6815
Additional positions: see http://www. nescca.com/nescca_main/contacts.html
December 2010
The Official Publication of the
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Finger Lakes REGION
SPORTS CAR CLUB OF AMERICA
Staff TOP END is the official publication of the Finger Lakes Region (FLR), SCCA, and is mailed to all members in good standing and to advertisers. Opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views of FLR. Permission to reprint articles is granted to all SCCA regional publications and its national magazine, SportsCar. Full credit must be given to FLR, TOP END and the author. Non-membership subscription rate: $15.00 per year. Submit subscription orders and address changes to the Circulation Editors. Bulk rate mail is not forwarded by the Post Office when you change your address, even if you file a forwarding request with your Postmaster. Submit materials for publication to the Editor or any of the Editorial Staff. Contact Editor for information regarding submission of classified advertising. Contact the Advertising Editor for commercial advertising. Deadline for submissions to TOP END is the 12th of each month. Typed, printed and electronic files are acceptable. Contact Editor regarding electronic file formats and fonts. All submissions are subject to revisions that may be necessary to meet the requirements for publication.
2010 December
EDITOR/ADVERTISING Carl F. Dresie 119 Brookview Dr. Rochester, NY 14617-3903 (585) 544-6482 e-mail: cfdresie@cs.com CO-EDITOR/COPY EDITOR Lynn Randall 15 Diana Dr. Scottsville, NY 14546 (585) 889-1289 e-mail: lynnscca@rochester.rr.com COPY EDITOR MaryAnne Shults 23864 Sycamore Dr Mission Viejo, CA 92691-3038 (949) 768-2609 e-mail: webmaster@flr-scca.com TOP END CIRCULATION Change of Address Notify the SCCA National Office in Topeka and the Membership Chair: Mike Brunner 228 Robert Quigley Dr. Apt-1 Scottsville, NY 14546 (585) 752-7233 e-mail: membership@flr-scca.com And/Or: The EDITOR (see above)
Contents RE’s Report...................................................4 Meeting Minutes ................................... 4 - 7 November Membership .................... 4 - 6 October BOD ................................... 6 - 7 FLR News .............................................. 7 - 8 Membership News ................................. 7 Remembering ................................... 7 - 8 5 Minutes ............................................... 8 National New ........................................ 8 - 9 NEDiv Mini-Con ................................ 9 - 10 Bnquet Flyer .............................................. 11 FLR on YouTube ...................................... 12 Solo ................................................... 14 - 15 Rally .................................................. 16 - 19 Rally Event Report ............................... 16 Rally Meeting Notes ............................ 16 Rally Party Flyer .................................. 17 Rally Event Flyers ........................ 18 - 19 Targa Reports .................................... 21 - 24 Lemons ...................................................... 24 Classified Ads .............................................25 Membership Application ............................26 Calendar ..............................inside back cover Last Pit ...................................... Back Cover Photo Credits: Front Cover, p21 ...... Courtesy of R. Hopkins p3, pp 14-15 .......... Courtesy of Marni Soom pp 9-10 ........................................ Mike Feno pp 22-23 ...... Courtesy of Mark Laitenberger p24 ........................ Courtesy of Dick Reffner
Cover Photo: The “Smurf Blue” Demon Dodge Dart of Roy Hopkins and Adrienne Hughes at the 2010 Targa Newfoundland. Story on paged 21 and 22. Photo courtesy of Roy Hopkins
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A comment about the Solo Picnic? 3
double National Races on the schedule; the Glen National and the National at Pocono are both doubles. There was discussion of cutting back to one double in 2012 and adding an additional race group to each single National (different race group for each race) that would in effect give each race group a second double. I know that some tracks might not be able to handle an additional race group (including Watkins Glen) but the Mike Toombs idea is intriguing. We hope to discuss Regional Executive this over the winter and bring it up again in March. Speaking of March, What a couple of months. We had the Roundtable is now going to be issues with our election of officers, and in a semi–permanent location in the had to have a revote at our November Scranton, PA area. At the roundtable in meeting. But, the mailing was no better March Saturday will be solely dedicated for the election this month as it was to training for the upcoming season. in October. I hated to keep delaying There will be no dinner Saturday the vote and I offered a solution that I night, and Sunday morning will be the hoped would end the election during the usual NEDiv Council meeting with November meeting. So it was decided by the planning for the 2012 race season a unanimous voice vote of all members getting discussed. at the meeting to accept the election as I got a few people excited at the it stood at that time. So I would like Council meeting on Sunday. I am starting to congratulate Mark Eksten and Fran to push to stop using NESCCA instead McAllister, the new directors elected of NEDiv. The NESCCA moniker had a to two-year terms and Barbara Lissow use when it was first started in the early as the Activity director for 2011. I look 1990’s, but confuses people now. We forward to working with all of the board crowned the NEDiv race champions on members next year. Saturday night and gave them jacket with Then we put on the annual North NESCCA logo on the back. NESCCA East Division mini-con. A lot of time was started as a strictly National Race and energy went into putting on the moniker and it disenfranchises solo, event. I need to thank Elizabeth Thiel rally, rally cross, time trials, PDX, hill for planning the well-run convention climbs and regional racing! I would and executing it like clockwork, John hope that the entire divisional would be Walsh for getting the competition clinic inclusive and drop the NESCCA name. together, it was well received by the No decision on the name drop was made people I talked to, and Marsha Toombs at the meeting; it was decided to hold off for doing registration. We received many until March. From the people I talked to compliments and I can once again say I after the meeting, I am not the only one am proud to call myself a member of the who would like NESCCA to go away. If you think I am wrong, let me know. Finger Lakes Region.
REPort
There were several topics that got some attention at the convention. National racing has once again come up as an important subject matter. The Nation Race Committee (of which I am a member) meet and discussed several options for the future of National races in the North East. In 2011 there are two 4
Wow the end of the year is just around the corner and the annual banquet is the end of January. This is the one chance to see everyone dressed in their non-racing finest. Come out and join us! So, until next month… Mike
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Meeting Minutes Finger Lakes Region, SCCA General Membership Meeting Minutes November 2, 2010 Location: Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, New York 14534 Regional Executive Mike Toombs called the meeting to order at 8:10 p.m. The following are arranged by topic and may not be in chronological order. The October 5, 2010 General Membership Meeting minutes as printed in the November 2010 issue of Top End, were approved on a motion by Alan Smith, seconded by John Morris. Activities – Barb Lissow The Year End Banquet will be held at the Burgundy Basin Inn on January 29, 2011. Because of another party scheduled on the same evening we will start with the cocktail hour at 5:30 p.m., a buffet dinner will follow. (An informational flyer is in the December issue of Top End. Ed.) Rotating trophies need to be returned to John Walsh. The auto show will be the end of March, workers and cars are needed. Election of Officers All members of the region, due to mailing and post office processing issues, have not received ballots. Those that have been returned to the secretary show that the percentage of votes for each of the candidates has stabilized and that additional ballots would not change the results. The results from the first mailing and the second are the same. Election results were accepted as they stand at the time of the meeting on a motion by Mike Brunner, seconded by Gene Dinkel. Barb Lissow is returning as Activities Director, Mark Eksten and Fran McAllister are the new board members at large.
December 2010
Sponsorships are coming in. Jeff Dahnert, President and CEO of SCCA will be attending. The Mini-Con was mentioned in G. W. Henderson’s column in the November issue of Sports Car. See the center column of page 98. New Business The BMW club is conducting a Street Survival School at WGI next Saturday. They need instructors.
Providing the racing community with insurance and disability income for over 40 years. www.Gorsline.com
The candidates for the uncontested positions were accepted at the October general membership meeting. The elected 2011 board members are: Mike Toombs, Regional Executive; J. Scott Moller, Assistant Regional Executive; Elizabeth Thiel, Treasurer; Carl Dresie, Secretary; Barb Lissow, Activities Director; Mark Eksten and Fran McAllister, Directors. Returning for the second year of a two-year term as Director is Dave Ciufo. The second year of Scott Moller’s Director term will be filled later. Thanks to the outgoing Directors, Gene Dinkel and John Morris. Membership Report – Mike Brunner Twenty-four members were present for the Solo and General Membership meetings. Membership was up three from last month to 488. Mike reminds all to log on to their membership page on the national web site and to verify that the information is correct. It has been noted that both e-mail and phone numbers are out of date for a number of members. Also, any race days worked will reduce the cost of your yearly membership fee. Information is in the November issue of Top End. Mini-Con – Elizabeth Thiel The Mini-Con is coming along just fine. Each attendee will receive a coupon for discounts at Eastview Mall. They will also have a Visit Rochester restaurant guide. Marsha Toombs reported that we had 118 people registered so far, with 25 of them being for the Comp Clinic.
2010 December
Race Report We will host a three-day double national at Watkins Glen and the Fun One. Event chairs have not been named for these two races. Westward Ho There are several possibilities for the dates of Westward Ho in 2011. Options are the middle of October or the middle of May. The date will depend upon the schedule of the Great Lakes Division races; we need to avoid a conflict. The other possibility is to not run Westward Ho in 2011. Rally Report Alan Smith reported that the RoadRally/RallyCross Awards and Christmas party is set for Saturday, Dec. 11 at Cheap Charlie’s in Bloomfield. (A flyer is in the December issue of Top End. Ed.) The winter rally series starts on Jan. 8, followed by the second rally on Jan. 15. (Flyers for these events are in the December issue of Top End. Ed.) The remaining dates are Feb. 5, Feb. 19 and March 5. Rallymasters have been named for each of these events. Solo Report – Brian Buchman The last event of the season was held on a Rochester Institute of Technology parking lot on Oct. 10. The weather was great. We had 89 drivers and 187 spectators. The next event is the Solo Picnic this Sunday, Nov. 7 at the Scottsville Fire hall. Mike Toombs and Tina Reeves met with the Seneca County Economic Development Corporation and presented the case for using the Seneca Army Depot site for Solo events in 2011. They seemed receptive to the proposal but have not made a decision. A delay in resolving our use of the SeAD site may impact the scheduling of a Solo Tour event. The meeting was written up in the Finger Lakes Times. Treasurer’s Report – Elizabeth Thiel Elizabeth reported on the amount in the checking account. Financial details are available from Elizabeth. All bills have been paid. Seven more photographs (trophies) are left to mail for the Fun One at a cost of about $1.50 each. The board met with the Canandaigua National Bank financial advisors. The region has experienced a yearly gain of nearly ten percent. Their report is available for review, just ask Elizabeth.
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The treasurer’s report was accepted on a motion by Gene Dinkel, seconded by Brian Barlow. The meeting was adjourned at 8:42 p.m. on a motion by Mike Brunner, seconded by Brian Barlow. Respectfully submitted, Carl F. Dresie, Secretary Bench Racing Wayne Randall, a past member of the Finger Lakes Region, passed away recently. Calling hours are this evening and the funeral will be tomorrow. Wayne was an active member of the region, serving on the board of directors and as chief of specialty for several years. Fun One t-shirts are available for $200. Just ask Jack Hannifin. Gene Dinkel has a number of t-shirts seeking a new home. Sizes run from large to 2-years. The t-shirts feature noted drivers and various race equipment and sponsors. More to come. John Walsh is running for Area 10 Director.
Finger Lakes Region, SCCA Board of Directors Meeting Minutes October 26, 2010 Location: 753 Klem Rd., Webster, NY Mike Toombs called the meeting to order at 7:36 p.m. Officers and directors present: Michael Toombs, Regional Executive; John Walsh, Assistant Regional Executive; Elizabeth Thiel, Treasurer; Carl Dresie, Secretary; Barbara Lissow, Activities Director; Dave Ciufo, Scott Moller and John Morris, Directors. Guest present: Kevin Kinney, Relationship Manager, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust 6
Items are presented by subject and may not be in chronological order. The minutes of the Sept. 28, 2010, board of directors meeting were approved on a motion by Scott Moller seconded by John Morris. Activities Report – Barb Lissow The Year-End Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011, at the Burgundy Basin Inn. The menu and other details need to be set. There is another large party scheduled for that date at the Burgundy Basin. The start of the banquet may be moved up thirty minutes to minimize the conflict. The total capacity of the Burgundy Basin is not a problem. Investment Report – Kevin Kinney Kevin Kinney reviewed the status of the Finger Lakes Region’s Wealth Strategies Group Account. The account is a Dimensional Fund Advisors, Efficient Frontier Series with a split of 60% in equities, 40% in fixed income. The equity funds are a mix of stocks with 70% in US stocks, 30% in international stocks. The fixed income is split equally between one-year, twoyear, five-year government and fiveyear global portfolios.
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Long-term experience for the investment split the Finger Lakes Region has shows an average return of just over 7%. Year-to-date return is just under 6%. Mini-Con The Mini-Con is coming together. Registration and event schedule information can be found on the region website, www.flr-scca.com. Sponsorships are coming in. Ninetysix registrations have been received todate. Presenters for the Competition Car Clinic are being set. On line race registration providers, DLB and Motorsports Reg, will be demonstrating their software. A Mini-Con version of Top End, based on the November issue, will be created for the Mini-Con. New Business The BMW club needs instructors for a Street Survival School at Watkins Glen on Nov. 6. This is an opportunity to observe another organization conducting the school. The proposals for Drivers School’s were discussed. Messages are
December 2010
circulating in the race groups on how to fund the schools and discussion is expected at the Mini-Con. It appears that ballots were not sent to each member on the mailing list, but maybe one to each address. Ballots and the election will be discussed at the general membership meeting on Nov. 2. Race Report The race dates offered by Watkins Glen for the national race, July 9 and 10, and the Fun One, Sept. 17 and 18, have been accepted. A provisional schedule for the Northeast Division should be set at the upcoming Mini-Con. Westward Ho Possible dates for the Westward Ho race at Nelson Ledges were discussed. Dates may be available in May, the last of June and mid-October. Another option is to not hold Westward Ho. Experience has been that the race has not been profitable. Conflicts may exist with events scheduled by the Great Lakes Division. Fun One – John Walsh and Elizabeth Thiel Financial transactions for the Fun One should be complete by the end of November. Rally Report The Avon, Geneseo & Mt. Morris RallyRoad event of Oct. 17 had seven teams entered. A report should be printed in the December issue of Top End. RallyCross results were not available. STPR® management is planning a coefficient 2 event on the Waste Management site scheduled for Feb. 12. Committee meetings are being scheduled, with the first being Nov. 1. The Rally Awards Party will be scheduled for December. Date and location have not been settled. Solo Report The Solo year-end picnic is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 7. Mike Toombs and Tina Reeves will be meeting with the Seneca County
2010 December
Economic Development Corporation on Friday, Oct. 29. A delay in resolving our use of the Seneca Army Depot may impact the scheduling of a Solo Tour event. Treasurer’s Report – Elizabeth Thiel Funds will be transferred into the investment account after the Fun One transactions are completed. The Profit & Loss by Class statement for Jan. 1 through Oct. 26 was presented for review. A balance sheet and accountant adjustments will be presented at the next meeting.
Address changes Cory Kuhns
Don't forget to renew Myra Liedtke Hai Hoang Nguyen Full address information is available from the Membersip Chair, Regional Executive or Top End Editor.
The race, rally and Solo programs all currently show a positive balance for the year. The treasurer’s report was accepted on a motion by John Walsh, seconded by Dave Ciufo. The meeting was adjourned at 9:24 p.m. on a motion by John Morris, seconded by John Walsh. Respectfully submitted, Carl F. Dresie, Secretary
FLR News Membership News and Information Welcome to the Finger Lakes Region, SCCA Jacque Lee Baker Family
Welcome back Matthew Evan Zollweg Regular Club racing, Solo Web Site
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Remembering Wayne W. Randall
Wayne William Randall, 69, died suddenly at his home in Poplar Branch, N.C., on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010. Born on Aug. 9, 1941, in Elmira, N.Y., he was the son of the late Burr and Marion (Rear) Randall. Mr. Randall volunteered as a firefighter and medic for Scottsville Fire Department and Ambulance for over 30 years. During that time, he taught advanced first aid and served as captain of the ambulance squad. He was instrumental in the department's purchase of the Jaws of Life as he spearheaded a fundraising campaign to gather community contributions of $7,000, encouraging Scottsville of the value of this life-saving tool. However, the highlight of Wayne's life was road racing sports cars. He was an active member of the Finger Lakes Region of the Sports Car Club of America. He served on the board of directors in 1989. For his dedication, 7
the region commended him with their Outstanding Worker Award in 1987. Before he began competing, he volunteered at the racetrack at Watkins Glen in Flagging and Communications as well as in Emergency Services. He was the Chief of Emergency Services for the Finger Lakes Region, SCCA in 1983-84 and 1987-1990. He received the Outstanding Worker Award in 1987 and also served on the region’s board of directors in 1989. Randall competed in not only SCCA races, driving a street-stock Toyota Celica, but also endurance racing in the former Firestone Firehawk Series. He drove a limited edition Ford Mustang SVO, sharing his passion of the muscle car. One of his greatest disappointments was when the cost of racing became too much. Surviving are his wife Jane "Arlene" Randall; two daughters, Tina Harris and Pamela Randall; one son, Terry Randall; three step-daughters, MaryAnne (John) Shults, Karen (Ken) Hodgeman, Aimee (Peter) DeMasi; one step-son, Douglas "Sid" (Heather) Hughes. He was loved by his 11 grandchildren and stepgrandchildren, as well as his nieces and nephews. Donations may be made in Wayne Randall's name to the Scottsville Fire Department and Rescue Squad, 385 Scottsville-Mumford Road, Scottsville, NY, 14546, or to donor's choice.
“5 Minutes” Items of immediate interest. December 7
Reservations for the December 11 Rally Holiday party are due to Alan Smith. See the flyer on page 17 for more information. A t t end the Solo and general membership meetings to hear the latest club news. Get it first hand before reading bits and pieces in the January issue of Top End. 8
National News
Changes Announced to 2011 Runoffs Qualification Process TOPEKA, Kan. (Oct. 29, 2010) – Sports Car Club of America’s Board of Directors has changed the process in which invitations for the Club Racing National Championship Runoffs are determined, bringing both Divisional and National point standings back into the mix. After soliciting, receiving and evaluating input from the membership, the Board has instituted changes in an effort to focus the Championship event on the “Best of the Best” while encouraging participation in local events throughout the season. The participation criteria established in 2010 will go unchanged, with drivers needing to start at least four, with a minimum of two within their Division of Record, and finish at least four National races in their class. While the 2010 criteria ended with the participation requirements, drivers will need to achieve a certain level of success during the “regular” SafeRacer SCCA National Racing Series to earn an invitation to the 2011 Runoffs. Specifically, drivers will need to achieve at least one of three criteria based on Divisional and National points. They are: - Finish in the top three of their class in their Divisional Championship. - Finish in the top half of the coast-to-coast, National Point Standings within their class. - Reach or exceed a minimum number of points for a given class in the National Point Standings (listed below). “In simple terms, to qualify for the Runoffs, a driver needs to finish in the
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top three of his or her Division or in the top half of the National Points in addition to finishing four National races during the season,” SCCA President and CEO Jeff Dahnert said. Divisional Championships Divisional Championships in Club Racing remain unchanged from 2010 to 2011. Points are assigned to finishers of each race per class on a 12-9-7-6-5-4-32-1 basis for first through ninth place. A driver’s seven-best results count toward a Divisional Championship. A driver may count up to three “National” races from another Division toward his or her point total. National Point Standings The National Point Standings, previously called “nation-wide points,” remains unchanged in structure from 2010, where it existed as a part of the SCCA Club Racing Super Sweep program. The National Point Standings assigns base points on the same schedule as the Divisional Championships, but adds one point (with a maximum of 10) for each car a driver finishes ahead of in the final results. The best seven outings count in the standings, but there are no Divisional boundaries. The National Point Standings will be formalized in the 2011 SCCA Club Racing General Competition Rules. Drivers achieving this number of points, or higher, in that same class of the National Point Standings for 2011 will earn an invitation to the 2011 Runoffs, as long as they have also achieved the participation minimums. This is not the only way to receive an invitation, but is designed to give drivers a point goal to reach, particularly in areas of the country that conduct their races early in the season. This point total was established based on the number of points needed in each class to finish in the top half of the 2010 National Point Standings. American Sedan – 33 points C Sports Racing – 32 points D Sports Racing – 32 points E Production – 26 points Formula 500 – 38 points
December 2010
Formula Atlantic – 20 points Formula 1000 – 37 points Formula Continental – 25 points Formula Enterprises – 34 points Formula F – 33 points Formula Mazda – 35 points F Production – 28 points Formula Vee – 33 points GT-1 – 26 points GT-2 – 28 points GT-3 – 31 points GT-L – 31 points H Production – 32 points Sports 2000 – 30 points Spec Miata – 22 points Spec Racer Ford – 27 points Showroom Stock B – 34 points Showroom Stock C – 49 points Super Touring O – 19 points Super Touring U – 21 points Touring 1 – 38 points Touring 2 – 37 points Touring 3 – 40 points
Runoffs Races Now Available on DVD
NEDiv Mini-Con
hosted by Finger Lakes Region Photos by Mike Feno
John Walsh, Finger Lakes Region member, realizes he is the new Area 10 Director, come January.
European Car Specialists
TOPEKA, Kan. (Nov. 19, 2010) – The 2010 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Subway DVD set is now available for purchase at SCCA. com. All 28 races from the 2010 Runoffs are featured on an eight-disc DVD set, including pre and post-race interviews and analysis from the announcing team of Dorsey Schroeder, Greg Creamer, Jim Tretow, John Bisignano and Bart Wolf. Each race is presented as it was aired on SpeedcastTV.com.
2010 December
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The 2010 Runoffs DVD set is priced at $31.99 ($39.99 for non-members) and available just in time for the holidays. SCCA members can log into their account at ams.scca.com and click the “merchandise” link to order.
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NEDiv Mini-Con (continued)
Executive Steward, Earl Hurlbut, recognizes Meredith Croucher for her service to SCCA. SCCA President Jeff Dahnert addresses the members at dinner.
78 Bennington Drive Rochester, NY 14616 585-621-8200
The entire group of award winners.
www.ekstenautoworks.com CLUB RACING AND TRACK EVENT PREPARATION FULL IMPORT MAINTENANCE MACHINE SHOP SERVICES & FABRICATION ENGINE BUILDING AND CUSTOM CYLINDER HEAD WORK DYNOMAX CHASSIS DYNO BY LAND-AND-SEA 10% Off Labor to Club Members
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The lunch crowd.
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December 2010
Annual Banquet
2010 Annual Awards and Membership Recognition
Saturday January 29, 2011 Burgundy Basin Inn 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford ph. (585) 248-2660
5:30-6:30 p.m. ............... Registration, Open bar*, Hors d’oeuvres 6:30 p.m. ...................... Dinner & Cash Bar Following dinner ............ Presentation of awards and recognition *Beer, wine and other beverages
Beverages will be available for purchase during and after dinner Dinner is a buffet with: Individual Tossed Salads Roast Sirloin, Chicken French, Stuffed Sole Rosemary Potato, Rice Florentine, Penne Rigate, Vegetable Fresh Fruit, Zesty SW Bean Salad, Garden cottage cheese, Whipped Jello,Italian Olive, Asst Relishes Directions to Burgundy Basin Inn: 1. Leave 490 (East of Rochester) at exit 27/Bushnell’s Basin 2. Turn right onto Route 96/Pittsford Victor Rd. 3. In 0.3 miles turn right onto Marsh Rd. (This is the second right.) Caution!! Single Lane Bridge 4. In 0.25 miles turn left into the BBI parking lot Also available at http://wwr.flr-scca.com/bbin.html
More information and a reservation form will be available at www.flr-scca.com and will be printed in the January issue of Top End.
PLEASE R.S.V.P by January 22, 2011 Barb Lissow, 250 Carter St., Rochester, NY 14621-5142 ph. (585) 338-7249 e-mail: activitiesdirector@flr-scca.com 2010 December
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www.youtube.com/user/flrscca
Visit the Finger Lakes Region SCCA YouTube Channel
Come and join our channel...
Send an e-mail to webmaster@flr-scca.com 12
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December 2010
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Family friendly eye care offering a wide range of eye care services in a state-of-the-art facility. We offer the latest and most popular frame style and a large variety of lens options including Varilux 速 no-line bifocals, Transitions 速 lenses and polarized sunglasses.
2010 December
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Solo Brian Buchman Solo Chair
Solo Awards
The efforts of the Finger Lakes Region Soloists were recognized at the Solo Awards Picnic, Sunday, Nov. 7. Class trophies were given to:
Adult Kart Jack Thompson - First Place The following “special recognition” awards were presented: Family Tree award Fish family for 3 generations of racers Fast learner award Daniel Emord and Dean Wallace Car Whore Alan Smith Cone Killer Dean Wallace
C Street Prepared Mike Toombs - First Place
No Shame award Dan Wilcox
E Modified Paul Shaver - First Place
The "bug killer" killer Dave Avery
F Modified Todd Miller - First Place
Big guy in a little car award Ed Jeffries
C Prepared James Hoelscher - First Place
Tardy award Todd Miller
D Prepared Brian Reeves - First Place
Frequent flyer award Alan Schoonmaker
Novice Dean Wallace - First Place Craig Wallace - Second Place
Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Jeff and Stefan Colegrove
Brian Buchman, Solo Chair and Alan Schoonmaker, recipient of the Frequent Flyer Award - Up to the north from “down South.”
Jake Bucknam, 1st in the Pro Class
Pro Class Jake Bucknam - First Place Chris Morton - Second Place Jeff Colegrove - Third Place Stefan Colegrove - Fourth Place David Potocki - Fifth Place Road Tire Dan Wilcox - First Place Greg Turner - Second Place George Modlin - Third Place Mike Smith - Fourth Place Andy Cocilova - Fifth Place Brandi Wilcox - Sixth Place Street Touring Cory Kuhns - First Place Scott Prior - Second Place Jeff Weaver - Third Place John Stephens - Fourth Place Junior Kart C Evan Fish - First Place 14
Gathering at the Scottsville Fire Department Pavilion on November 7, catching up with friends and wrapping up the 2010 Finger Lakes Region Solo
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December 2010
Greg Turner, 2nd in Road Tire
The Fish family, given the Family Tree Award
George Modlin, 3re in Road Tire
Photos courtesy of Marnie Soom
Two trophies, one for each hand.
Mmmmm good, Pizza and wings.
Three trophies and only two hands!
2010 December
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Rally
Rally Meeting Notes
November 9, 2010 96 Church Street, Victor, NY Eight RoadRally and RallyCross enthusiasts were present.
Tom Langdon Interim RoadRally Chair
The following items are grouped by subject.
Avon, Geneseo & Mount Morris RallyRoad Report October 17 turned out to be a fine day for a fall foliage drive, and that suited running the Avon, Geneseo & Mount Morris RallyRoad just fine. The air was slightly crisp, fitting for a fall run, the sun was out and the leaves were just at their color peak. Seven teams gathered at Tom Wahl’s to compete, although only one took advantage of the discount offered for registering a vintage car. The event was a photo rally - 22 photos were provided to competitors, along with tulip-style route instructions. Teams had to locate where the photos were taken along the route and identify that point within 1/10th of a mile. Competition was in two classes: rookie and experienced, with four entries in the former and three in the later class. First place in the experienced class and overall went to Jean Donnan & Ann Mowry, with 21 out of the 22 photo location correct. In the rookie class, first place went to John & Lindsey Kislinger, with a score of 17 out of 22. Also at this event, the awards committee gave out a new trophy – the New Guy Award, to the best finishing team that had never previously competed in a rally. This was also earned by John & Lindsey Kislinger.
Annual Finger Lakes Region Rally Awards and Christmas Party The visit by Santa Claus (the yearly awards and dinner will be held at this time) is scheduled for Cheap Charlie’s in Bloomfield on Dec. 12. A flyer is being prepared for the December issue of Top End. Cost will be $25 per person. Contact Alan Smith to make your reservation. This needs to be done in time to allow Santa to “re-route” those special gifts for delivery on the 12th. Winter Rally Series The schedule for the Finger Lakes Region’s Winter Rally Series is as follows:
speed factors are being adjusted; the A speed factor remains at 1.0, B speed is reduced to 1.10 from 1.25, C speed is reduced from 1.50 to 1.25. The reduction in factor will lower the scores for the slower speeds and should give the competitors incentive to run at the slower speeds. Classes remain; Novice, Stock, Limited and Equipped. The use of a GPS unit will put the team in the Limited class. WINTR Rally Series The WINTR Series consists of rallies from Michigan to Vermont into Ontario, Canada. “The Long Way Home” will be part of that series. General instructions for each event will be those of the individual events. A $5 surcharge per entrant would be assessed to cover the cost of prize monies. More information is available through Alan Smith. Regional Performance Rally The STPR® managers have scheduled a regional performance rally for Feb. 12 using the Waste Management and adjacent forest site. This would be a one-day 38-mile performance rally.
1. Jan. 8, “Is this a road?,” Marnie Soom and Corey Kuhns rallymasters. 2. Jan. 15, “The long way home!,” Alan Smith, rallymaster. 3. Feb. 5, “The Ithaca rally,” Gary Thomas and John Kastenhuber rallymasters. 4. Feb. 19, Jamie Hayslip and Scott Grinnell rallymasters. 5. Mar. 5, Jim Perrin and team rallymasters.
RallyCross Series Jim Perrin is stepping down as organizer for the Finger Lakes Region’s RallyCross series. In addition to recruiting a new chair, the competitors need to be surveyed to determine the direction of the series.
The Long Way Home will be the second event in the proposed WINTR (Winter INTernational Rally) Series.
Rally trophies will be as last year. Yearend trophies are being defined.
It is recommended that the rallies be such that results and wrapup be completed by midnight.
Miscellaneous Discussions The requirements for weekend memberships need to be reviewed for their impact on RoadRally entries.
Rick has a number of toys that grab the attention of the younger meeting attendees.
Well, the event went off pretty smoothly, Leaving the voice recorder on for over 25 with nice weather, great scenery, and enjoyable hours will cause the battery to lose its charge. roads. Special entertainment was even provided Several changes are being made to the The result is the need to decipher illegible by the Livingston County Sheriff. Thanks to general instructions for the series. The writing and freer discussions. everyone that came out to play. Special thanks Place Car # Driver Navigator Car Score Class to Tom & Deb Langdon 1 5 Jean Donnan Anne Mowry 2001 Lincoln Town Car 21 Exp for checking the route 2 7 Tom Langdon Deb Langdon 2002 Subaru WRX 19 Exp and handling the awards. 3 1 Greg Turner Mary Lynne Turner 2007 Ford Focus 17 Exp Everyone had a good 1 6 John Kislinger Lindsey Kislinger 2006 Scion TC 17 Rook time, so stayed tuned for 2 2 Sandra Boysen Charles Boyd 2005 Mazda MX-5 15 Rook upcoming social rallies next spring and fall. 3 3 Tony Zanni Michelle Long 2008 Honda Civic 14 Rook
-Rick Barnes, Rallymaster
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4
4
Noel Barnes
Pat Barnes
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1966 Mustang Conv.
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Rook
December 2010
FINGER LAKES Region, SCCA Christmas, RoadRally, RallyCross, Holiday and Awards Party Cheap Charlie‛s Restaurant Route 444, Bloomfield, NY Saturday, December 11, 2010 Cocktails @ 6:00 p.m. Dinner @ 7:00 p.m.
Social Hour with Cheese and Crackers Cash bar
Entrée Choices
Prime Rib 14 oz Chicken French Shrimp and Scallop Scampi over Linguini All dinners include: Salad with Italian or Creamy Ranch dressing, vegetable Dessert: Mexican Sundae Coffee or tea
Price per dinner including Tax and Tip $25.00 R.S.V.P. to Alan Smith by December 7 @ 585-359-4688 or asmith2357@aol.com Awards for 2010 Rallies, 2010 RallyCross Series, …. and a visit from Santa after dinner! 2010 December
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Is This a Road? A rally of approximately 180 miles using paved and unpaved roads in the New York Southern Tier. Series classes are Equipped, Limited, Stock, and Novice. Snow tires are recommended; all-season tires may limit your speed group eligibility. Tow rope/strap, and 90 minutes of flares or one DOT triangle are required to compete.
January 8, 2011 Event #1 of the 2011 Winter Rally Series Start/Finish
MacGregor’s, 759 South Main Street, Canandaigua, NY 14424-2214
Directions
From Thruway exit 44, take route 332 south into Canandaigua. MacGregor’s will be on the left, just past the 5&20 intersection.
Schedule
3:00–4:00 Registration 3:30–4:00 Novice meeting 4:00 Drivers’ meeting 4:31 First car off about 10:30 First car finishes
Rallymasters
Cory Kuhns, 585-210-0824, ckuhns97@gmail.com Marnie Soom, 585-233-2760, marniesoom@gmail.com
Cost
$35/car SCCA members, $45/car guests
More info
http://www.flr-scca.com/rally/
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December 2010
The Long Way Home ‘11 January 15, 2011
It is once again time to enjoy the winter roads of the southern tier with the Finger Lakes Region’s 2011 Winter Rally Series and the WINTR series. The second rally of the series consists of approximately 160 competitive miles using mostly unpaved, and some paved, roads in the New York Southern Tier. The Long Way Home is the first event in the WINTR Rally Series. Entry fees are $40/car for SCCA members, $50/car for guests. There is a 35 car limit, so pre-registration is recommended. Series classes are Equipped, Limited, Stock, and Novice. Snow tires are recommended (all season tires may limit your speed group eligibility), tow rope/strap, and 90 minutes of flares or one DOT triangle are required to compete. Start/Finish location: TBA Schedule:
Registration 3:00 to 4:00 PM Novice school 3:30 PM Driver’s Meeting 4:10 PM First car starts 4:31 PM First car finishes about 11:00 PM Contact the rallymaster to pre-register and for answers to questions: Alan Smith, asmith2357@aol.com , (585) 359-4688
2010 December
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December 2010
Mopar Tough Dodge Dart at Targa Newfoundland 2010 By Roy Hopkins “It’s just a flesh wound”—to borrow a line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Actually, our own “flesh wound” from visiting a ditch during Targa Newfoundland shows how the people who live on that remote Canadian island help make Targa the premier endurance rally in North America. For our eighth running of this event, Adrienne Hughes and I were privileged to run the crowd-pleasing “Smurf Blue” 1974 Dodge Dart Sport built by Chrysler Historic to promote Mopar Parts. The car was filled with all sorts of competition goodies, including an original small block stroked to 404 cubic inches, sporting aluminum W2 heads, and FAST fuel injection. The stout motor was hooked to a Viper six-speed and put power to the American Racing 17-inch Torq Thrust wheels and Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec tires through a Truetrac posi. I first got to see the car only a few weeks before the event, and had the great experience of working with the small but dedicated team from Chrysler Historic—Brandt Rosenbusch, Dean Reifsnider, and Todd Fisher—who built the car from a bare shell, only starting in March. One of the big items we addressed was tuning the AlterKtion coil-over front suspension and Unlawful Racing triangulated four-link coil-over rear. Starting with a suspension typically used for drag racing, Erich Heuschele and Dick Meyers quickly came up with a spring and shock package to handle the rough Targa roads. Some test track driving and tuning confirmed that we had a car that could tackle the event and be competitive. What is Targa Newfoundland? Imagine the most challenging and scenic roads you have ever driven, closing them to public traffic and being told you can drive them as fast as you can, every day for a week, on a North Atlantic island
2010 December
inhabited by the friendliest people you have ever met. Add crowds of spectators, the waving of excited children, ocean vistas, competitors in every imaginable vintage and new car from around the world, and you may start to get an idea of the scope of the event. Te Chrysler Atlantic Dealers Association of Canada and Hickman Chrysler of St. John’s were on board for support. Dean and Todd traveled to Newfoundland from Detroit to crew for the Dart team and were soon at work tuning, checking, polishing, and answering lots of questions about the car. At registration before the event started, we decided to move the Demon into the Open class, where it appeared the car would be most competitive. Open class allows any car with any modification, and we were to run against cars with added turbochargers, a Honda S2000-powered vintage English rally Ford Escort, a monster-motored race BMW, a Targa-prepped Subaru WRX, and a factory race Mini. Day 1 competition proved tougher than many expected, with fast blind crests claiming a Datsun 240 and the WRX in Open class. The turbo VW had mechanical troubles, but a few of the cars, including the Dart, cleared all the stages with all zero scores. On the third stage we hit a compression a little too hard, which made the motor mount shift
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and caused some interference with the steering shaft, but we were able to finish the stage under time and get to service for a quick repair. Day 2 had some high-speed road stages that went well for us—but not for the Honda/Escort, which blew its motor due to an oil line failure; and the monster BMW, which had a major electrical meltdown. The day included a lunch stop at the Giant Squid interpretation center, with tasty pan-fried moose. Gander, at the end of the day, is one of Targa’s signature stages, run through a residential neighborhood. We decided to keep pushing hard while we could, knowing that Day 3 would be critical, and times were getting tougher to meet. The Dart screamed and slid though the streets, but we took some time penalties and ended just a few seconds behind the Mini Open class. Day 3 started with two fast stages that we zeroed, and then we continued on to critical Musgrave Harbour. To meet stage times, we were driving off of pace notes instead of just reading the road and the route book when a “T right” snuck up on us instead of a “fast right.” Oops! —I made a snap decision, right or wrong, to brake and go straight instead of risking sliding off sideways in the wet, gravelly corner. Straight took us into a ditch, which was wide and deep and nicely bridged by the car. We hit the gravel bank on the far side. (Six feet to 21
the right there was no ditch, of course, just a field.)
Targa 2010
After we displayed the “OK” sign and rally traffic cleared, a friendly stage marshal ran off to fetch a large front-end loader. It had us back on the road after a quick couple of tugs on the left front wheel to pull it out of the foot well. No cash was allowed to change hands; “You’re in Newfoundland now,” was the answer. So we hurried off to meet Dean and Todd for emergency repair.
Mark Laitenberger, Car 777 This was the fourth year I had the chance to compete in the Targa Newfoundland rally, and as we all know, half of any trophy is the stories you bring home. Sometimes that’s the only trophy, but they are usually the better stories. For those who are unfamiliar with this event, let me explain what Targa is and how it works. Targa Newfoundland is a six-day event, with one day of qualifying and five days of competitive rallying. The first day, “Prologue,” has two stages, and times from these are used to assign the start order for Monday morning. Unlike Performance Rally, in Targa they start the slowest cars first and the fastest cars last. This keeps the group together and provides an opportunity—or challenge— to pass cars on the longer stages. Every night the organizers assign a new start order for the next morning based on the current times. Each car is assigned to a group based on its age; and this year for the first time all cars 1983 and newer were thrown into a single class called Modern with the same base or target time. This means that if your stage time is the same as, or faster than, the base time, you get a zero. If your stage time is slower than the base time, you are penalized one point per second that you are slower. This year I navigated for Bruno Rodrigues in a Porsche 996 AWD. This was Bruno’s second time competing in Targa and his first rally in the Porsche. It’s one of the fastest cars in which I have ever had a chance to compete. Sunday had one short stage early in the day and a Special Stage later. The morning stage was an open, flowing stage with a short sprint through a small town. We ran the stage on wet pavement before moving on to the Special Stage. For the second year in a row, the Special Stage comprised a 2.5 to 3.0-mile course around a government facility on one of the major streets in the area. It included a run down a four-lane divided main street then up into the front parking lot, over a jump (raised crosswalk), followed by two back-to-back hairpin turns bringing us back onto the main street. A few more turns brought us to finish.
After a quick look of disappointment at the kicked-up left front unibody rail, we pondered how to get the car back into the event. A fellow competitor, Brad Melendy from Gander, spoke up: “Drive down to the wharf, chain it down, and jack up the middle to get the front straight.” The short story is, it worked—and we finished the day with surprising speed after missing a few stages. Some hard late-night work at a frame shop near Clarenville got the car pretty straight underneath, but the bent bumper and fender were flesh wounds we had to carry. Days 4 and 5 went well, since we didn’t have to push the car to the limit after Wednesday’s time penalty. The Dart continued to be a crowd pleaser, especially when we showed off with some tire spin and drifts through tight town corners. The big bumps on the high-speed sections were beginning to bend the shock mounts in the rear, so we backed off on the so-called jumps. The end of the event was two stages through tiny picket-fence-lined Brigus. At times you couldn’t see the corners over the hood, but the Dart muscled its way through. The Mini leading the Open class broke, but we missed 1 more stage than that team did and ended up congratulating them on their win. In retrospect, Targa 2010 was a fantastic experience. We raised some good funds for Kids Eat Smart of Newfoundland and Labrador, met great people, and got to drive a modern version of a fast muscle car that we used to dream about in high school. The Mopar Dart proved to be a tough competitor. We don’t know Chrysler’s plans for Targa 2011, but we hope we can be involved. 22
(An Ironman Event)
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Monday started with a small surprise: We were slated to start sixth from last. Normally this would sound like we’d been slow on Sunday’s stages, but remember, the fastest car starts last. Although our position was not where I wanted to start, Bruno was happy and the car did handle quite well. With eight short stages scheduled plus two 1.5-hour transits, Monday promised to be a long day broken by short stretches of fun. The first three stages were pretty easy, with average speeds set within reach of most competitors. Our only mistake was at an offset crossroad with a jump into compression. Bruno was concentrating on the on the roads, not lining up just right, and didn’t hear my calls for “Jump into Compression.” At that point one of our taillight assemblies decided it had had enough and abandoned us for a sweet little old lady’s front yard. The rest of the day went well, with us finishing the day in a five-way tie for first in Modern with zero points. Tuesday brought better weather conditions, and our start position was eighth from last. My goal for the day was to get to the start line of Gander (stage 8) with a score of zero, and finish the Gander stage (run twice) with fewer than 10 points each time. The first stage of the day was a short run (1.5 miles) thru Appleton with only a couple of hard corners. The notice board at the start line stated that there was oil on the course at a point near the finish line. We slowed a little for the oily corner and finished with 2 seconds
December 2010
to spare. But ACP (Andrew ComriePicard) didn’t see the note about the oil and slid into a ditch, requiring assistance from another competitor to get out. This cost ACP 3:37, or 217 points. Being the good guy that I am, I had to give him a little ribbing later in the day, especially because he was in a right-hand-drive car and the notice board had been on his side. The second stage was canceled, and the rest of the day up until Gander went well for us. We pulled to the start of the first run at the Gander stage with a score of zero, but I knew that the day’s points were waiting for us on the last two stages. Our first run had a base time of 4:00 and the second of 3:54, making it a little harder. This stage was only 3.28 miles long, with 31 turns and 2 short straights of 0.35 and 0.30 miles. That left very little room for all the turns, about 0.08 miles per turn (on average). At this point Bruno was feeling comfortable with the car’s performance and the grip of the tires and had no problem throwing it into the corners. I was comfortable looking only at the route instructions and the computer, which prevented me from looking out the windshield. After watching the video from the incar camera, that was probably a good idea! We finished the first run with a time of 4:06 and the second with 4:00. This gave us a total of 12 points and put us in first in Modern all by ourselves (by 4 points). Wednesday had a number of short stages including a familiar, challenging stage in the town of Greenspond. This is probably the shortest stage, and I look forward to it every year because it is so hard. Bruno and I waited for our turn to start and reviewed the route book. We had a quick discussion about some of the instructions. One instruction was a hairpin left into hairpin right with a note for “Uphill”; the next was left at T. What this doesn’t portray well is the short, flat, fast run into the acute left into a steep uphill climb, immediate acute right downhill into left at T after crest (triple caution !!!). All this happens in under 0.10 mile—and just two instructions into a stage with an average speed of 46 mph. Needless to say, we took some time
2010 December
there, about 9 seconds. The next two stages were some of the longest of the week. They consisted of nice runs with long, mostly straight sections, some crests, and elevation changes. Oh, and “the Corkscrew”— a long, fast section that ends at a crest into hard left, downhill into acute right into acute left over a bridge, up hill into a medium right over crest. It’s as complicated to say as it is to type, and Bruno’s reply, after I called “2km to the Corkscrew!” was “I don’t remember the Corkscrew.” This stage was later tossed out because of a local who drove onto the course to race a number of competitors. We finished the day with another 14 points for a total of 26, which kept us first in Modern. Thursday opened with three shorter stages that led up to our first run at Marystown. The Marystown stage goes through the middle of the town and has a number of large spectating areas. Nobody cleaned the road surface after the first run, so when we showed up a few hours later for the second run, all the gravel from the competitors who ditch-hooked had been evenly spread across the road surface by the locals. During our first run there was plenty of gravel in some of the corners, and this proved to be our Achilles’ heel. On a slight downhill into right at side road, the car didn’t quite make the turn but did manage to find a fire hydrant. Darn Newfies (Newfoundlanders)—they’ll grow a fire hydrant just about anywhere there isn’t already a house! At this point I would have expected to smell the distinct aroma of hot radiator fluid, but we didn’t. With the motor in the back of the car, this may not be as bad as a scene that I am familiar with. The car seemed to run just fine for the
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rest of the stage, and Bruno did calm down after we crossed the finish line; but the result was still the same. The radiator was ruined, the bumper bent out of shape, and the engine overheating. The plus side was that service was only a few miles away, and we had about 4 hours to get the Porsche back together before the other cars returned for the second run. It also meant that our score would take a big hit from missing four stages, and cause us to lose our silver plate. With a lot of help from our service crew, Glen & Case of Open Road Motorsports, plus a radiator from Canadian Tire that was about this tall by that long and on the shelf, a lot of duct tape and zip ties, we were back in the running for the “finished, and not last” position. We made it in time for the second running of Marystown but had to take it very easy. The front bumper had not been put back on yet, as well as most of the plastic from the front end. This meant that our Kia—or whatever— radiator was the most forward piece of the car. We accrued another 94 points for the one stage, plus the penalties from the missed stages and a 5-minute penalty for not making it to all the start lines for the day, giving us a total of 12:24, or 744 points. We still needed to finish three stages on Friday for our “Finishers” medal. Friday was a nice sunny day and a little cool. We hoped the weather would hold out for the day, since running two long stages first would give us a 23
challenge for trying to get three in for a “Finishers” medal. After 60+ kilometers of transit without a problem, we felt confident about our chances. At the start line we moved into the last position, not because we were the fastest thing on four wheels, but because if we did have a problem we didn’t want to affect other competitors. We started behind a Chevrolet Camaro IROC Z28. We caught it with less than 2 kilometers to finish, but due to an in-town section in the middle of the stage, we still finished with 69 points. During the second stage we managed to pass the Camaro and could see the taillights of the car in front of it, and finished with another 57 points. The third stage, in the town of Carbonear, had a couple of challenging turns and a compression for which we weren’t cautious enough. After crossing the finish line, we discovered that one of the hose clamps had come loose, and we had a tough time getting it back into place and tight. Because the bumper had been put back on with a lot of duct tape and the radiator was not a perfect fit, it was a real challenge to get a hand on the clamp, let alone a screwdriver. This turned out to be a problem for the rest of the day. With the fourth stage in Harbour Grace transited, we had only the stage in Brigus (run twice) left in order to finish the 2010 Targa Newfoundland event. The Brigus stage is a narrow, twisty one with a number of obstacles and the famous bridge crossing. Our service crew was near the start and was able to get the hose clamp a little tighter and top off the fluid level again. After a brisk run and a slow run, we were left with the long transit back to St. John’s to cross the final finish line. With 1110 points under our belt at finish, we found ourselves in 14th place out of 22 cars starting in Modern. Surprisingly, some of the teams who finished with more points than we did hadn’t missed a single stage. Now it’s an 11-month wait to see what next year will bring. Fortunately there isn’t an extreme challenge every day, but every day is still a challenge.
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Bull Oil 24 HOURS OF LEMONS By Dick Reffner
The last SCCA Finger Lakes Region Solo event of the season was Oct. 8. After starting AutoCross in 2009 my son Cory and I promised ourselves we would make as many events as possible in 2010. Right! As luck would have it work and other obligations cropped up and removed almost all possibility to participate. We each made 3 events. What a disappointment. The 8th was our last shot at running our cars and the only weekend we both had free. But we decided not to attend. Instead we went to South Haven, Michigan to the Bull Oil 24 HOURS OF LEMONS at Gingerman Raceway. Anyone that has an opportunity to go to one of these events should do it, especially at Gingerman in South Haven. South Haven is a beautiful waterfront town on the shores of Lake Michigan with lots of good restaurants, sports bars, and curiosity shops not to mention a beautiful beach and pier. The track is approximately 3 miles from the town in the picturesque countryside. It is 1.9 miles long, full of sharp turns and long straights. They have full facilities available and you can arrange to camp right at the track for a small fee or stay in a local hotel a few miles away. The race is everything we had read about it and we were not disappointed in trading one Solo event to go. Seventyfour cars competed over two days and
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a solid fifteen hours of racing. As penalties occurred the Judges dealt out the appropriate punishment including having the ARC Angel (complete with angel wings) weld different animals to the roof of your car (i.e., road hog was large pig welded to your roof, follow to close gave you a rabbit, drive to cautiously - a chicken). Other punishments included bolting a tire to your roof, the entire team being forced to dance through the pit area while singing songs by the Police, and/or while wearing pink underwear, etc. We expected the cars to be slow and the race to be fairly tame - we were wrong. Although the teams were there for the fun, they intended to race and were committed to put as many laps on the board as they could. Speeds above 85 MPH were attained on the straights and average speed per lap was above 55. All by vehicles modified in the most impractical manner you would believe. Half the fun is looking at the cars and talking to the teams who were all quite friendly and willing to tell you about their special modifications, where they were from, how well the car was running, etc. All in all it was a great weekend of road racing and fun. We again made ourselves a promise to attend as many Solo events as possible in 2011 but we are including a promise to attend at least one of the 24 Hours of Lemons next year. Now if we can just figure out how to get all the safety equipment and a $500 dollar car by 2011.....
December 2010
Classified Ads For Sale: Mazda 323 GTX rally cars #1: 1988, 145K miles. Runs/drives. Has rust in quarter panels. Would make a great RallyCross or TSD car, or restore it. Many extra parts available. On snow tires on OEM wheels, includes older gravel tires on a 2nd set of wheels. $1200 as is, or with a spare gearbox & short block for $1500. #2: 1989, mileage unknown. Open-class stage rally car with logbook. Currently registered/insured/inspected. Too much to list. On studded snows, with Kumho gravel tires on a second set of wheels. Includes second set of doors with lexan windows. Great as a first stage rally car, for RallyCross, ice racing, etc. $4000 as described, or bundle with a spare long block assembly, N.O.S. gearbox, spare drive shaft, rear end, new unmounted Hankook gravel tires and a set of Borbet wheels for $5000. If interested in either, contact Rick by phone at (585) 967-3762 or by email at expjawa@hotmail.com. (12/10)
safety and tech inspection, Log Books. Literally thousands of dollars in Spares Package, including nose, wing, Koni struts, 2-way adjustables, various rate Eibach & Hyperco springs, Baer rotors & calipers, racing radiator, Holly jets, motor parts, ignition parts, suspension parts, tons more. Duplicates of everything that can wear out or break! Build sheet and complete spares list upon request. Balanced and completely sorted. Car is 100% race ready. Located in Watkins Glen, NY. $ 17,500 for quick sale. Ed LoPresti. 607-535-4237. (11/10)
For Sale: 2005 Margay Brava 4.4 go-kart with blue printed World Formula engine. Blue printed by Rich Gamrod in the spring of 2010. Includes One fold up stand and one two-level stand that easily transports two karts, gears, many spare parts, spare slicks and rain tires on wheels. Also includes freshened raptor motor. Will separate some items. Call Chris at (315) 597-5668 (12/10)
For Sale - Sparco Sprint 5 race seat and mounting brackets - Brand new, never used. Seat is black. Brackets are red. $399. Seat: http://www.sparcousa. com/pseats_comp.asp?id=622 Bracket: http://www.sparcousa.com/pseats_acc. asp?id=153 Call Scott (585) 506-7366 or msgrinnell@mindspring.com. (10/10)
For Sale: 4 Mounted studded (worn studs, three winters) Nokian, Hakkapeliitta 2 M+S tires. For 2001 Honda Civic LX 4-door. Size 185/70/14. Bolt pattern 14x6. $150/obo. Call Ken (585) 703-3345 or kwillia5@rochester.rr.com. (12/10) For Sale: Chrome plated 5-spoke steel wheels. Five bolt pattern, optional wheels for late ‘70’s early ‘80’s Buick (Century and others). No rust, just dirt. 4 for $75. Contact Gene Dinkel (585) 383-0363 (11/10) For Sale: RacePro Engineering offering our race winning 1995-based Mustang Cobra A-Sedan. History of podiums at SCCA Runoffs! Brand new (1.5 hours only) Marollo-built full race 302, Ford Boss block, Holly 650, aeroquip, best of everything! Dyno sheets available. Freshened Tremec 5speed. Professionally built cage. Variety of spring rates. Koni 2-way adjustable shocks. monoballs. Brand new Baer racing brakes all around. ATL fuel cell. Three sets wheels, 2 with Hoosier slicks, and 1 with Hoosier rains. OMP Harness good through 2014. Wired for radio. Current Annual SCCA
2010 December
For Sale: 14 ft. enclosed racecar trailer/ Ramps/Inverter/ Electric Brakes/Winch/Gas Box/12’ Awning. Smithy Lathe Mill (NEW) Dry Sump Tank (7qts) Scales Leak down Gages Craftsman Rolling Tool Box w/Ramp. Racecar jack. Scales used to corner weight a racecar. Shop equipment. Call for what is available. Come look and ask questions. Jim Nolan 1969 Eddy Rd. Walworth, NY 14568. Ph. (585) 314-1500 (11/10)
For Sale: Jeep Grand Cherokee wheels (16x7-5 bolt) and Bridgestone Winter Dueler tires (275/75/16). Will separate. $500/
obo. Wheels are in good condition. Tires have good tread. Call Scott (585) 506-7366 or msgrinnell@mindspring.com. (9/10) For Sale: Magnetic autocross numbers (white) 1, 8 and 6 two ea. Magnetic SCCA Solo2 emblems two ea. Magnetic CSP (red letters on white background) two ea. $25.00 takes all. Contact Steve at (585) 586-9152 (9/10) For Sale: 1972 Triumph TR6 Convertible. Red, 4 sp trans., Body and paint excellent. 2000mi on carb rebuild. Red-line tires. Have all receipts. Runs great. Includes extra parts: 4sp trans, rear differential, new radiator and electric fan kit. $9700/obo Contact Duane Myers, duanecm6000@yahoo.com (585) 506-8194, pictures available. (8/10) Wanted: Miata interior parts for first-gen (1990-1997) car. Unload the leftovers from that Spec Miata or Production car build. Call Scott (585) 506-7366 or msgrinnell@mindspring.com (7/10) For Sale: Buick Gran Sport, 1986, only 1029 made. V6 with Bosch fuel injection. Body restored, plus many new mechanical parts, interior excellent. Not a “winter beater.” Reduced to $3000. Contact Gene Dinkel (585) 383-0363 (12/09) Wanted: Finger Lakes Region SCCA member looking for scrap metal, batteries, wire, etc. Will help clean out yards, cellars, attics, garages, etc. Call Brian Barlow at (585) 289-8007 or e-mail playfreeguitar12@yahoo.com (7/10)
Free Classified Ads for FLR Members To place a Classified Ad: Contact the editor at cfdresie@cs.com. Ads will run for three issues, or longer if space allows. Be sure to notify the editor if your item has been sold or is otherwise no longer available. Your ad will also be published on the Finger Lakes Region's Web site in the Forum section ("Classified Ads") at http://www.flr-scca.com/phpBB3/ viewforum.php?f=13. Classified Ads are free to members, $5.00 per issue for non-members.
Commercial Ad Rates # of Issues Full Page ½ Page ¼ Page Business Card
12 $500 275 150 75
6 $275 150 80 40
3 $150 80 45 20
1 $100 40 25 10
Contact the editor at cfdresie@cs.com for more info.
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25
Membership Application REGION #62
Dear Prospective SCCA Member: To apply for membership in the Sports Car Club of America, the world’s largest member participation automotive organization, please complete the form below and return, with payment, to SCCA Membership Department, P. O. Box 299, Topeka, KS 66601-0299. PLEASE PRINT OR TYPE Name _____________________________________ Birth date_________________ E-mail_______________________________________ / / Address___________________________________ Telephone_______________________________________________________________ City_________________________________________ State ________Zip __________________County __________________________ Have you been an SCCA member before?
No
Yes
IF APPLYING FOR FAMILY MEMBERSHIP
Year ______________Previous Member # ____________________________
Please list name and age of spouse and children under age 21:
Spouse's Name____________________________________________________Birth date______ / ______ /______ Spouse's Member Number (if current member)________________________________________________________ Name___________________________________________________________Birth date______ / ______ /______ Name___________________________________________________________Birth date______ / ______ /______ Name___________________________________________________________Birth date______ / ______ /______ Name___________________________________________________________Birth date______ / ______ /______
PRIMARY INTEREST IN SCCA:
Please indicate the area(s) of SCCA in which you plan to participate, or which interest you most. Your response will be used to allocate your national dues to the areas you indicate. Thank you. Club Racing
Pro Racing
Rally
Solo
Annual National Dues
+
Annual Regional Dues
=
TOTAL DUE
REGULAR MEMBER..........................$65 FAMILY MEMBERSHIP.......................$85 FIRST GEAR (21 & Under) NEW CLUB RACING VOLUNTEER
+ +
REGULAR MEMBER.................$15 FAMILY MEMBERSHIP .............$25
= = = =
$80 $110 $45 $30
Enclosed is my check or Money Order for $____________________ U.S. VISA
Please send me a Crew License
M/C
DO NOT SEND CASH.
No. ____________________________________ Exp. Date __________________________
I hereby apply for membership in the Sports Car Club of America, Inc., and its Finger Lakes Region (#62) and agree to abide by the bylaws. Applicant's Signature____________________________________________ Date __________________________ Dues include payment for subscription to SportsCar ($24 value). Dues are not deductible as charitable contribution.
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December 2010
CALENDAR OF EVENTS for the Finger Lakes REGION
November 2010 30
FINGER LAKES REGION Board of Directors meeting - 7:30 p.m., Thiel’s, 753 Klem Rd., Webster, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information)
December 2010 7
FINGER LAKES Region SOLO Meeting - 7:00 p.m. – Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information)
7
14
28
FINGER LAKES REGION Board of Directors meeting - 7:30 p.m., Thiel’s, 753 Klem Rd., Webster, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information)
29
Finger Lakes Region Year End Banquet, – Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY 14534
February 2011 1
FINGER LAKES Region SOLO Meeting - 7:00 p.m. – Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information)
1
FINGER LAKES Region General Membership Meeting - 8:00 p.m. – Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 (Contact re@flrscca.com for further information)
5
FINGER LAKES Region Rally Meeting, 7:30 p.m., 96 Church St., Victor, Rick Barnes (rbarnes@torsen.com / (585) 967-3762)
Finger Lakes Region Winter Rally Series, Event #3, (Contact Gary Thomas @ gary.george. thomas@gmail.com / (607) 277-0501)
8
FINGER LAKES REGION Board of Directors meeting - 7:30 p.m., Thiel’s, 753 Klem Rd., Webster, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information)
FINGER LAKES Region Rally Meeting, 7:30 p.m., 96 Church St., Victor, Rick Barnes (rbarnes@torsen.com / (585) 967-3762)
10–12 National SCCA Convention, South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, Las Vegas, NV
FINGER LAKES Region General Membership Meeting - 8:00 p.m. – Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 (Contact re@flrscca.com for further information)
12
25
Rally Party and Awards, Cheap Charlie’s, Bloomfield, NY, Alan Smith, (asmith2357@aol.com / (585) 359-4688)
January 2011
19
Finger Lakes Region Winter Rally Series, Event #4 FINGER LAKES REGION Board of Directors meeting - 7:30 p.m., Thiel’s, 753 Klem Rd., Webster, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information)
4
FINGER LAKES Region SOLO Meeting - 7:00 p.m. – Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information)
22
4
FINGER LAKES Region General Membership Meeting - 8:00 p.m. – Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 (Contact re@flrscca.com for further information)
March 2011
8
Finger Lakes Region Winter Rally Series, “Is This A Road?”, MacGregors, 759 South Main St, Canadaigua, NY 14424, Marnie Soom/Corey Kuhns
11
FINGER LAKES Region Rally Meeting, 7:30 p.m., 96 Church St., Victor, Rick Barnes (rbarnes@torsen.com / (585) 967-3762)
15
Finger Lakes Region Winter Rally Series, The Long Way Home, Alan Smith, (asmith2357@aol. com / (585) 359-4688
1
FINGER LAKES Region SOLO Meeting - 7:00 p.m. – Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information)
1
FINGER LAKES Region General Membership Meeting - 8:00 p.m. – Burgundy Basin Inn, 1361 Marsh Road, Pittsford, NY 14534 (Contact re@flrscca.com for further information)
5
Finger Lakes Region Winter Rally Series, Event #5
2011 dates are subject to change. Request dates from the Activities Director.
Finger Lakes REGION WEBSITE AND BULLETIN BOARD www.flr-scca.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Finger-Lakes-Region-SCCA/143648208904
2010 December
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27
The LAST PIT
Covering the Finger Lakes Region, SCCA in 2010. Photos by various.