Top End - May 2013

May 2013

Volume 58, No. 5

The Official Publication of the Finger Lakes Region, Sports Car Club of America.

General Membership Meeting - Tuesday, May 7 Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Rochester, NY 14617

Finger Lakes Region - SCCA Elected Positions

2013 Board of Directors

Regional Executive

Michael Toombs............ (585) 328-2617

152 Gillette St.

Rochester, NY 14619-2227

re@flr-scca.com Assistant Regional Executive

Dave Ciufo .................. (585) 346-5002

6488 Coe Rd.

Livonia, NY 14887-9306

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

Marcus Kroll................. (585)563-6206

502 Thornell Rd

Pittsford, NY 14534

secretary@flr-scca.com Activities Director

Mary Hartman ............. (585) 426-3288

2840 Chili Ave.

Rochester, NY 14624-4807

activitiesdirector@flr-scca.com Directors

Chris DeMinco ............ (585) 330-5456

980 Rush Scottsville Rd

Rush, NY 14543-9781

director3@flr-scca.com

Charles Tanck .............. (585) 467-4993

175 Eastgate Drive

Rochester, NY 14617-4104

director1@flr-scca.com

David Avery ..................(585) 415-8003

101 Atlee Drive

Greece, NY 14626-3303

director2@flr-scca.com

Fran McAllister ........... (585) 750-4674

33 Red Bud Rd.

Rochester, NY 14624-4717

director4@flr-scca.com

Appointed Positions Race

Competition Board

Fran McAllister............ (585) 750-4674

clubracing@flr-scca.com

Dave Ciufo................... (585) 346-5002 Peter Kummer.............. (585) 624-2853

Mary Hartman ............ (585) 426-3288 Charlie Tanck ............ (585) 467-4993

“Westward HO!” Race Chairman

westward@flr-scca.com

Lew Giesy.................... (315) 597-9637 Glen Majors Race Chairmen

glenmajors@flr-scca.com

Chris DeMinco ............ (585) 330-5456

Elizabeth Thiel ............ (585) 671-9995

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www.flr-scca.com

“FUN ONE” Race Chairman

Gary Lippert................. (585) 732-5154

funone@flr-scca.com Chief Registrar

Marsha Toombs ........... (585) 328-2617

registrar@flr-scca.com Chief, Timing & Scoring

Carl F. Dresie ............... (585) 544-6482

ts@flr-scca.com Chief, Flagging and Communication

Barbara Lissow............. (585) 773-9712

fc@flr-scca.com Chief, Starter

John Flowers................ (607) 546-2369

starter@flr-scca.com Chief, Grid

........................................................TBA Chief, Pitts and 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

flrrep@nysrrc.org

Rally

Rally Chair

........................................................TBA Interim RoadRally Chair

Tom Langdon............... (315) 524-2260

rally@flr-scca.com RallyCross Chair

Tony Zanni.................. (585) 281-2510

rallycross@flr-scca.com

Solo

Solo Board

Tom Weaver ................ (585) 978-2966

solo_chair@flr-scca.com Aretta Stillman .............. (585) 261-0572

amstillman@gmail.com

Shaun Hallam ................ (585) 455-9607

shallam@rochester.rr.com

George Modlin ........... (585) 265-9599

gandemo@gmail.com

Colin Kingsley ............ (914) 980-9326

ckingsley@gmail.com Chief Registrar Shaun Hallam ................ (585) 455-9607

shallam@rochester.rr.com Chief, Safety Steward

Dave Avery................... (585) 415-8003

david.avery@kodak.com Chief, Technical Inspection

Jim Hoelscher.............. (585) 247-9596

jhoelsch@rochester.rr.com Chief, Novice Program

Greg Turner ................ (585) 637-7045

gregturner@frontiernet.net Chief, Junior Driver Program

Brad Fish ....... ............. (585) 392-5283

bfish117@yahoo.com

Chief, Timing & Scoring and Results

Tom Weaver ............. (585) 978-2966

thomas.w.weaver@gmail.com Chief, Sound Control

Edwin Jeffries ............. (585) 730-2778

edwinjeffries@gmail.com Chief, Workers

George Modlin ........... (585) 265-9599

gandemo@gmail.com Chief, Waivers

Tina Reeves ................ (585)429-7613 solobear@gmail.com

Administrative Positions

Membership

Mike Brunner.............. (585) 752-7233

membership@flr-scca.com TOP END Editor

Carl Dresie .................. (585) 544-6482

editor@flr-scca.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

STPR® Motorsports, LLC

Managers

Meridith Croucher........ (315) 331-5354

chairman@stpr.org

Lewis Giesy.................. (315) 597-9637

lgiesy@localnet.com

Alan Smith ................... (585) 359-4688

rallymaster@stpr.org Treasurer

Joyce Bucknam............ (315) 597-5668

treasurer@stpr.org

NEDiv Administrative Positions

Area 10 Director

John Walsh .................. (585) 546-5670

jwalsh@scca.com NEDiv Council Chair Mike Toombs ........... (585) 328-2617

re@flr-scca.com NEDiv Executive Steward, Race

Earl Hurlbut ..................(585) 219-4891

ehurlbut@rochester.rr.com NEDiv RoadRally Steward

Steve McKelvie.............(508) 520-7135

shanna12@comcast.net NEDiv RallyCross Steward

Scott Beliveau...............(603) 524-4305

beliveau@aavid.com NEDiv Solo Steward

David Newman ........... (610) 433-5690

dn59@verizon.net NEDiv Solo Safety Steward

Bruce Bellom ............... (914) 739-6815

brubel51@aol.com Additional positions: see http://www.nediv. com/

May 2013

The Official Publication of the

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 10th 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.

2013 May

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 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 March BOD Meeting .......................4 - 5 April Membership Meeting ............. 5 - 6 FLR News ............................................ 6 Editor’s Bench ................................ 6 Membership News .......................... 6 Picnic Flyer .......................................... 7 National News ................................. 8 - 9 Rally ............................................ 10 - 12 Rally Meeting Notes .......................10 Slip Slidin’ Away Report.................. 11 Solo ................................................... 13 Race ............................................. 13 - 14 Classified Ads .................................... 14 Membership Application .. Inside back cover Calendar .............................. Back Cover

Cover Photo: Jeff and Steve Coppola placed first in the Limited class and third overall in the March 23rd rally, “Slip Slidin’ Away” with a score of 22. More information may be found on page 11.

Staff photo.

Alan Smith and Eric Hobron (in camouflage) place first overall in the March 23 Rally.

Staff photo.

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REPort Mike Toombs Regional Executive

This time of year is always busy, so I thought I would start my column early, of course that doesn’t mean Carl won’t get it late. As I write this we have three weeks before our first solo event. There is so much I need to do before then; it was so much easier getting things done last year when I wasn’t working.

Before I get going, I’m going to put it out there again; MaryAnne Shults has been our web master since we got a presence on the web in 1996. Do the math – that’s 17 years, no one person in the history of the region has done a job as long. Four months ago she asked me to find a replacement and I have had no nibbles. At some point in time she is going to run out of time to continue the work, and things are not going to get posted. There was one point in time when all of the Solo season results were published in the Xerox Auto Club monthly newsletter, and one year it was only published once, a month after the season was over. Today, the day after an event people are looking for results.

Don’t you want to help out? Do you want to show off your web abilities? Do you have a better idea? Talk to me!

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I find that being Regional Executive, one of the toughest things I have had to do is look for help. You would think that after eight years it would be easier, but it is not. Fortunately this year I got some help from my board and we were able to get chairs for all our races. Of course we still need a rally chair, at some point Tom and Deb Langdon are going to move, then what? It shouldn’t be that hard, we are a region with close to 500 members; why is it so difficult to get people to help?

The board was discussing the cost of Top End. You may have noticed that last month there wasn’t any color. That by itself saved us $300. We talked about cutting down the number of issues, maybe picking two months when we weren’t doing anything and not publish.

Then we looked at the calendar and couldn’t find a couple of months. I am against discontinuing Top End and strictly publishing an online edition.

Newsweek went to an online edition and I haven’t read it since.

I told you this was going to happen.

It’s now the 14th and Carl is home wondering where my column is. The solo season starts in a couple of weeks and I just got my car out of storage yesterday. I did remember to order the tires and they are in the garage ready to go. I’m working all of next weekend, so I hope I’ll be ready by the 28th!

I mentioned that we have a race chairman for the Fun One, but forgot to mention who it was. Gary Lippert, a longtime member and club racer is going to chair the event. We are putting on three races this year; each race takes some effort and gives us opportunities to show what we can do!!!

So I’m done preaching, the SCCA, and the Finger Lakes Region mean a lot to me, and I’m sorry to say sometimes I might get carried away.

So, until next month, Mike

Finger Lakes Region, SCCA Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

March 26, 2013

Location: Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, NY 14617 Officers and directors present: Mike Toombs, Regional Executive; Dave Ciufo, Assistant Regional Executive; Elizabeth Thiel, Treasurer; Chris DeMinco, Fran McAllister and Charlie Tanck, Directors Others present: Carl Dresie, Top End Editor; Anna Thiel and Tom Weaver, Solo Chair Mike Toombs called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m.

• February meeting minutes approved on motion by Dave, seconded by Chris Solo • The Solo supplemental regulations changes were reviewed.

• A clause has been added to address tie breakers.

• A link to the updated supps will be printed in Top End. • The budget for the 2013 season was presented and reviewed.

• The “new member joining – first event free” policy was requested.

• Minimizing RIT security guard cost was discussed.

• Generic t-shirts for all of Finger Lakes were proposed. Tony Zanni to be contacted for artwork, Charlie for sourcing.

• Availability and restrictions for various sites were reviewed.

• The budget as amended was approved on a motion by Charlie, seconded by Fran.

• The Solo income and expenses will be reviewed after three events.

• The possibility of a combined/ cooperative Western NY, Finger

May 2013

Lakes and Central NY series was discussed.

notification ahead of time. Possibly

by July?

Treasurer’s Report • Elizabeth reviewed the status of race, administration, rally and Solo categories.

• Meeting attendance was discussed.

General membership meetings to be primarily social?

• The treasurer’s report was approved on a motion by Charlie, seconded by Chris.

Financial Committee • Dave reviewed a summary of income and expenses for the past five years.

• Top End is a major portion of the administrative costs.

• Means of reducing Top End costs were discussed.

Rally • The March 23 RoadRally had 12 teams enter and finish. One team from the Columbus area and another from Baltimore.

• Mike noted that we are one of the better rally regions in the club.

Race • The Majors race supplemental regulations are being reviewed and updated.

• The supplemental regulations will be sent out for approval.

• Schedule will be tight, even with overtime.

• Saturday and Sunday qualification times have been reduced to 15 minutes for schedule reasons.

• Chris reviewed the between session schedule designed to minimize down time.

• Two winner’s circles are needed.

• Timing and Scoring along with Race Control requests that numbers be legible.

• Leading ones will be allowed on car numbers where needed.

• Watkins Glen will have a noncredentialed free spectator area for non-spectator events.

New Business • Moving the general membership meeting to the second Wednesday needs to have the site defined and

2013 May

• Fran will schedule a social event.

• Chris suggested racer, rallyists, Soloist competition.

• A promotion committee heading a campaign to gain new active members has been proposed on a national forum.

NEDiv Roundtable • Starting in 2014 there will be no National races (just Majors).

• A Divisional race series is being proposed. One race per track, season ending championship event.

• Runoff® invitations are to be through the six Eastern Conference Majors and the Division Championship series.

• NESCCA is no longer. We are reverting to NEDiv. Adjourned at 9:57 p.m. on motion by Dave, seconded by Chris Respectfully submitted, LKEiserd for Marcus Kroll, Secretary

Meeting Minutes Finger Lakes Region, SCCA General Membership Meeting Minutes April 2, 2013 Location: Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, NY 14617 Mike Toombs called the meeting to order at 8:20 p.m.

March minutes approved by Alan Blood and Jake Bucknam Treasurer's Report • Report approved by Mike Bruner and Barb Lissow • We have money, all bills are paid.

Solo • Planning is still under way • More chairs are needed for events • Discussion regarding regional t-shirts as opposed to activity-specific shirts • The van will be cleaned April 21st volunteers are welcome • Prices for the events are going up Race • Westward Ho - On budget, we should break even.

• BFGoodrich Tires Finger Lakes Super Tour – Could be the 4th largest majors race in the country • Fun One - Has a chair for the event Special Report from Mike Toombs • We lose money more than we make

PROVIDING THE RACING COMMUNITY WITH INSURANCE AND DISABILITY INCOME FOR OVER 40 YEARS.

• We're cutting costs where possible so we don't have to keep increasing fees • Solo lost a lot of money last year; it needs new, cost effective sites • Considering cutting back on Top End • Every activity group needs to run a surplus 5

Rally • March 23 had 12 teams, including people from Baltimore and Columbus Membership • 418 members, no gain or loss Old Business • We need a webmaster/chief of communications • Auto Show created good traffic but more people were interested in the karts than in the cars New Business • Anthony Bristol will be taking photos and videos at the events.

As the official publication of the Finger Lakes Region, SCCA; Top End should include important information that needs to be passed along to the region’s members. Information such as: meeting notices, event notices, business and policy decisions along with happenings and results.

Your input as to what is included is important and will insure that Top End meets the needs of the membership. So let me know what you need, want and can live without.

Editor’s Bench

The option to read Top End online is available for those who do not want or need a paper copy. The online version will have full color and have street address, e-mail address and phone number information deleted for new members. If you would like to save paper and read the online version, send me an e-mail at cfdresie@cs.com or catch me at a meeting.

This is the second issue of the revised Top End. The goal of trimming the newsletter is to reduce size, cost, etc., without reducing the amount of information being conveyed to the region’s members.

Using the internet requires that the members e-mail address on file with the national office be correct. A large number are not correct – please logon to your information and verify that yours is correct!

Meeting adjourned at 8:47 Respectfully submitted, Marcus Kroll, Secretary

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FLR News

Membership News and Information Welcome to the Finger Lakes Region, SCCA Jameson Blandford Regular Solo Web Site Anthony Bristol Regular Club Racing, Pro Racing, Rally & Solo

Welcome back Jeffrey Benson Vince, Kathy & Jason LaManna

Don't forget to renew Eva Ames David Bergeron Michael Cafolla Peter & Nancy Dehmler Lucinda Dodson Brandon Holb Bradley Michael Kirsch Craig S Lane Ryan P Lynch Tom Palmer Nancy Parks-Crowley Patrick & Alice Petrillo Stephen A Stewart James E Tyo L P Willsea Alf Zeller

May 2013

2013 May

7

National News SCCA Membership Contest Rules Contest runs from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013.

Reward Categories: Category 1: Current SCCA Members Category 2: Current SCCA Regions (and corresponding Chapters) Category 1 Rewards: For each new member, referring members will receive $10.00 that may be used for the purchase of SCCA merchandise, applied to entry fees to a SCCA National Event or applied to SCCA membership. There is no limit to the amount a member may earn based on new member referrals. Monies earned will be applied as a credit in the membership record of the member.

Additionally, each member who refers at least two new members will be entered into a drawing for a lifetime SCCA Membership to be awarded at the 2014 SCCA National Convention.

Category 2 Rewards: Regions are eligible for rewards based on an overall increase in their total membership and their membership retention rate. Both are important for the continued growth of the SCCA, since renewing members are more likely to stay with the SCCA for more years while new members are needed to replace those that don’t renew.

Region Goals: • Membership Growth – 2% • Membership Retention – 80% Rewards: • Level 1: Achieve 2% Growth and 80% Retention: Receive a 5% discount on all 2014 event sanction fees (excluding insurance and late fees).

• Level 2: Achieve 10% Growth and 80% Retention: Receive a 10% discount on all 2014 event sanction fees (excluding insurance and late fees).

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• Level 3: Achieve 20% Growth and 80% Retention: Receive a 15% discount on all 2014 event sanction fees (excluding insurance and late fees).

Recognition: The top ten referring members and top three Regions (for each size category) in percentage of new members and retention will be recognized monthly in Sports Car. Eligibility: • Members; to be eligible for drawing, current SCCA members must be paid members in good standing through December 31, 2013.

• Regions; to be eligible, Regions must be in good standing.

New Membership Definition: A new membership is defined as a membership for an individual that has not previously belonged to the SCCA, or an individual that was previously a SCCA member but whose membership lapsed at least six months prior to the date of the new membership. A new membership with a corresponding spouse or family membership counts as one membership.

New members may join: 1. By visiting www.scca.com and submitting an online application.

To receive credit the referring member’s name and membership number must be entered in the appropriate space on the online application form.

2. By mailing a membership application to: Sports Car Club of America, P.O. Box 299, Topeka, KS 666010299. In order to receive credit, the referring member’s name and membership number must be written on the membership application.

Membership applications can also be faxed to 785.232.7213.

Membership applications/brochures are available from the SCCA by contacting Membership Services at 800770-2055 or via email at membership@ scca.com.

Deadline and Restrictions: • All new member applications must be postmarked no later than December 31, 2013 to be counted.

• If referred by a current SCCA member, a new member application must contain the name and membership number of the referring member in order for the referring member to receive credit. Referral credit will not be given to applications received without the referring member’s membership number.

• If not used, “SCCA Gold” will be automatically applied to your Membership Renewal.

• For purpose of this contest, 2013 Membership is total membership as of December 1, 2013.

• SCCA members who are paid employees of SCCA are eligible for referral award incentives, but are not eligible for the grand prize drawing.

Multi-Year Partnership Names Mazda Official Car of SCCA TOPEKA, Kan. (April 16, 2013) – Sports Car Club of America and Mazda North American Operations have announced a multi-year partnership that names Mazda the Official Car of SCCA through 2015.

Mazda Director of Motorsports John Doonan and SCCA Vice President, Marketing and Communications Eric Prill made the announcement on Tuesday morning during the Mazda Motorsports pre-season media day at the company’s headquarters in Irvine.

Mazda will be utilized as the official pace car at key SCCA events, including the SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, through the 2015 season.

The annual SCCA Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Banquet will now be “presented

by Mazda.”

“In the minds of many, Mazda and the SCCA were already partners,”

May 2013

Doonan said. “At the SCCA Runoffs, the Mazda contingent has been the largest of any car company. We love that our small organization is more popular on the race track than the combined efforts of many of our much larger competitors. We look forward to working with the SCCA to grow the sport for the next generation.”

“Mazda has been a long-time supporter of the SCCA and our competitors, so formalizing our relationship was a natural next step,” SCCA President/ CEO Jeff Dahnert said. “On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas being raced than any other marque. We’re looking forward to expanding our relationship with Mazda and the new opportunities that come with it.”

About Mazda Consumer information can be found at www.mazdausa.com with press information at www.mazdausamedia. com racers and fans can follow the action on facebook (Mazdaspeed Motorsports).

Race Monitor Named Official Live Timing App of SCCA Club Racing, Special Version Released TOPEKA, Kan. (April 11, 2013) Race Monitor and Sports Car Club of America have entered an agreement to make the smart phone app the "Official Live Timing Application of SCCA Club Racing," the Club announced today.

In the past two seasons, SCCA Club Racers have become accustomed to the service broadcasting results at top level events, including BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour events, U.S. Majors Tour races, and the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, as well as a growing number of Region-hosted events. The latest version of the app, released today on iPhone, iPad and Android devices, includes new features that are SCCA specific.

Through the new "menu" button available on the latest update, users will

2013 May

have a choice of categories to choose events from, with just one - SCCA dedicated to a specific organization.

Users who select that menu will see all available SCCA races, including SCCA Pro Racing series, with an enhanced color scheme and display area.

“Race Monitor has really been on the cutting edge of delivering useful timing data to participants and fans over the last couple of seasons,” SCCA Vice President, Marketing & Communications Eric Prill said. “We are proud to partner with the developers on enhancements to the app, both overall and for events specific to SCCA. “With more Regions coming on board with the service, I believe that we will soon be able to watch the race data from every SCCA Club Racing event across the country.”

New features also allow users to follow a race or series, which pins it to the top of the directory so they can easily return to the event all weekend, or have the races in a series appear at the top all season.

"We're excited to be partnering with the SCCA to bring new enhancements to the Race Monitor apps, and to be able to offer live timing in more SCCA regions, so racers and their friends and family can follow the events live," said Mark Lubischer, developer of Race Monitor.

A limited version of Race Monitor is also used for the SCCA Pit Board, used to display live timing, notes and audio from the US Majors Tour, BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour and National Championship Runoffs events.

Race Monitor is available in the App Store of your device for $4.99, with an in-app upgrade to Race Monitor Plus available. The upgrade offers a heads-up display for an additional $4.99.

The latest version of Race Monitor, including the SCCA enhanced functionality, will be released for additional platforms shortly.

The Race Monitor event management relay software is available to all SCCA Club Racing Regions to use free of

charge. More information is available at www.race-monitor.com.

First released in 2010, Race Monitor gives racers and spectators alike, the ability to view live timing of races from hundreds of organizations around the world. The Race Monitor application is available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows 8/RT, and Windows Phone. Race Monitor is a product of Karting Coach, Inc. For more product information, please visit www.racemonitor.com.

SCCA Pro Racing Names Kurt Spitzner Rally Director TOPEKA, Kan. (April 9, 2013) – SCCA Pro Racing is pleased to announce that Kurt Spitzner has been named Rally Programs Director.

The new position will serve as a liaison between SCCA Pro Racing and the Global Rallycross Championship.

The GRC, which will be sanctioned

by SCCA Pro Racing, holds several rallycross events worldwide, with the majority held in the United States.

Another key responsibility of the position is to create increased synergy between the club-level rallycross programs and the professional level series. This includes organizing local volunteers to support GRC events as well as exploring the possibility of staging joint events with SCCA RallyCross® participants.

"Performance rallying is experiencing a significant upswing in both spectator and participant interest here in the United States,” Spitzner said. “What I find to be most interesting is the recent emergence of the Global Rallycross Championship here in this country, which I believe has the capability of transforming the worldwide perception and appeal of the sport in a very positive way. The SCCA's broad membership base and operational expertise will provide valuable support to help the growth of the sport."

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Rally Tom Langdon Interim Rally Chair

Rally Meeting Notes April 9, 2013 96 Church Street, Victor, NY These notes are grouped by subject, not in chronological order.

The following six RoadRally and RallyCross enthusiasts were present; Rick Barnes, Carl Dresie, Jerry Kerwin, Tom Langdon, Alan Smith and Mike Toombs.

Social, Summer and Fall Rallies The options for a summer rally were discussed. That event could be a repeatability run or other GTA event, possibly including a picnic. Rick is looking for a date to conduct his fall rally. The current unofficial version of the Finger Lakes Region’s calendar will be sent to those attending the meeting.

Contact Mary Hartman for the official version or Carl for the unofficial version. Final scheduling should be done through Mary at (585) 426-3288 of activitiesdirector@flr-scca.com.

Lynn Randall has a fall foliage rally to the Bully Hill winery scheduled for Oct. 19.

STPR® A rallymaster has not been found for the charity rally run as part of the Susquhannock Trail Performance Rally® weekend. Declining attendance and the conflict with Friday’s STPR schedule is the reason for not running the charity rally.

A donation to the Tioga Cancer Society was suggested.

Alan reviewed the proposed Super Special stages layout and operating procedure. The goal is to reduce the time between runs to five seconds.

the SCCA website. (http://www.scca.com/ downloads/) A printed rally steward checklist is also needed.

Miscellaneous Discussions Lynn Randall has asked to borrow rally equipment for a May 4 event conducted by her church and benefitting hospice.

Jerry reported that he had talked to Curt Braun. His health is improving, but mobility is still limited. Mail for Curt can be sent to 3641 S Chino Dr., Camp Verde, AZ 86322-6031. Curt’s phone number is 1-585-613-1402.

“Submarines and weiner dogs” The 50th anniversary of the sinking of the nuclear submarine Thresher was noted. It is believed that a leak sprayed water onto an electrical panel causing the nuclear reactor to shut down, resulting in the submarine losing power and sinking to a depth it could not withstand. (Search “thresher submarine” for more information.) The loss of the submarine Scorpion was also noted.

The possibility of spending time in Florida near the Everglades with Dachshunds (Weiner dogs) in tow and encounters with Burmese Pythons was discussed. Rumor has it that the python eats animals up to the size of a deer.

78 Bennington Drive Rochester, NY 14616 585-621-8200

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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Winter Rally Series The 2013 Finger Lakes Region’s Winter Rally Series has wrapped up with the last event running on March 23. The results for “Slip Sliding Away ‘13” have been posted on the FLR website and will be published in the May issue of Top End. Rick has his rally article nearly complete. It was noted that we had teams from Ohio, Maryland and Connecticut running this event. Jeff Coppola will be contacted for pictures to be published in Top End. The goal is to have a “rallymaster expectations” document in the works by October. Source material would be the region’s procedures along with the RoadRally Rulebook, the Rules for Organizers and other publications found on 10

May 2013

Slip Sliding Away ‘13 March 23, 2013 Rick Barnes, Rallymaster

A series of circumstances pushed event number of five of the Winter Rally Series off until 323 Day (March 23rd, for non-Mazda owners). That placed the date firmly after the official start of spring. Even though the groundhog had predicted that spring would start early, Old Man Winter took heed of our plight and kindly agreed to stick around long enough to finish out the Winter Series with proper conditions.

Planning for a late winter or early spring event is always a bit of a gamble – will it snow or be a mud-fest? As it turned out, varying meteorological jiggery-pokery kept the north east a bit colder than average, and the weather turned out very different from what I expected initially. Originally, I’d hoped that the conditions would allow frequent use of normally inaccessible seasonal use roads. Instead, all of those roads (except one) where bypassed in the route’s final form. The single remaining seasonal section was important to the first checkpoint, so I made a point of driving it up and

down multiple times to maximize its passablity.

There were 11 checkpoints all together. Despite a slight shortage of checkpoint workers, all ran without a hitch thanks to the teams of Alan Smith & Eric Hobron, and Gary Thomas & John Kastenhuber that smoothly operated run/work checkpoints. Other checkpoints were manned by Carl Dresie, Barb Lissow, Tom & Deb Langdon, Kurt Thiel, and by Alan Blood & Craig McMaster, the latter pair of which should be commended for managing to show up and work despite being hindered by a flat tire on the way to the event. Course opening duties were handled by Bob VanSice and Jason Kostyshak, and the Green Mountaineer was the sweep vehicle with Noel Barnes riding shotgun. Alan, Carl & Tom also performed double-duties, handling the novice school, event safety check and vehicle tech inspections, respectively.

The event saw 12 teams turn out, drawing competitors from Ohio, Maryland and New England, as well as locally. While there were no entrees in Stock class, the field was evenly distributed in the three remaining classes with 4 competitors each in Novice, Limited & Equipped. Overall competition distance was about 145

miles. Overall conditions were a mix of snow, dirt, mud, ice, snow on mud, and maybe even ice on snow on muddy dirt, all broken up by an even sprinkling of pavement. This made for a challenging and entertaining mix of surfaces and kept teams on their toes.

Event feedback was primarily positive and scoring went quickly, thanks to the relatively low number of checkpoints and the handy program written by Alan. With few timing issues and no complaints filed, we were able to zip through the results and get everyone out the door at a reasonable hour. Congratulations to Griff Jones & Christine Haka for first place finish in Novice, Jeff & Steve Coppola for first in Limited, and to Alan Smith & Eric Hobron for their first place in Equipped and the win overall, with a score of just 15/100ths.

Thanks to all the workers and competitors for coming out, there is no series without you guys, to Cheap Charlie’s Restaurant for letting us take over half the building and to the Mountaineer for holding up to the abuse of setting up and working the event, despite 300K miles on the clock and a dodgy wheel bearing (now repaired).

Till next year!

Results Slip Slidin' Away 2013, March 23 Place

Score

Leg time 0.01 minute (- = early) and Time Allowance taken

Car No.

Class Speed

Driver Navigator

9

Novice C

Griff Jones Christine Haka

Baja

8

1

377

377

-14

2

15

-2

-64

31

-10

13

4

-22

-200 4.5TA

10

Novice C

Jeremie Snyder David Herdzik

Impreza

10

2

586

586

-15

2

-49

-38

-49

3

-88

-27

-33

82

-200

11

Novice C

Max Corbett Jake Richards

Honda CRV

11

3

840

840

200

11

46

200

47 1.5TA

65

11

117

57

42

44

12

Novice C

Fred White Missi White

WRX

12

4

1300

1300

200

9

22

-7

200

200

-103

115

150

94

200

4

Limited A

Jeff Coppola Steve Coppala

Impreza

3

1

22

22

-4

1

0

6

3

0

0

2

-1

1

-4

7

Limited B

Jerry Kerwin Larry Wells

Evo

4

2

113

100

14

11

-1

11

-23

0

-5

3

-7

-13

-12

5

Limited A

Jim Perrin Dana Sibilio

Forester

5

3

119

119

-9

6 3.5TA

-10

-2

-2 0.5TA

2

80

0

5

1

-2

8

Limited B

Tony Zanni Breckly Ellard

Honda Civic

9

4

449.74 398

-14

6

-7 0.5TA

86

7

18

3 0.5TA

169

44

26

18

Marque

O.A. Cls Factr'd Raw Leg 1 Leg 2 Leg 3 Leg 4 Leg 5 Leg 6 Leg 7 Leg 8 Leg 9 Leg 10 Leg 11

1

Equipped Alan Smith A Eric Hobron

Outback

1

1

15

15

0

1

0

-3

-2

0

1

-2

3

3

0

2

Equipped Gary Thomas A John Kastenhuber

Talon

2

2

20

20

-4

-3

1

0 2.5TA

-2

0

0

-3

2

2

-3

3

Equipped Eric Salminen A Dennis Blevins

STI

6

3

229

229

0

-143

-26

-1 3.5TA

4

3

0

7

2

-1

42 1.5TA

6

Equipped Dan Thiel A Anna

Volvo

7

4

282

282

-4

-7

-14

-22

-8

-14

200

-1

-1

2

-9

2013 May

11

Anxiously awaiting the rally results from Rick Barnes (on right). Staff photo

Snyder and Herdzik, 2nd in Novice class on March 23.

Staff photo.

Thomas and Kastenhuber, 2nd in Equipped.

Staff photo

Jerry Kerwin and long time checkpoint worker Larry Wells placed 2nd in Limited, 4th overall in “Slip Slidin’ Away.”

Staff photo.

12

May 2013

Solo Tom Weaver Solo Chair

As you are reading this, chances are the season has already begun. Hopefully the first event occurred on a nice, sunny, spring day. If it happened to be a little wet and cold, don’t worry, there are another seven more events coming your way! I’m sure come mid-August many will be longing for the crisp, refreshing, unpredictable weather of events gone by.

With each new season come fresh new challenges: perhaps it’s a new vehicle you look forward to tuning and improving; maybe it’s a change of class or preparation level; or possibly it’s your year to shine and take the season championship over a friendly foe. In all of these cases, come great rewards.

This year, one of the larger challenges facing the Solo program is the cost to hold events of which we can be proud.

The Finger Lakes Board of Directors along with the Solo Board and I have put together a budget that will enable us all to continue competing and enjoying

our sport through both reduced spending and slightly higher entry fees. The standard member entry fee is $38, while the weekend member and junior driver entry fees are $53 and $25, respectively.

We encourage everyone to come out and enjoy not only the close competition, but also the good friendships we have all built through the great sport and pastime we all enjoy , Autocross!

See you at the cones, Tom

Novice school registration is open Registration is now open for the July 13 novice school at RIT. Students, instructors and volunteers can now register at www.motorsportreg.com.

Shaun Hallam

Race Fran McAllister Competition Board Chair

The 2013 Hoosier Racing Tire Formula First Championship The Hoosier Racing Tire Formula First Championship is a series of Cross Regional races contested in the Central, Great Lakes and Northeast divisions of the Sports Car Club of America. It consists of 12 races on 6 weekends at 6

2013 May

13

different tracks so the series has broad exposure. The series is now in its tenth year and has a large following amongst Formula First competitors in the country and one of the reasons for this broad appeal is the fact that the series has just the right balance between broad appeal racing participation and professionalism.

In the past we have had positive media coverage in publications such as Sports Car, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, as well as web based news outlets such as Apexspeed.com and E FormulaCarNews.com.

The Hoosier Tire Formula First Championship is coming to both the Finger Lakes Region’s Westward Ho! at Nelson Ledges on June 22-23 and Fun One ’13 at Watkins Glen on September 14-15. It is unique in that it exists quietly amongst the typical SCCA Club Racing weekend format and not at all based on the SCCA PRO race model. By this, we are trying to expand the Formula First base by encouraging all levels of the weekend racer. The series promotes enthusiastic racing for the lead of the race, in the middle and even at the back of the grid. The Hoosier Tire Formula First Championship races are highly competitive.

Formula First is different as the majority of our competitors are not looking to become the next F1 star; they love their sport and want to race with like-minded individuals. Five time SCCA champion Dave Weitzenhof said after driving a Formula First that “the primary audience for the class is the 35-45 year old who is finally fulfilling a dream to go racing in a semi-serious way. It is a more expensive and very serious bowling league to test a bad analogy”.

The Hoosier Tire Formula First Championship series introduces a whole new approach to the sport. The Formula First Drivers Association wants everyone attending these events to witness a real alternative to SCCA Club Racing that may indeed help sustain our passions in the future.

The drivers who are attracted to Formula First are still a broad range.

The oldest driver is 72 and has a 4 digit SCCA number. The youngest is 18 and a high school senior from Rochester 14

Michigan. While most drivers prepare their own cars some prefer to rent them.

Two of the drivers are retired but most have day jobs outside the auto industry but we do have two General Motors engineers and a professional race engineer as regulars.

Lastly, just a word about the technical side of Formula FST. While we didn’t start with clean sheet of paper we did look at off the shelf VW street components because they are available broadly, inexpensive and usually available from multiple sources. Formula Firsts are air-cooled VW powered formula cars.

The front suspension, the brake discs, calipers and wheels are street tested and race rugged. Best of all our spec Hoosier tires pull huge lateral G’s but also last a long time.

For those who do not want to own and prepare their own car there are a limited number of state of the art rentals available for a race weekend or for the whole season.

Formula First welcomes everyone to our series and extends an invitation to learn about our cars and series.

More information can be obtained by e-mailing the Association at fst@ rochester.rr.com

Classified Ads

For Sale: 1996 Firebird Formula, 5.7L 6speed. Professionally built by Phoenix Performance in Phoenixville, PA. LT-1 engine, Hooker supercomp ,headers Painless ECU and wiring harness and circuit breaker panel. 8 Fiske racing wheels with Hoosier R6 tires. Much more. Has always been a race car. SCCA and NASA logbooks. $6000 or reasonable offer. Call 585-467-4993 (5/13) For Sale: 1) 1989 Mazda 323 GTX. Former open class ClubRally car, no longer log booked. Great RallyCross or ice race car.

Asking $1500. 2) 1984 Ford EXP Turbo Coupe. Rare car, a few modifications, needs some finishing. $1500. 3) 1988 Mazda 323 SE. Fairly basic, no rust, needs clutch. $500. 4) Two (2) racing karts, both ethanol Raptor powered. $650 each, or $1000 for both. Call 585-967-3762 for more info.

(3/13) For Sale: 1969 MGB Roadster. Color: 1964 Blue with white top in good shape.

Body good, spare hood (aluminum), motor sound, exhaust O.K., original carbs. Interior in good to excellent condition, wire wheels with approximately 1K on tires and tubes.

Extra parts (electric, brakes, etc.). Honest car – health forces sale. $4000 o/b/o Call Bob Rodd (518) 842-6479 (Amsterdam) (2/13)

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 News & Announcements blog at http://news.flr-scca.com under Classifieds.” 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.

May 2013

Membership Application Dear Prospective SCCA Member:

To apply for a membership in the Sports Car Club of America, the world’s largest motorsports enthusiast organization, please complete the form below and return, with payment, to SCCA Member Services Department, P.O. Box 299, Topeka, KS 66601-0299; Fax: 785.232.7213.

PLEASE PRINT OR TYPE Name __________________________________________________________ Birthdate _________________________ Address _______________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ City _____________________________________________ State ______________ Zip _________________________ E-mail ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Spouse Name ___________________________________________________ Birthdate _________________________ Child’s Name ____________________________________________________ Birthdate _________________________ Child’s Name ____________________________________________________ Birthdate _________________________

Primary Interest:

Please indicate the area of SCCA in which you plan to participate, or interests you enjoy the most.

oClub Racing

o Time Trials/PDX

oRally

oRallyCross

Membership Dues (includes National and Regional dues) oIndividual ......................... $80 oFamily ........................ $100 oIndividual, 2-year ............$140 oFamily, 2-year ............ $180 oIndividual, 3-year ........... $200 oFamily, 3-year ............ $245

oSolo

o Vintage

oPro Racing

oFirst Gear (24 yrs & under) .............$45.00 oFirst Gear, 2-year ......................$75.00 oFirst Gear, 3-year ......................$95.00

Amount Due:

Membership Amount............................................................................ $ __________

Weekend Membership #1 _______________________________

-$15.00

Weekend Membership #1 _______________________________

-$15.00

Referred by __________________________________________ -$15.00 (FIRST/LAST NAME & MEMBERSHIP # REQUIRED) TOTAL DUE.............................. $ ____________ I will become a member in the FINGER LAKES REGION (#62).

By accepting membership in the SCCA and any SCCA region, I agree to conduct myself according to the highest standards of behavior and sportsmanship in a manner that shall not be prejudicial to the reputation of the Club or fellow members. __________________________________________________ APPLICANT’S NAME (signature required)

Payment Method:

oCheck

o Auto-renew with Credit Card

oMoney Order

__________________________ DATE (required)

oCredit Card

Credit card listed below will automatically be charged National and Regional dues prior to membership expiration date.

__________________________________________________

__________________________

Visa/MasterCard/Discover Acct # Applications submitted by fax must be accompanied by a Visa or MasterCard account number for payment.

Exp.

Dues include payment for subscription to SportsCar magazine ($24 value). Dues not deductable as charitable contribution.

2013 May

09/2012

15

Calendar of events for the Finger Lakes Region

April 2013 28 30

FINGER LAKES Region SOLO #1, RIT FINGER LAKES REGION Board of Directors meeting - 7:30 p.m., Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information)

May 2013

3-5 SCCA Majors Race, Summit, WDC 5 FINGER LAKES Region SOLO #2, RIT 7 FINGER LAKES Region SOLO Meeting - 7:00 p.m.

– Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information) 7 FINGER LAKES Region General Membership Meeting - 8:00 p.m. – Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information) 11 (or 18, depending upon leaves) STPR Committee Meeting, Radio Check – Wellsboro, 7:00 a.m. (Contact meridith1c@msn.com for further information.)

11-12 Regional Race, Pocono, NNJ-Tri 14 FINGER LAKES Region Rally Meeting, -7:30 p.m., 96 Church St., Victor, Rick Barnes (rbarnes@torsen. com / (585) 967-3762) 18-19 Regional Race, PDX & CT, Nelson, MVR 21 STPR Committee Meeting – Rochester, 7:00 p.m. 5795 W Henrietta Rd , Rochester, NY (Contact meridith1c@ msn.com for further information.)

24 Driver’s School, NHMS, NER 25 (optional) STPR Committee Meeting – Wellsboro, 1:00 p.m. (Contact meridith1c@msn.com for further information.)

25-26 Regional Race, Glen, Glen 25-26 Regional Race, NHMS, NER 25-26 CT & TT, Jefferson, NePa 28 FINGER LAKES REGION Board of Directors meeting - 7:30 p.m., Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information) 31-6/1 STPR ® , Wellsboro, PA, Finger Lakes STPR ® Motorsports, LLC 31-6/2 SCCA Majors Race, New Jersey Motorsports Park, SJR

June 2013

5/31-1 STPR ®, Wellsboro, PA, Finger Lakes STPR ® Motorsports, LLC

5/31-2 SCCA Majors Race, New Jersey Motorsports Park, SJR 5 FINGER LAKES Region Member Recognition Picnic - Camp Eastman, Irondequoit, NY (Contact re@ flr-scca.com for further information) 8-9 Regional Race, Summit, WDC 8-9 Weatherly Hillclimb, NEP 8-9 NASCAR, Pocono 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 Street Survival School, Perry Warsaw Airport (Tent.)

16 FINGER LAKES Region SOLO #3, Perry Warsaw Airport (Tent.)

25 FINGER LAKES REGION Board of Directors meeting - 7:30 p.m., Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information) 21-22 Regional Race, Lime Rock Park, NER 22-23 Westward HO!, Nelson, FLR 22-23 Pagoda Hillclimb, BMR 29 RallyCross, (FLR) 29 PDX, Summit. WDC 29-30 Rolex 6 hr., Glen 29-30 Regional Race, New Jersey Motorsports Park, JRB 30 FINGER LAKES Region SOLO #4, RIT

July 2013 2

FINGER LAKES Region SOLO Meeting - 7:00 p.m.

– Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information) 2 FINGER LAKES Region General Membership Meeting - 8:00 p.m. – Murph’s Irondequoit Pub, 705 Titus Ave., Irondequoit, NY (Contact re@flr-scca.com for further information) 5-7 SCCA Majors Race, Watkins Glen International, FLR 6-7 Indycar, Pocono 9 FINGER LAKES Region Rally Meeting, -7:30 p.m., 96 Church St., Victor, Rick Barnes (rbarnes@torsen. com / (585) 967-3762)

2013 dates for the region’s Solo, general membership, Rally and board meetings may be changing. Watch www.flr-scca.com for updates.

Dates are subject to change.

Request 2013 dates from the Activities Director.

RallyCross events are subject to field conditions.

Finger Lakes Region Social Media: (Website) www.flr-scca.com, (News/Announcement) news.flr-scca.com, etc.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/flrscca - YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/flrscca - Twitter: twitter.com/#!/flrscca Yahoo Groups: Solo - sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/flrsolo/, RoadRally - sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/FingerLakesRally/