Entire Newsletter (32 pages) 4.2MB
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Entire Newsletter (32 pages) 4.2MB
NEWS NORTHWEST SPORTS CAR The official news source of SCCA’s Northwest Region — www.nwr-scca.org SeptemberOctober 2007 WILD WEST FINDS SUCCESS BACK EAST Cody Crane photo Ron Sorem reports from Garfield County, Pages 15-19 CONES, CONES, CONES — AND MORE CONES Autocrossers don’t slow down much for summer. Dick Willy reports, pages 2-10 What a way to wrap up summer Karl Coleman is on his way to winning Street Touring X at the Packwood ProSolo in August. A ugust and September are insane months for Northwest Region Solo drivers, with Solo Week (National Tour, Pro Solo and Evolution School), NWR Event No. 7, Canadian West Coast Nationals, Montana Divisional and finally, the Pro Solo Finale and Solo Championships in Topeka, Kan. Solo Week One of the big highlights of the Solo calendar is Solo Week, which includes the National ProSolo, Evolution School and the National Tour, which were held at Hampton Mills facility in Packwood Aug. 17 to 26. One hundred sixty entrants competed in the ProSolo, with NWR members dominating the trophy positions with six class wins, seven seconds, six thirds, two fourths and one fifth. In the Challenge, “Fast Mike” Lillejord finished second, with Ryan Otis (Oregon Region) in third. Kristi Brown took second-place honors in the Ladies Challenge, with Laura Molleker in second and Jodi Fordahl in third. Dieter Beldi placed second in the Bonus Challenge. See below for a complete listing of trophy winners. The Evolution School is taught by some of the best national drivers and 2 Northwest Sports Car News Dancing with Cones DICK WILLY ASSISTANT RE, SOLO features five separate classes based on driving level and subject. The “Evo” school is an excellent learning tool for intermediate and advanced drivers. This year’s school was held on Monday through Thursday of Solo Week. The National Tour began with Friday’s Test-n-Tune, followed by competition on Saturday and Sunday. First-heat drivers on Sunday were “blessed” with “Washington sunshine,” but the rest of the weekend was dry. Two hundred sixty three competitors enjoyed the mountain scenery only our Packwood site can provide, while attacking the challenging course designed by Scott Miller. Fastest scratch time (109.289 sec) for the weekend was recorded by Glen Barnhouse (Lolo, Mont.), driving a 2005 Red Devil F500 in F Modified. Close on his heels were NWR F Prepared co-drivers, Greg Fordahl (109.713) and Leeds Gulick (109.942). Among Stock category drivers Kevin Dietz (Federal Way) was quickest (go figure!) in Jerry Lee’s Corvette Z06, with a time of 111.451 seconds. www.nwr-scca.org Denise Williamson photo Many thanks to all of the many volunteers who made Solo Week a success. Special mention is due to the event chairs, course designers, and our Testn-tune co-chairs: Pro Solo co-chairs: Kristi and Keith Brown Evolution School administrator: Keith Brown Test-n-tune co-chairs: Jackie McInnis and Erika Cowen National Tour co-chairs: Jess Lynch and Brian Norton Pro Solo course designer: Karen Babb National Tour course designer: Scott Miller Packwood ProSolo trophy winners Super Stock 1. Kevin Dietz, 2003 Chevrolet Corvette, 51.236 2. Christopher Cox, 2004 Porsche GT3, 51.575 3. Glen Hernandez, 2006 Lotus Elise, September-October 2007 52.689 4. Tom Kotzian, 2004 Porsche GT3, 53.103 A Stock 1. Scott McHugh, 1989 Chevrolet Corvette, 52.885 2. Brian Mcgaha, 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution, 53.652 3. John Stimson, 2007 Pontiac Solstice, 53.715 4. Alan Dahl, 2007 Pontiac Solstice, 53.737 B Stock 1. Matthew Braun, 2006 Mazda RX-8, 54.581 2. Glenn Austin, 2005 Nissan 350Z, 54.662 3. Joe Goeke, 2005 Mazda Rx8, 54.792 C Stock 1. Mike Lillejord, 2006 Pontiac Solstice, 54.180 2. Kyle Freiheit, 2006 Pontiac Solstice, 54.767 D Stock 1. Kinch Reindl, 1998 Acura Integra, 55.435 2. Ryan C. Eames, 2004 VW R32, 55.888 3. Curtis Eames, 2004 Volkswagen R32, 55.968 G Stock 1. Dan Pedroza, 2007 MINI Cooper S, 55.364 2. Jake Nygaard, 2006 Mini Cooper S, 56.533 H Stock 1. James N. Wilson, 1998 Subaru Impreza L, 57.978 2. Scott Miller 2007 Scion tC, 58.139 Street Touring S 1. Kevin McCormick, 1989 Honda Civic Si, 55.939 2. Katie Elder, 1989 Honda Civic Si, 57.582 Street Touring S2 1. Drew Hanft, 1995 Mazda Miata, 57.574 2. Donald Barnes, 1990 Mazda Miata, 57.972 Street Touring X 1. Karl Coleman, 2002 Subaru WRX, 54.794 2. Alec Osenbachm 2002 Subaru Impreza, 55.015 September-October 2007 Denise Williamson photo Tasha Mikko won Street Touring S Ladies when the National Tour rolled through Packwood. Street Touring Ultra 1. Ryan Otis, 2006 Subaru WRX STi, 53.621 2. James Paulson, 2006 Subaru WRX STi, 54.351 3. Richard Willy, 2004 Subaru WRX STi, 54.884 B Street Prepared 1. Tom Berry, 2006 Mitsubishi Evo 9, 49.696 2. Marshall Grice, 2006 Misubishi Evolution, 50.683 C Street Prepared 1. Scott Fraser, 1991 52.079 2. Tom Kubo, 1991 52.726 3. Ron Bauer, 2007 52.823 4. Jim Daniels, 2007 52.868 Mazda Miata, Mazda Miata, Mazda MX-5, Mazda MX-5, D Street Prepared 1. Dudley Milder 2006 Mini Cooper JC, 54.947 2. Rebecca Zacharda, 2006 Mini Cooper S, 55.894 Prepared Index 1. Keith Brown, 1990 Mazda Miata, 45.035 (DP 0.855) 2. Mark Smith, 1997 Chevrolet Corvette, 46.216 (XP 0.880) Street Modified 1. Navid Kahangi, 2006 Subaru WRX STi, 50.996 2. Ron Pippin, 2006 Subaru STi, 51.972 Street Modified 2 1. Michael Feldpusch, 1997 Chevrolet www.nwr-scca.org Corvette, 52.274 2. Allan H. Densmore 2002 Chevy Z06, 52.762 3. Cal Craner, 2002 Chevy Z06, 53.252 Ladies Class 1 1. Kristi Brown, 2007 MINI Cooper S, 44.838 (GS 0.790) 2. Laura Molleker, Subaru Impreza WRX, 45.150 (AS 0.830) 3. Pamela Eames, 2004 VW R32, 45.253 (DS 0.793) 4. Jodi Fordahl, 1984 Porsche 944, 45.525 (ES 0.801) 5. Shalyn Morrow, 2006 Mini Cooper S, 45.569 (GS 0.790) Ladies Class 2 1. Christine Berry, 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution 43.160 (BSP 0.848) 2. Kathy Wolfskill, 1991 Mazda Miata, 44.618 (CSP 0.841) 3. Amy Coleman, 2002 Subaru WRX, 45.565 (STX 0.804) 4. Danielle Paulson, 2006 Subaru WRX STi, 45.657 (STU 0.824) Bump Class 1 1. Kevin Youngers, 2007 Ford Mustang, 45.176 (FS 0.800) 2. Jerry Jenkins, 1994 Mazda Miata, 45.371 (ES 0.801) Bump Class 2 1. Lorin Mueller, 2003 Ford Focus, 43.806 (FSP 0.811) 2. Larry Petrucci 1995 Pontiac Formula, 44.954 (ESP 0.830) 3. Doug Hebenthal, 2004 Porsche GT3, 45.094 (ASP 0.858) 4. Bill Buetow, 2007 Porsche GT3, 45.437 (ASP 0.858) 5. Brad Owen, 1996 Pontiac Firebird, 45.478 (ESP 0.830) Northwest Sports Car News 3 N ORTHWEST S PORTS CAR NEWS The official news source of SCCA’s Northwest Region The official news source of SCCA’s Northwest Region — www.nwr-scca.org January 2007 Northwest Sports Car News is published by Kurt Batdorf for the Northwest Region, SCCA Inc.All contents are ©2006, Northwest Region SCCA. All material herein may not be reproduced in whole or in part by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the express written permission of Northwest Region, SCCA Inc. Permission to reprint is hereby given to all official SCCA publications provided that proper credit is given to the author and to Northwest Sports Car News. A copy of the publication should be sent to Northwest Sports Car News at the publisher’s address.The authors of articles and letters contained herein retain copyright to their original work as do photographers to their original photographs. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the Northwest Region, SCCA Inc., their Boards of Directors or staff. Letters written to the editor for publication must be typed and include the author’s name, address and phone number, and must be signed. Editorial contributions and letters to the editor are welcomed by Northwest Sports Car News. Neither the publisher, nor Northwest Region, SCCA Inc., will be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or graphics, and these materials will not be returned unless they are accompanied by a selfaddressed, stamped envelope. Editor and publisher Kurt Batdorf kurtbatdorf@earthlink.net Contributors Ron Sorem, Jamie Thomas, Jim Culp, Sheri Masterson, Denise Williamson, Jay Bratton, Mark McCloskey, Kim Craddock and many other members of the Northwest Region Production and editorial office 11220 Walker Road Mount Vernon, WA 98273-7265 360-707-2882 For advertising information, call Bill Deoneseus, 253-651-0598 For subscription information, contact Esther Sicks at esther.sicks@att.net 4 Northwest Sports Car News National Tour trophy winners Super Stock 1. Kevin Dietz, 2003 Chevrolet Z06, NWR, 111.451 2. Stacey Molleker, 2006 Dodge Viper, NWR, 112.813 3. Christopher Cox, 2004 Porsche GT3, SFR, 112.860 4. Tom Kotzian, 2004 Porsche GT3, OR, 113.599 5. Pilar Miranda, 2004 Porsche GT3, SFR, 114.419 6. Nathan Provo, 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, NWR, 114.696 Super Stock Ladies 1. Laura Molleker, 2006 Dodge Viper, NWR, 113.560 2. Tristan Kotzian-Coulter, 2004 Porsche GT3, OR, 117.571 A Stock 1. Alan Dahl, 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP, NWR, 123.086 2. Stephen Hui, 2003 Porsche Boxster S, NWR, 123.521 3. Andrew Howe, 2003 Porsche Boxster S, OR, 124.180 B Stock 1. Joe Goeke, 2005 Mazda RX-8, NWR, 121.128 2. Matthew Braun, 2006 Mazda RX-8, Detroit Region, 122.106 3. George Hudetz, 2004 Mazda RX-8, OR, 122.425 4. Brian Coulson, 2007 Mazda RX-8, Yellowstone Region, 123.121 B Stock Ladies 1. Anna Goeke, 2005 Mazda RX-8, NWR, 119.550 C Stock 1. Mike Lillejord, 2006 Pontiac Solstice, NWR, 114.521 2. Kyle Freiheit, 2006 Pontiac Solstice, NWR, 116.418 C Stock Ladies 1. Annie Bauer, 2006 Pontiac Solstice, NWR, 123.685 D Stock 1. Kinch Reindl, 1998 Acura Integra, 119.103 2. Robert Luis, 2003 BMW 330i, SFR, 119.824 3. Steve Wynne, 2005 Dodge ACR SRT-4, OR, 119.858 4. Pat Smith, 1997 Acura Integra Type www.nwr-scca.org R, 120.787 5. Ryan Eames, 2004 VW R32, Snake River Region, 121.393 D Stock ladies 1. Pamela Eames, 2004 VW R32, Snake River Region, 123.395 2. Joan Clark, 2007 Mazdaspeed 3, Central Florida Region, 126.211 E Stock 1. Br yan Heitkotter, 1993 Toyota MR2, SFR, 117.468 2. Jerry Jenkins, 1994 Mazda Miata, OR, 117.482 3. Jodi Fordahl, 1984 Porsche 944, NWR, 118.667 4. Gretchen Everett, 1984 Porsche 944, NWR, 119.912 5. L.C. Bohrer, 1988 Porsche 944, NWR, 120.079 F Stock 1. Richard Smale, 2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT, NWR, 120.314 G Stock 1. Aaron Pailthorp, 2007 MINI Cooper S, NWR, 122.616 2. Arthur Chan, 1991 BMW 318is, 122.668 G Stock Ladies 1. Kristi Brown, 2007 MINI Cooper S, NWR, 127.691 H Stock 1. Scott Miller, 2007 Scion tC, NWR, 128.693 2. Des Toups, 2007 Mazda 3, NWR, 128.743 H Stock Ladies 1. Karina Miller, 2007 Scion tC, NWR, 130.447 Street Touring S 1. Kevin McCormick, 1989 Honda Civic Si, SFR, 120.454 2. Doug Mikko, 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS, NWR, 122.385 3. Charlie Davis, 1993 Acura Integra, SFR, 122.490 Street Touring S Ladies 1. Tasha Mikko, 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS, NWR, 129.141 Street Touring S2 1. Drew Hanft, 1995 Mazda Miata, September-October 2007 NWR, 124.002 2. Enrique Garcia, 1995 Mazda Miata, NWR, 124.518 Street Touring S2 Ladies 1. Kim Littke, 1995 Mazda Miata, NWR, 125.541 Street Touring Xtreme 1. Alec Osenbach, 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX, NWR, 120.298 2. Karl Coleman, 2002 Subaru WRX, NWR, 120.564 3. Chase Guerlain, 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege, OR, 124.307 Street Touring Xtreme Ladies 1. Amy Coleman, 2002 Subaru WRX, NWR, 125.434 Street Touring Ultra 1. James Paulson, 2006 Subaru WRX STi, OR, 116.356 2. Ryan Otis, 2005 Subaru WRX STi, OR, 117.233 3. Geoff Clark, 2003 Mitsubishi Evolution, NWR, 117.608 4. Karlton Lew, 2006 Subaru STi, SFR, 119.483 Street Touring Ultra Ladies 1. Danielle Paulson, 2006 Subaru WRX STi, OR, 130.660 A Street Prepared 1. Geoff Newman, 2004 Porsche 911 GT3, NWR, 119.995 2. Mark Snell, 2006 Lotus Exige, NWR, 120.285 3. Richard Coffey, 2004 Porsche GT3, SFR, 120.507 4. Rob Boynton, 2002 Porsche GT2, SFR, 120.673 A Street Prepared Ladies 1. Khuyen Khuong, 2007 Lotus Exige S, New England Region, 123.618 5. Vince Russell, 1990 Mazda Miata, SFR, 122.269 3. Sead Causevic, 1980 VW Scirocco, 123.581 1. Tami Daniels, 2007 Mazda MX-5, OR, 115.108 2. Kathy Wolfskill, 1991 Mazda Miata, Colorado Region, 115.166 1. Allan Densmor, 2002 Chevrolet Z06, Snake River Region, 61.173 59.503 57.548, 121.977 2. Cal Craner, 2002 Chevy Z06, Yellowstone Region, 59.683 61.194 57.843, 122.098 C Street Prepared Ladies D Street Prepared 1. Dudley Milder, 2006 Mini Cooper JCW, OR, 116.702 2. Allan Zacharda, 2006 Mini Cooper S JCW, OR, 118.942 3. Denny LaPlante, 1993 BMW 325 is, NWR, 118.986 4. Arron Mauldin, 1997 Honda Del Sol, OR, 119.508 D Street Prepared Ladies 1. Rebecca Zacharda, 2006 Mini Cooper S JCW, OR, 128.224 E Street Prepared 1. Larry Petrucci, 1995 Pontiac Formula Firebird, Arizona Region, 117.623 2. Philip Zhu, 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX, 120.507 F Street Prepared 1. Lorin Mueller, 2003 Ford Focus, SFR, 116.163 2. Jake Russell, 1981 VW Rabbit Turbo Diesel, NWR, 119.928 F Street Prepared Ladies 1. Bonnie Mueller, 2003 Ford Focus, OR, 120.178 X Prepared 1. Greg Fordahl, 1972 Porsche 914, NWR, 109.713 2. Leeds Gulick, 1971 Porsche 914-6, NWR 109.942 3. Keith Brown, 1990 Mazda Miata, NWR, 113.522 C Prepared A Street Prepared 1. Jason Braunberger, 1985 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, OR, 115.965 C Street Prepared 1. Perry Keller, 1990 Honda Civic EX, OR, 128.803 2. Troy Hobbs, 1961 VW Beetle, 130.871 1. Duncan Minalga, 2004 Mitsubishi EVO RS, OR, 116.998 1. Scott Fraser, 1991 Mazda Miata, SFR, 121.260 2. Jim Daniels, 2007 Mazda MX-5, OR, 121.422 3. Ron Bauer, 2007 Mazda MX-5, NWR, 121.835 4. Jim McLaughlan, 1990 Mazda Miata, 122.102 September-October 2007 E Prepared Street Modified 1. Navid Kahangi, 2006 Subaru WRX STi, SFR, 117.247 2. Tony Lemon, 1996 Honda Civic, NWR, 123.361 www.nwr-scca.org Street Modified 2 A Modified 1. John Haftner, 1973 Super vee, 114.066 2. Ricardo Quinonez, 2007 Shark Stealth, SFR, 116.842 B Modified 1. John Schultz, 2001 Radical Prosport, Snake River Region, 117.020 D Modified 1. Alan Rae, 1991 Caterham Super 7, NWR, 113.103 E Modified 1. Phill Akins, 1980 VW Jetta, OR, 123.660 2. Britain Smith, 1974 Porsche 914/6, OR, 124.069 F Modified 1. Glen Barnhouse, 2005 Red Devil F500, Big Sky Region, 109.289 2. William Schlaebitz, 2005 Red Devil F500, Big Sky Region, 110.464 3. Sheldon Lemoine, 1990 KBS Mk V F500, NWR 111.952 4. Ernest Fanthorpe, 1990 KBS Marc V, NWR, 117.845 5. Mike Billings, 1968 Autodynamics Solo Ve, Snake River Region, 121.337 F Modified Ladies 1. Angela Previte, 2005 Red Devil F500, Big Sky Region, 130.924 2. Carol Wong, 1990 KBS MK V F500, NWR, 134.377 3. Joanne Lai, 1990 KBS MK V F500, 137.939 Formula Junior 1. Robert Jacobson Jr., 1995 Margay, 149.161 Index Class 1 1. John Kimball, 1999 Mazda Miata, NWR, 106.177 (CS 0.822) 2. Christopher Kmetz, 1999 Mazda Miata, 108.503 (CS 0.822) 3. Kimball Ayer, 2002 Subaru WRX, NWR, 108.557 (DS 0.804) Northwest Sports Car News 5 Fordahl Motorsports Championship Series event no. 7 Labor Day weekend traditionally fea- merton Sports Car Club on Monday. events. And, this year the Canadian tures a triple header at Bremerton Mo- With SCCA National Championships Championships were held the same torsports Park, with Porsche Club on only three weeks away, many Soloists weekend in Vancouver, B.C., and severSaturday, SCCA on Sunday, and Bre- heading to Topeka drive in two or three al NW Region drivers made the trip. S1 - Stock 1 (AS, SS, FS) # T Name Car # Year Make/Model Run 1 (c,g) Run 2 (c,g) Run 3 (c,g) Run 4 (c,g) Points 1 T Jerry Lee 122 2004 Corvette Z06 (SS) 39.161 (0,0) 38.076 (0,0) 37.527 (0,0) 37.163 (0,0) 100.000 2 T Nathan Provo 147 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (SS) 38.147 (0,0) 38.197 (0,0) 39.621 (1,0) 39.212 (1,0) 97.421 S1L - Stock 1 Ladies (AS, SS, FS) 1 T Jess Lynch 105 2006 Lotus Elise (SS) 40.518 (0,0) 40.178 (0,0) 39.340 (0,0) 39.429 (0,0) 100.000 S2 - Stock 2 (BS, CS, ES) 1 T John Leuty 24 1990 Porsche 944S2 (BS) 43.216 (2,0) 40.057 (1,0) 37.946 (0,0) 37.227 (0,0) 100.000 2 T Rich Blake 41 1994 Mazda Miata R (ES) 39.703 (1,0) 37.932 (0,0) 54.074 (1,1) 39.531 (1,0) 98.141 3 T Glenn Austin 85 2005 Nissan 350Z (BS) 44.756 (3,0) 37.946 (0,0) 43.380 (3,0) 42.697 (2,0) 98.105 S2L - Stock 2 Ladies (BS, CS, ES) 1 T Carol Leuty 24 1990 Porsche 944S2 (BS) 41.838 (0,0) 45.345 (2,0) 42.169 (1,0) 40.422 (0,0) 100.000 S3 - Stock 3 (DS, GS, HS) 1 T Dieter Beldi 90 2007 Mazda MS3 (DS) 47.586 (0,1) 38.032 (0,0) 36.691 (0,0) 36.888 (0,0) 100.000 NS1 - Non Stock 1 (ASP, BSP, ESP) 1 T Matt Lowell 91 1993 Porsche 911RSA (ASP) 37.973 (0,0) 37.734 (0,0) 37.489 (0,0) 38.382 (0,0) 100.000 2 T Jack Esposito 96 1993 Porsche 911 RSA (ASP) 42.055 (0,0) 40.989 (1,0) 38.552 (0,0) 38.832 (0,0) 97.243 3 T Dennis Fleischman 49 1997 Porsche 911 (ASP) 39.351 (0,0) 39.107 (0,0) 38.642 (0,0) 41.234 (1,0) 97.016 NS2 - Non Stock 2 (CSP, DSP, FSP) 1 T Denny Laplante 63 1993 BMW 325is (DSP) 38.439 (0,0) 37.439 (0,0) 46.260 (4,0) 43.875 (3,0) 100.000 2 T Nick Ruiz 3 2001 Ford Focus ZX3 (FSP) 42.499 (1,0) 40.693 (1,0) 38.273 (0,0) 38.396 (0,0) 97.821 NS3 - Non Stock 3 (all Prepared, all Mod and KARTS) 1 T Craig Anderson 23 1955 Austin-Healey 100 (DP) 47.098 (0,0) 44.467 (0,0) 43.347 (0,0) DNS (0,0) 100.000 NS4 - Non Stock 4 (STS, STS2, STU, STX) 1 T Geoff Clark 21 2003 Mitsubishi Evo (STU) 37.468 (0,0) 38.498 (1,0) 36.779 (0,0) 40.430 (2,0) 100.000 2 T Alec Osenbach 5 2007 Subaru Impreza (STU) 38.648 (0,0) 42.158 (2,0) 39.538 (1,0) 37.612 (0,0) 97.785 3 T Dick Willy 30 2004 Subaru WRX STi (STU) 40.389 (1,0) 37.895 (0,0) 39.349 (1,0) 41.790 (2,0) 97.055 4 T Mike Duncan 44 1993 Mazda Miata (STS2) 48.960 (1,0) 38.597 (0,0) 40.693 (1,0) 38.077 (0,0) 96.591 NS4L - Non Stock 4 Ladies (STS, STS2, STU, STX) 1 T Kim Littke 26 1995 Mazda Miata (STS2) 41.668 (1,0) 39.916 (0,0) 38.671 (0,0) 38.243 (0,0) 100.000 SM - Street Mod 1 T Tony Lemon 40 1996 Honda Civic 47.990 (1,0) DNS (0,0) 47.358 (1,0) 46.070 (0,0) 100.000 2 T Greg Downing 10 1989 Mazda 323 GTX 47.342 (0,0) 47.416 (0,0) 46.511 (0,0) 46.291 (0,0) 99.523 SM2 - Street Mod 2 1 T Brett Wilson 24 1999 Mazda Miata 48.274 (1,0) 48.990 (2,0) DNS (0,0) DNS (0,0) 100.000 2 T Rickey Carlson 96 1990 Mazda Miata 55.828 (1,0) 52.170 (0,0) 51.622 (0,0) 50.859 (0,0) 94.917 T - Street Tire Class 1 T John Kimball 175 1999 Mazda Miata (CS) 71.849 (2,2) 47.002 (4,0) 73.080 (0,0) 38.726 (0,0) 100.000 1999 Mazda Miata 10AE (CS) 39.294 (0,0) 43.151 (2,0) 39.031 (0,0) 40.721 (1,0) 99.219 Christopher Kmetz 75 T 2 138 1990 Olds Calais Quad 442 (DSP) 41.026 (0,0) 39.256 (0,0) 40.944 (1,0) 39.084 (0,0) 99.084 Jason Spore T 3 39.927 (0,0) 41.489 (0,0) 41.021 (0,0) 39.843 (0,0) 97.196 2000 Subaru Impreza RS (DSP) 60 Scott Gratton T 4 TL - Street Tire Ladies Jackie McInnes 362 1994 Mazda Miata (ES) 44.740 (2,0) 41.023 (0,0) 40.565 (0,0) 40.349 (0,0) 100.000 T 1 OPAX - Open PAX 1 T Ron Bauer 190 2007 Mazda MX-5 (CSP) 43.650 (4,0) 35.996 (0,0) 35.771 (0,0) 35.196 (0,0) 100.000 177 2006 Pontiac Solstice (CS) 39.902 (2,0) 35.477 (0,0) 36.937 (1,0) 35.238 (0,0) 99.881 Kevin Dietz T 2 3 T Fastmike Lillejord 69 2006 Pontiac Solstice (CS) 36.156 (0,0) 35.418 (0,0) 35.625 (0,0) 48.969 (2,1) 99.373 Kyle Freiheit 166 2006 Pontiac Solstice (CS) 37.916 (0,0) 37.731 (1,0) 35.470 (0,0) 37.928 (1,0) 99.228 T 4 96.815 42.606 (1,0) 42.796 (3,0) 36.999 (0,0) 36.354 (0,0) 2007 Mazda MX-5 (CSP) Jim Daniels 90 T 5 6 T James Paulson 30 2006 Subaru WRX STi (STU) 40.843 (2,0) 36.761 (0,0) 36.403 (0,0) 46.732 (0,1) 96.684 OPAXL - Open PAX Ladies 128 1984 Porsche 944 (ES) 37.069 (0,0) 38.804 (1,0) 36.793 (0,0) 38.346 (1,0) 100.000 Jodi Fordahl T 1 2 T Gretchen Everett 82 1984 Porsche 944 (ES) 36.928 (0,0) 37.819 (0,0) 43.488 (2,0) 37.562 (0,0) 99.634 NSPAXL - Non-Stock Pax Ladies 1 T Lou Ann Christensen 40 1996 Honda Civic (SML) 50.513 (0,0) 40.557 (0,0) DNS (0,0) 39.979 (0,0) 100.000 NOVAM - Novice AM 100.000 53.296 (0,0) 54.205 (1,0) 51.484 (0,0) 51.115 (0,0) 1999 BMW 325is 52 Sean Elliott T 1 2 T Shawn Greer 95 2000 Honda S2000 69.011 (0,1) 68.573 (1,1) 54.048 (0,0) 53.458 (0,0) 95.617 51 1987 Audi 4000cs 55.769 (0,0) 56.175 (0,0) 55.206 (0,0) 54.615 (0,0) 93.592 Bryce Bennett T 3 4 T Geri Joson 150 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 72.435 (1,1) 69.359 (1,1) 56.744 (0,0) 55.325 (0,0) 92.390 NOVPM - Novice PM 47.578 (0,0) 72.056 (4,1) 49.609 (1,0) 46.679 (0,0) 100.000 1999 Porsche 996 40 Kaj Lea T 1 2 T Aaron Heaton 250 2005 Mitsubishi Evo 54.135 (0,0) 61.078 (0,1) 69.762 (0,1) 51.557 (1,0) 90.539 6 Northwest Sports Car News www.nwr-scca.org September-October 2007 Championship Series points competition With one event remaining, many of the class championships are still in play. Less than one point separates the class leaders in S1, NS4 and Open PAX. And, many of the other trophy positions are still up for grabs, as well. The final event (no. 8) on Oct. 21 will provide some very heated contests for final positions. S1 - Stock 1 (AS, SS, FS) - Number of Entries: 45 - Average Per Event: 6.43 # Name EventsAttended Event 1 Event 2 Event 3 Event 4 Event 5 Event 6 Event 7 1 James Winstead 6 100.000 98.603 99.418 100.000 99.609 100.000 2 Jerry Lee 7 99.530 100.000 98.550 99.625 99.024 96.755 100.000 3 Nathan Provo 6 99.016 100.000 95.989 100.000 99.519 97.421 S1L - Stock 1 Ladies (AS, SS, FS) - Number of Entries: 7 - Average Per Event: 1.00 1 Jess Lynch 6 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 S2 - Stock 2 (BS, CS, ES) - Number of Entries: 42 - Average Per Event: 6.00 1 Mike Leuty 7 97.254 100.000 99.931 100.000 93.991 99.842 98.025 2 Bud Bohrer 6 98.095 94.955 99.037 96.288 94.277 94.027 3 Glenn Austin 6 100.000 93.457 98.221 97.800 85.991 98.105 S2L - Stock 2 Ladies (BS, CS, ES) - Number of Entries: 7 - Average Per Event: 1.00 1 Carol Leuty 7 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 S3 - Stock 3 (DS, GS, HS) - Number of Entries: 39 - Average Per Event: 5.57 1 Dieter Beldi 7 100.000 100.000 100.000 96.773 99.661 100.000 100.000 2 Aaron Pailthorp 7 97.505 96.688 97.744 97.167 99.301 98.567 95.151 S3L - Stock 3 Ladies (DS, GS, HS) - Number of Entries: 9 - Average Per Event: 1.29 1 Kristi Brown 4 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 NS1 - Non Stock 1 (ASP, BSP, ESP) - Number of Entries: 45 - Average Per Event: 6.43 1 Mark Snell 6 93.754 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 2 Dennis Fleischman 6 98.434 94.638 95.792 93.965 99.478 97.016 3 Steve Downing 7 97.111 93.315 93.128 93.970 84.540 97.854 94.414 NS1L - Non Stock 1 Ladies (ASP, BSP, BP, CP) - Number of Entries: 1 - Average Per Event: 0.14 1 Laura Molleker 1 100.000 NS2 - Non Stock 2 (CSP, DSP, FSP) - Number of Entries: 36 - Average Per Event: 5.14 1 Denny Laplante 6 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 99.896 100.000 2 Adam Grabowski 7 95.400 97.089 95.209 96.961 98.376 100.000 96.465 3 Nick Ruiz 7 90.932 96.618 94.973 96.583 98.253 98.547 97.821 NS3 - Non Stock 3 (all Prepared, all Mod and KARTS) - Number of Entries: 29 - Average Per Event: 4.14 1 Craig Anderson 5 84.761 86.912 90.115 88.801 100.000 NS4 - Non Stock 4 (STS, STS2, STU, STX) - Number of Entries: 85 - Average Per Event: 12.14 1 Geoff Clark 7 99.921 100.000 96.464 98.965 98.270 100.000 100.000 2 Karl Coleman 6 100.000 99.998 100.000 98.027 100.000 98.515 3 Ace Ventura 6 96.465 99.181 98.279 97.348 97.873 98.184 4 Drew Hanft 7 94.335 96.994 96.209 92.372 96.887 94.881 93.431 5 Dick Willy 6 91.782 96.141 92.886 96.970 97.896 97.055 89.619 86.180 89.086 86.478 90.237 6 86.831 6 Russell Hill 7 Alec Osenbach 5 99.649 100.000 98.793 97.067 97.785 NS4L - Non Stock 4 Ladies (STS, STS2, STU, STX) - Number of Entries: 16 - Average Per Event: 2.29 6 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 Amy Coleman 1 2 Kim Littke 7 92.460 98.315 97.244 98.818 97.709 94.519 100.000 SM - Street Mod - Number of Entries: 41 - Average Per Event: 5.86 1 Tony Lemon 6 100.000 96.656 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 2 Mike Matt 7 93.184 89.828 94.713 91.628 92.894 97.751 93.672 SM2 - Street Mod 2 - Number of Entries: 27 - Average Per Event: 3.86 100.000 99.078 100.000 100.000 99.366 100.000 7 87.293 Brett Wilson 1 2 Enrique Garcia 6 98.998 100.000 99.794 99.387 100.000 93.736 T - Street Tire Class - Number of Entries: 83 - Average Per Event: 11.86 Jason Spore 7 99.939 100.000 99.050 99.961 98.060 100.000 99.084 1 2 Keith Mandel 7 100.000 99.705 100.000 96.782 95.596 97.311 96.504 6 94.389 97.699 97.288 94.540 97.467 100.000 John Kimball 3 4 Brett Spore 7 92.665 97.388 97.497 92.707 96.021 98.250 96.552 5 Christopher Kmetz 6 92.536 97.893 91.581 96.875 98.745 99.219 6 Joel Ferguson 7 91.788 92.361 93.429 87.009 95.938 81.782 96.485 TL - Street Tire Ladies - Number of Entries: 11 - Average Per Event: 1.57 1 Erika Cowan 7 92.153 100.000 100.000 100.000 91.872 100.000 95.480 September-October 2007 www.nwr-scca.org Total Pts. 597.630 596.729 591.945 600.000 595.052 576.679 573.574 600.000 599.661 586.972 400.000 593.754 579.323 569.792 100.000 599.896 584.291 582.795 450.589 597.156 596.540 587.330 572.737 572.730 528.431 493.294 600.000 586.605 596.656 563.842 598.444 591.915 598.034 590.302 581.383 578.415 576.849 557.010 587.633 Northwest Sports Car News 7 OPAX - Open PAX - Number of Entries: 141 - Average Per Event: 20.14 (top) Ron Bauer 6 100.000 100.000 100.000 100.000 1 Kevin Dietz 7 99.043 100.000 99.519 99.798 98.435 2 Fastmike Lillejord 7 98.506 99.611 99.540 99.440 99.378 3 4 Glen Hernandez 6 99.239 98.886 99.943 98.200 96.605 5 Kyle Freiheit 7 95.044 98.418 97.605 99.270 97.504 6 Joe Goeke 6 98.225 97.885 97.268 94.220 97.042 7 Jim Daniels 6 92.720 97.593 92.930 97.597 8 Brian Norton 6 95.278 95.421 96.559 96.810 94.837 9 Shelbi Zigler 6 95.015 95.569 96.299 93.028 96.490 10 Alan Dahl 7 90.716 96.566 90.097 91.177 96.436 11 Tim Irwin 7 91.871 90.521 93.697 91.295 90.500 12 Eric Hanson 6 92.745 89.905 93.184 91.414 88.400 OPAXL - Open PAX Ladies - Number of Entries: 36 - Average Per Event: 5.14 1 Jodi Fordahl 6 100.000 100.000 100.000 99.228 2 Annie Bauer 7 98.987 99.850 99.217 94.955 100.000 3 Gretchen Everett 7 97.663 97.023 96.265 99.235 98.293 NSPAX - Non-Stock Pax - Number of Entries: 8 - Average Per Event: 1.14 1 Sean Green 6 100.000 93.555 100.000 100.000 100.000 NSPAXL - Non-Stock Pax Ladies - Number of Entries: 14 - Average Per Event: 2.00 1 Brianne Green 6 95.663 96.314 100.000 100.000 100.000 2 Lou Ann Christensen 5 100.000 98.076 97.533 99.073 98.894 100.000 89.517 97.023 0.000 98.177 92.364 92.498 100.000 99.601 97.695 100.000 100.000 100.000 99.881 99.373 99.228 94.499 96.815 94.180 91.416 95.509 90.527 92.684 100.000 99.044 99.634 100.000 598.894 598.241 595.848 589.896 587.069 579.139 575.832 573.085 567.817 562.768 550.409 548.332 599.228 596.699 589.543 593.555 591.977 494.682 Denise Williamson photo NWR competitors at the Canadian Championships include Denise Williamson (front row, far left), Tasha Mikko (back row, far left), Amber Miller (front row, third from left) and Karina Miller (front row, far right). Region’s autocrossers invade Canada Northwest Region drivers did quite well in the Canadian Championships, bringing home the following trophies: Mark Snell, first, A Super Stock Val Korry, third, Super Sport Jill Snell, second, A Super Stock Ladies Denise Williamson, first, E Stock Ladies Keith Brown, first, G Stock Kristi Brown, first, G Stock Ladies Scott Miller, first, H Stock Karina Miller, first, H Stock Ladies 8 Northwest Sports Car News Peter Umino, second, B Street Prepared Shane Jensen, first, Touring 1 Glen Hernandez, third, Touring 1 Doug Mikko, fourth, Touring 1 Tasha Mikko, first, Touring 1 Ladies Kimm Jensen, second, Touring 1 Ladies Karl Coleman, first, Touring 2 Amy Coleman, first, Touring 2 Ladies Karl Coleman won the “Top Gun” award for having the top PAX time for www.nwr-scca.org the event. Amy Coleman reported: “VCMC put on a spectacular event with lots of sponsors and prizes and a wonderful banquet. This club really went out of their way to make us feel welcome at their event. We ran on the brand new asphalt at their driving facility, which was VERY nice. They plan to expand this paved surface for next year. Their club is topnotch and I encourage our autocross community to look into attending VCMC events in the future.” September-October 2007 Keith Brown, Annie Bauer, Amy Coleman title at Topeka John Steflik photo Keith Brown brought home a first-place trophy in D Prepared from the 2007 SCCA Solo National Championships. Forty-three Northwest Region members took the “Road to Topeka” for the National Championships held a Heartland Park, Sept. 25-29. Congratulations to our national Champions: Annie Bauer (CSL), Amy Coleman (STXL) and Keith Brown (DP)! Twenty trophies were earned by Nor’westers. The complete list of trophy winners follows. Super Stock: third, Kevin Dietz; 13th, Glen Hernandez A Stock: 10th, Alan Dahl B Stock: eighth, Joe Goeke; 10th, Glenn Austin C Stock: second, Mike Lillejord C Stock Ladies: first, Annie Bauer; third, Shelbi Zigler E Stock: eighth, Jodi Fordahl G Stock Ladies: fourth Kristi Brown Street Touring S2 Ladies: second, Kim Littke Street Touring Xtreme: fourth, Karl Coleman Street Touring Xtreme: first, Amy Coleman Street Touring Ultra: 13th, Geoff Clark F Street Prepared: 10th, Jake Russell A Street Prepared: second, Geoff Newman C Street Prepared: eighth, Ron Bauer D Prepared: first, Keith Brown; fifth, Chris Kmetz F Prepared: second, Greg Fordahl Thirteen Northwest Region members took part in the ProSolo Finale on Sept. 21 and 22. Keith Brown placed first in the Prepared Index class, a precursor to the Solo National Championships. Mike Lillejord was the sole NWR member to advance in the Challenge, bowing out in the second round. Three of our Region’s most capable ladies — Jodi Fordahl, Anna Goeke and Annie Bauer — chose to compete in the Open Classes, rather than the Ladies Classes. Finishing positions are listed below. Super Stock: fifth, Kevin Dietz; 14th, Jerry Lee B Stock: sixth, Joe Goeke C Stock: third, Mike Lillejord; fourth, Annie Bauer E Stock: fifth, Jodi Fordahl; seventh, Anna Goeke Street Touring X: third, Karl Coleman: fourth, Alec Osenbach C Street Prepared: sixth, Ron Bauer; seventh, Jim Daniels Prepared Index: first, Keith Brown One Event: fifth, Gretchen Everett Challenge Second Round: Mike Lillejord ProSolo finale’s NWR competitors in Topeka September-October 2007 www.nwr-scca.org Northwest Sports Car News 9 Northwest Region team autocross competition New this year is team competition, brainchild of Mark Snell. Four-member teams accumulate points based on finishing position in class, with a bonus point in each event for the closest winning margin, smallest variation in raw times, and for fewest team penalties. Through the first six events, team Tight-N-Tidy leads team Dork by 2 points. (No, I didn’t make up these names….) Totals are as follows: Tight-N-Tidy: 175 Dork: 173 Top Loaders: 162 Apex Sharks: 135 Team members include: Tight-N-Tidy: Karl Coleman, Amy Coleman, Kevin Dietz, Annie Bauer Dork: Dieter Beldi, Brett Wilson, Enrique Garcia, Ron Bauer Top Loaders: Kristi Brown, Jodi Fordahl, Gretchen Everett, Erika Denise Williamson photo Karl Coleman of team Tight-n-Tidy discusses a run in Packwood. Cowen Apex Sharks: Scott Miller, Brett Spore, Mike Leuty, Mark Snell Babbs, Clark win at NORPAC Divisional No. 3, Helena, Mont. Four Northwest Region and four Oregon Region members made the trek to Helena for the last leg of the Divisional Series on Sept. 15 and 16. The event site is adjacent to the Helena Airport, and features a large, rectangular patch of smooth, grippy asphalt, with sections of runway and taxiway, making for an entertaining course. Ron and Karen Babb won first and second place in D Modified, while Geoff Clark and Dick Willy took first and second in Street Touring Ultra. Also, Oregon Region members Tom Kotzian and Doug Barrett placed first and second in Super Stock, Jim Daniels won C Street Prepared and Tami Daniels placed first in CSP Ladies. In March it may be too late to get the helmet you want “The Days Are Numbered... On Your Old Snell SA 95 Helmet” Time has run out on your SA95 helmet. The rules now state that you must have an SA2000 or new helmet for the 2007 racing season. Act now to ensure that you'll be able to get the exact model helmet in time for the season. The great news is that we have the helmet you want with no worries about being stuck at the season opener with an outdated helmet. We stock Bell and Pyrotect helmets or can special order any helmet you want. Don't trust your head to just anyone, allow the safety equipment experts at Armadillo Racing to help you select the right helmet for you, your car, your type of racing and your budget. Need a HANS device in 2007? Armadillo Racing is the only authorized factory trained dealer in the NW. We can even move the anchor posts from your old helmet to your new helmet. WORLD-CLASS MOTORSPORT PREPARATION VINTAGE RACE CAR RESTORATION To Order or for expert assistance in choosing a helmet. Call today Toll FREE 1-888-211-9129 (USA & CN) 17625 NE 65th St.,#130 Redmond, WA 98052 P:425.883.1100 F:425.883.2500 E:info@cascadeautosport.com 10 Northwest Sports Car News www.nwr-scca.org September-October 2007 How do we keep you happy? R ETAINING MEMBERS: Previously I talked about acquiring new members in Northwest Region, SCCA. I need to take that one step further and briefly talk about keeping the members we now have. No venue (Race, Rally, Time Trials or Solo) can function without workers. In some instances we are fortunate to have competitors who will double as volunteer workers. That is not always the case. There is a core of faithful volunteers that keep coming back ... sometimes for decades as course workers. I applaud those folks deeply. We lose a few of people every year ... both old-timers and newcomers. That’s unfortunate. The issue is, how do we keep them for the duration? Some of what I have written was reinforced by Char McBee who wrote “To Lead Is to Serve” (Library of Congress, 2002, TXU 574 712, ISBN 0-963860-2-2). I got my copy through the National Office, SCCA. LISTENING: Whether we are a leader or a co-worker, it is very important to listen to what people have to say. That is actually an art. One gets more done by listening than talking. Many good suggestions have come from those working corners, road marshals, working registration, etc. Volunteers need to feel important. Every question deserves an answer. ATTITUDE: Our attitude as leaders or as workers is all-important. A sense of humor is a great thing but flippant remarks and non-factual answers are really uncalled for. Even long-time volunteers who have not worked a position for a long time may need answers and should not be taken for granted no matter how well you know them or how dumb the question may sound. PASSING THE BUCK: It is OK to pass the question, decision or request on to someone higher in the pecking order of the organization if you don’t know the answer or if you’re not comfortable making certain decisions. There is usually someone out there who can answer the question or resolve the issue. Making up an answer is unacceptable. Blowing off the question doesn’t work either. RETRAINING: There will always be some “know-it-alls” in your midst; those who use a lot of profanity, talk September-October 2007 Region Report FRANK HAMILTON, REGIONAL EXECUTIVE very loudly when not necessary or those who come off as the source of all information. They may belittle the leadership or co-workers. They downgrade the system in front of others. That sort of behavior needs to be curbed. It disenchants newcomers and makes our regulars wonder why they are there. Fortunately, most of members are not that way, but one such person can do a lot of damage to the mission. The blow-hard needs to be taken aside and retrained. If that doesn’t work, maybe that person needs a different job. In my view, we are very professional and highly organized institution. Bad attitudes and bad manners take away from that image. How does not being professional look to others? How do they perceive us? SUPPORTING NEWER MEMBERS: We all need to treat each other with a great deal of respect. Most of us do. It is important to spend some time with the new people coming into our ranks so they understand what it is they are to do. They will go home with a feeling of accomplishment and usually come again. Pre-event training sessions are really good. We usually try to put new volunteers with experienced workers so the tasks are explained in detail. Longtime volunteers need to be clear on this issue. The “team concept” is a good term. We all work together to accomplish the main mission. No one is any more important than anyone else. It takes all of us to make it happen. We all need to feel a part of the team. We all need to feel that the mission outcome was well done. GOALS: Leadership at all levels must set goals. This concept must be passed on to the rank and file. Without that, the mission is not clear at several levels. The absence of goals leaves a lack of direction and frustration with membership. FOLLOW-UP: When a good volunteer leaves it may be due to burnout or even bad public relations somewhere www.nwr-scca.org along the line. Why not call them or write them and encourage them back into the club? Paying them a visit would be even better. Again, it is very important to listen to what they have to say and when they give reasons why they may have left. Maybe there is a simple fix that would solve their issues with us. Maybe we are doing something wrong. Maybe their feelings were hurt. RECOGNITION: Everyone likes to be recognized for his or her efforts. Some don’t like to stand up in a crowd. Whatever works for that person is important to them even if they shrug it off. HUMOR: A good laugh is great. It lowers stress and breaks down walls and apprehensions, especially for newcomers. Make sure the humor does not take away from the message that was intended. It cannot be degrading or embarrassing to the listener(s). Profanity or off-color remarks are unacceptable unless all within earshot are known to be good with what you are saying. Be very careful with this as it can create problems for you, our membership, and the club. Best just to avoid sensitive remarks. REWARDS: Everyone who works as a volunteer on any of our events needs to feel rewarded. That can be a Christmas party, door prizes, a T-shirt, a goodie bag, etc. Free things are good. Can we get sponsors for our get-together so that attendees don’t have to pay to get in or eat? What about handouts on the track; i.e.: water, snacks, lunches, rain parkas, etc. Our annual awards are a really good thing. Tell the volunteers: “Good job”? We talked about this last article, so I won’t dwell on the subject. A verbal pat on the back is better than nothing. CONCLUSIONS: Much of what I have written is based McBee’s book but a lot of it has to what I have observed over several years in the sport. Bottom line: Treat folks as you would like to be treated. Remember when you first started out in this club? There were good coworkers and good leaders and then some who were not. Which will you be? I would like to hear your comments. Please free to write or better yet e-mail me at rallyguy@comcast.net or call 360352-3204. Northwest Sports Car News 11 Pomeroy will be Wild West’s new home T he Rally America Wild West Rally moved to the small Eastern Washington town of Pomeroy. There were two reasons for the move. First was Green Diamond Resources’ action in closing their roads to future rallies. The second, and most important reason, was an invitation from Alesia Ruchert from the Palouse Economic Development Council to put on a rally in Garfield County. We have used Green Diamond Resource (Simpson Timber Co.) roads for over 30 years under an annual contact with them. It meant starting all over. I took a trip over to the Palouse to check out the roads they said were available on the map they sent. All of the roads were county roads in excellent condition. Some were way too fast and others just right. I reported my findings to the Wild West committee and Pacific Rally Group. The trips to Pomeroy, the Garfield County seat, began. We had meetings with the county commissioners, the sheriff, the prosecuting attorney, the county engineer and of course, Ruchert. The best thing about the folks in Pomeroy and Garfield County is they are very nice and very helpful. Also, everyone knows everyone. In the meetings, it was made very clear that the welcome mat was out and if we put on a good event we would be welcome to make the Wild West Rally an annual event in Pomeroy and Garfield County. After numerous trips to Pomeroy to lay out the course, make connections with local businesses and meet as many of the local folks as possible, we were asked to bring a rally car to the Garfield County Fair the weekend of Sept. 15. Three of our rally teams stepped up to the plate and had their cars on display. Paul Eklund’s yellow Subaru, Steve Greer’s wild Irish green Subaru and Erik Lyden’s newly built silver Subaru were the hit of the fair. Ruchert said the attendance was the best they have experienced in years. Finally, after a limited amount of time to plan, and numerous organizer meetings in my office, it was rally weekend. The large group of volunteers from all over Washington, Oregon and other areas went to Pomeroy. We had press from Walla Walla, Pullman, Pomeroy and Lewiston, Idaho, come to take rides in rally cars, take action photos and interview the rallyists on Friday’s press day. The Lewiston TV station’s sports reporter showed up with a cameraman and 12 Northwest Sports Car News Rally Report JOHN FORESPRING ASSISTANT RE, RALLY interviewed Steve and Kelly Greer and Todd Hartmann and Shawn Callahan. She also filmed many of the cars that were available. The station ran the story on their evening news. After tech at Tom Herres’ Chevrolet dealership and registration at the Garfield County Fairgrounds, many of the folks headed to the welcome party at one of our local sponsors, the Up and Up Bar and Grill. There was lots of finger food and everyone had a good time. Saturday started with a Parc Expose in a city parking lot behind the Up and Up. The Up and Up had a breakfast buffet and most of us ate heartily. The cars started at 10 a.m. and headed for the first stage east of Pomeroy. This was also the morning spectator stage. I went to the spectator area and found around 100 folks waiting for the rally cars to appear. The sheriff was also there with a radar gun. Unfortunately two of the crowd favorites, Steve Greer (rolled) and Erik Lyden (hit a bank at the same instruction) did not make it to the spectator area. The fast car, according to Sheriff Larry Bowles, was Todd Hartmann at 99 and 120 mph. The afternoon spectator area at an area called New York Gulch was just as popular. Once again, Sheriff Bowles was using his radar and once again, Hartmann was fastest. The day ended with a barbecue at the fairgrounds. Pomeroy Foods and the Palouse Economic Development Council provided finger food and Kim Craddock, Northwest Region treasurer and PRG head, and her family provided meats for the barbecue. Lynn Needham finished the scores and Eklund was first. Sunday started at the Garfield County Fairgrounds, the location for service and many folks who were camping. The cars headed southwest and ran three stages twice. The first stage was a clay road with little gravel and we were concerned that if it rained the road would be impassable. It did not rain. The second stage climbed to more than 3,700 feet and featured a fast finishing straight. The fastest car was clocked at 108 mph. www.nwr-scca.org The third stage was shortened due to concerns of a local but still featured a good spectator area. The weather was cold and there weren’t as many spectators. Those who did come had great show and when I followed the sweep team out I saw there were many locals who were watching at other locations. The rally finished early Sunday afternoon and Subaru Northwest arranged the awards dinner with the Sagebrush Grill. The food was excellent. Needham, once again, finished the scores quickly and they were posted on time. There were no queries and the awards were made with special awards to Ruchert for all of her hard work and the people of Garfield County for being so great. Two of the county commissioners, Dean Burton and Butch Klaveano, had volunteered and were present so I presented the award to them. Eklund and Jeff Price won the award for the overall victory for the two days of the Wild West Rally. Monday was the meeting with county commissioners and Grant Morgan, the county engineer. I presented each of them with a copy of the route book, supplemental regulations, the safety plan, my welcome letter and service crew instructions so they could see what documents we used to put on the event. I also gave a short report on the success of the event. They expressed their pleasure at how professional all of the volunteers were, including newly recruited local folks. They were amazed to see 11 sweep vehicles with EMTs, medics and nurses on board, including a number of local volunteers. They were pleased with the impressed with the good behavior of the rally teams including the service crews. A fairgrounds worker said that if the other users left the place as nice as we did, she wouldn’t have a job. The commissioners and the county engineer agreed that they wanted us to return. Conclusions I have helped organize rallies here, in Oregon, in Nevada and Jamaica. The folks in Pomeroy and Garfield County made the 2007 Wild West Rally one of the easiest and most fun to organize of any event I have worked on. We will return next year with a Rallycross in conjunction with their fair and the Wild West Rally the following weekend. September-October 2007 Eileen Sommerville photo Northwest Region Time Trials Championship entrants (left to right) are Mark McCloskey, Scott Hicks, Matt Chambers, Brian Holsten. Ed Allen, Mario Brown and Scott Norton. Team Northwest Time Trialers return with gold, silver, bronze from NorPac T he second annual NorPac Divisional Time Trials Championship was held on Sept. 15 and 16 at the Reno-Fernley Raceway in Nevada. The event was again hosted by the Reno Region. This year the event included a PDX in addition to the Club Trials and Track Trials championships. The 65 entrants enjoyed “chamber of commerce” weather over the two days of racing and driving fun. The event used the Reno-Fernley Raceway B and G courses, which are two of the 15 different RFR track configurations. The PDX and Club Trials used the G course and the Track Trials used the more challenging and technical B course. There were five Club Trials and eight Track Trials champions decided this year. The closest Time Trials race of the weekend belonged to the Track Trials TT-3 production class. The Northwest Region’s Mario Brown won the NorPac TT-3 Championship by a mere .047 seconds over Reno Region’s Jeffrey Denson. It doesn’t get much closer than that folks! After being down by .2 of a second after day one, Brown found the speed and the line needed to make up Time Trials MARK MCCLOSKEY ASSISTANT RE, TIME TRIALS the difference on day two. This race group had everyone’s attention. The combined times from the two days of racing were used to decide the divisional championship in each class for both the Club Trials and Track Trials events. The overall fastest lap time of the weekend belonged to the Northwest Region’s own Brian “Big Dog” Holsten, driving the well prepared Mystic Cobra Mustang. Brian turned in an extremely fast lap of 2:19.876 on the B course and was clocked at 140 mph on the front straight by radar gun. Brian’s in-car video can be seen at http://video.google.com/videoplay?doc id=7856293404967793615&hl=en and http://video.google.com/videoplay?doc id=-2526683815933801224&hl=en. This year, seven drivers from the Northwest Region made the long (but rewarding) trek to participate in this popular and growing event. This year’s representation of the NWR is more than double from last year’s inaugural Time Trials Championship event where there were only three NWR drivers making the long haul to participate and represent our region. This year, Northwest Region drivers managed to place first (four times), second, third and fourth in Track Trials competition. They were Holsten (first place TT-1), Ed Allen (second place TT1), Brown (first place TT-3), Matt Chambers (third place TT-3), Scott Hicks (fourth place TT-3), Scott Norton (first place TT-4) and Mark McCloskey (first place GT3). All of these drivers would like to give a very special “thank you” to the Reno Region’s Dave and Carol Deborde for all their hard work to put on this great event and to all of the volunteers of the event for their efforts in making it happen. They are all looking forward to coming back again next year. They would also like to see the number of Northwest Region drivers attending the 2008 NorPac Time Trials Championship grow as much as it did from year one to year two! Nominations for NWR board now open NORTHWEST REGION STAFF Nominations for officers on the Board of Directors for Northwest Region, SCCA are open during the month of October. Any member in good standing with NWR-SCCA may nominate any other member in good standing of NWR September-October 2007 for open positions on the BoD. The positions open for election or reelection are: assistant regional executive (ARE), secretary, treasurer and two members-at-large on that board. AREs for Solo, Race, Time Trials and Rally will be appointed by the RE after the elections are final. Our newsletter www.nwr-scca.org displays the names of current officers. Elections will occur in November and winners will take office Jan. 1, 2008. Elected positions are for two years. Nomination must be in writing if not made at the BoD meeting. E-mail nominations to Frank Hamilton or fax to 360352-0716. Northwest Sports Car News 13 Car counts drop, but season still successful W e have reached the end of another race season. I won’t say it was a great success as our car counts were even lower than usual for most events, but it was a good season. I do, however, have to give a big thank you to our Time Trial drivers as they supported us in fine fashion. Especially the last event, where thanks to Club Trials they outnumbered the racers, or at least came close to it. We are always looking for ways to improve our program, so if you have any ideas please get me your suggestions as soon as possible. Please be aware that since we have to have our schedule done before December, suggestions may not take effect this year but they will be worked on for the following season. A thanks to all our workers who turned out to help us this year and those Race Report TOM MASTERSON ASSISTANT RE, RACE drivers who helped with the teardown of Bremerton. This worked really well and we will be asking you for your help again next year as it makes everyone’s life easier. We may also be willing to give a free entry to any driver who is willing to stay late and drive the forklift. It takes about 3 hours to get all the barricades put away. We have the annual Race Awards Party coming up at 6 p.m. Nov. 17 at Bison Creek Pizza in Burien. (If people want it elsewhere, please get suggestions for next year to Sherri or I before June 2008.) Awards will be presented to class champions, driver of the year, worker of the year, novice of the year, most improved driver, the Bernie Doud Sportsmanship Award and the Pat Pigott Award. We will also be giving awards to workers who attended every day of every event again this year and recognizing all of our specialty chiefs. Please plan to attend. The annual supplementals meeting is scheduled for Oct. 22 at Andy’s Diner in Seattle. If you have any changes, additions or questions about our supps, now is the time to ask. If you can’t attend the meeting, please send me an e-mail or give me a call with your suggestions. Play safe and have fun. Contact Assistant Race RE Tom Masterson at kd7cyu@yahoo.com. Root for the region at Runoffs A s this is being written, I should be preparing for the Solo nationals and soon after the Runoffs but again this year I will be in Portland, Ore., tending to family business and I ask for your understanding. Another column championed the 23 Oregon region racers who are going to the Runoffs, and here is where the 10 from the Northwest Region get the tipof-the-helmet for attending the Runoffs this year. Tune in to Speed this November and cheer for Ryan Ennis in the black No. 9 in E Production. In Formula Ford, Larry Bangert will do the honors in his No. 18 along with one of “Jack’s Boys” Mark Keller in his blue and orange No. 60. Formula Vee finds Dennis Andrade in his blue No. 87 hoping to crack the top 10. FM has Lucian Pancea in the bluewhite-yellow No. 78 while T-2 has Ed Zabinski looking to medal again in No. 79. T-3 has Jerold Lowe in green No. 21 along with the irrepressible and humble Scotty B. White in his T-1 black and silver No. 35. GT-2 has “Gentleman” Jim Walsh in his blue and white 14 Northwest Sports Car News Directly Duck H. “DUCK” ALLEN AREA 13 DIRECTOR Porsche No. 96. Of course, all eyes will be on SM No. 30 with NORPAC driver of the year Andrew Caddell, who is the defending national champion, at the wheel. Caddell has been on the Pro-MX-5 circuit all year. He is fresh off another win at the season-ending round in Salt Lake City, which clinched second place in season points (and hopefully rookie of the year). The TV package for the Runoffs is ready to be signed as this is written. It is not ideal, with the same broadcast times as this year, but it does allow Pro to go on in 2008. The budget for Pro is tracking close, but President Jim Julow promised in the last BOD call, no funds from Inc. (the club side) will be used for Pro this year. The budget for the club side is doing well. The bottom line will be impacted by Heartland Park not reaching the target for Run-Offs entries, but at year’s www.nwr-scca.org end, the budget should still finish in the black. On the subject of Heartland Park and the Run-Offs, the gasoline vendor problem was not fixed as promised. Competitors won’t have 93-octane fuel, so they’ll have to run the higher priced 100-octane. The situation, along with another year of having no land-line for the RunOffs, makes Heartland Park something less than the first-class facility the RunOffs requires. Stay tuned as the RunOffs bids go out in 2008. A huge tip-of-the-helmet goes out to the Reno Region for hosting the second annual NORPAC Time Trials event in Mid-September. Carol and Dave Deborde and Jim Gandy, please take a bow for hosting this event for our division. If you plan to attend the 2008 National convention in San Antonio, register soon as there is a shortage of rooms. This has led to moving the 2009 convention to a warmer desert-like setting closer to Area 13. Tune in next month, after the deal is signed, for the exact location, but trust me, everyone will want to attend. It is not too soon to start thinking about Reno in January! Until next month, Duck out. September-October 2007 2007 WILD WEST INTERNATIONAL RALLY Pacific Rally Group takes its show to Palouse Country P Shadd Foster and Pat Harris finished third overall after the first day of timed stages and eighth overall on day two. story by Ron Sorem, contributing editor | photos by Cody Crane, contributing photographer OMEROY — The banner on the Web site reads: Wild West Heads East! The 2007 version of Wild West accepted an invitation from the “Friendly City of Pomeroy,” Garfield County and the Economic Development Council of the Palouse to bring Stage Rally to the southeast corner of Washington Sept. 28-30. Pacific Rally Group September-October 2007 provided the organization, Rally America provided the sanction, Subaru Western Region provided the backing and Pomeroy provided the hospitality. I didn’t arrive in Pomeroy until toward the end of the Press Stage, and had to check-in, get waivered, etc., so I missed the TV crew, but I heard about it the next day while talking to one of the many enthusiastic locals, who said they www.nwr-scca.org had tried repeatedly to get the news gal into Paul Eklund’s car for a trip up the hill. She wouldn’t do it, but her videographer caught a ride, to get the spot out to viewers. There were several other media teams present and all of them took multiple rides in different cars. Brown Gulch road was the Press Stage on Friday. Just up the hill about a mile, just above the fairgrounds. Several Northwest Sports Car News 15 of the competitors on the Press Stage had been in town the previous weekend for a parade during the Garfield County Fair. Pomeroy’s paper had articles and descriptions (including a better map than mine) of the stages, and directions for spectating. Walla Walla’s Sunday paper had a front-page, full-width, above-the-fold, picture of the Press Stage hairpin... Lewiston television had several spots, and an article on their Web site. PRG’s own Alan Perry was the media wrangler for Wild West, and onsite Web reporter, posting updates throughout the event, on times, incidents, conditions, and competitor comments. Saturday, Wild West carried the title of the Jerry Moon Sou’wester Regional Rally as a Coefficient 3. All of Saturday’s roads were north of town, south of the Snake River. Wild West 2007 just scratched the surface in a wealth of possibilities. Top speed approaching Spectator One, at 6.34 miles into “Malone,” SS1 and SS3, (verified by an ear-to-eargrinning sheriff) was 102 mph, in a VW Golf GTI, by Todd Hartmann and Shawn Callahan, coming down the hill into an acute right (with guardrails and a ditch on exit — don’t ask me how I know about the ditch...) “Connell Hill” was SS2 and SS4, and included some very fast “drive-by” cows early in the stage. Different from the “Flying Finish Cows” on Malone, who needed soothing white-noise from a generator, the Connell Hill Cows were right on the fence, feeding on hay, watching the cars blow the slobber off their neighbors’ noses. Apparently different cows. In the middle of “Connell Hill,” at 2 miles from the start flag, the instruction reads: (Double Caution) Slight Crest, into 90 Left, around Barn, into HPR, Off Camber. “Around Barn”? Yes, over crest into square left, between a big red barn wall and a big Driving a 1970 BMW 2002 in the G2 class, Mark Fox and Jake Blattner took second in G2 on day one and third on day two. brown dirt wall there is a 12-foot wide road. This looks more like 6-foot wide and blind at speed. “Don’t Cut!!!” A half-mile climb through several kinks reaches “Mountain Top” and the instruction: “Keep Right over Crest, Off Camber” — a recurring theme — followed by a “Triple Caution 90 Left, Road Drops” ... with exposure. From here to FF the road is ver y w i d e , slightly Wild West Rally winner Paul Eklund Ron Sorem photo 16 Northwest Sports Car News www.nwr-scca.org crowned, a bit marbley and very fast. Ser vice was available at the fairgrounds after each pair of stages in the morning, and each three-stage loop in the afternoon. Spectator areas on Saturday just kept getting more crowded. On “New York,” SS5 and SS8, in the afternoon, the first run had half a dozen cars for “000.” Second run, as “New York, New York”, I lost count. There were folks in lawn chairs from a half-mile before, to a bit after the turn, behind the fence, on the hill, enjoying a great panoramic of “slight downhill, into one-right, drops,” then briefly out of sight around a “Double Caution long hairpin right, with exposure both sides,” opening into a long sweeping run up and over the crest, disappearing into the wheat fields. There were only a few seconds from the last view of one car over the crest until another car arrived to do it again. The wind acted as natural air conditioning and cleared the dust. Elevation varied from just under 1,200 feet at the start to 1,927 on top of the wheat September-October 2007 ABOVE: The Subaru Impreza wagon of Erik Lyden and Kathryn Hansen went wide and plowed hard into a bank in an explosion of Palouse dirt. BELOW: Momentarily distracted by the Lyden-Hansen accident, the Subaru Impreza coupe of Steve Greer and Kelly Greer hit the same bank and rolled. September-October 2007 www.nwr-scca.org Northwest Sports Car News 17 fields, to just over 1,200 at the finish, in 9.32 miles. “Willow Gulch,” covering 7.17 miles for SS6 and SS9, began uphill and continued in “looser gravel,” gaining nearly 400 feet in the first 2.4 miles, then steadily descending to a deep dip at Breakdown Gulch, climbing again to a “double caution crest” and sharp drop into a slightly relocated Flying Finish — to avoid both the snakes and the cars. A very short transit along Meadow Creek Road led to “Heaton Gulch,” SS7 and SS10, shortest stage of the day, at 4.57 miles. Elevation gain was nearly 1,000 feet, with a sharp drop over blind crest to the Flying Finish, and a Quiet Zone passing homes for the shy mile from FF to Main Street, Pomeroy. Sunday was the Lewis and Clark Stages Regional Rally at Coefficient 2. Sunday’s roads, south of Pomeroy, have been seen by a few TSD rallies in recent years, but not always in this direction and definitely not at these speeds. Marengo Road’s twisting pavement climbed to “Oliphant” eastbound, SS1 and SS4. Twisting along the edge of the plateau offered occasional views down to the Tucannon River. Flying Finish was just short of the Tumalum CreekSmith Grade to Linville-Neibel-Bartels intersection from No Alibi. Elevation ranged from a high of just under 3,000, to a low of just over 2,200. “Linville Gulch,” SS2 and SS5, runs a quick 4.47 miles along Bartels-Linville Ridge to past the radio towers, south of Tatman Mountain (3,565 feet), just near the corner of Columbia County, finishing at Mountain Road. Flying Finish eastbound was flat over a small crest, after climbing through left-right section lines and dipping in and out of small coulees. Top speed Sunday coming into this as FF5 (again courtesy of the Garfield County sheriff) was 108 mph, by No. 223 Malcolm Davies and Bruce Parker in an Eagle Talon, followed by 107 mph, in No. 233, with Paul Eklund and Jeff Price in the 2004 Subaru STi, who by this time had dialed it back a bit to be certain of a finish. (He won both days, and overall). The Start for “Tatman,” SS3 and SS6, had to be moved down hill, past the houses (last-minute changes) which dropped a fantastic, scary-fast-downhill, but I wouldn’t want to explain why there was a car in the guy’s house either... The extended transit from original ATC3 started on dirt, fairly smooth, dropping through square corners until opening for a short straight where the road disappeared “right-over-crest into sharpleft drops.” The surface changed to stone, twisting down through a cut in the rock and clinging to the edge of a draw before a tight left at the edge of a rancher’s lawn, then on past two more homes, to the new ATC. This downhill should become a new 4-mile stage in the future, stopping before the houses. The revised Tatman became about 4.4 miles of smooth, flat-out gravel, passing spectator at near top speed 3.28 before FF. Sunday morning’s light moisture dried out quickly. The second run of the three stages saw 2-minute dust windows for the first time of the weekend. Course opening was well protected. Rick Schmeling and Richard Kasten ran the Mazda RX-7 as “0.” Lee Sorenson (Sacramento, Calif.) and Walt The Greer and Lyden Subarus await Sweep after crashing on the same corner on day one of Wild West. 18 Northwest Sports Car News www.nwr-scca.org September-October 2007 Wendolowski (Salem, Ore.) ran the Impreza 2.5 wagon as “00” (trading stage times with the RX-7, so not exactly “slow pace”). I ran with Walt’s wife Zoe (as in Zoh, not Zo-ee) in the Legacy Sport as “000,” pulling double duty as “advance” and “find someplace to do a HAM relay.” Since Wild West chief of operations, John Nispel, was a stage captain for this event, banner guard was placed, but little of the banner could be set before I got there as “000,” and even more had been blown down by the persistent wind. Unfortunately, course opening cars didn’t get any spectating time on either day. Radio communication was troublesome in the steep, narrow, coulees in this new venue. There was always a good spot for “Mountain Top” Lee Chambers, but he couldn’t bend it over the ridge into the bottom, to reach both start and finish. Saturday morning was just northeast of the fairgrounds, so radio was good, with “Mountain Top” actually on the mountain top, in the middle of one stage, with nearly line of sight to the fairgrounds and service. Saturday afternoon was another story. The first stage, “New York,” anticipated needing a relay and he was in place. “Relay One” could hit start but couldn’t hit finish, an extra “sweep” Ham was sent into the stage to find a high spot, while I went on along the route, retying banner guard, and doing a radio check every half mile... I lost the first relay, lost the second relay, couldn’t hear Finish. I continued to Finish, where Jeff switched over to his hand-held (his mobile wouldn’t get beyond the bumper) then backtracked into the stage a couple of miles, to get the second relay, and get him to move further along the stage to hit Finish, and Relay One. Viola! Two relays, and another HAM at spectator, for good measure. It worked, and with that experience, it wasn’t too surprising that the same thing happened on the next stage, “Willow Gulch,” and again on the last, “Heaton.” All three stages operated with two relays. Sunday Communication wasn’t quite as challenging, but we needed two relays on Oliphant, one relay on Linville. The shortened Tatman had radio communication from Start to Finish, with “spectator” along for the ride. “Mountain Top” couldn’t hit Service, so they sent a radio up the hill north of Highway 12, who could hit Tatman Mountain, setting up a relay for Service. Attrition is a relative term. There were September-October 2007 Ron Sorem photo The Wild West Rally has been invited to return next year to Pomeroy in Garfield County. two big offs on the first stage Saturday... “K” right, through a stop sign, don’t cut because of mailboxes, small crest... probable air. The Subaru Impreza of Erik Lyden and Kathryn Hansen hit the berm VERY hard with left front tire (pushed nearly into firewall) and launched into field — 60 feet without tracks! Did I mention this was a fast stage? Did not roll, but very hard compression. Driver was very sore later in the day. Co-driver cut her chin on the helmet strap somehow and the HANS worked. Next car at the same intersection, Steve Greer and Kelly Greer in another Impreza, came upon the scene. Both driver and co-driver were apparently distracted by the first off and missed the turn, tank slapped rear corner, spun into berm, snap rolled and landed on hood, then came to rest on driver door. The Greers were OK, but at this point there were apparently still no “OK” signs or triangles out, although road marshals were on the scene. Both crews indicated they were all right, and both cars were well off into the field, away from the road. There were now two cars, four crew, no red www.nwr-scca.org cross, don’t know about “OK” signs... Stage was never stopped. After last car, Sweep went in per usual, and about the same time one of the “non-injured” decided she was injured, and then full Ecrew, sheriff, fire department and ambulance responded — eventually to town, then to Lewiston (and back for dinner). Saturday started with 23; down to 19 by mid afternoon; finished with 14 — the two big offs, one minor off and the rest were mechanical. Sunday started 18 and finished 16, both due to mechanical problems — one axle, one unknown power issue. Overall acceptance by the town, the county, the Palouse Economic Development Council, law enforcement, fire and rescue, eateries, etc. was very enthusiastic. Wild West 2008 will happen again in Pomeroy, one week earlier, and with a RallyX at the Fairgrounds the preceding weekend, during the Garfield County Fair. (Rally will be the weekend following the Fair, so plan ahead.) Complete results, photos and links at www.wildwestrally.org. View the gallery of Cody Crane’s photos at www.wildwestrally.org/cgal.html Northwest Sports Car News 19 Caddell takes second in MX-5 Cup series SCCA STAFF REPORT TOOELE, Utah — Andrew Caddell of Graham, 2006 Spec Miata Runoffs champion, battled back from a poor start to win his second SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio MX-5 Cup race of the season and secure second in the championship. Bob Michaelian of Seal Beach, Calif., and Todd Buras of Melbourne, Fla., completed the top three in the final MX5 Cup race of the season on Sept. 15, part of the Sunchaser 1000 weekend at Miller Motosports Park. Starting from his second pole of the season, Caddell’s race got off to a rough start when he missed a shift in his No. 30 Team MER-AimSport-Pinnacle Mazda MX-5 and fell back to fifth on the opening lap. “I missed a shift on the start and I think I might have caused that wreck on the front straightaway. I got the third gear shift and then the third to fourth gear shift didn’t go in. It was a fight from there, I was all the way back to fifth.” Caddell was lucky however, compared to Jesse Combs, of Woodlands, Texas, in the No. 7 Coolgas Ltd.-Alara Racing MX-5, who made heavy contact with the guardrail on the front straight at the start of the race. The No. 83 Hooverspeed MX-5 of Kim Ouye from Monterey, Calif., and the No. 14 Hooverspeed MX-5 of Simona DeSilvestro, from Thun, Switzerland, got together at the start, bumping into Combs and sending him off course at speed. Ouye and De Silvestro also veered off course in the opposite direction, making contact with the opposite barrier. All three drivers were OK, but out of the race before turn one. While his teammate, and new MX-5 Cup champion, Jason Saini took over the lead of the race, Caddell took advantage of scuffles in front of him to work his way back up to third on lap five, when the only full-course caution of the race would come out for debris on the front straight. On the lap eight restart, the No. 80 Hooverspeed-MobiTV MX-5 of Matt Cross of from Folsom, Calif., became the new race leader with MER teammates Saini and Caddell hot on his heels. It was at that point that Saini’s transmission became stuck in fourth 20 Northwest Sports Car News gear and the No. 28 Autobarn MazdaSaferacer.com MX-5 started to fall back. Caddell took over the reins with gusto, passing Cross for the lead the next lap heading into Turn One and never looking back, setting the Hawk Hot Lap of the race, a 3:23.144 (79.891 mph). “I was picking people off one by one,” Caddell said. “I got by Jason (Saini) when he started having trouble with his transmission, then I got by (Matt) Cross. I had a run on Matt and he moved back over. I just dove in there and took a chance. He was making the track pretty narrow, but I had to get by him, because I knew once I got by him we had the better car. “It feels great. That was probably the most exciting race and the most frustrating race at the same time. We’re coming back next year and we’re going to the Runoffs this year, too.” With the win, Caddell secured his runner-up status in the championship, 41 points behind champion Saini. Malkhassian was the benefactor of a late-race incident between Cross and the No. 31 Team MER-Feed the Need MX-5 of Frankie Muniz of Los Angeles. The two came together in turn one while battling for second on lap 10. As both cars slid off course, Malkhassian breezed through for the second spot. While Malkhassian crossed the line in second, race officials deemed some of his earlier race actions too aggressive and disqualified him, as well as Mark Jenkins from the race. With fierce battles raging throughout the field, Michaelian had one of the quietest races on the track, starting third and finishing second following Malkhassian’s disqualification. It was a career-best grid and finishing position for the No. 19 HooverspeedShozilla.com MX-5 driver who got caught behind Caddell on the start of the race and fell back to ninth, but kept his nose clean throughout the 11-lap, 49.346-mile race for his first podium finish. “I got held up a little bit on the start and shuffled back,” Michaelian said. “There was a lot of action going on ahead of us though, so we got helped out by some attrition. I’ve got to thank Jason Hoover for giving me such a good car that was consistent throughout the race. There were no mistakes on our part and we just drove it home to the www.nwr-scca.org finish. “This is a great series, so a big thanks to Mazda for doing this. I definitely want to run this MX-5 again next year.” The No. 56 BSI-Team Garcia-MOMOJoe Gibbs MX-5 of Todd Buras from Melbourne, Fla., and the No. 88 DEXWestern Companies-RPM MX-5 of Salt Lake City driver Pratt Cole exchanged positions several times on the final lap, before Buras, who started from pit lane, claimed the third-place spot. Cole’s fourth-place was enough to leap-frog him to a fourth-place finish in the championship. Saini nursed his ailing car to a fifthplace finish. Saini clinched the championship in the previous round in TroisRivieres, Quebec, and has won himself a ride with a Mazda team in next year’s SCCA SPEED Touring Car Championship. Starting 29th on the grid, Charles Espenlaub, of Lutz, Fla., charged through the field and picked up an impressive 22 positions to finish sixth. Barry Fromberg, Andrew Carbonell, Rick Bellew and “Grey’s Anatomy” star Patrick Dempsey completed the top 10. It was the first top-10 finish for Dempsey. Following his incident with Muniz, Cross continued on to finish 10th on the track, but following the race, officials penalized Cross three positions for blocking, while in the lead. The penalty dropped Cross to sixth in the final championship standings, a single point behind Combs, who finished the season in fifth. Carbonell, Fromberg, Michaelian and Buras filled out the top 10 in the championship. Shortly after technical inspections concluded, the first annual MX-5 Cup Pit Crew Challenge took place. Teams could enter two crew members per car, who were given the task of installing the flywheel and transmission without power equipment and then driving the car under its own power across the finish line, 20 feet away. Getting the job done in 6.09 minutes was Alara Racing’s Jacob Oberg and Mike Yoes, who each won a Skip Barber Racing School courtesy of Mazda. All races from the 2007 SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup season will be broadcast on SPEED. Check www.mx-5cup. com for a TV schedule to be posted shortly. September-October 2007 Caddell second at Runoffs SCCA STAFF REPORT TOPEKA, Kan. — After finishing runner-up in last year’s Spec Miata race, the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by AT&T was sweet redemption for Brad Rampelberg of San Jose, Calif., who took the win Oct. 13 over defending Champion Andrew Caddell of Graham. Steve Ott, of Missouri City, Texas, finished third. Polesitter Caddell took the early lead in his No. 30 Saferacer.com Mazda Miata with the No. 4 HooverSpeed Mazda Miata of Rampelberg hot on his tail. For the next two laps, the pair circulated the track glued to each other’s bumper. On lap four, heading onto the front straight, Caddell had a slight bobble, giving Rampelberg the momentum into Turn One, where he would take over the lead. “We had a good start,” Rampelberg said. “Steve Gorriaran gave me a couple bumps and moved me ahead. I thought I was going to be able to move past Andrew, so I started to move down, but then I saw him there and gave him some room. Andrew led the first couple of laps, but there was a little river running down the apex of Turn 14 and I was squaring it off just a little bit differently than Andrew and getting on the power September-October 2007 quicker. I think he just got off and on it once and I was able to get the run on him on the outside going into Turn One.” Shortly thereafter, Chris James’ No. 11 Saferacer.com/SpecMiata.com Mazda Miata and Andrew Rushing’s No. 33 Applied Racing Tech Mazda Miata needed to be removed from the Turn Nine area after separate incidents brought them to a stop near the wall. The clean-up required the race to be black-flagged to allow safety vehicles on the course. When green-flag racing resumed, 10 minutes remained on the race clock. Rampelberg maintained the lead on the restart, with Caddell hot on his heels. The pair immediately began to pull a gap on the rest of the field. Caddell waited until the last lap to make his move, attempting to take advantage of a slide by Rampelberg in Turn Nine, but ended up mirroring his competitor in more spectacular fashion, sliding completely off the track. “Andrew was able to go through the faster stuff a little bit faster than me, so I knew that was the one place he was going to try me,” Rampelberg said. “On the last lap, I knew I had to get through those final corners well. I got it turned in at Ten, there was mud on the track www.nwr-scca.org and I started sliding. I was thinking, ‘This is bad news.’ I gathered it up and I saw Andrew sliding across my mirrors and ending up in the dirt and I thought, ‘I got it.’ ” Caddell returned to the track, but had lost too much ground to catch Rampelberg, who claimed the Spec Miata National Championship. Cadell would finish 1.252 seconds behind Rampelberg in second. Ott, in the No. 26 DriverSource/APEX HyPerformance Mazda Miata finished third after starting seventh. Steven Gorriaran, of Providence, R.I., and Matthew Reynolds, of Boerne, Texas, completed the top five. Mark Hoover, of Cameron Park, Calif., earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for advancing 16 positions during the race in his No. 96 Planet Miata/boxracing.com Mazda Miata. With the Spec Miata Championship, Rampelberg now has a chance to win a new Mazda MX-5 Cup car and Mazdaspeed parts package courtesy of Mazda, enabling him to enter the SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup. Rampelburg will compete against other Mazda champions for the prize in an off-season shootout. Caddell won an MX-5 Cup ride for 2007 and finished second in points. Northwest Sports Car News 21 Walsh second in Runoffs debut Redmond racer recounts trip to podium STORY AND PHOTOS BY JIM WALSH Contributing reporter TOPEKA, Kan. — It’s been a long road from Redmond to here. Seven SCCA National races got me the NORPAC GT2 Divisional Championship and an invite to the SCCA National Championship Runoffs in Topeka. The August Last Chance National in Topeka let me see the track for the first time. Tuesday, Oct. 2 in test week, I saw the track for the second time. Then I was off for some personal travel (my sister’s wedding), and back in town Sunday, Oct. 7, in time to register and run a single qualifying session each day from Monday through Thursday. Two days off, waiting and watching other races, then at the track at 6:30 a.m., to ensure the car is ready, especially with the on and off rain and mixed weather forecast for the race, 22 Northwest Sports Car News Sunday, Oct. 14. This was my first Runoffs, and I made some rookie mistakes in qualifying. Three of the four sessions were “split sessions” with the GT1 cars, though we were given 10 minutes each, the checkered flag seemed to fly at about the 7-minute mark, always when I seemed to be heading down the front straight on a flyer with open track (finally!) ahead of me. In the final qualifying session, I missed a shift at a critical point on my fastest lap, but still improved a tenth of a second, which was enough to move me from seventh to fifth in the incredibly tight GT2 field. The 8 a.m. GT2 warmup was dry, but there was a threatening weather system on the radar. I was feeling good, feeling relaxed, went out to get the feel for the track and the car again, www.nwr-scca.org as it’d been three days since I was on track. With a 10-minute session, I only got four laps. Came in, took a fuel sample in to make sure we were clear, it came back fine, looked like the fuel testing problems from earlier in the week were solved. I heard from one of the fuel testers that a tank of contaminated fuel had been delivered early in the week which had caused a lot of the problems, but they didn’t overturn the DQ’s of all five unleaded fuel runners on Monday, so I’m not sure if that was a rumor or fact. I have to thank Bill Meyers and Bill Gail for the weather help, and Jeff Lin and Dave Sauntry for getting us in touch with them. Bill Meyers got up at an unreasonably early hour on the weekend to give us a personalized weather forecast, so we were confident running dry tires for the race, in some pretty threatening weather conditions, September-October 2007 with a major storm passing us only a few miles to the west shortly before the race. Meyers called my crew chief as I was in pregrid, and again at the start of the race, with fresh updates. I also need to thank my No. 1 fan, my wife Penny, my crew Greg Fordahl and Dave Welch, Sebastian Gard and the Live Search marketing team for giving me the best-looking car of the 700-plus competing at the Runoffs, Yokohama Tire for awesome Advan tires and great support and advice throughout the entire year, and all my supporters who’ve helped in innumerable ways. The race itself seemed to go by in a blur. On pole was last year’s winner Wayland Joe, in another Porsche GT3 Cup, with Jim Goughary in a Nissan tubeframe to his left. The second row was Tom Patton, many folk’s choice for this year’s championship, in a tubeframe V8 Sunbeam Tiger that’s a monster on the straights, and has surprisingly good brakes and handling, and to his left Tony Rivera in a Panoz Esperante GTS. I started in fifth place, on the right side of the third row, with Mark Plummer in another Panoz Esperante beside me. Behind me was Jeffrey Moore in a Porsche GT3 Cup, and beside him was Gerald Mason in a Nissan tubeframe car. We had two pace laps, I worked hard September-October 2007 to get heat into my tires and brakes — the Yokohama slicks have great grip and will last through the race if I don’t overheat them, but they can feel pretty squirrely on the first lap or two before they’re up to temperature. The pace car turned into the pits, and we went around the last two corners onto the front straight, with crew chief Fordahl on the radio carefully watching the starter, who he knew had a tendency to throw the green early. “GREEN GREEN GREEN” on the radio and I got a good start, pulling away from Mark Plummer on my left and gaining on Rivera, but with the V8 in the Panoz he was beside me entering “Alpha,” the kink before turn 1. I saw Patton lift early, so I thought I might get a run down the inside, but when we crested the hill, Patton was only a few feet from the right edge of the track, no room to squeeze in, so I had to tuck in behind him. Rivera and Plummer in two Panozes kept in it, with Plummer trying to get between Patton on the right and Rivera on the left, but carrying more speed than both of them. I’m not sure if he locked up his brakes or not, but I think he tagged Rivera in the back right and definitely got Patton in the back left. I saw Patton spinning to the left, and Rivera spinning www.nwr-scca.org to the right in front of Patton’s car. I tucked to the far right edge of the track, with Rivera coming across sideways right in front of me. I tapped the brakes to avoid him, and the outward momentum in the right-hander pulled Rivera back to the left, and I was by without a scratch, in third place! Joe and Goughary had gotten through cleanly in front of the melee, so I was 4 or 5 seconds back with a bad run out of turn 2, but I hunkered down and worked on chasing down Goughary in his Nissan. Those tubeframe cars are awful fast, but I was thinking that with pressure on him, he might overdrive his tires. I didn’t know how banged up the three cars were, or whether they were back on course, as turn 1 is over the hill so my crew couldn’t see from pit lane. When it was announced over the P.A. that the three cars were off and heavily damaged, my crew was expecting a fullcourse yellow, which was finally thrown near the end of the second lap. We then had four very long laps behind the pace car. I was working constantly to keep the heat in my tires to get a good restart. Every time the pace car would come around the back part of the track, I’d be sure that the cars must have been pulled away by now, but it was turn down the Northwest Sports Car News 23 On the GT2 podium, Jim Walsh (left), winner Wayland Joe and third-place finisher Jeffrey Moore are nothing but smiles. front start to start another lap. Finally, the lights on the pace car were off, and we restarted, I expected Wayland Joe to take off as soon as he hit the front straight and not wait for the green flag, which is exactly what happened, but Goughary was right behind, and I was on Goughary’s heels, so we all had a good run when the green flew, with no chance for overtaking. I started pushing hard on Goughary, he was running fast for a few laps and I was working hard to keep up, but I stayed within a second or two of him the entire time. I finally got right on him and I could tell that his tires were starting to go, and he was starting to have problems keeping his line through the corners. I was relentless, trying to push him into making a mistake, and if that wouldn’t happen, into using his car up. It was clear that it was only a matter of time before I’d be able to make a move, but Heartland Park is a difficult track to pass on, and the spots I’d eyed as possible passing points can usually be readily defended, so I knew I might only have one chance to make a pass stick — otherwise I’d tip my hand in a particular corner, and not get that chance again. I wanted to be confident I’d be able to get fully alongside Goughary going into the 24 Northwest Sports Car News corner, and I’d be able to make the pass stick, so I let him slow me down for a couple of laps, but I stayed hard on him, making him work hard, and I’d also turned my lights on to keep him distracted in his rear view mirror. He was definitely slowing down in turns 1 and 8, the two fastest corners on the track, so I’d have to hang back a bit to get a run so I wouldn’t catch him too early in the corner. As we were heading down the front straight and through the kink, I saw smoke from his right side, looked like his engine was going! I slowed down as I didn’t want to get caught out in oil on the track (which often accompanies a blown engine), but the track looked dry. I got through fine, and I was now in second place! I kept it a little slower through there the next couple of laps in case there was a little oil on the track (there’s nothing worse that hitting oil, I’d spun in oil at 151 mph at California Speedway last year, and it’s a totally helpless feeling), and this was the fastest point on the racetrack. I started pushing again, but as the laps wound down, it was clear I wouldn’t be able to catch Joe unless his car broke or he went off track, so I backed off a bit to make sure I didn’t make a stupid mistake and throw away second place, as www.nwr-scca.org third was well behind me. I had a little miscommunication with my crew, and misunderstood the times they were giving me, and I didn’t realize that Moore was now closing on me by a couple of seconds a lap. I finally clued in when I saw him right behind me, with a lap and a half to go. Quick wakeup call! I couldn’t do a complete flyer as I had to take a defensive line entering corners, but keep my eyes on Moore in the corners to see if he was attempting a move. I managed to keep him behind me on the last lap, and when I was still ahead of Moore for the final turn entering the front straight, I knew I’d take the checkered for second. I crossed the line 3.4 seconds behind Joe (who’d also slowed his pace), with Moore about half a second behind me. It was then a blur of directions from SCCA officials — pulling the car into a special area, getting an interview on Speed Channel, then off to the winner’s podium for interviews over the track P.A. system, medal presentations, trophy presentations, pictures with what seemed like a dozen different sponsor hats on, then champagne to spray on each other. After all this adrenaline, it was off to the technical impound building, where they took fuel samples from the top September-October 2007 finishing cars, did some other miscellaneous inspections, and my crew chief and I sat around waiting, and waiting, and more waiting. I finally got word that there were some protests filed because of the first-lap incident, I was called to give a witness statement and a copy of my video to the officials, and then more waiting. I finally got word that the first two cars were free to leave Tech so positions one and two were final, but that the thirdplace car had to stay. After heading out for lunch, packing up the transporter, watching a few races, I finally got a call at 4:33 p.m. (about six hours after the end of the race) that the cars were free to leave tech. At 5:10 p.m., the results were official, with no changes resulting from all the protests. So I stopped by Driver’s Services, picked up the trophy and medal, and we all headed off for dinner, a well-earned beer and a good night’s sleep. So that’s it for the 2007 SCCA season. There are a couple other races left, including the Illgen 4-hour Enduro at Laguna Seca On Oct. 27 and 28, where I’m the defending Production and overall winner (with co-driver Fordahl), but I’m not sure yet if I’ll head there to run it. Overall, including other series this year (SCCA Regional and Porsche Club), I’ve had 17 races, 14 poles, 13 wins and three second places. The only non-podium finish all year was a fourth place when I had contact with a (formerly) off-course car while leading the race, and I’ve had zero mechanical failures all year. It’s hard to imagine a more successful season. Jim Walsh credits crew chief Greg Fordahl (left) and Dave Welch (right) for preparing his Porsche for the Runoffs. Find more online The full race will be broadcast on Speed Channel at 10 a.m. PST Jan. 2. Find the full schedule at www.scca.com/eventitems.aspx?item=3 60&event=5643&hub=1. Find race results at www.scca.com/documents/resultfiles/5643_GT2_RaceFinal.pdf, with a lapchart (positions after each lap) at www.scca.com/documents/resultfiles/5643_GT2_RaceChart.pdf and the official race writeup at www.scca.com/newsarticle.aspx?hub=1 &news=3199. New members join Northwest Region’s ranks New members joining us since the beginning of the third quarter of this year are: First Gear members Bill Mann, Sammamish Sean Michael Elliott, Issaquah Sam Bigelow, Lacey Ian Davis, Lacey John Kabigting, Kent Collin Williams, Spanaway Regular members Steve Clinton, Renton Blake Boyle, North Bend September-October 2007 Shawn David Kyes, Olympia Burce Smith, Shelton William McCarthy, Seattle Ronald Dyck, Steinbach, Manitoba Dan Jones, Everett Brian Davis Sims, Edmonds Shirley Smrz, Coeur d’Alene, ID Jack Zarowny, North Vancouver, B.C. Jens Darsell, Richland Mark Uhlmann, Burnaby, B.C. Peter Umino, Newcastle Cale Galbreath, Everett Stephen Light, Bellevue Serge-Andre Meunier, Seattle Jeff Horttor, Tacoma www.nwr-scca.org Brandon Drew Davis, Olympia Edward Allen, Olympia Scott Harper, Bonney Lake Brian Nash, Edmonds Scot McKinley, Belmont, CA Craig Shrontz, Seattle Jeff Grant, Vancouver, B.C. Michael Ainsworth, Vancouver, B.C. Roland Nakahara, Snohomish Thomas Campbell, Enumclaw Ben Kurtz, Redmond Spouse Members Kirk Engle, Lynnwood Betty Jo O’Sage, Tacoma Northwest Sports Car News 25 Weather, stewards confound NayKid’s Road Atlanta round BY TOM MOORE NayKid Racing BRASELTON, Ga. — Road Atlanta proved to be one of the brightest and worst moments of the 2007 SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT season for NayKid Racing. The team of Cindi Lux (Aloha, Ore.) and Scotty B. White (Lake Tapps) quickly found their groove at the fast and technical Road Atlanta facility. From early in the weekend both Lux’s No. 2 Dodge-Mintex Brakes-MOMO Dodge Viper Competition Coupe and the No. 3 Corsa Performance-Forgeline Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of White raced within the top-10 of the GT field and they found themselves there again in the one-hour SCCA SPEED GT at the Petit Le Mans. After qualifying with a season-best of 10th for Lux and 11th for White, the pair of NayKid Dodge Viper Comp. Coupes looked set to capitalize on the momentum that has been growing in recent races. But, just like at the most recent event at Mosport International Raceway, the weather would play a major role. After an on-again, off-again race through torrential downpours, Lux took the checkered flag in 13th while White was awarded 16th after an accident resulting from the rain. With the top qualifying positions the Northwest-based team looked expectantly towards the Oct. 5, hour-long afternoon race on the 2.54 mile, 12-turn facility. That anticipation turned to concern as storm clouds gathered. The traditional World Challenge standing start was the first sign that the race would be plagued by mayhem. On the first lap a multi-car accident placed the full field under caution for the next seven laps. Lux had gained one spot as the cars slowly passed under the yellow flag after one lap. While she sat in ninth, White had gone off track and fell to 22nd before returning to the pavement as the first lap came to a close. The early race slowdown would magnify problems for the remainder of the show. Just as the remaining cars in the GT field took the green flag restarting the 26 Northwest Sports Car News race, the clouds opened up, dropping massive amounts of rain on the competitors, all of whom were on racing slicks. While the front straightaway remained dry, turns three through 10 were under a deluge. Race officials made no call to return to a yellow flag condition nor, as several drivers requested, a red flag halting the race as it stood. This left cars spinning in the heavy rain. Among those suffering the most was White’s No. 3 Dodge Viper. Turn three would be the final resting place for White’s V10-powered machine for the weekend. White made heavy contact with the wall as he and three others struggled with their high-horsepower entries just past the fast right-hander that makes Road Atlanta’s turn one. As White approached the third corner, not even his multi-time championship winning skill could rescue the car from the inevitable. All four of the cars racing went off, though none made contact with the other three on track. Though one of the hardest impacts of his career, White walked away from his car sore, but unhurt. His ride was not so lucky. The NayKid crew will need to work long hours to have the car ready for the season-finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Oct. 21. Meanwhile, further up the track, Lux fought her hydroplaning machine as the rain intensified. A genius pit call by Fred Lux brought the No. 2 into the pits immediately. Lux and three other teams switched to rain tires while the remaining field gambled on waiting out the rain. While White was out of the race, the call to put Lux on grooved tires looked to give the team one secure topspot in the final standings. Now running as high as sixth, this belief was strengthened by the eyewitness accounts of the carnage around the track. Then came more controversy. SCCA Pro Racing officials called for a red flag stopping the race. While not controversial in and of itself, the red flag led to an unprecedented decision to allow teams to work on their cars, including changing to rain tires. Red flag rules typically prevent work from being performed on www.nwr-scca.org the cars and the brilliant call to put Lux on rain tires was negated. Further controversy erupted when officials then declared that, on the restart, the field would be placed back to the running order as it had been prior to the red flag. Lux, who had reached as high as sixth just before pitting for rain rubber, would be doubly punished for the smart race strategy call. With approximately 10 minutes of racing left in the timed event, Lux had little time to regain the positions lost. She would finish as the last of 13 cars still running from the original 26 that started the race. A good finish but not as good as it should have been had traditional racing rules been followed during the red-flag conditions. “What an absolutely crazy race,” said Lux. “It was more of a crash fest of very expensive race cars versus good old fashion World Challenge racing. When we got the first restart the skies just opened up on the backstraight and it was treacherous. Everybody was hydroplaning all over the place and cars were crashing everywhere. But when the SCCA finally decided to red flag the race they allowed competitors to work on cars. Not only is that never done in motorsports, it really hurt us as we already had pitted for rain tires and were in sixth. As a driver it is just frustrating. To see everything that had fallen into place from all hard work and smart calls by the team fall apart so quickly because of a sanctioning body decision is just hard to comprehend.” The 2007 SPEED World Challenge GT season will conclude on Oct. 21 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. A favorite track of both Lux and White, the team hopes to put the results on the board that their recent performances have suggested. “We are really looking forward to getting to our home track in Laguna and seeing what we can show there,” White said. “We’re starting to figure these things out. These Dodge Vipers are really starting to run well for NayKid. Overall it was a pretty good weekend. Everyone is really confident and we are really pleased with the speed we are showing.” September-October 2007 NayKid heads ‘home’ Laguna Seca comes as Viper program surges BY TOM MOORE NayKid Racing MONTEREY, Calif. — NayKid Racing’s first season back in the SCCA Speed World Challenge comes to an end on Sunday, Oct. 21, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Cindi Lux of Aloha, Ore., and Lake Tapps Scotty B. White’slimited schedule with a pair of Dodge Viper Competition Coupes started off slowly but gained momentum quickly as the NayKid Racing team became more knowledgeable of the V10-powered machines. Entering NayKid Racing’s sixth and final race of the season on Oct. 21 at the team’s adopted “home” track in Monterey, Calif., the energy and excitement are high for the two Northwest-based drivers. Recent events at North America’s premier road courses have shown the program on an upsurge that the team hopes to culminate in its best performance of the season at this weekend SPEED World Challenge GT race on the Monterey Peninsula. Since a less-than-satisfactory debut on the tight confines of the Long Beach Grand Prix street course, the No. 2 Dodge-Mintex Brakes-MOMO Dodge Viper Competition Coupe of Lux and the No. 3 Corsa Performance-Forgeline Dodge Viper Comp. Coupe of White have shown impressive speed on the natural terrain courses. Most recently, at Road Atlanta, the team regularly ran in the top-10 of practice, qualifying and the race before a sudden rainstorm and red flag put White off-course and Lux out of contention for a top-10. The Laguna Seca race, the final event to be held on the Monterey Sports Car Championship weekend, has drawn the largest SPEED GT entry list of the season. The additional competition and major status of the event is just the kind of scenario that Lux and White covet. “Taking our momentum from the last few races will be an important shot in the arm for Laguna,” Lux said. “Both Scotty and I have a ton of time at this track, but just not in Viper Comp. Coupes. It’s kind of funny, it was a year ago at this race that Scotty, Fred and I attended as observers and decided to join the Series. One year later, here we are ready to throttle-up and get our first top-ten finish.” Both Lux and White are pleased that their final opportunity to secure a top finish comes at Laguna Seca. The front-engine, American supercar is better matched to the long, flowing road course than the narrow street tracks, raising the team’s expectations. Further buoying the anticipation of the one-hour race is that each driver has extensive time on Laguna Seca’s 2.238-mile, 11-turn track. The venue was a regular stop for White while contesting the SoPac Division T1 championship in SCCA Club Racing. He helped use the track to spur an impressive four SoPac titles in five seasons. Lux’s experience at the track is nearly as strong and, combined; the two feel confident that they will have their best results of the season this weekend. “Our welcome back to SPEED GT has- n’t been filled with all the glory we hoped for, especially my personal results,” White said. “But it’s been fun and it feels great to be back home on the West Coast at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. I love this track and Cindi and I have always had a lot of fun during our race weekends here in Monterey. I know we’ll see a lot of friends and family here and being at a track where I can remember which way the next corner goes ought to be a big help!” Lux currently has the team’s best results with an 11th at Mosport International Raceway and 13th (twice, Miller and Road Atlanta). She also won the Piloti Rookie of the Race for highest placing first-year driver at the Miller event. White’s speed and racecraft has been impressive with just bad luck harming his overall results. White has regularly raced into the top-10 before misfortune has taken its toll. He earned the Sunoco Hard Charger Award for most positions gained at Miller Motorsports Park on his way to a 15th- place result and matched that at a rain-soaked Mosport event where drying conditions destroyed his wet-weather tires and dropped him from a certain top10. “Fred, Matt and the guys have really been starting to get these Dodge Vipers dialed in and I just hope we can finally showcase some of the speed we have found on a nice, dry track we are familiar with,” said White. “Stay tuned!” The SPEED GT race from Laguna Seca can be seen at 4:30 p.m. (ET) Saturday, Oct. 28, on SPEED Channel. Pierson (RX-7) and myself (Porsche 928) have teamed up and will be driving this race to benefit the United Way. We’re seeking pledges for the United Way, with 100 percent of the contributions going directly to the United Way. (We were going to go racing anyway, so we might as well do it for a good cause.) We will be driving both 928s with Pierson, myself and Mark Kibort (SFR SCCA member) driving the red 928 and Osage, Conover and Olson driving the blue 928. Anyone interested in pledging can find a link at www.nwracersgroup.com. We are estimating between 100 and 120 laps. No pledge amount is too small. After the race, we will post the results and all contributions will be paid directly to the United Way. Local racers plan to tackle Laguna enduro BY CHUCK BRIGGS NW Racers Group We’re just not ready to call it an end to the racing season! Five local SCCA drivers have decided to drive our first endurance race (4 hours) at Laguna Seca on Oct. 28. Ken Osage (Porsche 928), Ken Olson (Shelby Cobra), Dave Conover (Miata), Dick September-October 2007 www.nwr-scca.org Northwest Sports Car News 27 Gran Prix Imports Oregon 1000 BY RON SOREM Contributing editor WILSONVILLE, Ore. — The Oregon Region SCCA presented three regional tour rallies as the Oregon 1000 Rally, presented by Gran Prix Imports of Wilsonville on Sept. 21-23. Thirteen teams ran the Tire Warm-up and Odo Check south on the freeway to Keizer (Salem), then east toward Silverton, following Howell Prairie Road into Stayton’s Pioneer Park for a brief stop. Continuing south, crossing the North Santiam River, smoke could be seen in the distance. Odd. A brush fire on the first TSD section had engulfed the roadway, and the first checkpoint location, forcing an impromptu Free Zone and a re-group control. This is a road rally, right? The route continued east and south through rolling foothills to the first of many of the Willamette valley’s picturesque covered bridges, meandering along Crabtree Creek at a brisk pace to Larwood Covered Bridge, just downstream from the point where Roaring River flows into Crabtree Creek. Off to meet in Waterloo, at the Mini Mall... uber-mini, no Napolean, or Napoleon — either Dynamite or Bonaparte. The rally was following part of the old California Trail, and the Santiam Wagon Road. After a few more covered bridges we crossed Highway 20 near Narrows Oregon, and began climbing Scott Mountain Road. “What Dead End?” TSD section climbed up West Brush Creek Road (the routebook states: “Not sure why they think it’s a dead end”), followed Cougar Ridge (near Bald Mountain — how many of these are there?), and dropped into the Shotgun Creek drainage on narrow twisting pavement through the forest. Sweet roads! Our team suffered from a mis-set clock on a CarZeroTime reference: Clock set to top of minute... CZT was at bottom = 50 early. After working our “run/work” checkpoint and having plenty of time to contemplate the error, we continued to the Earnest Covered Bridge, traveled along the Mohawk River, skirted Springfield and headed south on I-5 for the transit to Cottage Grove for snacks and fuel. “London to Oakland?” TSD followed the twisting Shoestring Road from Lon28 Northwest Sports Car News Three days, three rallies, 1,000 kilometers don Oregon, over London Hill, into Shoestring Valley along Scott Valley Road, through Elkhead Oregon, into Driver Valley with a couple of tricky hairpins and narrow sections where the flooding and erosion left single lanes only. No “Valley Girls” here, just two friends working the next checkpoint — they gave us a 3! Oakland Oregon is a Historic District just east of Sutherlin and I-5. A quick transit down the freeway to Roseburg brought a welcomed Hotel and an excellent banquet topped off with early scores and local dairy’s vanilla ice cream. Day One covered 213 miles (343 km) through eleven scored controls in six hours. Winning Friday’s sections were April Smith and Marcus Song with 23 points, only 4/100ths ahead of fellow Timewise competitors Dan Comden and Hans Andomeit. Day Two brought renewed vigor for all... The Odo-Tire Warmup ran south to Riddle. Our first mistake was along a wide paved road, with double yellow center stripe — the stripe disappeared and a wide section of pavement curved right — into a gate for the Nickel Mountain mines. The main road dove off a blind crest to the left — into a checkpoint. The hesitation while determining the actual rally road caused several teams to be late, under full power, at checkpoint one. Winding along Cow Creek (at 54, then 51, 49, 48, and 46 mph) the scenery of the pines and live oaks soothed the cut of the first points for the day. Turning onto the narrow paved forest roads into the woods, the route climbed the Back Country Byway toward Anaktuvuk Saddle (oddly Alcan sounding), Mt Bolivar (4319), and began dropping into Eden Valley Camp on the South Fork of the Coquille River (which empties into the Pacific at Bandon). By the way, CAST 31 was a challenge. The CAST 27 through Island Camp was great fun, after the checkpoint, at a “bit over” CAST in the Free Zone. www.nwr-scca.org 19.01 into the “Are We There Yet?” TSD section brought us to Curry County Oregon, who it seems hasn’t been inclined to pave their road, so 10 miles of gravel at reduced speed through abundant twists and drops returned to pavement at Illahe, and an overhead view of the Rogue River. At Agness, the rally took a break from the dust and enjoyed Jerry’s Rogue Jets (www.Roguejets.com on the Rogue since 1958), for an up-close and wet 20-mile trip upriver to Blossom Rapids, passing Illahe (now above us), Tacoma Rapids, into the Wild Rogue Wilderness, Paradise Lodge, Half Moon Bar Lodge, and the Devil’s Staircase. The jet boats share the river with rafts, kayaks, fishing parties, and wildlife... We saw deer, herons, and the rare raft bare (think full moon), kept at bay with a drenching torrent from our boat — to the delight of all. Downstream speeds of up to 53-mph, then drying out over lunch. We think the operator was a bit disappointed in our collective response to all the twists and turns, dips and braking — until he was reminded that we were the rally group, and we’d been doing that all day long. Agness toward the Ocean challenged drivers and navigators to resist an after lunch nap. Local traffic kept some of us busy filling out Time Allowances, and CASTs of 36, 37, & 38 were more than enough to keep crews attentive on the twisting two-lane. Highway 101 north brought photo-ops and grins as rallyists “mixed it up” with a Mercedes, a Viper, and a Corvette on the twisting, bumpy coastal highway into Port Orford, for a big spaghetti dinner and moonlight views of the bay from the Castaway-by-the-Sea motel, after 160 miles (258km) in 8 hours. Saturday winners were Ron Sorem and Max Vaysburd, squeezing a mere 22 points out of the old Alfa, 17 fewer than Smith and Song in second. Sunday was a new day. Pancake breakfast in Port Orford, then north along the coast, with a short stop at Bandon State Park beach, then a view of Haystack Rock and Face Rock (all in brilliant sunlight, but on a TSD section with little opportunity for photos), before turning inland, along the Coquille River to Broadbent. Excitement along the way included a “Pause 0.10 at 15MPH” in traffic, September-October 2007 on a blind curve, just feet before a checkpoint... lots of laughs at lunch about this! Following the Middle Fork now, to Remote Oregon and the Sandy River Covered Bridge. A rest stop and photo-op here, preceded 10 miles of Sandy Creek Road, bringing three checkpoints on a beautiful twisting hill climb. Weaver Road continued along a ridge for another 14 miles with three more well placed controls, providing lateral Gs and big grins, or nausea, depending on your likes or dislikes. Oregon 1000 transits can be trying. Dropping off Reston Ridge on the old Coos Bay Wagon Road, brought warm brakes through the hairpins. “Through the Lookingglass” transit referred to the creek, as we didn’t really pass through the town or travel upon the road, of the same name. Continuing north through Melrose along the Umpqua River to Sutherlin, the rally headed north on I-5 to Cabin Creek for lunch. “The Long and Winding Road” TSD section brought another six checkpoints in 38 miles of twisting hills, meandering river routes, and sharp drops into the Coyote Creek drainage. The end of section afforded a short break for ice cream cones, then back on the road north for Veneta and Franklin and the bonus round. “Bonus Points” TSD began near Cheshire, skirted Cox Butte, and zigzagged through farm fields between the Willamette River and Long Tom Creek — passing the 1000-km mark before the final checkpoint, complete with a printed target time in the instructions. Only one team managed to zero the target time: Steve Perret and Kathryn Hansen, capping 270 miles (436km) in 8 hours. The Sunday win and overall three-day prize went again to April Smith and Marcus Song (in the Team Mitsubishi Outlander) with 25 for the day, 87 for the weekend, running E-Class (Unlimited equipment). Perret and Hansen took home First L-Class (Limited equipment or Calculator class) with 265 for the weekend. Paul Eklund, R. Dale Kraushaar, and Kala Rounds took home First S-Class (Stock, no equipment, SOP) with 232. All three first place finishers and several other participants took full advantage of 644 miles (1,037 km) of “seat time” on Oregon 1000 in preparation for the February 2008 Alcan 5000 Rally. Complete results and links to photos at www.oregonrally.com click on Road Rally. September-October 2007 Mountains to the Sea Rally a fun tour BY RON SOREM Contributing editor MILWAUKIE, Ore. — The Cascade Sports Car Club, Geargrinders RoadRally division presented their annual touring rally from Portland to the Pacific Ocean, including the famous Beach Barbecue Party, and continued this year as part of the Triple Threat Rally Weekend, Aug 17-19. The 42nd running of the famous and familyfriendly touring rally included a Friday Nighter road rally and a Sunday SCCA RallyCross event hosted by the Oregon Rally Group. Rallymasters Reid Trummel and John Olson brought forth an outstanding tour, complete with a recommended overnight stop in Astoria, to enjoy “three days during the middle of Oregon’s 20 days of summer!” The Triple Threat Rally contest combined all three events with trophies awarded to the top five finishers. For the TSD rallies, both the driver and navigator received Triple Threat Rally contest points. Ron Sorem and Josh Sorem got together again in their traditional rally roles with Ron driving and Josh navigating in Seat of the Pants class, without the rally computer, intent on enjoying the view and the friendly rally atmosphere. Unable to run the Friday Nighter and the RallyCross, we would compete only in Mountains to Sea “Masters” — running for the fun of it. The odo check ran down I-205 and I5, to the rest area just south of Wilsonville. Stock odo and a basic clock would make timing and mileages a bit hit and miss — the odo is “close,” the speedo is “way off.” The first TSD section ran down the freeway one exit, then to the farm roads towards Champoeg Park, following the Willamette south into St. Paul for the first “trap” (something unusual for MTS). Mission Road was the second “Mission” possible. The first occurence led five teams to a Route Control. The course continued, with opposing rally traffic, to the “Stockyards Checkpoint” at 27.67 miles. www.nwr-scca.org North of Newberg the second TSD climbed to Bald Peak State Park and the first of many Do-It-Yourself-Checkpoints. Leaving the park, we missed the next instruction and went sightseeing through the flower farms, following Main Road Determinants until a “Leftmost” would have put us on Highway 219 at 35 mph. Rejected! Retracing the route to Balk Peak, we found our oversight (thumb over instruction?), filled out our Time Declaration and continued “on course” through Gaston, Forest Grove and Banks (complete with tractor pull). North again to a DIYC and break in Vernonia, before winding along Highway 47 and Apiary Road to Old Rainier and a full checkpoint. We were very late. Darned speedo! Alston-Mayger started a long section of CAST 35 in a 45 mph zone — very frustrating — then 30, 40 and 20 to a DIYC in Clatskanie. MTS had reached the Columbia River and our next TSD was up-close — twisting along the levees and dunes at CAST 31. West on Highway 30, over the ridge at Bradley Wayside, and descending into the mist of coastal weather. North toward Aldrich Point for one checkpoint, then crossing Highway 30 for one last trap — intended or not, several cars “refused” an MRD and took “early” at the next checkpoint. A final DIYC then the transit through Astoria to Fort Stevens State Park and the Peter Iredale Shipwreck Finish Party. MTS covered 186 miles, with nine controls, in roughly six hours. MTS results were posted within an hour of last car. Congratulations to April Smith and Kevin Poirier, for first overall with 22 points; Johdi Masterman and Steven Smith, for first SOP; Monika and Matt Tabor for first Masters; and John and Linda McKean for first Novice. First Vintage and third Novice to Brian and Ruby Bauske in their 1964 Mercedes-Benz 230SL. Thanks again to Rallymasters John Olson and Reid Trummel and the entire Cascade Sports Car Club “geargrinders” staff for another fine Mountains to The Sea Rally. Northwest Sports Car News 29 Contact Northwest Region officials REGIONAL EXECUTIVE Frank Hamilton, P.O. Box 14388, Tumwater, WA 98511-4388; home: 360352-3204; rallyguy@comcast.net SECRETARY Mary Lee TREASURER Kim Craddock, 1106 Mellen St., Centralia, WA 98531; work: 360-3302101; home: 360-273-7310; nwrallymom@yahoo.com ASSISTANT REGIONAL EXECUTIVE FOR RACING Tom Masterson, 1616 Gregory Way, Bremerton WA 98337; 360-4796082; kd7cyu@yahoo.com ASSISTANT REGIONAL EXECUTIVE FOR SOLO Dick Willy, 10624 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98178; 206-772-1228; rdwmcw@comcast.net ASSISTANT REGIONAL EXECUTIVE FOR TIME TRIALS Mark McCloskey, 1060 Hillandale Drive, Port Orchard, WA 98366; 360-620-2462; laidbackracing@wavecable.com BOARD MEMBERS AT-LARGE Sherri Masterson, 1616 Gregory Way, Bremerton WA 98337; 360-4796082; kc7wec@yahoo.com Dick Willy, 10624 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98178; 206-772-1228; rdwmcw@comcast.net Lou Ann Christensen, 15346 SE 307th St., Kent, WA 98042; 425-6817623; luchristensen_74@msn.com Kevin Dietz, kevindietz@aol.com REGIONAL ASSOCIATES (non-voting) Membership Director Esther Sicks, P.O. Box 506, Port Orchard, WA 98366; esther.sicks@att.net Region Archivist Frank and Joan Manley, 301 160th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 980084343; home: 425-747-3407; frank2joan@webtv.net NWR Webmaster Joe Goeke, 13253 Holmes Point Drive, NE, Kirkland, WA. 98034; 425442-4617; joe@hedlygoeke.com NWR Race Registrar Sherri Masterson, 1616 Gregory Way, Bremerton, WA 98337; phone 360479-6082, fax 360-478-7973, e-mail kc7wec@yahoo.com. NWR Competition Director Michael Lord, 18245 SE 313th St., Auburn, WA 98092; Phone 253-6300476, fax 253-630-0746, e-mail michael.lord@comcast.net. Northwest Sports Car News Editor Kurt Batdorf, 11220 Walker Road, Mount Vernon, WA 98273; home 360707-2882; kurtbatdorf@earthlink.net or editor@nwr-scca.com DIVISION CONTACTS (www.norpacscca.org) Area 13 Director Howard “Duck” Allen, P.O. Box 2336, Portland, OR 97208; 503-246-4852 (home and fax); howduck@qwest.net NorPac Executive Steward Gary Meeker, 149 Sir Francis Court, Capitola, CA 95010; home: 831-475-4130; fax: 831-462-5187; gmeeker@earthlink.net SCCA gear NWR Good Buy now online TRAILER Get in gear — SCCA gear, that is. Find the complete collection of SCCA merchandise online at www.sccacollection.com. Place orders by calling 888-267-2187 toll-free 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday; e-mail scca@imperialm.com; fax to 888-4529197 or 248-799-4169; or by regular mail to SCCA Merchandise Collection, P.O. Box 185, Southfield, MI 48037-0185. 30 Northwest Sports Car News 1979 Calkins (6x14) double-axle, lowslung enclosed trailer. Good for open wheel race cars. Old, needs some TLC, no leaks. $500 or best offer. Call Chuck Boyce, 360-790-4666 or e-mail chuckboyce23@comcast.net. Northwest Region members can submit non-commercial classifieds for no charge. Please limit your ad to 50 words and submit it to kurtbatdorf@earthlink.net www.nwr-scca.org September-October 2007 Submit your nominations for NWR awards banquet BY FRANK HAMILTON Regional Executive Annual banquets are forthcoming. Each venue has its own banquet before the NWR banquet. Some awards are exclusive to venues and others are NWR-wide. This means that nominations for the traditions awards need to be made. Any NWR region member in good standing may make a nomination for each of these awards. Awards that need to be awarded through NWR are: Stan Burnett Inspirational Award: This award goes to an individ- ual who exhibits the determination, energy, loyalty, sensitivity and love that Stan showed in his life. Mary Pang Award: A volunteer worker who has preformed as an “Unsung Hero” in the background without much fanfare and whose actions have benefited the region. Frank and Joan Manley Award: This award goes to a region member who exhibits the qualities and enthusiasm and willingness to be involved in NWR activities. All awards relate to activities occurring in year 2007. Each venue will have additional awards to present. NWR nominations should be sent to the RE. A selection committee will be appointed. Each nomination should be accompanied with a letter of nomination explaining why that person (or those persons) should get the award. The Joe Henderson Award: This trophy goes to a member of NWR and active SCCA member who has been involved in long and meritorious service to NWR, SCCA National and has served in a leadership role. The recipient must be elected by the previous recipients of this award. Some years it has not been awarded. Rallycross National Championship near SCCA STAFF REPORT Be part of the first RallyCross National Championship Oct. 26-28 at Motorsports Park Hastings, Neb. The first 2007 National RallyCross Champions will be crowned at this event! In 2007, RallyCross National events were held in many regions as part of the Inter-Divisional Series. This year’s comSeptember-October 2007 petition is part of SCCA’s championship month and will determine the first SCCA National RallyCross Champions. Entry eligibility now includes not only those who have run this year’s Inter-Divisional National RallyCross events, but also those who have previously run RallyCross National Challenge events in 2005 or 2006, or entered three 2007 SCCA Regional and/or Divisional Rallywww.nwr-scca.org Cross events. Eligibility and registration information is found at www.scca.com/ event.aspx?hub=2&event=5645. Motorsports Park Hastings management has worked hard on the course, preparing the grassy fields for competition. The paddock is paved and there are bathrooms and showers. Spaces exist with 30-amp electrical hookups for 30 RVs. Northwest Sports Car News 31 Membership Application 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 Birthdate Address Telephone ( City / /_ / / ) State Zip County E-mail Have you been a SCCA member before? Single Married No Yes: Year Previous Member # Spouse's Name Birthdate Spouse Member Number If Current Member IF APPLYING FOR FAMILY MEMBERSHIP Please list names and ages of children under age 21: Name Birthdate / / Name Birthdate / / Name Birthdate / / Name Birthdate / / PRIMARY INTEREST(S) 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 Annual National Dues Pro Racing Solo Annual Regional Dues Individual Member $ 60.00 + Individual Member Spouse Member $ 20.00 + Spouse Member Family Member $ 95.00 + Family Member First Gear (you must be age 24 and under) Dual Member of Northwest Region Dual Spouse Member of Northwest Region Dual Family Member of Northwest Region Enclosed is my check or money order for $ Visa/Master Credit Card No. ___________ Rally $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Total 20.00 5.00 25.00 45.00 20.00 5.00 25.00 = = = = = = = 80.00 25.00 120.00 45.00 20.00 5.00 25.00 U.S. DO NOT SEND CASH Expiration Date I hereby apply for membership in the Sports Car Club of America, Inc. and ____NORTHWEST 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 contributions) (27)________