The Official Publication of the Des Moines Valley Region of the Sports Car Club of America
The Official Publication of the Des
Moines Valley Region of the Sports Car Club of
America
February-March 2005
Editor - Monica Shaw
| DMVR Worker of the Year 2004! | Monica Shaw |
| REport | Jennifer Igou |
| 2004 SCCA National Convention | |
| Tanner Award Nomination Letter | |
| New Sponsors for MiDiv Solo Series | |
| The Solo Slide | Jon Payne & Mike Slater |
| March Solo Events | Jon Payne & Mike Slater |
| Let's Go Racing! | Monica Shaw |
| When you don't have time to surf... | Rick Talbot |
| Tom Juckette Obituary | |
| Mid-Am Championship Info | |
| News From National | |
| Board of Directors Minutes | Rick Talbot |
| Classifieds | |
I'd like to introduce you to Don Kennedy - DMVR's 2004 Worker of the Year! The Worker of the Year honor is voted by fellow workers in recognition of outstanding effort as a race official and to the sport of auto racing.
While I've known Don as a fellow Flagging & Communications
(F&C) worker for the last 5 years, I thought it would be fun to sit down
and actually interview him and give everyone a chance to get to know him
better. So together with Nancy Mandt, I sat down with Don one evening at
one of our local establishments on Ingersoll.
When Don started as an F&C worker five years ago, he wouldn't have imagined this honor. Of course, six or seven years ago Don's imagination was all about what it would be like to work corners. You see, Don comes from a family of corner workers - Aunt Nancy and Kris (Mandt), and older sister Tammy who started working corners when she was 16. Don said they'd come home from race weekends talking … and he had to just listen and wait. A long 2 years wait he said. But when he turned 16, it was his turn.
Of course, there was no racing during the school year, except for long holiday weekends. Including Pro events. So yes, Aunt Nancy's rules messed up Don's 100% participation initially, but he was going to get started on the right foot. And once the school year ended, he was there all the way!
Don recalls his first race weekend … Heartland Park, turn 14, working with Ron Shaw. And turn 8 the next day, rotating to station 7A mid-day (and stuck with yours truly). Don says it pays to know people, and Nancy had set things up for him to work with certain people and train. I remember that day myself. I remember wondering just how much can one person smile and literally burst with enthusiasm! But then, he'd been saving it up for a couple of years.
Don's come a long way from that day - on track and off. From the quiet spoken, polite young man, eager to soak up everything he could, to the positive role model we can all be proud of. Of course, he's still a very polite gentleman. That's how he was brought up.
On track, there's a lot more experience under the belt from actual scenarios. "There's a lot to learn over time", said Don. "And bonds formed with people; no age boundaries."
So speaking of age… Those of you who were at the Annual Banquet when Don was accepting his Worker of the Year award will recall a comment coming out of his mouth that somewhat appeared to make fun of old people. I'm not sure WHO he may have been referring to, but Don assures me that he wasn't making fun. "I want to be old myself", he said. Nice cover Don. But watch out; we're not that old yet and not all the memory cells have been killed off.
In Don's "most memorable" category is the Dave Pistole incident in 2004. Noone promises that our most memorable will be the best. His favorite - working Formula 1. "I can't wait for this year. Can't wait for Wendy (his girlfriend) to get to go with."
Don's favorite track to this day is Heartland Park. Why? The people. He says Heartland is like MAM, St. Louis and Heartland, all together at one track. And he can't wait until 2006 - Runoffs at Heartland!
When asked how being part of SCCA has helped him in life, Don responded that he's more safety oriented. He carries his corner bag and a fire bottle in the car, just in case. And he was invited to join the safety team at work due to his experience.
What does SCCA mean to Don? One big happy family! "Some things you like… some you don't… you just have to live with."
But then Don has ideas and goals. He'd like to work toward a National F&C license, and be Flag Chief some day. He said he wants to try to make things better; and help bring in the younger generation. "Not saying that Ron's old", he quickly added. Gee, there he went again with those age comments. (For those who don't know, Ron Shaw is currently the Flag Chief for our events at MAM.)
Don would also like to work the 24 Hours of LeMans race sometime. From watching the movies and listening to stories, it's just something he'd like to do at least once. That, and work Montreal, which he'd like to dedicate to former DMVR member Sue Ward who passed away in 2003. "She wanted to take me to that event, so I'd like to go for her."
His advice to a new person - join MIDIV … the people, the places are just amazing!
In addition to DMVR's Worker of the Year award, Don has received a couple of other honors this past year. Don received Kansas City Region's 2004 Vic Sadler award along with Ron Shaw and the rest of the turn 1 corner crew who worked the Pistole incident at Heartland Park. The Vic Sadler trophy is KC Region's top honor for corner workers. And at the National Convention, Don was again part of the crew receiving the Martin Tanner award, a national honor presented to an SCCA worker at any SCCA speed event showing unusual courage under danger.
Our congratulations once again Don! You've done a lot with your life so far, and we look forward to what you have to offer for the future.
Does anyone else have Spring Fever? Spring is here…or at least it will be officially on March 20th. Are you getting antsy to blow the cobwebs out of your tailpipe? I know around my house, Jarrod's racecar has finally seen the light of day after a long, cold winter. His car and tools have migrated over to my side of the garage, where he is trying to find that last half of a horsepower to ensure his place in front of Volante all season.
A big "Thank You" goes out to Kris Mandt who organized a very successful Crash Fire Rescue school on March 5th. We had over 60 people come out and learn what it takes to be a worker in MiDiv. Thank you to all of you who volunteered to help Kris with the event.
We have a great Solo season starting this month! With only a few weeks before the first event, it's a good time to give your car some much-needed love. Does anything need to be repaired, tightened, secured or filled? Be sure to come out and have fun getting your car ready for the season on Saturday, March 19th for the Test-n-Tune and then Sunday, March 20th for the actual event.
Marina and I are working on all of the important details for Bloomin' n Zoomin', our first club racing event at Mid-America Motorplex on April 23rd and 24th. So to all you drivers, does your driver's suit still fit? Is your motor back in the car? Also, we need all the help we can get for this event, so please come out and volunteer to work. If you've never done it before, now is a great time to start. Give me a call and I will make sure you get there.
Finally, as I close for this month, I want to make a plea to our members to get involved. We all know that 5% of the people do 90% of the work in most clubs, and we do a little better, but not much. Get involved! As a goal I am setting for our club, I would like to see 3 new faces at each membership meeting this year. As always, they are every 1st Tuesday of the month, at Noah's Ark Restaurant in Des Moines, starting at 7:30 pm. The next one is on April 5th. I dare you to be there!
Jennifer
Convention attendees from across the country were welcomed to Kansas City and the National Convention by SCCA National staff and host region Kansas City. The KC Region contingent did a great job of helping to make sure everything went smoothly throughout.
While the convention offered its usual array of annual business meetings, financial reportings, summaries of actions by different sanctions, etc., the 2005 Convention had in store for attendees a special new addition - the Inaugural induction of members into the SCCA Hall of Fame.
Ten individuals were selected from the many outstanding nominations to be part of the inaugural class of inductees into the new SCCA Hall of Fame - Cameron Argetsinger, Tracy Bird, John Fitch, Arthur Gervais, Harry Handley, Vern Jaques, Bill Milliken, Sue Roethel, Art Trier, and Rob Walker. It was quite an honor to be at the banquet and observe as the inductees were introduced and accolades of their contributions were presented. What a wealth of history we have in our Club and its people. It was clear that the recipients or family members accepting on their behalf were truly honored.
On a more local front, highlights of the convention included: Bill Johnson from KC Region received the David Morrell Award for outstanding performance in the Steward's program. Dr. Joseph Hume received the George Snively, MD Award. And a number of MiDiv Regions received awards in the Region Achievement, Web site and newsletter competitions, as did Midwest Division in the Divisional Web site competition. St Louis Region took Club Rally Region of the Year honors. And Solo II Divisional of the Year went to Midwest Division, Oklahoma Region. Congratulations to all.
Members of the "Heavenly Hazel Turn 1 Incident Team"
at Heartland Park, Topeka received the Martin Tanner trophy for unusual courage
under danger at an SCCA speed event. Chief Steward Bill Johnson accepted
the trophy on behalf of the crew, which included DMVR members Ron Shaw and
Don Kennedy. See the nomination letter below for additional details. Our
congratulations and thanks once again to the entire crew and everyone who
helped respond that day. It was truly reflective of the team effort and
dedication of all our volunteers in MiDiv.
At the Board of Directors Town Hall, discussion topics included the move of the Runoffs to Heartland Park in 2006, and the possibility of moving the National Convention location around after 2006. The Board will be monitoring closely the track improvements and other events connected with moving the Runoffs and making progress reports. This will be an exciting move for all of us in Midwest Division and another opportunity for us to show the rest of the country how MiDiv can shine as we work with the National Staff to help host this national highlight. When President and CEO Steve Johnson mentioned possible ideas for new National Convention sites, Des Moines did receive a rousing round of applause; but again, this is still under discussion and the Board will be reviewing.
Items of interest from the Solo Events Town Hall Meeting included discussion on the Open Face/Closed Face Helmet advisory issued by the tech department. The Solo Events Board is gathering more information and data on this from FIA, however, they expect it to take at least 12 months to even get the data. They assured the membership that any helmet rule change pertaining to air bags will be given with plenty of notice and member input. Other topics - 2005 will be the last year at Forbes as we know it for the Solo II Nationals, but details and future plans were not finalized for presentation.
And finally, some words of wisdom to share from Denise McCluggage's enlightening presentation at the Saturday evening banquet - "The past is like a foreign country. They do things differently there."
| October 30, 2004
Terry Ozment, Director of Club Racing Dear Terry, I was the Chief Steward of an SCCA race held at Heartland Park Topeka on April 3, 2004. Therefore, I would like to nominate for the Tanner Award, the corner crew, the EV crew and a driver that handled an extremely serious incident which occurred during the Regional Race. All of the people involved are SCCA members in good standing and include. Chuck Austin, Flagging & Communications; Chris Keith, Flagging & Communications; Alex Clark, Race Control Communicator; Hal Kemrite, Flagging & Communications; Don Kennedy, Flagging & Communications; Roger Montgomery, Emergency Services; Robert Thompson, Emergency Services; Ron Shaw, Flagging & Communications; Jim Wheeler, Competitor. During the GT race, Dave Pistole, driving a GT2 Porsche 911went off the track on his left and continued downstream past the start finish stand. As he attempted to re-enter the course his car veered sideways, caught traction and shot across the track. His car impacted the Jersey barrier protecting the corner crew at turn one. The barrier was broken in three pieces, the cable eyes linking it to the adjacent barrier were pulled apart and the pieces were knocked over. Both the fuel cell and the dry sump reservoirs located in the front of the car ruptured, caught fire and erupted in an intense inferno. In spite of the horrific situation, all of the above listed crew immediately responded. Chuck Austin was stationed in the bunker at corner one and started fighting the fire. Ron Shaw who was stationed upstream grabbed his fire extinguisher and ran down the hill to assist. Chris Keith was stationed with Ron and attempted to notify the oncoming traffic of the serious situation along with Don Kennedy who was flagging at the bunker where the car impacted. Hal Kemrite, the station communicator, began informing Race Control of the situation and requesting the fire equipment and the ambulance. As soon as the emergency equipment was released by Race Control, Roger Montgomery and Robert Thompson, the crew on the fire truck, headed to the incident. One of the competitors, Jim Wheeler, stopped his race car, got out with his in-car fire extinguisher and attempted to assist Ron and Chuck with fighting the fire. The fire was so intense that no one could get close to it; even Jim in his driver's fire suit could not get close to the car. The heat from the fire was so intense that it melted the corner station flag set that was over 10 feet away. As Jim expended his extinguisher Ron and Chuck realized that they could not extinguish the fire with their two ten pound bottles They then attempted to keep the flames away from Dave, buying time until the fire equipment could get there. Chris and Don, with the help of the starters and the lead cars, brought the field to a stop. Hal continued to calmly and professionally report the situation to Alex who was the Race Control Communicator. While all of this was happening, Alex was very calm and business like and continued to pass on the necessary information to the Operating Steward. She was able to keep the corner communicator on the net and under control while the fire was within a few feet of him. Roger and Robert arrived at the scene approximately 30 seconds after the initial report from Hal. Roger began deploying the fire hose as Robert went to the passenger side of the car where Ron was fighting the fire. As Ron beat the flames back, Robert climbed into the still burning car to begin attending to Dave. After getting the fire hose activated and initially knocking down the flames, Roger passed the fire hose off to Chuck and then started setting up the Port A Power equipment. At one minute and twenty seconds after the initial call the fire was extinguished. Chris, Chuck, Don and Ron shifted duties to support Roger and Robert. They were both now working to stabilize and extract Dave from the car. They cut away the roll cage and frame structure that was pinning Dave in the remains of the car. No one had to ask or to be told what to do. Chris, Ron, Don, Chuck, Roger and Robert all worked together as a team to extract Dave, getting him out of the car and turning his care over to the ambulance crew who stabilized him for air transport. Throughout the entire incident Hal calmly continued to keep Race Control informed of the status of the accident. Despite the quick, professional and heroic response from all of the safety personnel, Dave passed away two hours later at the Kansas University Medical Center with his family present. This corner crew and EV crew responded as one well-trained team despite being subjected to handling a horrific fire and critically injured driver. The competitor, Jim Wheeler, also acted in an unselfish manner by stopping and trying to help while exposing himself to the dangerous inferno. No one individual is more deserving of this award than another and all should be considered as a whole for this year's Tanner Award. Yours for the Sport,
Bill Johnson, |
In 1968, the Midwest Division of the Sports Car Club of America held the first-ever Division-wide Solo II Championship event in the history of SCCA, spurring growth in the sport of autocross that has become nationwide. Today, nearly 100,000 persons participate in autocross/Solo II annually, according to estimates by Performance Racing Industry magazine, and more than 1000 drivers converge on Topeka, KS, every September for the National Championships.
Since 1991, the Midwest Division (MiDiv) Championship has been a series of 4-6 events annually determining champions in categories from Stock to Modified, that are qualifier events for the National Championships. Five events are scheduled in 2005 from St. Louis to Oklahoma City.
Solotime has been the title sponsor of the MiDiv Series since 1991, providing money for t-shirts and trophies and in return have received the following benefits:
After 14 years of support, Solotime has decided to no longer sponsor the series. As we spread the word, we should all thank Jean and Mark Alft for their long time support of our series. It certainly could never have gotten where it is today without their support.
A sponsorship committee, comprised of Greg Scharnberg, Rocky Entriken and Greg Reno, was set up to search for new sponsorship. The final decision between two very strong submissions was difficult. After reviewing both proposals in their entirety, a decision has been made to accept the joint bid from R&S Racing and Solo Performance. This decision was based on many factors including dollar amount, event support, and their three-year commitment to the series.
New decals to be displayed on both sides of the vehicle with the respective company logos will be provided free of charge at the events. These guys will be at most all of our events working hard to serve us, so please patronize them as much as possible.
You will hear more about this in the near future.
Pre-Registration
Pre-Registration will once again be available for our Solo events this year. This will allow Express Check-in on the day of the event. If you have pre-registered, all you will do the day of the event is:
Avoid standing in line. Pre-register!
Pre-registrations will be held until 10:30 when the mandatory drivers meeting begins, then the vehicle number will be released for people registering on the day of the event.
I will pre-register for the NEXT event ONLY, unless you have paid for season pass. Then, yours will be ready as long as the vehicle does not change. If you are going to drive a different vehicle, you will need to let me know.
The pre-registration form is at www.slateracing.com/html/event_registration.html.
When you fill out the form, you need to have something like Outlook Express, Outlook to submit the form, as it comes to me as an e-mail. When you click 'Submit', your computer will bring up two or three extra boxes stating you are sending an e-mail, do you want to continue. Click YES, on all boxes, and the form will be e-mailed to me. Directions will be on the Web page.
Thanks,
Mike
Event Chairs and Sites Needed
If you have any ideas or contacts for new sites, please contact Mike or Jon. And if you're interested in being an Event Chair this season, please let us know. We're looking to have a number of co-chairs for each event.
Mike Slater, 515-992-3184
mslater@worldnet.att.net
Jon Payne, 515-287-3164
jonkpayne@mchsi.com
|
||||||
Race Official Specialties Descriptions
REGISTRATION
The registration workers are usually the first officials the drivers, crew and other workers meet when they arrive at the track. Registration workers organize official entry forms and check driver, crew and worker credentials. If you're efficient, patient and friendly, and like to rise with the sun (the day does start early for registration), this may be for you. A great choice if you want to work under a roof and meet lots of people.
GRID
Using the qualifying times provided by Timing & Scoring, grid workers line up the cars prior to race sessions and make last minute safety inspections. If you can follow directions, deal effectively with people, tell time and read a schedule, you have the attributes needed. The grid offers you an excellent opportunity to viewing race cars close up and meet the drivers and crew.
STEWARDS
These are the individuals responsible for the overall running of an event, including enforcement of rules. The Chief Steward is the highest authority at a competition event and is responsible for coordinating the activities of the safety groups during the event.
STARTERS
All eyes, especially the drivers', are on the starter - looking for that green flag signaling the start of the race and the checkered flag at the end. After the green flag drops, a starter counts and charts laps throughout the race, and serves as a flagger. Starters are usually easy to spot in their black and white striped shirts, worn for visibility.
FLAGGING & COMMUNICATIONS
F&C offers you one of the best views of racing… trackside. Flag stations, strategically placed around the track where things are most likely to happen, are staffed by these white-clad officials often called corner workers or flaggers. Corner workers help provide a safe course by warning drivers of track conditions using flags or other signals, communicating course conditions to race control, handling fires, assisting damaged cars, or taking appropriate emergency action needed. F&C workers have the "best seat in the house", but these dedicated diehards spend all day outside on their feet. Remember, we race rain or shine, although our Race Chair has promised a new Weather Steward for April.
COURSE MARSHALS AND EMERGENCY SERVICES
Course marshals make sure all emergency equipment is operational and in place. While often in the background and out of sight, when an incident happens emergency services (also known as EV) is always standing by and ready to move at a moments notice. Backing up the F&C workers around the course are the EV medical staff and ambulance crews, as well as firefighters and tow truck crews.
TIMING AND SCORING
Another specialty generally inside and out of the elements, the timers and scorers use a variety of equipment from stopwatches to sophisticated computers and electronic sensors to keep lap-by-lap records of each car on every lap. Transponders to electronically track times are required in MiDiv, but staffing is still needed for certain tasks and as back-up.
PITS AND PADDOCK
Pit and paddock workers are responsible for safety in these areas of the track and for keeping traffic areas clear for the race cars to safely enter and leave.
SCRUTINEERING (TECH)
If you want to look at cars more closely, scrutineering (tech) may be for you. Scrutineers conduct safety checks to make sure every car, and the driver's personal safety equipment, meet SCCA safety regulations. They also inspect top finishers in impound after the race. Being interested in cars and technically oriented is a definite plus, along with good people skills. Be prepared to start early and work late ... but you get to know the drivers and their cars.
SOUND CONTROL
Sound control officials monitor the noise level of race cars on track. Noise levels are recorded, along with weather data and other information important to the stewards, who determine what action to take regarding violations of noise regulations. Being able to read and record data rapidly is a plus.
RACE CHAIRPERSON
If you want to be a hero and have skills in diplomacy, this is for you. A race chairperson serves as an organizer and liaison. Among the many duties of a race chairperson are helping plan and set up social functions at the end of the day, assisting the stewards and making sure the workers have what they need.
All DRIFTING readers may not be aware of the region's Web site, www.dmvrscca.org, but our webmaster, Ric Johnson, has put together and maintains a wonderful site chock full of SCCA info on the regional, divisional and national level along with links to many other sites of interest.
One feature of the Web site you may not have taken advantage of that I've found very helpful is the ability to set up automatic e-mail notices when specific pages of the Web site have been updated. Personally, I've set up notices for changes to the "News", "Solo" and "Racing" pages.
How do you do this you ask?
This service, provided by ChangeAlarm, is very simple. At the bottom of the Web site page you're interested in monitoring, provide the e-mail address you want notified when a change is made to that page.
When that page is updated, you will receive an automatic e-mail that includes a hyperlink to that DMVR Web site page. Click on it and you'll be taken to that page to scope out the new info. Once you set up the service, you won't wonder if you missed "news" on the DMVR events of interest to you. You can set up this feature for any page you want to monitor.
A similar service is also available in the DMVR Message Forums. Registered users of the DMVR Forums can go to the bottom of any forum topic and click on the "Watch this topic for replies" link to receive an e-mail when a new reply is posted to that topic, even if you have not posted a reply yourself. This is done automatically for topics you have posted in if you selected yes to "Always notify me of replies" in your user profile. This feature, along with a number of other preferences, can be switched on and off simply by clicking on "Profile" at the top of the page when logged into the Forums.
If you have any questions concerning this www.dmvrscca.org site feature, please contact our webmaster, Ric Johnson, at johnsonr@dwx.com.
DMVR members were saddened to hear of the loss of one of our members…
THOMAS FREEMAN JUCKETTE, 1940 - 2005
Thomas Freeman Juckette, 64, went home to be with the Lord on January 17, 2005 after a 10-month battle with Leukemia. Tom was born July 3, 1940 in Lincoln, Nebraska. After high school he joined the Marine Corp Reserves and then attended The University of Nebraska. He was a lifelong Nebraska fan. One of his greatest joys was sitting in his 50-yard line front row seat as the Cornhusker football team came running out of the tunnel at Memorial Stadium.
Tom, along with his brothers, own and operate Witt & Juckette Construction Company and Juckette Management Services, firms involved in the development and management of nursing homes. He served as president of the Iowa Health Care Association and the Iowa Council of Health Care Centers. He also served on the Board of the American Health Care Association, Hospice of Central Iowa and other Boards and Committees dedicated to providing quality nursing home and end of life services.
Automobiles and racing were also Tom's passion. He raced in many SCCA, IMSA and other sanctioned races including 17 consecutive years at the Daytona 24 Hour race. He also was a 42-year member of the Des Moines Valley Region SCCA. He was vice-president of the Board of Directors and also drove every year of the Ruan Des Moines Grand Prix.
Tom's love for classic automobiles lead him to become involved, both as a Board member and a participant in the Salisbury House Automobile Classic. Live theater was another of Tom's passions. He was a past President of the Board of the Des Moines Playhouse. He was also active in Rotary Club.
Our sincere sympathies to Tom's wife Linda, sons Cole and Adam, and daughter Jolie.
Some of our long-term members are
collaborating on a tribute to Tom and his many years of involvement in SCCA.
Look for it in the next issue of Drifting
SCCA Club Racing Announces New Entry Level Track Program
TOPEKA, Kan. (Feb. 17, 2005) - The SCCA Club Racing Department has announced a new way for SCCA members and sports car enthusiasts to compete and experience the thrill of road racing with the formation of the Performance Driving Experience (PDE), part of its new Time Trials program.
The PDE, the first of four levels of Time Trials activities (which range from instructional to all-out, top-speed events at venues from closed tracks to paved, non-track roads), offers a chance to improve driving skills while giving curious rookie enthusiasts a taste of competitive motorsports action.
SCCA Club Racing officials believe the new program will help introduce SCCA Club Racing, and motorsports in general, to people who might not have been on the Club's radar before. "This is the first time Club Racing has expanded its programs to non-traditional areas," SCCA Director of Club Racing Terry Ozment said. "We are very excited about this opportunity for lots of reasons, but especially because it will bring SCCA to a brand new audience."
The new format provides competitive flexibility for motorsports enthusiasts by allowing both street cars and race-prepared vehicles to participate, depending on the program level.
A breakdown of each level:
"Performance Driving Experience" (PDE) - The PDE is the first level of the program and provides an instructional environment for drivers who want to improve driving skills and increase their enjoyment of driving their street vehicle. PDE is SCCA's unique version of "track" or "lapping" days.
"Club Trials" - Club Trials is the second level of the Time Trials program. This level combines elements of PDE instruction with the excitement of running against the clock to determine individual class winners. Cars range from street cars to fully prepared race cars.
"Track Trials" - Track Trials, the third level of the program, offers closed-course track time, and winners are determined by fastest time around the course. Cars prepared for both Solo and Road Racing competition are eligible for Track Trials.
"Hill Climbs" - The fourth and top level of the Time Trials program. Hill Climb events offer short-distance, timed events for race-prepared vehicles on paved mountain roads, with winners determined by fastest times.
For rules information, visit the "Cars and Rules" section on the Club Racing homepage at http://www.scca.com/.
For a listing of events, go to the "Events" section at http://www.scca.com/. Click the "Club" tab and select Time Trials.
All other inquires should be directed to Bryan Cohn, SCCA Club Racing Manager, at 1-800-770-2055 or bcohn@scca.com.
New Roles for McCormick, Cohn in SCCA Club Racing Department
TOPEKA, Kan. (Feb. 24, 2005) - On the heels of releasing a new competition program, SCCA's Club Racing Department announced two personnel changes today.
Wyndi McCormick has been promoted to Club Racing Events Manager, and Bryan Cohn has been named Club Racing Competition Manager.
"These changes enable Wyndi and Bryan to focus on specific duties," SCCA Club Racing Director Terry Ozment said. "The changes were necessary in order for our department to move forward effectively, which includes managing the new Time Trials program.
"We also want to ensure the success of the 2005 National Championship Runoffs at Mid-Ohio while laying the groundwork for the 2006 event in Topeka and provide needed support for all of our Club Racing Boards and Committees."
With the promotion, McCormick will be responsible for all post-race activities, volunteer licensing, the National Administrator Program and the Executive Stewards Committee.
Cohn will oversee event sanctions, driver licensing, the Driving School and Accreditation program and all new programs, including Time Trials.
SCCA Board Approves Late Model Miatas for Spec Miata Class
TOPEKA, Kan. (February 22, 2005) - Sports Car Club of America announced today that its Club Racing Board approved the inclusion of 1999 and newer Mazda Miatas into its SCCA Club Racing Spec Miata class, effective March 1, 2005. The approval adds the newer body-style Mazda Miatas into the class that previously included only the original body style (1990-1997) Miata, but with two different engine displacements (1.6L and 1.8L).
Like the first-generation car, Mazdaspeed has developed a suspension kit for the newer cars, including shocks, springs and sway bars. As with the two different engines in the first-generation Miata, air restriction and weight will be utilized to achieve parity between the cars. Miatas of years 1999-2005 must weight 2500 lbs with a 41 mm air restrictor installed.
The inclusion follows the move by SCCA's Mazdaspeed Miata Cup Presented by Hankook pro series, which allowed the cars in for its 2005 season.
The Club Racing Spec Miata class will begin National competition in 2006, with the top drivers competing at the SCCA Runoffs® for the category's first-ever National Championship.
Note: The Technical Bulletin regarding the newer Miata's introduction can be found at www.scca.com in the "SCCA Garage" section. The bulletin will also appear in the April edition of FasTrack.
January BOD meeting was called to order at 7:37pm by R.E. Jennifer Igou.
BOD Members Attending: J. Igou, Talbot, Bell, Johnson, K. Mandt, Volante, Payne and M. Slater. Dick Bennett was absent but called into the meeting from Florida. MVRG Committee Members: Jarrod Igou and Marina Kraft. Several other guests were in attendance; all DMVR members are welcome at any BOD meeting.
OFFICER REPORTS:
Membership - Ralph Johnson reported a total of 299 members including 278 active, 9 charter and 12 duals.
Solo - Mike Slater and Jon Payne discussed preliminary arrangements for Solo events this year. Tentative events have been planned for:
Following discussion, Mike moved that the 2005 DMVR Solo entry fees be increased to $20 for SCCA members and $25 for non-members. Motion seconded by Kris and following vote was unanimously in favor. Event fees had been $15/$20 for as many years as attendees could remember, SCCA National has increased Solo event insurance this year $1/entry, and neighboring regions on average are charging fees more than had DMVR.
Mike and Jon will be reviewing and establish the annual event pass fee schedule which will include discounts over individual cost of event entries.
Jon led discussion of possible Ice Event at Little Wall Lake for February 20th; Daytona 500 weekend. Jon will make necessary inquiries with DNR officials concerning the site and warming house rental.
As has been done the past two years, Jon will place an order for 40 new pylons and older/damaged/blackened pylons will be culled. No objections stated from the Board.
Jon and Mike discussed the idea of purchasing an "Eazy Up" shelter with sides for Solo registration. In addition, there was discussion concerning upgrading the public address system. Jon/Mike will research options and prices and make a recommendation to the Board at the February 15th Board meeting.
Asst R.E. Dick Bennett called into the Board meeting and reported there will be an Annual Meeting. Dick is looking at possible December dates and new potential sites nearer the metro area. More information to be available at the next meeting.
Treasurer - Fred Bell distributed the monthly financial statement. Any DMVR member may receive a copy of the report by contacting Fred.
Racing Competition - Dave Volante announced that the annual pre-season driver's meeting will be held February 20th at 11am at his residence. The following race scheduling issues were discussed: MVRG MAM October race date changed to Oct 8 & 9; several changes in HPT events dates; and SCCA Runoffs will be held at Heartland Park Topeka in 2006, '07 and '08.
Kris volunteered to contact HPT track owner Ray Irwin and express DMVR's willingness to assist in any way possible with preparations for the 2006 Runoffs.
Race Officials - Kris Mandt announced that the DMVR sponsored Crash, Fire, Rescue School will be held at the WDM Fire Department (on Railroad Avenue) on March 5th. There is no cost to SCCA members; non-member cost is $10.00. DMVR has requested $250 funding from MIDIV to help put on the event. Donations from Tony/Carol Siembieda and Dave Volante will make up the balance of the budgeted costs.
On an unrelated matter, Kris announced he is now the Vice Chairman of the MIDIV Executive Board and has been asked to compile a 10-year strategic plan for the Division. Jennifer Igou has volunteered to assist him and all member input is encouraged.
Monica Shaw announced that at the recent KC Region awards banquet, the corner worker crew attending the Dave Pistole incident last year was recognized with the Vic Sadler Worker of the Year Award. DMVR members Don Kennedy and Ron Shaw were members of that corner crew.
OLD BUSINESS:
Nancy Mandt reported that the final 2004 worker year-end award costs were $284.28.
There was lengthy discussion of proposed changes the MVRG Operating Agreement. Changes proposed by DMVR's MVRG Committee members Marina Kraft, Jarrod Igou and Greg Scharnberg were discussed line item by line item. Rick Talbot will summarize proposed changes and distribute red-lined Operating Agreement to the Board and DMVR MVRG Committee members.
Marina summarized recent discussions with Nebraska Region MVRG members and reminded the Board that each MVRG Member (DMVR and NER) must approve the Race Chair for MVRG events. Kris moved and Mike seconded a motion for DMVR to nominate Marina Kraft as Race Chair and Jennifer Igou as Assistant Race Chair for 2005. Motion passed unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS:
Marina reviewed with the Board recent conversations she's had with Jerry Doctor of NER concerning a possible new track in Hastings, NE and whether DMVR would have an interest in participating with NER in co-sponsoring events at that proposed track. At this time, and given the track is only in the conceptual stages, DMVR declined interest.
Jennifer discussed recent communication she had received from the American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life" event. They have asked for DMVR's assistance in planning and conducting a related automobile rally event. Jon Payne will contact them for additional information and report to the Board in February.
Monica Shaw discussed need for DRIFTING articles for recently completed DMVR Annual Meeting and awards. The issue of potential advertising in DRIFTING was discussed and decision made that potential revenue was not sufficient to defray cost and effort of organizing and page layout of the ads.
Jennifer Igou re-appointed Monica Shaw as DRIFTING Editor and Ric Johnson as DMVR Webmaster and expressed the Board's appreciation for their continuing efforts.
Next Board meeting - Tuesday, February 15th at Autographs in Urbandale.
Meeting was adjourned at at 9:49pm by R.E. Jennifer Igou.
| FOR SALE: MG1100 engine and transmission. Free to good (or bad) home. Engine was last in a Mini, but failing rings forced a change. The engine is partially disassembled, but has all parts. This is taking up too much room in the garage, and most likely will never go into the Mini again. You come over, and I will help you load it up! Scott Bowman, 515.334.9906 wk, 515.334.5183 hm. |
| WANTED: Trailer for golf cart, capable of highway speed. Doesn't need to be pretty. We're willing to do repairs. Dick & Diane Struve, hobbit1@attglobal.net, 515-233-5504. |
Have an ad you'd like to run? Send info to Monica Shaw at mjrjshaw@aol.com. No charge. Classifieds for members only please; no commercial advertisements. Ads will be run based on information received as of print date. Classifieds may also be posted on the DMVR Forums.
