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Welcome
& RE'S Corner Dick McCollister Regional Executive Miscellaneous
Rambling from the desk of the R.E. Wow,
we’re three months into 2008 already.
What happened to 2007…a lot more than many may realize. Thanks to all that attended, the
Annual Awards Banquet and I hope that everyone had a great time.
As I talked about at the Awards Banquet, CCR had a
tremendous showing in 2007, and I challenge the competitors to
repeat in 2008. In
the final standing, CCR members were awarded five SARRC
Championships, three National Championships, and one National
Solo Championship. Three
Divisional Track Trial Championships and two Divisional Road
Racing Championships. The winners were:
Jay Marlowe
ITB
2007 SARRC Champion Won last year in G Prod Bob Thornton SM 2007 SARRC Repeat SM Champion.
(CCR took top 3 positions)
C Peter Pope
FE
2007 SARRC Champion New class this year
Steve Eckerich
ITS
2007 SARRC Champion won over another CCR member
Kirkwood Schultz
HP
2007 SARRC Champion won five events
George Bowland.
Special
2007 Solo II National Champion (7 time winner)
2007 Wolf Ridge “King of the Hill”
2007 Eagles Nest “King of the Hill” Tony Ave
GT-1
2007 National Champion Pete
Peterson
GT-3
2007 National Champion Jay
Marlowe
G Prod
2007 National Champion
Brian Gause
EP
2007 Divisional Track Trial Champion
Keith Taylor
FP
2007 Divisional Track Trial Champion
Mort Stern
FF
2007 Divisional Track Trial Champion
Jay Marlowe
GP
2007 Division Class Champion
Don Barrack
HP
2007 Division Class Champion So
What’s happened so far in 2008 Central Carolinas Regional Annual Awards presented to members at the Annual Awards Banquet: Marion Baird Award - John & Carolina Willis Driver of the Year - Bob Thornton Jim Fitzgerald Award - Steve Eckrich Special Awards - Mark Seiler, Mike Presley, Ted Theodore Crew Chief Award - Dave Brown 2008
also starts the kick-off of the newly revised Web site. Please forward any comments to the board or Rich Little.
I think it looks great and want to thank Rich for his
efforts. My hope is
that it presents CCR in a new professional light.
Now we just need to help Rich keeps the information
flowing. As we move
into 2008, I want to welcome Mark Seiler to the CCR Board.
Mark is already jumping into the mix, taking on the new
assignment as Merchandising Chairman and helping to initiate
Marketing ideas. The
SEDIV Annual Convention and Awards Banquet at Jekyll Island on
January 18-20, 2008 As
can be seen from the list of divisional winners, the CCR
membership was very busy picking-up their Gold, Silver, and
Bronze Awards. I was very proud to attend the convention with the CCR
members who attended the Awards Banquet.
Again Congratulations to all. Much
discussion by everyone was heard concerning the new Weekend
Membership and overall requirements for participation in
completive events sanctioned by SCCA. Only time will
determine if this impacts our grass root activities in Solo and
Rally. Communications
between the three Carolina Regions continues to develop with Bob
Mayes (SCR) and the new NCR R.E. Glen Long. We all had
great discussion regarding future schedules and sharing of
resources.
News
about the National Convention and activities related to the
Presidents National will need to wait for the next issue. My apologies to everyone that we have not built the consistency we need with the newsletter. I plan make every effort in the future to at least get a monthly R.E. report. Please keep in mind that any member can contribute to the newsletter. Please send contributions to Steven Rankins at newsletter@ccrscca.com, as he has agreed support the newsletter. Dick McCollister |
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The Continental Tire - Solo Review Dave McKenzie CCR
Autocross Chairman 2008 Solo Program
Well, it is time to start the new autocross
season. We have a busy schedule again this year, and are quite excited to be
adding the Knights Series events.
We are pleased to announce two new sponsor relationships for the Solo program this season. Continental Tire has joined with CCR to host all 2008 CCR day series events as The Continental Tire CCR Solo Series. While Folger Subaru has joined with CCR to host all 2008 night series events as The Folger Subaru CCR Knights Series. The night events have been added to the schedule below and will be added to the website very soon. All events will be held at the Charlotte Knights Stadium. We are very happy to be working with these outstanding companies! We are using myautoevents again to register and will be charging an extra $5.00 for those that do not register on-line. Last year we had to many people registering on-site and it takes to long to get eveyone entered into the computer. If you register on-line and do not make it , there is no penalty and it is faster to delete someone than to add the info. This penalty will be charged to EVERYONE not registering on-line. My goal is to start each event on-time, meaning 10am. If we can start on time, I am going to try and give eveybody 5 runs this year instead of 4. This means that everyone must do their best to help us start on time and change shifts promptly during the day. Anyone wanting to be more involved with any part of the autocross season feel free to contact me. Lets have a safe and fun season. Dave McKenzie |
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2008 CCR Schedule of Events
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Time Trial Review Mark Seiler Time-Trial Driver
Trials
& Tribulations: Life & Times on the SeDiv TT Circuit Gainsville, FL: Gainesville, FL – Time to shake off winter and see if all that time, money and effort are going to payoff. Gainesville’s NHRA facility sits on 500 acres of some of the most fire ant infested dirt on the planet. Don’t kick the grey mounds and you’ll be OK…until the flies set in anyway. Off in the back there’s a little road course, you see.
It’s a good combination of technical and sweeping off-camber turns that will let you stretch the car a little bit and find any weaknesses. The CCR contingent was led by Mort Stern(33) in his Formula Ford running his umpteenth year in competition. Chris Barrett, 45CSP, was returning to the TT circuit after last year’s cruel meltdown in his first event during practice at CMP; that put him out for the entire season. Chris was determined to make it stick this year. Yours truly, 111CSP, was making the trek to Central Florida for the third time. The weather was classic Chamber of Commerce, you may have wanted a puffy cloud or two for ambiance however, cloudless skies and low humidity made the days warm enough to get a bit of heat in the pavement with moderate air temps. Forty entries covered a bunch of classes with Super Stock Porsches & Corvettes, F440, GT3 British, Street Mods galore and the usual gaggle of Miatas. CSP had three entries this year, down from last year’s seven; all running for points. Veteran road racer Gene Vierling was there to defend his title and his track record 58.299. Meanwhile, Chris and I pondered if we’d screwed everything back together right. Chris re-enginered his 1.8 and has installed Weber carbs. I was lucky enough to have Race Engineering resuscitate a very tired 1.6. Due to the unique work/drive format of this event they ended up splitting CSP into two different run groups, Gene and Chris would run second, I got third run group We’d start by doing a set of runs (1 warm & 3 hots) then line up to do it again in the same run group. Chris and Gene both got a few freebie warm-up laps as the timer malfunctioned at the start of their pod. Vierling managed to get under a minute on his second set of runs. Barrett worked his times down from 64.400 down to 61.634 in his second set. Lunch break was declared and it was nearly 2PM before I finally got a shot. A shot was all I’d get. Sunshine, cool breeze coming in the flipped up visor, sitting on grid was what I’d been waiting for since November when the winter project began. It was finally here. The car felt great, gobs of power, lots of stick. All that work was beginning to pay off with a first run best lap of 59.069. Back on grid I quickly checked tire pressures and made some minor adjustments. My folks had driven up from Tampa to watch their baby boy. My Dad was walking around the back of the car when he asked me what was dripping off the car. Aaahh, gee Dad, that would be Red Line 75/90 gear oil. NHRA was called to clean up my mess and I headed back to the paddock. It seems my 17 year old seals had decided it was time head to that great parts trash bin in the sky. It seems a clogged vent built up too much pressure and the slickum had to go somewhere and that somewhere was NHRA asphalt. With no way of doing a suitable fix, it was now down to two runners in CSP. The afternoon runs saw Vierling drop down to a 59.1xx. Chris decided to switch to a new set of 13” rubber but was still only able to get into the mid-61’s. Sunday would decide it. The old road racer was consistently in the 59 second range but couldn’t find the 58’s or even take the lead. Barrett on the other hand was starting to get more aggressive and finally got in the 59’s on his third set of runs Sunday. The final call for runs went out. Vierling did his last set and couldn’t best his 59.1; he’d have to settle for second. At the driver’s meeting Saturday it was emphasized that we had rented the pavement, not the grass so that putting wheels off was a big NO-NO. I guess they like the fire ants, that’s about all you’d hurt going off…you can’t kill that “grass” they planted, it will grow on the fender of your car if you let it. Chris decided, “Well, I’ve got to push it if I want to have any chance and what are they going to do if I do go off? Send me home?” It paid off, in spades, 59.048 and First Place! After suffering the ultimate in disappointment in his first event, the second one soothes all the pain. People wonder why we are so addicted to this sport.
Chris Barrett gets his first win! CCR Finishers: Mort Stern 1st FF Chris Barrett 1st CSP Mark Seiler 2nd CSP |
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National
News From SCCA.com
Dixie National Tour (CCR Drivers Mentioned) TOPEKA, Kan. (March 7, 2008) - CECIL, Ga.
(Feb. 28, 2008) – It may not be March quite yet, but
that didn’t stop the opening round of the SCCA Tire Rack®
Solo National Tour from coming in like a lion and out like a
lamb. A record number of entrants for a Tour season opener
braved harsh weather early at the Dixie National Tour, but were
rewarded with sunshine and great competition. View the SCCA website: www.scca.com |
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Members - Want to save big $$ on your next renewal? SCCA is now offering $5 off your next renewal for every new member you recruit! Visit this link for more details: www.scca.com |
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Online With CCR Rich Little Membership Chair / Webmaster
Calling all members!!! Join us online - We have a very active forum, discussing all things racing and some thing that have nothing to do with racing. Here's the link to our main message board: CCR FORUMS. Thread of the month from our forum: Rookies and Veterans Introduce Yourself
Out of the CCR Gallery: (Click Image to Visit the Gallery)
Image by Rich Little |
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CCR News January - March, 2008 |
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CCR's New Members:
Tim Betteridge Margaret Bonertz-Bohannan Jonathan Clark Charles Duncan Dave Erb Rob Godek Jinx Jordan Ginette Jordan Eoin Lanier Jennifer Parnis Zachary Scott Wade Wilson Amy Wilson Zachary Wilson
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Not a Member Yet? |
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CCR SPONSORS
L.
Ann Gathings
CCR is looking for Sponsors -- Please contact Sponsorship to find out what packages are available. |
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Videos of the Month CCR Hillclimbs If you're not already a hillclimber, these videos will make you want to join the fun!
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CCR's Board of Directors Dick McCollister Steve Eckerich Steven Rankins Brian Gause Rich Little Dave McKenzie Bob Thorton Tony Wentworth Mark Seiler Contact all CCR board members |
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Autocross - Finding Balance with out a Super PowerBlitz 5000 By Dr. Ted E. Bayer Several years ago, I attended a Evo School and met a gentleman with a supercharged Miata. It was a beauty and along the power mods, he had done some big dollar suspension work. Between runs, we began talking about our experiences in racing over the years. He told me a story that really stuck with me. He told me he began running his Miata in stock class and found after 6 months of autocrossing, he was running 2 to 3 seconds behind the fastest times in class and usually took 4th or 5th place. He said one day he realized that he needed more handling and began re-working his suspension with big dollar Tein shocks, bars and springs. This of course bumped him into C Street Prepared Class. After 6 months, he said he found he was running 2 to 3 seconds behind the fastest times in class and usually took 4th or 5th place. Then he received enlightenment – he needed more power! So, he purchased a supercharger kit and installed it. This of course bumped him to yet another class. After about 6 months of driving the car, he told me finally … he was running 2 to 3 seconds behind the leaders and usually in 4th or 5th place! While this was an extreme case, we all have gone through the cycles of learning. There is a point where you realize your gains of 1 second in times will not come from changing springs from 250 pounds to 325 pounds. Increasing your sway bar by ¼” is not going to give you that incredible stick in turns you feel in your dreams. There is a point where more power merely results in a new variable called “modulating the accelerator”. Too much power results in having to become sensitive to easing on the pedal or the tires just sit and smoke and it takes a while to learn that new control. We live in an instant generation. Instant credit, Fast Abs of steel, Instant coffee, Instant cash, Fast food, Instant weight loss …everything has velocity. Companies are making a fortune by helping you get where you dream of being …quicker! You find the same thing in racing parts. There are lots of parts that have “perceived” benefit. During early learning stages in autocrossing, we tend to look for that mod that we can buy that will give us that edge and push us up in class. It is almost an ego thing. Subconsciously, we are saying, ”It couldn’t be skills because I am as good a driver as he is. There is some part he has on his car. When I figure that out, buy it and put it on my car…BINGO! I will be taking home the trophies!” These part modifications fall into two areas : bunk and real. Bunk mods often are based on an ounce of
truth but promise pounds of performance. This is the $19.95
Turbonator that swirls air into your carburetor through a piece of
a beer can aluminum cut up into fins and inserted into your air
intake. Studies have proven that all the surfaces your air passes
over before reaching the cylinder kill any true swirling motion
BUT the aluminum recycling is good for the environment and keeps
it out of our landfills. There
are lightened valve stems, power additives, speed wax for improved
air flow over your car body…there are lots of little mods like
this hawked by “racing companies” that contribute nothing to
performance but help stimulate the economy by keeping people
employed. This is not
the answer. Real mods are items that truly do affect performance. Headers, porting, polishing, aluminum flywheels, lighter wheels… all of these do have a real affect on performance. Unfortunately, you cannot change one component of your car without affecting the other components. If you are comfortable with your cars handling and like the way it turns but you add new shocks or sway bar or other major change, your first outing may be very disappointing as the gains in one area may become losses in other and you are back to relearning the car. It also can be very expensive to make mods and the amount you spend is no guarantee that you will get that much improvement in performance. Sometimes changing one part will result in buying more parts or making modifications that are not in the instructions or are permanently mounted. For example, if you have Tokicos with coilover perches and you buy Koni Yellows, your old perches will not work and you may have to change springs to get proper seating as well. More money and more work. That gets frustrating. So if modifications are expensive and may be a waste or may not yield the results you are looking for, where should you spend your money? There is one place you can spend money that will guarantee improvements. Seat time. Drive lots of events. Take fun runs. Ride with others. Watch others. Ask some of the faster people driving a car similar to yours. Get others better than you to ride along make suggestions. Take schools whether an EVO school or a region school. The fastest times you and your car can achieve will come from a balance between power, handling, rubber and seat time. Finding that balance is the fun of autocrossing. THAT is where those last 1.5 seconds come from that put you in the front of the class. Bottom Line : Early on, the mods you make in
your car may create “no improvement for a big price” to
“creating new problems you must learn to adjust to”. The best
investment early is investing in the driver through seat time.
After that, it’s just finding the balance. The bad news? There
are NO SHORT CUTS. The good news? Getting there is FUN! |
