$3.00September 2010 The Offi cial Magazine of Oregon Region SCCA

Loud Pedal

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CONTENTSFrom the R.E. Page 5Double Regionals with Vintage Page 6ORSCCA at GASS Page 12ORP SRF & Vintage Invitation Page 15Solo II Report Page 16The Twisty Bits Page 17Rallying with Chris & Kristen Page 20Board Minutes Page 22Classifi eds Page 23Upcoming Events Page 23

Loud Pedal

The Membership Magazine of Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America

Editor:

Randy Unsbee, ABCSponsor PR & Marketing1260 NE 20thGresham, OR 97030 info@sponsorpr.com

Please send address changes to:Oregon Region SCCA4800 SW Macadam Ave., Ste. 110Portland, OR, 97239

Photographers: Doug Berger, George Dwinell, Wayne Flynn, Ron Coelho

The Loud Pedal is published monthly by the Oregon Region of the Sports Car Club of America.

All contents copyright © 2010 by Oregon Region SCCA Inc.

Articles and letters to the editor may be submitted in writing, by mail, by fax, electronically on a CD disk or by electronic mail. Original photographs may be submitted, but do not submit, and Oregon Region will not accept, copyrighted materials without prior written permission from the photographer specifically granting Loud Pedal permission to reprint his or her work.

It is to be understood that all materials submitted and accepted for use by Oregon Region for publication in Loud Pedal may be used by Oregon Region in all of the forms that Loud Pedal is published and in all of the ways that Loud Pedal is used and distributed by Oregon Region, both as a physical magazine, and as an electronic magazine available at the Oregon Region website.

These additional uses include, but are not limited to: membership communications, membership recruitment, and publicity.

Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the credited author only, and not necessarily those of Oregon Region, its officers, members, or the Loud Pedal staff. Publication of ads, articles, photos, etc. are subject to available space.

These Businesses Support Our Region Please Support Them!

Need a place to stay near PIR? Motel 6, p. 19

Need body and paint work? Straightline Body & Paint, p. 3

Need car preparation and horsepower? Fast Specialties, p. 19

Need SRF preparation and management? Flat Out Racing, p. 5

Need race training and track time? Pro Drive Racing School, p. 15

Need roofi ng? Columbia Roofi ng & Sheet Metal, p. 6

Need parts, accessories and service? Competition Motorsports, p. 11

Need Estate Services? Shirley Sanders, p. 23

Want to drive in a 12-hour race? Cascades Sports Car Club, p. 11

Want an auto repair business? Century 21, p. 15

Need to rent an RV? RV Northwest, p. 11

Need tires for street, track, rally or solo? Trackside Motorsports, p. 21

Need thousands of loyal, pre-qualifi ed customers? Randy Unsbee, p. 24

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Oregon Region Office4800 SW Macadam Ave, Suite 110

Portland, OR 97239

Voice and Message Line

503-224-9469 Fax 503-224-9542

Tues. - Wed. - Thurs. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Please call

or use email below:

office@oregonscca.com

http://www.oregonscca.com

SCCA National Toll Free Number1-800-770-2055

2010 Board of Directors Regional Executive Dan Halloran dan.halloran@yahoo.com Asst. R. E. Dan Mullin danm356@yahoo.comPast R. E. Jeffrey Zurschmeide J.zursch@verizon.netRoad Racing Director Jim Murray jmmurrayjr@aol.comSolo II Director Andy Howe andy.howe@verizon.netRally Director Chris Hale chris@cubedisorder.comDirector at Large 1 Peggy Gaston peggygaston@hotmail.comDirector at Large 2 Kimberly McFarland kuzmc@hotmail.com

Region Officials Membership/Merchandise Karen McCoy 503-224-9469 Region Office Admin Karen McCoy 503-224-9469 Secretary to BOD Mary Thompson memamare3@aol.com Treasurer C. Sutherland carrie_sutherland@yahoo.com Publicity/Marketing Randy Unsbee info@sponsorpr.comLoud Pedal Publisher/Editor Randy Unsbee info@sponsorpr.com

Rally Officials RoadRally Manager Kevin PoirierRallyCross Manager Rebecca Ruston

Road Racing Officials Road Racing Director Jim Murray jmmurrayjr@aol.comRace Ops Manager Bob Smethers 971-207-5147Regl Points Keeper* Kari L.Macfarlane karimac@qwestoffice.netVintage Racing Chair Dan Mullin 541-683-1091 Vintage Points* Dave Franks 503-968-8134

*Please contact Dave Franks for Vintage Series Points. Contact Kari Macfarlane for all other Oregon Region points matters.

SCCA Area 13 Director Todd Butler todd.butler@intel.com

Road Racing Chiefs Course Marshal Mike GunnipEmergency Ben Hockman 503-645-4755 Flagging & Comm Ken Killam 503-970-5644Medical TBD Paddock/HotPits Del Bockman 503-515-5977Pre-Grid Julie Winslow 360-513-6728Sound Judge Sherm Egge egge5@hotmail.comRadio Tech Ric Farrar 503-245-2506Registration (pre-race) Karen McCoy 503-224-9469Registration (at track) Win Casey 503-297-4049Chief Starter Dwain Panian 503-285-0989Asst. Chief Starter Tim Stanley 503-693-8139 Tech Inspection Rick BahrTiming and Scoring Randi Graffy Driver Services/Trophies K.Macfarlane karimac@qwestoffice.net

StewardsGary Meeker - NorPac Executive Steward gmeeker@earthlink.netJeffrey Niess - OR Deputy Executive Steward niess@comcast.netBen Bradley - Norpac RallyCross Steward bradley@reed.eduHoward Allen howduck@qwest.netSteve Archer mikah@comcast.netBill Bachofner wgbach@comcast.netTodd Butler todd.sherry@verizon.netBill Carr bcarr@varicast.comWin Casey msiltd@integraonline.comErin Ebelmesser lylaskye@msn.comGail Fetterman gailfetterman@comcast.netDave Franks franks97@verizon.netSpencer Gorham sgorstew@aol.comDon Holland hollanddl@verizon.netBob Mead ramead@q.comDan Mullin danm356@yahoo.comAlan Robinson robinsah@engr.orst.eduLewis Scott 503-646-3840Don Smethers don@smethers.comDave Shively mos33c20@centurytel.netGary Van Horn gvanhorn@minetfiber.comSkip Yocom rampant53@gmail.com

Want to advertise in Loud Pedal? Please contact Randy Unsbee @ 503-544-5944 to receive an advertising packet with current rate card. Rates are as low as $5 per column inch and expose you to pre-qualifi ed SCCA members in the Oregon Region at home, in libraries, coffee shops and auto dealerships.• 80% of SCCA members own their own home or condo.• 50% own three or more vehicles (4.6 average).• Over 60% of SCCA members hold professional and/or managerial occupations.• 65% hold college degrees.• 89% have annual household incomes over $50,000, Median HH income is $98,500, Average HH income is $105,800.

On the Front Cover: Volunteers make all Oregon Region SCCA activities possible throughout the year. Here are but two of the many dozens of workers at a race event earlier this year - Lee Casebeer (left) and Hugh Figueroa (right).

These Businesses Support Our Region Please Support Them!

Need a place to stay near PIR? Motel 6, p. 19

Need body and paint work? Straightline Body & Paint, p. 3

Need car preparation and horsepower? Fast Specialties, p. 19

Need SRF preparation and management? Flat Out Racing, p. 5

Need race training and track time? Pro Drive Racing School, p. 15

Need roofi ng? Columbia Roofi ng & Sheet Metal, p. 6

Need parts, accessories and service? Competition Motorsports, p. 11

Need Estate Services? Shirley Sanders, p. 23

Want to drive in a 12-hour race? Cascades Sports Car Club, p. 11

Want an auto repair business? Century 21, p. 15

Need to rent an RV? RV Northwest, p. 11

Need tires for street, track, rally or solo? Trackside Motorsports, p. 21

Need thousands of loyal, pre-qualifi ed customers? Randy Unsbee, p. 24

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•

• • • • •

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Cell: 503-970-9871 Email: flatoutpdx@comcast.net

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Authorized Dealer For:• Spec Racer Ford/Formula SCCA• MoTeC Data Acquisition

Dan Halloran, Regional ExecutiveEmail: dan.halloran@yahoo.com

Issues Needing Attention for the Next R.E.

From the R.E.

In several months Oregon Region will have a new Regional Exec and I will have completed 4 years in the job. Looking for-ward the new RE will have a number of issues to address but here are some I think need to be addressed:

Capital Expenses

Road Racing makes up about 95% of the revenues and budget for Oregon Region and thus gets most of the attention. Over the past several years Road Racing has essentially broken even but we have not made many capital expenditures nor put extra money aside for the day we need to replace our existing equipment. A number of our trucks are old and survive because they are only driven around the PIR track. When they do need repairs it is diffi cult at times to justify putting money into equip-ment that is old and decrepit. And as we think about using the new ORP track in Grass Valley this equipment will have to be driven or moved down there putting more miles on some of these vehicles in the round trip than they get in a season of racing at PIR. It is doubtful some of the trucks could even make the trip.

Our radios need to be upgraded as the FCC changes rules on what part of the radio spectrum we can use for communications. We have had discussions with a number of people about how to proceed and we think we have a good solution in hand. But, it will cost money in the very near future.Other items like fi re extinguishers, scales, tech equipment, fl ags, copiers, comput-ers, etc. also wear out and need to be re-placed.

I would recommend we complete a capi-tal budget that looks at our needs for the next 10 years. We then look at how to pay for those expenses. Possible sources are generous sponsors, fund raisers, shar-ing the cost with other clubs, or possibly

adding an extra fee to each entry with that money going specifi cally to the capital ex-pense fund. This will insure we have the resources to run our races when we need them. But it is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Rally and Solo both have similar needs but their costs are much lower and thus don’t face as serious a problem. I would still recommend they go through the same pro-cess as described for Road RacingVolunteers and Participation

Those of you who read my column on a regular basis are familiar with my appre-ciation for the many people who volunteer in the cold, heat, rain, and snow to make our events happen and my concern that we need more volunteers at all levels. Our sport survives because of the generosity of many people committed to amateur rac-ing. But, our overall membership is get-ting older and at a time when there are so many ways we can spend our leisure time we need to make sure our club is attrac-tive. We have developed new programs to address this with modest success. This issue is as important as the money issue and will require some creative minds and I believe help from Topeka.

We also need to be sure we are attracting new participants as well. Inviting people out to watch events and encouraging peo-ple to enroll in driving schools and high

performance days to whet their appetite are very effective ways to invite participa-tion.

Keeping Racing “Affordable”

OK, putting “racing” and “affordable” in the same sentence probably violates some basic rule of logic if not grammar. By af-fordable I’m concerned not just with mon-ey, although that it is important, but with time. When we run a two race weekend we typically take three days to do it. This involves more track and equipment rental and as important more time from volun-teers and time away from our families. As supportive as our families are all of us have been in the situation of having to give up a family event (what did that “cost” you?) or skip a race because of confl icts children’s sporting events or family occasions.

I don’t think we will ever have solved that entirely but we can reduce the number of times it happens. Over the years we have gradually expanded the amount of time it takes to run a race weekend. We need to look at what it would take to squeeze our racing into less time. Jim Murray has spent a lot of time thinking about this and looking at various models of how to ac-complish this. Undoubtedly there are other issues the next RE and Board will get to address. But these are three that will help keep our sport available and fun!

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By Randy UnsbeeLoud Pedal Publisher-Editor,ORSCCA Marketing/PR

The second weekend of August brought together championship hopefuls in re-gional road racing and vintage classes at Portland International Raceway. At the start of the Spec Racer Ford main race

Paul Goudy drove around the outside of front row qualifi ers Gary Manchester and Dan Halloran, but by the end of lap one those two regained the lead. John Draneas and Steve Fogg then challenged Goudy for third. Manchester, Halloran and Draneas pulled out a lead from the rest of the fi eld.

After 13 laps Manchester, Halloran and Fogg were nose to tail entering turn 1 of the Festival Curves. Fogg pulled out to pass Halloran on the inside and Halloran tried to outbreak Manchester, doing his best im-itation of free-style drifting. Manchester regained the lead, Fogg held on to second, and Halloran dropped back to fi fth behind Draneas. Nonetheless, Halloran regained steam and moved his way back into fourth around Draneas.

In Spec Miata leader Robert Linse #55 went wide at turn seven and dropped back

to seventh, while Bruce Wilson, Matt Schultz, Gary Bockman and Jason Rawl-ins fought at the front the pack. By the end of the race, Linse had regained all his lost ground as he took the win.

Other weekend class winners included William Bachofner in S2, Tom Abernathy CF, Nick Fluge SPO, Steven Streimer GT2, David Rugh GT3, Barrett Smith ITE, Craig Powers GT1, and John Grant SMP.

The Group 7 Main Race featured Frank McKinnon taking fi rst overall and in CP1, followed by Terry Miller in EP, Michael Harley in SPU, and Jon Wilson in ITS. Robert Linse also won ITA while EricSchwenter claimed ITS.

David Cormier was fi rst overall and in class in PCA1, while Bob Rygg took PCA2, Arnie Loyning PCA3, Barrett Smith SP911, Kevin Smith AS, and Tim Micek PCA4.

In the vintage race group Gordon Ledbet-ter was fi rst overall and in VP3 ahead of classmates Richard Albrecht, Dave Dick-off and Dennis Roberts. Ward Barbour was fi rst in VP1 over Mike Zubko and Patty Norlin. Paul Sundermier won VP2 over Tim Scott and Philip Weaver.

With the fi nal ORSCCA round of the season being at Oregon Raceway Park, the September and October races take on added signifi cance for those wishing to improve their season-long point standings. Complete race results and point stand-ings can be found at the region’s Web site, www.oregonscca.com.

(Above: Robert Linse #55 of Lynnwood, WA took fi rst in Spec Miata. Doug Berger photo. Opposite page: #90 Mike Zubko from Medina, WA fi nished second in VP1 while Paul Sundermier of Salem, OR #41 won VP2. Ron Coelho photo).

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August Double Regional RacesWith Vintage

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#60 Monte Curtis, #84 Doug Russell and #23 Kimberlee Taylor negotiate the Festival Curves at Portland International Raceway during the August Regional and Vintage races. Doug Berger photo.

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Photos clockwise from top left: Patty Norlin #03 has transmission problems, #1 John Grant wins SPM, #58 Dan Halloran shows #7 Gary Manchester his drifting skills, #58 Monte Shelton takes third in SPO, #6 Carl Clinton was second in AS, class winners #36 Wil-liam Bachofner, #79 Tom Abernathy, and #00 Paul Ellis in the Competition Motorsports Neon. Doug Berger photos.

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Oregon Region’s Jeff Mincheff #55 leads #98 Kevin Culver and fellow club member Gary Bockman #5 through the Festival Curves at the GASS race in July. In their only GASS starts of the year, both drivers were impressive with Mincheff taking second and Bockman third. Story on page 14. Doug Berger photo.

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Pos

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

No.

1

55

5

98

76

24

12

3b

46

11

00

19

3

21

10

14

2

73

22

Name

Tim Spurgeon

Jeff Mincheff

Gary Bockman

Kevin Culver

Joe Lamberti

Majid Hajari

Howard Johnston

Dave Blankenship

Larry Clement

Larry Olson

Ross Kusah

Martin Stanwood

Barney Bushore

Larry Cunnally

Larry Nulliner

Brett Staples

Jeff Smith

Rob Gordon

Mike Silcox

Laps

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

10

9

2

Diff

0.940

1.509

4.280

23.662

24.175

24.516

24.963

40.125

42.301

42.479

43.967

54.571

55.347

1:07.137

1 Lap

2 Laps

9 Laps

11 Laps

Total Tm

17:42.606

17:43.546

17:44.115

17:46.886

18:06.268

18:06.781

18:07.122

18:07.569

18:22.731

18:24.907

18:25.085

18:26.573

18:37.177

18:37.953

18:49.743

18:10.834

15:01.590

7:24.903

5.412

Best Tm

1:21.825

1:21.643

1:21.468

1:20.008

1:22.962

1:23.660

1:23.190

1:22.740

1:25.071

1:24.594

1:23.608

1:25.404

1:26.465

1:25.811

1:26.087

1:33.693

1:20.018

1:42.005

Points

50

46

42

38

34

30

26

22

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

0

Sorted on Laps

Printed: 7/27/2010 11:45:58 AM

Chief of Timing & Scoring

Race Director

Orbits 4

www.amb-it.com

www.mylaps.com

Licensed to: Chris Evans Inc

Margin of Victory

0.940

Avg. Speed

73.378

Best Lap Tm

1:20.008

Best Spd

88.596

Best Lap by

98 - Kevin Culver

July 17 - 18 PIR Event

GASS

07-18-10 GASS RACE PIR

Race started at 13:49:46

Portland International Raceway 1.969 Miles

7/18/2010 01:40 PM

Dozens of Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America (ORSCCA) volunteers came out to work and help staff the recent NASCAR weekend at Portland Interna-tional Raceway. Among the many par-ticipants were ORSCCA’s Jeff Mincheff, who you’ll often find behind the wheel of vintage cars, and Spec Miata and Mazda expert Gary Bockman.

They have driven with the Great American Stockcar Series (GASS) group in the past, but the Portland round was a one-off race for both drivers. Starting positions for the 25-lap road race for identically-prepared stock cars were determined by draw, and Mincheff drew the seventh starting slot while Bockman lined up third.

As the 19-car field took the green flag and charged into the festival curves several cars made contact. Mincheff started from

the seventh position and had to take eva-sive action over the festival corner’s curb to avoid the first corner melee.

“I got through the chicane without hav-ing problems,” Bockman explained, “but between turns five and six several cars crashed, I had to come to a stop, and Mike Silcox ran into me. We dropped back to about 11th place, so I took a little time to feel the car out. The front alignment was off a little, but the car seemed okay,” Bockman said.

Heading into turn five Mincheff said, “there were guys spinning to the right and to the left. There was a little hole open on the grass and I got through okay and came out in second position. Bockman added, “I started picking up a couple of spots each lap while Jeff was having a good race with the leader, Tim Spurgeon. I knew I could

have caught those guys but don’t know if I would have gotten around them,” he added. “I was trying to drive hard enough to catch up but not hard enough to burn off the tires.”

“I saw Gary back there but I was relieved when all of the sudden the checkered flag came out,” Mincheff said. Though sched-uled for 25 laps, the race ended after 11 with Spurgeon first, Mincheff second and Bockman third.

Mincheff added, “I was surprised I was even in second place. The last race I had done in these cars was the same event a year ago. Early on I was thinking about the tires so I was trying to be as careful of them as I could. Fortunately, the race wasn’t long enough to worry about it. I would love to do it again.” Bockman agreed, “it was a lot of fun.”

Oregon Region Drivers Shine in Great American Stock Car Seriesby Randy Unsbee

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• Spec Racer Ford Rentals• Road Racing School• Professional Coaching• SkidCar Courses• High Performance Driving

2010 Test Days

March 4April 16May 6June 3June 10

July 1August 6September 10September 16October 7

$400 - Reservations requiredSign-up @ www.prodrive.net or call 503.285.4449

www.prodrive.net • 503.285.4449Portland International Raceway

Vintage and SRF Drivers Invited to Oregon Raceway Park Event on Oct. 2-3

Team Continental has invited all SCCA Vintage racers to participate in their own “special race group” at the October 2-3 William D. Murray event at ORP.

The following is included in the $275 entry fee:

- 100 minutes of track time to include three races.

- One ticket to TC’s famous Saturday Night Dinner and Social with lap record awards and live music! Additional tickets are only $10 each.

- Oregon Region Vintage rules.

- Reserved paddock space and Thursday evening or Friday move in.

Registration will be at the track and opens Friday afternoon at 2 pm and Satur-day at 8 AM.

The anticipated schedule includes a Satur-day morning practice/qualifying session with an afternoon race, a Sunday morning race and then a final Sunday afternoon race, finishing no later than 5:30 PM.

Spec Racer Ford and other Sports Racer drivers are also invited to participate in Team Continental’s Race Group 6. This group is typically lightly populated but offers the same track time and a similar schedule as above.

Race entrants can also enter a “race cars” only group in the Friday, 10/1 HPDE for only $100.

Enter the HPDE and William D. Murray Grand Prix at motorsportreg.com.

Questions?

Call Steve Leonard, TC Race Chair @ 503-230-1103 office or 503-320-1028 cell; or Don Crawford, assistant TC Race Chair, @ 503/232-8600.

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Andy Howe, Solo II DirectorEmail: solo.howe@comcast.net

Oregon Region Drivers Win at Packwood Natl. Tour

Solo II Report

By the time you all are reading this, sev-eral Oregon Region folks will have made the trek to Lincoln, Nebraska for the Solo National Championships. Check out the results on the event webpage.

Back to events closer to home… The Packwood National Tour event came and went in early August. If I counted right, Oregon Region took home 19 trophies. There were several really strong perfor-mances, but I’m going to pick on the team of Adam Ruff and Dennis Healy.

These gentlemen drove Healy’s Pontiac Solstice GXP to the top two spots in a 14 driver B Stock class, Ruff taking the top spot on the strength of his Saturday time.

Not only did they take the top two spots, they were the only two drivers in B Stock to fi nish with a better time than Jerry Jen-kins, who won E Stock.

Duke Langley won X Prepared over Brit-ain Smith. X Prepared was another large class as 10 drivers took times. There were several cars in the class that elected to run in X Prepared because of a lack of compe-tition in their normal class, but that should not diminish the efforts of these two driv-ers. Duke was in the top 15 overall times out of 258 total entrants.

With the event doubling as the Northern Pacifi c Divisional Championship event, several Oregon Region drivers complet-ed the second leg towards the Solo Triad Award.

In our corner of the country, this award is given to a driver that wins the Western States Championship, a Northern Pacifi c Divisional Championship, and a Solo Na-tional Championship. Jerry Jenkins (E Stock), Kyra Jenkins (E Stock Ladies), Tami Daniels (D Prepared Ladies)

and Tom Kotzian (Street Modifi ed Front Wheel Drive) can all complete the Triad with a win in Lincoln.

As far as our regional points chases go, Street Modifi ed Front Wheel Drive is coming down to the wire. Gilbert Calkins swept the August Packwood weekend making things rather interesting. Perry Keller leads the class with 107 points. Becky Zacharda is second with 100 points. Gilbert moved himself up to third place with 95 points.

All three drivers have competed in the 7 events so far this year, so they are looking to replace marginal fi nishes from earlier in the year to increase their points totals. Perry looks to have the strongest position going into the fi nal weekend – with both the points lead and a low fi nish to drop – but any of them can win by sweeping the weekend and getting a little help.

In Street Tire, Russ Rainforth kept his personal perfect streak alive winning both events. Russ’s results mean that one more strong fi nish should wrap up another Street Tire class championship, making a three-peat if he does. It isn’t a done deal yet, but Russ is looking strong.

The last item of signifi cant note to report… did anyone notice that Jerry Jenkins was not top overall PAX at either of the August events? More importantly, did everyone see the car that took that honor both days? Joe Cheng and Gary Milligan brought the Vancouver Special down for our August events.

This car is quite possibly the fastest au-tocross car ever built and was impressive to watch. This car was approximately 7 seconds (!!!) faster than any other car both days and took top PAX honors in spite of its brutal 1.000 A Modifi ed index.

17

Flat out past Start/Finish into the braking zone for T1, making progress forward. OK, now; ease to the right, brief glance to the right mirror (we had company earlier); eyes front WHUMP!s#%tskyholys#%tMa-rkWebberoverBAMskrrWHAMskrrrrsparkssparkssparkssparkssparkssparkssparkssi-lence.

OK; no fi re. No smoke, no heat, no fuel smell. Good. No need to pull the little red handle below dash left. Flip the kill switch. We’re fi ne. Nothing hurts, no hits on the head, nothing but normal. Except we’re hanging upside down in the belts. OK, we can fi x that; release the clasp so we can be right side up. Still gotta wait for the E-crew to come get this car over; no problem; we’re not that far away; but can’t get our legs out of the cockpit, it’s just too short.

Huddle like a squirrel and wait. Seems to be taking a long time. Guess that’s just the way it would naturally feel; a long time. Pretty soon it’s “Hey Guys, I’m in here, I’m fi ne”; “I’m Fine!” Really Fine. Then, from outside: “What’s your name?” “Fritz” “Okay, Chris, we’ll get you out of there” voices, noises; activity with the car, scraping and a jiggle.

Hmmm; wonder how they’ll grab onto it to lift it; last we checked there’s no lift spot on the underside. We climb into the cockpit like a gymnast so that, if the car drops, we’re not underneath. More scrap-ing; eventually the car lifts a quarter inch, another, got a couple of inches clearance now; more; now there’s a few inches clear-ance on the left; someone’s trying to bend our leg to get it out of the cockpit but, you know, it’s already fully bent and I gotta handle that…now there’s a bit more clear-ance; now, enough to wriggle out from un-der and stand up!

And only now do we fi nd we’re between T2 and T3; ten minutes ago we went about

200 yards, total; fl ipped over backwards, in the air, back on the ground, upside down, passed two cars; slammed into the third; then around; all in it was 180 de-grees fl ip over and 180 degrees, maybe more, around.

EMTs are there; two big hunks all starchy pressed and looking like something out of “Baywatch”; “Does it hurt anywhere, sir?” “Only in the wallet”. Where’s my hat and sunglasses (always in the car in a little bin). “Anyone see my hat?”

They fl ip the car back on its wheels; we look inside and nope, no hat or sunglass-es. Someone says the hat’s in his truck. We start to walk over there “Driver, come back here!” And we meekly obey. Some-one produces the hat, a little scruffy but welcome; next the sunglasses frame only; worse for wear; then a lens, scratched. Eventually the other lens shows up, un-marked. A place for everything and ev-erything in its place.

Into the ambulance with the EMTs watch-ing us closely. William is there too; he took a big hit from the back end of our upside-down slide, just as he innocently turned in to T1; ruined his race and, in fact, everyone else’s; although William would get back in a loaner car for the afternoon race, it wasn’t the same having to adapt to an unfamiliar car; but he still did well.

EMT still looking at us closely “How do you feel?” “Thirsty” and he gives us a water bottle from his own backpack; then we ride in the ambulance, back to the pad-dock and, eventually, rejoin the car; tail smashed, nose shattered, fenders worn through, smashed; center section off and scraped badly; the roll bar ground down to half-diameter; engine and accessories smashed and pushed into the frame, big dent in the roll bar just behind driver’s head.

The Twisty Bits

This one won’t be fi xed anytime soon. But we’re fi ne. FINE. Couple of small scraped on the shins, little blood spots on the Nomex underwear; we’re Fine. Hard to believe. Had worse injuries on the bicycle. And on the tennis court. Fine. So we’re now a member of the club we never wanted to join: The-110-mph-up-side-down-and-backwards-SRF-society. Lucky Number 11 did its job and we’re still here.

Apologies are due to everyone who had to watch that. A tiny delay in making the pass, caused by the quick glance in the mir-ror, and it all happened faster than you can imagine. Horrifying to watch, I suspect. Not so horrifying in the car; oddly tran-quil, being out of control of one’s destiny. Could have been a really bad deal. As it was, took the tail off Dave’s #37 and over the catch fence left; whacked William’s #32 right side amidships, took the nose off and bent the frame like a longbow; punched something through the bodywork into his cockpit, and turned the #11 (mine) into a winter project. As above, could have been a lot worse; but it was bad enough. Freaked out everybody.

Unlike, say, NASCAR, no one comes to an SCCA race weekend to see someone crash. It does happen, but nobody enjoys watching it. Sometimes crashes occur be-cause a driver is too aggressive, misjudges things, or makes a simple error. Even the tiniest error can be the difference between a successful pass and a signifi cant crash (see above). In SCCA, we believe there’s a strong culture of safety, and responsible driver behavior. When stuff happens, it’s due to a mistake of some kind, not some intent. And even the tiniest mistake can have huge consequences (again, see above). The most unthinkable thing can happen. It almost did.

And we’re still here to write about it. Thankfully.

Jim Murray, Road Racing DirectorEmail: jmmurrayjr@aol.com

Racing for Dummies, continued . . .

18

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community newspaper at

www.PortlandTribune.com

Gary Bockman had an eventful race but worked his way back up to third place during the Great Ameri-can Stockcar Series race at Portland International Raceway. Doug Berger photo.

19

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20

Rallying with Chris & Kristen

Chris Hale, Rally Manager and Kristen E. TaborEmail: chale@nwscan.net

August/September Events Highlight Season

Chris Hale, Rally Manager and Kristen E. TaborEmail: chale@nwscan.net

August/September Events Highlight Season

Ah, summer. Time for relaxing by the BBQ and trading rally stories with friends. It’s also time for driving down some great twisty roads or fl ogging your car through a cone course! Let’s look back at August’s activities and then look forward to Sep-tember’s scenes.

Our August RallyCross was somewhat different from our usual events. For one thing, we held it in a completely different location—in Chehalis, on a fi eld owned by the Port of Chehalis. For another, we held it in conjunction with a charity event put on by our friends to the North, Off Camber Events. Off Camber Events have been wanting to put on a RallyCross in the Chehalis/Centralia area, and asked Oregon Rally Group to give them a hand.

August 7 and 8 was somewhat rainy, some-what muddy, somewhat sunny and some-what dusty—all of which sound like our usual RallyCross events held at the Wash-ington County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro. The Port of Chehalis fi eld was at the in-tersection of Rush Road (that’s exit 72 off I-5, with all the gas stations, about halfway to Seattle) and the Jackson Highway. The fi eld itself was quite large and fairly fl at, without the usual ruts and bumps at our usual venue. However, one of the things we had to watch out for was how the fi eld would change as the events progressed—a big unknown, as the fi eld had been previ-ously used to grow hay and had not been as compacted as we would like prior to our events.

Saturday’s charity event was held as part of the Chehalis Festival of Speed and the Chehalis Planes Trains and Automobiles Festival. We decided that, as a charity event to raise money for the Children’s Hospital, the event should not be a points event. In addition to the RallyCross itself, there was also a car show, some food ven-dors, and the Chehalis Roller Derby team

selling cupcakes and other baked goods to raise money for the charity. The organiz-ers also raffl ed off a car, a green old wagon they dubbed “the pickle”. They also had some local police offi cers come out to run the course between the morning and after-noon session, which was fun to watch. I talked with the offi cers afterward and they all had a blast. Outside of entry fees for the 30-40 cars entered, about $500 was raised or donated for the Children’s Hospi-tal directly through the RallyCross and car raffl e. Not bad for a fi rst-time event in a fi rst-time location with a fi rst-time organi-zation crew! I’m sure the weather—gray and damp for the morning, then dumping rain for the afternoon—put a dent in the entry numbers. We still had enough peo-ple to cover all the worker positions and run like usual.

Saturday night in Chehalis a bunch of us went out to dinner and rehashed the day. With the Planes Trains and Automobiles festival going on, downtown was lit up and busy. I was surprised at how busy things got but the food was good and the music was hopping! It’s an interesting place to visit.

Sunday was ORG’s points-paying event. We had one twist—a young man was so impressed with Saturday’s car raffl e that he offered his car to raffl e on Sunday! Yes, he had the title and held it free and clear, so we raffl ed it off for ORG’s pre-ferred charity, the Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon. The car was in better shape than “the pickle” and we had a lot of in-terest and took in just over $400 in raffl e funds alone. We’ll be rounding that up to $500 to donate in Gloria Hale’s name for her Sole Support for Parkinson’s team, For The Hale of It. Great job, everyone!

Sunday seemed to be in stark contrast to Saturday—the sun was shining, the dust was rising, and we had more competitors

come out to vie for the points. This is the part of the year where everyone starts looking at the year-to-date scores and tries to fi gure out what they need to do to clinch their class title. Our numbers were a bit down from our usual crowds. A lot of the usual contenders were out there looking to gain an edge, though.

With so much use in such a short span of time, the fi eld seemed to require a lot of massaging and course-changing to keep things safe, but we were able to get 4 runs in for everyone. Some of the Port offi cials came out and got rides; they all seemed to enjoy themselves and wanted to know when we could hold another event there! The site has good potential, so we may see more events in that neck of the woods.

Looking forward, our next RallyCross will be on September 12 out at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro—back to our old stomping grounds. We have a treat for you, though, because on September 11, the day before, you can come participate in the Rally Against Parkinson’s, and make your weekend a double-header. This is an easy, touring time-speed-distance road rally to raise money for Parkinson’s Re-sources of Oregon.

As in past RAP events, this one includes two regularity laps around Portland In-ternational Raceway. Local TSD’er Russ Kraushaar has defi ned the regularity: “The fact that this particular regularity occurs on a race track helps make it pretty popu-lar. You drive around once to set your base times, then try to repeat it exactly. We’ve had teams take their own splits at various points, make video and/or audio record-ings to mark their progress, or just put on the Ace of Spades by Motorhead and crank it to 11.”

Russ adds, “I think they set a speed limit of about 65mph and have a radar gun stra-

21

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tegically placed as well. The good news is that you’d be hard pressed to hit much more than 65 before the breaking point for the festival curve and really only need to watch the speed on the back straight. I suspect most would find the limit of their tire’s adhesion or driving talent before reaching 65mph anywhere else. It’s a blast!”

That’s a pretty good way to describe the regularity runs—one thing I’d add is there will be NO PASSING during the regular-ity. So if you catch the car in front of you, then you get to follow them all the rest of the way around the track. And make sure you catch them at the exact point the sec-ond time around to get those elusive ze-roes.

This year’s Rally Against Parkinson’s will be ending at the Eagle Fern Park near Estacada, OR. It’s anyone’s guess as to how RallyMaster John Elkin will get you there, but I anticipate a lot of great roads and awesome scenery, and the BBQ at the finish will be a lot of fun.

Hopefully we’ll see a lot of you out there, and early entry is open at www.oregon-rally.com, with entry money and donations due at registra-tion. You can also enter the event on the day itself; regis-tration will be at PIR starting at 10:30am with a driver’s meeting at 11:30am before the regularity runs during lunchtime of the races hap-pening that day.

Other rally events happening in September: the Wild West stage rally out of Pomeroy, WA! This year, the organiz-ers plan on using Nasa Rally-sport as the sanctioning body and to include RallyMoto—stage rally on a motorcycle!

This should be a fun event. ORG will be taking a stage crew, so if you’d like a great way to see the rally and talk to all the drivers and co-drivers, please consider volunteering! There’s a link to our volun-teer coordinator on the ORG

website, and you don’t need any special gear or equipment. The roads are smooth so you don’t even need special tires or jacked-up suspension to get out there. The event runs September 25-26, on top of the Sole Support for Parkinson’s event here in Portland. Gloria Hale’s team, For The

Hale of It, will be split in two, with the Hales up at the rally with the rally folk and anyone else participating in the walk. Lots of choices that weekend!

Keep it shiny side up, and we’ll see you on the road!

22

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OREGON REGION SCCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTESDATE: 8/4/2010PLACE: China Bay RestaurantPRESENT: Board Members: Dan Halloran, Dan Mullin, Jeff Zurschmeide, Chris Hale, Jim Murray, Andy Howe, Peggy Gaston, Kim McFarlandOfficials: Mary Thompson, Karen McCoy, Randy Unsbee, Todd ButlerMembers: George Wilder, Margie Swanson, Kate Zurschmeide, Absent: Carrie Sutherland

CALL TO ORDER – RE Dan called the meeting to order at 7:00

RE EXECUTIVE INTRO - NoneMEMBER/NEW BUSINESS COM-MENTS – NoneCOMMITTEE & OFFICIALS REPORTS

REGIONAL OFFICE REPORT – Karen reported that she has been diligently work-ing to keep the offices expenses down. Office Staff & Hours: Karen worked 74 hours in July. Dan Halloran purchased a laptop for the office to use at the track! Thanks, Dan!!!

Rose CupCheck in the amount of $54,346.84 has been sent to PRFF per agreement

July Double National101 Double National Combo 9 Single National 2 2nd Entries/Different Car

2010 Total National Entries: 213 Entries (Double National counts as 2 entries)2009 Total National Entries: 198 Entries (Double National counts as 2 entries)

August Regional79 Entries so far - anticipate around 100

Oregon Region Tow Fund for RunoffsMay & July National entries = 295Total tow fund = $2950Checks will be distributed at the Runoffs to Oregon Region drivers. As of today, there are 7 Oregon Region drivers entered

TREASURER REPORT – AbsentKaren presented current Balance Sheets for both Road Racing & Oregon Region.

LOUD PEDAL REPORT – Randy advised that the Aug issue will be to the printer on Friday and is 24 pages.

Discussion followed on the value of the LP and if it would be possible to have it on line only to save costs. It is costly and it would be nice to find a saving factor for it. Jeff said he may be biased, since he is somewhat of an “ink stained Neanderthal,” but he feels that there is value in the LP in it’s present format. Costs are now about 1/2 of what they were in the past while ad-vertising/sponsorship support increased.

Randy advised that the region is conduct-ing an extensive marketing communica-tions survey over the next 6-8 mos. to determine the most effective means for information dissemination to members, including print and digital means, as part of Randy’s international Masters Degree dissertation

DIRECTOR’S REPORTS SOLO II REPORT – Andy introduced George Wilder, a Solo member and local businessman who has agreed to run for Solo II Director.

The last event at Packwood, July 13-14 was on par with their recent events. They hosted 100 on Saturday and 80 on Sunday for the point’s event. The sanction has been filed for the Aug 21-22 event

RALLY REPORT – Chris advised that they will be hosting an event this weekend and then on to their premier charity event, The Rally against Parkinson which will start at PIR and end in Estacada. The date for this event is Sept. 11th.

DIRECTOR I REPORT – Peggy reported she and Win Casey are still contacting members to run for a BOD position. They will have the slate by next meeting.

DIRECTOR II REPORT – No report

ROAD RACING REPORT – Jim is work-ing with the powers that be at ORP to ne-gotiate a deal that would carry over our de-posit from the cancelled event for October. The carryover would go toward an event next summer, possibly in July. Jim has concerns that he feels need to be worked on before we would travel to ORP.

Some areas of concern are the need to make it easy to make the trip, assist the volunteers, and to look at expenses like an ambulance, etc.

He will work with Karen to prepare a bud-get in preparation for a race at ORP.Todd advised that there is the need to be flex-ible. It will be far different than an event at PIR and the Chiefs will need to prepare in advance for the differences.

Jim advised that the Sept. schedule is on-line now. In his attempt to make racing more adaptable and economical for the racers he is studying the feasibility of be-ing able to run a Natl in 2 days opposed to 3. This would make it easier on the racers and the workers as well as cutting some costs.

Todd spoke about the up-coming Norpac Training Session that the Region Admin-istrators are preparing. This mini con-vention will be held in Reno on Nov. 6th at The Atlantis Hotel. This is a one day event.

PAST REGIONAL EXEC – No report

ASST REGIONAL EXEC - No report

REGIONAL EXEC – Dan has spoken with Mark concerning the permanent BBQ that we hope to build. Mark sees it as a good thing since it would be available for use by all PIR patrons.

Dan asked for a volunteer to be the coordi-nator on the project. his having built one previously. Margie Swanson volunteered to act as coordinator and Mary agreed to make contact with Doug Barrett (past BOD member) as to if he would be will-ing to give advise and suggestions based on his having built one before. He will then work with Margie and her group on the project.

Dan will now contact the other user groups to see if they are interested in joining the project and contributing to its construc-tion.

Adjourn: 8:45 p.m.M/S (Dan M/Andy) M/PRespectfully submitted,Mary Thompson

23

CommercialClassified Ads.

To place a non-commercial classified ad, email the editor: lp@oregonscca.com. Limit ads to 50 words. Free to Oregon Region SCCA members selling personal property. Please call or email when the item has sold.

Non-Commercial Classified Ads

Commercial classified text and display adver-tising as a very affordable way to reach our readers. Text ads are $10 for the first 20 words and 10-cents per word thereafter. Display Clas-sified ads are as little as $10 per column inch. Submission deadline is the 10th day of the month prior to publication. Please contact the editor for further information.

Estate Sales

& Appraisals

Life changes frequently require

valuation and liquidation of

personal property. My twenty-

plus years of experience can

help you with full estate sales,

downsizing, moves and

appraisals for estates,

dissolution and insurance

purposes. All services are

personalized and confidential.

Free consultations.

Shirley Sanders, 503-349-2013

SCCA Member #309862

2010 Upcoming EventsSeptember 11 -- Rally Against Parkinson’s

September 12 -- ORG RallyCross #6, Hillsboro, OR

September 10-12 -- SFR/NORPAC Vintage Weekend @ Thunderhill

September 11-12 -- ORSCCA Single Regional, with Chicane @ PIR

September 17 -- CSCC Friday Nighter, Portland/Vancouver Area

September 18-19 -- Solo Events #8 and #9 @ PIR South Paddock

October 1 -- CSCC Friday Nighter, Portland/Vancouver Area

October 2-3 -- Team Continental Vintage Race Event @ ORP

Oct. 3 -- Tire Rack Street Survival @PIR

October 8-10 -- ORSCCA Double Regional, with Chicane @ PIR

October 10 -- ORG RallyCross #7, Hillsboro, OR

October 16 -- CSCC Autumn GTA Rally, Portland/Vancouver Area

October 16 -- 12 Hours of the Cascades @ PIR

October 23 -- Mt. Hood Rally

Oct. 30-31-- Vintage CSRG @ Thunderhill

November 6 - NORPAC Convention - Atlantis Hotel - Reno, NV

November 20 -- ORSCCA Awards Banquet

ORSCCA Board Meetings are held the First Wednesday of Each Month

at China Bay Restaurant,13281 SW Canyon Rd., Beaverton, OR

24

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Change Service RequestedIssue: September 2010