| Offside Undo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Official Publication of the Kansas Region, Sports Car Club of America | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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From the Editor, By Joe Williams
From the EditorWith this issue I assume command of this newsletter. I feel that it is necessary to publicly make that statement neither to impress you with my stellar journalistic abilities, nor to give a terroristic notice of hijacking, but because I don�t know what I�m doing! I have never done this sort of thing before, my relationship with my computer is cordial, but not what you would call loving and I wouldn�t want any past editor to be blamed for the probably somewhat ragged nature of this publication over the next couple of months. Please, feel free to make whatever criticisms or suggestions you like. It�s your newsletter and I want you to enjoy it. In addition to my phone numbers and addresses which can be found on the bottom of Page 3, you can find me at any Solo event somewhere in the vicinity of the No. 11 Scuderia Nobrainsa Eclipse. Got a complaint or suggestion about the club or an event? Would you like to write an article about any relevant topic: Favorite cars you�ve owned, a competition experience, praise for fellow club members, a tech article, etc.? Are you a frustrated cartoonist with an idea for a race related cartoon or comic strip? Send it in, preferably by E-mail please, and I�ll find a place for it. Like I said, this is your newsletter. I want your input. Let�s have it. Who am I, you may be asking? Or not. In any event, I am 50 years old and have been an SCCA member for two years. I have two kids in college at KU who, probably to their credit, don�t share my interest in fast cars, but who do seem dedicated to sucking up enough of my resources that the next set of tires is no small consideration. I�ve had many wonderful machines in my life (more about that in a later issue) but I have never competed formally, except for one autocross during college and one season of jalopy racing after college (more about that later also). I was the 1998 local C Stock champion, more than anything else a demonstration of the value of perfect attendance. I just joined SCCA two years ago, after meaning to for 20 years. I happened to be driving by Seaman HS one Sunday during a Solo and stopped to watch and met Bill Stewart, who was a big help getting me started. Thank you Bill. I doubt if I ever see a podium at a larger event, and that�s OK with me. I do this strictly for the fun of it. If I had to compare myself to someone, it would probably be that guy at the Nationals every year with the old sprint car. There is no chance that he�s going to stand on a podium, but he has a hell of a good time, and to me that is the point� that and meeting a lot of great people. Actually, I�ve been more concerned lately with how to mount a giant speaker on the outside of the car to play �The Ride of the Valkyrie� while on the course. I have, of course, given some consideration to its location, to better balance the car. Would that push me to SP? The bottom line is that this is a club dedicated to tossing cars around, and this is a newsletter about the hobby of tossing cars around. It�s not rocket science or high art, and it probably will not make a significant contribution to world peace. It�s fun. Fun is good. Let�s have some fun.
R.E.PortHello, and welcome back to the Offside Undo. There are many things I want to share with you this month, so let me get started... First of all I want you all to know that I am very excited and honored to be serving as your Regional Executive for 1999. For those of you who voted for me, thank you, and I hope to justify your confidence in me. For those of you who didn't vote for me, and there were many of you, given how close the vote was, I hope to at least earn your respect during the upcoming year.. You have also elected a dedicated hard working board with many years of experience, both in SCCA and as members of your Executive Board. I feel confident we will continue to have a very worthwhile and successful year. . But as my predecessors have told you before, life is much easier for all of us when you�re willing to lend a hand once in a while. One of the things you can do is let us know your suggestions to make this an even better region. So please don�t hesitate to contact any Board member with your thoughts, comments and/or ideas, good, bad or otherwise -- �cause I know you�ve all got them and we�d like to hear them.. Hopefully one of the first noticeable changes is what you're holding in you hands right now. At our first meeting in January, I told the Executive Board my top priority is to see that the Offside Undo is again published on a regular basis. The most important thing is to get information out to our members in a timely manner, even if we can�t maintain the slick, polished look of the past. But I knew beforehand that I was preaching to the choir with those comments, just as I am now. I know everyone in Kansas Region understands the importance of the Undo as a way to stay connected.. At this point, I�d like to publicly thank Rob Gregg and Todd Mosiman for their many years of dedicated effort in working with the Undo, especially Rob. With the help of many others, Rob molded the Undo into an award-winning publication, twice judged as the best in SCCA for our region�s size. . Rob put countless hours evolving the newsletter into a polished, professional publication. More recently, Todd lent his time and talents as well, which helped distribute the work. But eventually other demands arose, making such a time-intensive commitment difficult for either of them to sustain.. About this same time, the amount of participation from other members began to decline. It became harder and harder to get people to submit stories to fill the space, forcing the publishers to become writers and editors as well. That only served to make it tougher for Rob and Todd to continue producing a quality newsletter every month. The reasons for this decline in participation aren't really important. What really matters, in my opinion, is that the members get behind our new editor/publisher to help revive the Offside Undo..... . So as we transition into a new era for the Undo, I want all of you to welcome Joe Williams, who has agreed to edit and publish the Undo this year. It is my goal, which I have shared with Joe, to produce between 8 & 10 issues of the Undo during 1999; this is the first! Todd and Rob deserve the credit for finding Joe to help with the newsletter, so I guess you can say they recruited their own replacement.. The ultimate success of our newsletter will again be very dependent upon input from many different members during the year. Joe In This IssueFrom the Editor, By Joe WilliamsIn which your intrepid editor presents his twisted vision for the future.R.E. Port, By Randy FisherWherein your fearless leader officially begins his benevolent reign and presents his platform for peace in our time.Let the Games Begin, By Randy FisherSometimes you eat the bear . . . .Midwest Division Racing News, By Rocky EntrikenJust how do you get one of them permanent numbers anyway?Lost Among the Cones, By Rob GreggThe annual cone roundup and slaughter is just around the corner.KS Region Honored at National Convention, By Randy FisherSometimes the hard work pays off.It was a Dark and Stormy Night, By Marla WorthingtonProving that folks will do anything for a good meal.Planning for the Future, By Randy FisherIn which your fearless leader presents a plea for your participation in this newsletter.Dispatches from the Front Lines, By Sir Nigel CrashworthyThe continuing adventures of the redoubtable Sir Nigel Crashworthy.Member of the Month, By Joe WilliamsWho says the SCCA is not an all-inclusive organization?Letters to the EditorFrom the EditorBy Joe WilliamsWith this issue I assume command of this newsletter. I feel that it is necessary to publicly make that statement neither to impress you with my stellar journalistic abilities, nor to give a terroristic notice of hijacking, but because I don�t know what I�m doing! I have never done this sort of thing before, my relationship with my computer is cordial, but not what you would call loving and I wouldn�t want any past editor to be blamed for the probably somewhat ragged nature of this publication over the next couple of months. Please, feel free to make whatever criticisms or suggestions you like. It�s your newsletter and I want you to enjoy it. In addition to my phone numbers and addresses which can be found on the bottom of Page 3, you can find me at any Solo event somewhere in the vicinity of the No. 11 Scuderia Nobrainsa Eclipse.Got a complaint or suggestion about the club or an event? Would you like to write an article about any relevant topic: Favorite cars you�ve owned, a competition experience, praise for fellow club members, a tech article, etc.? Are you a frustrated cartoonist with an idea for a race related cartoon or comic strip? Send it in, preferably by E-mail please, and I�ll find a place for it. Like I said, this is your newsletter. I want your input. Let�s have it.Who am I, you may be asking? Or not. In any event, I am 50 years old and have been an SCCA member for two years. I have two kids in college at KU who, probably to their credit, don�t share my interest in fast cars, but who do seem dedicated to sucking up enough of my resources that the next set of tires is no small consideration. I�ve had many wonderful machines in my life (more about that in a later issue) but I have never competed formally, except for one autocross during college and one season of jalopy racing after college (more about that later also). I was the 1998 local C Stock champion, more than anything else a demonstration of the value of perfect attendance.I just joined SCCA two years ago, after meaning to for 20 years. I happened to be driving by Seaman HS one Sunday during a Solo and stopped to watch and met Bill Stewart, who was a big help getting me started. Thank you Bill.I doubt if I ever see a podium at a larger event, and that�s OK with me. I do this strictly for the fun of it. If I had to compare myself to someone, it would probably be that guy at the Nationals every year with the old sprint car. There is no chance that he�s going to stand on a podium, but he has a hell of a good time, and to me that is the point� that and meeting a lot of great people. Actually, I�ve been more concerned lately with how to mount a giant speaker on the outside of the car to play �The Ride of the Valkyrie� while on the course. I have, of course, given some consideration to its location, to better balance the car. Would that push me to SP?The bottom line is that this is a club dedicated to tossing cars around, and this is a newsletter about the hobby of tossing cars around. It�s not rocket science or high art, and it probably will not make a significant contribution to world peace. It�s fun. Fun is good. Let�s have some fun.R.E.PortBy Randy FisherHello, and welcome back to the Offside Undo. There are many things I want to share with you this month, so let me get started...First of all I want you all to know that I am very excited and honored to be serving as your Regional Executive for 1999. For those of you who voted for me, thank you, and I hope to justify your confidence in me. For those of you who didn't vote for me, and there were many of you, given how close the vote was, I hope to at least earn your respect during the upcoming year..You have also elected a dedicated hard working board with many years of experience, both in SCCA and as members of your Executive Board. I feel confident we will continue to have a very worthwhile and successful year. .But as my predecessors have told you before, life is much easier for all of us when you�re willing to lend a hand once in a while. One of the things you can do is let us know your suggestions to make this an even better region. So please don�t hesitate to contact any Board member with your thoughts, comments and/or ideas, good, bad or otherwise -- �cause I know you�ve all got them and we�d like to hear them..Hopefully one of the first noticeable changes is what you're holding in you hands right now. At our first meeting in January, I told the Executive Board my top priority is to see that the Offside Undo is again published on a regular basis. The most important thing is to get information out to our members in a timely manner, even if we can�t maintain the slick, polished look of the past. But I knew beforehand that I was preaching to the choir with those comments, just as I am now. I know everyone in Kansas Region understands the importance of the Undo as a way to stay connected..At this point, I�d like to publicly thank Rob Gregg and Todd Mosiman for their many years of dedicated effort in working with the Undo, especially Rob. With the help of many others, Rob molded the Undo into an award-winning publication, twice judged as the best in SCCA for our region�s size. .Rob put countless hours evolving the newsletter into a polished, professional publication. More recently, Todd lent his time and talents as well, which helped distribute the work. But eventually other demands arose, making such a time-intensive commitment difficult for either of them to sustain..About this same time, the amount of participation from other members began to decline. It became harder and harder to get people to submit stories to fill the space, forcing the publishers to become writers and editors as well. That only served to make it tougher for Rob and Todd to continue producing a quality newsletter every month. The reasons for this decline in participation aren't really important. What really matters, in my opinion, is that the members get behind our new editor/publisher to help revive the Offside Undo...... So as we transition into a new era for the Undo, I want all of you to welcome Joe Williams, who has agreed to edit and publish the Undo this year. It is my goal, which I have shared with Joe, to produce between 8 & 10 issues of the Undo during 1999; this is the first! Todd and Rob deserve the credit for finding Joe to help with the newsletter, so I guess you can say they recruited their own replacement..The ultimate success of our newsletter will again be very dependent upon input from many different members during the year. Joe will need stories and articles from our members to make the Undo the best newsletter it can be.So I ask all of you to please help us, and yourselves, with this project. Take the time to write a story whenever you have something to share with your fellow Kansas Region members. If Joe or another board member asks you to write a story on a particular race or solo or something about yourself, don't hesitate to say, "sure, I'll be glad to help out". What I hope to have are stories about Kansas Region members, written by those members. With assistance like that, we'll make Joe's job a lot easier and make the Undo a better newsletter...In addition to a new editor for the Undo, a lot has already happened for Kansas Region. By the time you read this we will have had our annual awards banquet, two Board meetings and an organizational meeting for solo II. We have another full plate of road racing ahead of us, with four club events at Heartland Park (early start this year, beginning in April) and the NASCAR/ProVee event. Our solo community has put together a schedule of six regional events, the Solotime series divisional event and, of course, the Solo II Nationals.Well, for those of you who remember reading my Assistant's R.E.view a few years ago, I have a tendency to ramble a bit. With that in mind, I suppose I should end this by saying "thank you" to everyone for your help during the election and during the upcoming year. I'll see you somewhere on down the road...------------------------------------------------------------------------Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.Mark Twain------------------------------------------------------------------------Let The Games BeginBy Randy FisherFive Kansas Region drivers kicked off their 1999 season early as they participated in the Arizona Region�s Sunburn Nationals January 15-18, in Phoenix. The four-day double national, held on the 1.5 mile infield road course at Phoenix International Raceway, was designed to accommodate short daylight hours, eight race groups (along with the Valvoine ProVee series) and approximately 225 entries.Kent Prather from Wakarusa qualified in the top five for each national, pulling down the GP pole each time, but ran into difficulties during each of the 30-lap races. Sunday he qualified fourth overall, 0.049 seconds ahead of Dan Huntsman from California, in a MG Midget. After the green flag Prather and Huntsman were joined by another Californian, Gary Wittman, in their quest for the lead. After 11 laps, Huntsman dropped out, leaving Prather and Wittman dicing together the final 19 laps.Late in the race Kent was punted off the course, causing damage to the front end and left front of his beautiful white MGA. Prather was able to gather himself and return to the fray, taking the checker first in class, as well as first overall. But his victory was short-lived as he was later penalized one lap for passing under a late race yellow, which dropped him to sixth overall and second in class behind Wittman in an Austin Healey. Kent�s fastest race lap of 1:11.094 was the quickest of the day for GP cars.In Monday�s National, Kent took the green and immediately drove away from Huntsman and Wittman, opening up a commanding lead for most of the race. But misfortune again struck late; as Kent slowed down for the left-hander at turn one, he eased off the throttle and began to lose power. Prather limped all the way around the course and into the pits to discover that he had blown a spark plug. After a lengthy pit stop, Kent returned to the action but finished a distant fifth in class, three laps down. But Kent definitely had his MGA dialed in early as he toured the PIR course with a fast lap of 1:11.181, faster than any other G-Prod.A group of four Kansas Region Formula Vee drivers were on-hand to compete in both Nationals and the ProVee series season opener -- three races in three days. Bill Noble, last year�s runner-up in both the Valvoline ProVee series and the Valvoline Runoffs, and Bob Bramlage journeyed from Manhattan; Bill Allman was there from Topeka, as was Californian Charlie Turner, a member of both Cal Club and Kansas Regions. Manhattan�s Lisa Noble was at the track as well, but was not able to compete as she had too many other trackside duties to perform during the weekend.Qualifying for Saturday�s race saw Bill Noble capture fifth, while Bramlage started 11th, Allman 17th and Turner 22nd. Noble was running mostly to check out his car and retired after only 10 laps. Bramlage garnered a top-10 spot, moving up to finish eighth. Turner and Allman were not as fortunate, pulling out after 26 laps with mechanical problems.Sunday was the inaugural event for the 1999 Valvoline ProVee series, presented by ADPAC, as they began their 10th season of competition. Bill Noble qualified eighth with Bob Bramlage 11th and Charlie Turner 17th. Bill Allman�s qualifying time was good enough for 15th on the grid, but he was unable to compete due to the engine problems encountered in Saturday�s national.With the green flag, Noble quickly moved up three spots to fifth on the first lap and battled back and forth with Bill Wallschlaeger from Denver throughout the race. (These two guys had put on quite a show last October at the Runoffs as Noble edged Wallschlaeger on the last lap for second place.) At the midway point, third place Jerry Hodges of St. Louis lost a wheel and pulled off, allowing the two Bills to move their battle up for third and fourth.After exchanging positions between themselves most of the race, Wallschlaeger passed Noble for the final time on lap 21 and held on to capture third place, with Noble only 0.145 seconds behind in fourth.Bramlage ran at the end of a five- or six-car pack battling for sixth through 11th places during most of the race. Running 10th after 21 laps, Bramlage began to move up through the pack and within four laps had moved up to sixth but just couldn�t get over the hump, finishing in sixth only one-tenth of a second out of fifth.Charlie Turner ran a fairly steady race, moving up as high as 12th before ending in 13th.Bob Bramlage led Kansas Region qualifying for Monday�s National with 12th spot on the grid; Bill Noble was 13th, 0.076 seconds slower than Bramlage; Charlie Turner 22nd and Bill Allman again was not able to race. Bramlage capped an outstanding weekend with an eighth place finish - his third top 10 finish in three days. Turner moved up well during the 30 laps and finished 13th. Noble experienced mechanical problems and was forced to retire after only one lap.The Magic and Mystery of MiDiv Permanent NumbersBy Rocky Entriken - Midwest Division PointskeeperIt is perhaps useful, on occasion, to explain just what madness governs the issuance of MiDiv Permanent Numbers for club racers in the Midwest Division.First, these are not "National numbers" as they are often mis-named (and most emphatically, "National"-meaning Denver- has nothing to do with them). Some Divisions do, indeed, issue numbers only to National drivers. Here in MiDiv, anyone with a race car can have a permanent number - National driver, Regional driver, a Novice who just got his logbook, a car owner who does not race at all but rents his car to others, someone with a project car in his garage- we don't do background checks! There is but one requirement in that regard- you have to be a member of a MiDiv Region.The philosophy behind Permanent Numbers is not just that it is convenient for drivers/car owners, but also for everyone else involved - timers, scorers, comer workers, stewards, anyone who needs to be able to look at a car at speed (or in trouble) and determine in a flash which one it is ... what number it is.The number is reserved for you (subject to meeting entry deadlines) in any MiDiv race - National or Regional, including Mid-Am and I.T. Tour. I send each race registrar the current Permanent Number list as soon as the entry forms come out. It does not mean a number will be reserved for you in races in other Divisions or at the Runoffs.A Permanent Number costs $5 a year. Numbers are sold by race group, so someone buying a number owns it for all classes in that race group. If you buy No. 93 FV, you also own the number and block it out for everyone in FF, F500 and DSR as well. MiDiv's six race groups are Production/GT, Showroom/Touring/AS, "Wings & Things" (FA FC FM S2000 CSR), Small Formula (FF, FV, F500, DSR), SRF/Legends, and Improved Touring.Most MiDiv races will group this way, but that is not necessarily a guarantee. Combined groups can still make for number conflicts and "ownership" does not necessarily resolve them. So, if you own both an FF and an FV, you buy 93 just once and you can put it on both cars. But if you own, say, an FF and an FC, they are in different race groups and it costs you $5 each, $10 total, to put 93 on both cars.If you use the number three times in the current season, they say, you "get to keep it" next season. Well, not exactly that. What that really means is that, next year, your number will be held for renewal for two months. Renewals go out right after Christmas, mailed to all MiDiv drivers. If you met the three-race minimum, you have until Feb. 28 to get your renewal in with no worry someone else will get your number. If you did not use it in three races, however, it is first-come, first-served. The number is immediately available to anyone- including you if you owned it last year but did not meet the three-race minimum. After Feb. 28, all unsold numbers become available.I am fairly liberal in crediting "use" of the number. If you are 93 and I see you in a race as 9 (especially if I see another driver with 93), I'll count that as one use of 93 by you. I figure you made the attempt. Even if you are DNS but were not refunded your entry fee (usually that means a car that broke in practice), I credit that as a use. And I added something new to the number application this year, asking for co-drivers. If your co-driver uses the number, I will credit that as a use. This should help some who often share a ride (but in the past I did not know about the ride-share so could not credit the use). Co-drivers are shown on the master number list, but only the purchaser "owns" the number.To own a number, I must have an application and $5 in hand, but often drivers call to see if a number is available. In such cases, I will "pencil you in" for a number, giving one week to get form and money to me.While the number "season" is basically Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, I accept applications all year Want a number? Call, and I'll send you the forms .Rocky EntrikenMiDiv Pointskeeper(785) 827-5143R.entriken@mcimailLost Amoung the ConesLet the Slaughter Commence!By Rob GreggThe 1999 Kansas Region Regional Solo II Series will kick off on Sunday, April 11th in the paddock of Heartland Park Topeka. The event, co-sponsored with the Kansas City Region, will be held in conjunction with KVRG�s Driver School / Regional / Performance Car Driving Event.Event #2 is scheduled for May 2nd at Kansas State�s Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan. K-State�s SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) secured the site for our use and will receive a percentage of the entry fee.Four additional dates will conclude the series, tentatively scheduled for June 13, July 25, August 22 and October 10. Sites have not been determined for those dates.In addition to the regional series events, the Kansas Region will host the Midwest Division Solotime Solo II Championships the weekend of August 7-8 and the Solo II National Warm-Up Event September 11-12, both at Forbes Field.The 1998 Kansas Region Solo II Series was quite a success, averaging over 40 entries for the 6-event series. The Kansas Region crowned its Top 10 Regional Soloists at the annual awards banquet: 1. Ron Williams; 2. Bill Cutrer; 3. Ron Kelley; 4. Todd Mosiman; 5. Matt Kelley; 6. Mark Shackelford; 7. Tim Koch; 8. Kevin Rayzor; 9. Rob Gregg; 10. Randy Gregg.The 1998 Class Champions were: Super Stock - Kevin Rayzor; Super Stock Ladies - Bobbi Rayzor; A-Stock - Randy Eickhoff; B-Stock - Gary Spray; C-Stock - Joe Williams; E-Stock - Todd Mosiman; G-Stock - Ron Kelley; H-Stock - Ron Williams; H-Stock Ladies - Tina Williams. A-Street Prepared - Michael O�Bleness; B-Street Prepared - Jerry Thomas; C-Street Prepared - Scott Schmidt; D-Street Prepared - Greg Reno; E-Street Prepared - Rob Gregg. A-Prepared - Loren Pearson; B-Prepared - Frank Wietharn; C-Prepared - Fred Bybee; D-Prepared - Bill Cutrer; D-Prepared Ladies -Christine Hutsell. C-Modified - Mike Bultemier; D-Modified - Jan Gambriell; D-Modified Ladies - Carol Gambriell; E-Modified - Vern Peterson.Any 1998 event or series trophy winners that did not receive their award at the banquet should contact Rob Gregg at 272-5582. Any remaining trophies will be available for pick up at the 1999 series events. See you at Heartland Park on April 11th.Kansas Region Honored at SCCA National ConventionThe Kansas Region recently received the SCCA Solo II Divisional of the Year Award for the best divisional solo of 1998. The success of this event, held last August at Forbes Field in Topeka, was the result of the combined efforts of many people within the Kansas Region, certainly not least of all event cochairs Rob Gregg and Bill Cutrer.Although the award is presented to the host region, you must look beyond that region for assistance when putting on a successful event of this nature. That is why it should be acknowledged that all of the regions in the Midwest Division were very instrumental in the success of this divisional.This award is presented annually to the host region of an event of "singular high quality, including inventive and enjoyable concept, smooth organization and execution, and consideration for the competitor." The Solo Events Board (SEB) selects the winner from nominations submitted by the membership at large. SEB Chairperson G.H. Sharp presented the award to the Kansas Region on February 12th at the SCCA National Convention in San Diego. Kansas Regional Executive Randy Fisher accepted the award on behalf of the Region. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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