Triangle Chapter Report
Triangle Chapter Report – March 2013
The March meeting of the Triangle Chapter was surprisingly well-attended despite it being just three days ahead of the first NCR racing event at VIR. Perhaps because no one has been out of town racing recently, ‘cause they were getting ready for our event, there was no in-car video to share, but the conversation was lively and spirited. We even had a couple of new faces join us, as well as a couple of guys from last time who came back. Returning new member Ric Cooley was there. He’s taking his newly-purchased Citation Formula Ford to Summit Point in two weeks for the driver’s school there, and he is looking for crew help. Any volunteers? And Brandon Miller was there as well, eagerly looking to attend his first racing event over the weekend. Member at Large Wayne Quick, who will be driving an IT-7 over the weekend, signed them up for his crew. Have a good time, guys! See you there!
Triangle Chapter Report – February 2013
The first meeting of the Triangle Chapter for 2013 was held at our favorite watering hole, the El Rodeo restaurant in the Townridge Shopping Center in Raleigh, where Pleasant Valley crosses Glenwood Avenue. As usual, the food and the service were excellent, as was the dinner hour entertainment. Member at Large Wayne Quick provided in-car video from the inaugural Eastern Conference Majors race (Double National) at Sebring the weekend of January 4th – 6th. We seldom see in-car video of Sebring here in the Triangle since it’s a long way to go, so it was a real treat to see that track from behind the wheel of Wayne’s GT3 Ford Probe. His wife Jean, ever the proud crew chief and spouse, was quick to point out that Wayne took a second place in one of the races there. Congratulations, Wayne! And thanks for sharing! By the way, some of the rest of us, Sam Fouse, Dan Robson and myself, were surprised to see that there’s now a large motel adjacent to the track and visible to the drivers. Guess it really has been “awhile” since we were there!
Triangle Chapter Report – December 2012
Raleigh, NC – (NCRSCCA) – The last Triangle Chapter meeting of the year was held at El Rodeo in Raleigh, and it was a good one. Mark Senior supplied in-car video from the cockpit of his Spec Miata at VIR and we had not one, but two, 2012 SARRC Champions in attendance. Chuck Hines took first in ITS after a fierce season-long battle with Jeff Young, who finished second. Chuck was with us but not Jeff, and to hear Chuck tell it, the championship came down to the last lap of the last race of the season – it was that close. Congratulations, Chuck! Well fought, Jeff! The Chapter salutes you both. We also saluted F500 champ Boz Marchi who was present as well. Way to go, Boz!
Triangle Chapter Report – November 2012
Raleigh, NC – (NCRSCCA) – We had a great time at the November meeting of the Triangle Chapter! Tom Long, co-driver of the overall winner of the Charge of the Headlight Brigade, the Freedom Motorsports #25 MX-5, dropped by with his work buddy, Sean Calton, so Sean could meet the troops and see what we were all about. Welcome Sean! And Justin Deffenbaugh showed up with one of his annotated videos of his brother Blair driving in the Goblin’s Go. The captions Justin added were hilarious, but Blair got his brother back on film with his single digit salute as he rounded Oak Tree where Justin was flagging. Too funny! Well done, guys! And Chuck Hines also provided video of his exciting dice with Jeff Young at the same race. Talk about not giving an inch! These guys went at it hammer and tongs lap after lap. All eyes were on the big screen and there was plenty of cheering as they swapped the lead in ITS over and over again. It was something to see!
Triangle Chapter Report – October 2012
RALEIGH, NC – (NCRSCCA) – The October meeting of the Triangle Chapter was rather lightly attended, but that was perhaps to be expected with everyone preparing for either the SIC in Savannah or the North Carolina Autocross Championship at Cherry Point, both of which kick off this coming weekend, October 6-7. Blair “Pepe” Stitt said he was going to go down and help out Steve Rose, who’s fighting to keep his third-in-division position in IT-7. Steve seemed eager to do battle. And rookie Regional driver Blair Deffenbaugh indicated that he’d be crewing for Ron Earp and Jeff Young, but that he was bringing his driver’s suit just in case a spot opened up on Friday’s test day. As he put it, “I’ll drive anything that moves.”
Triangle Chapter Report – September 2012
Raleigh, NC – (NCRSCCA) – The Triangle Chapter met for September in our usual spot, the El Rodeo restaurant in Raleigh on Pleasant Valley where it crosses Glenwood Avenue. We had no in-car video this month, but judging from the animated conversation, those members in attendance had plenty to talk about.
Triangle Chapter Report – August 2012
RALEIGH, NC – (NCRSCCA) – The Triangle Chapter met August 1st at El Rodeo in Raleigh and we had a rare treat. Blair “Pepe” Stitt, our SARRC Rep, brought a rare DVD he’d received from long-time member Dennis Shaw. Dennis couldn’t be with us but this DVD he provided was a priceless collection of video documenting Team Highball’s running of the IMSA BF Goodrich Radial Challenge back in 1979. Not only was there video produced by the team members from back in the day, but there was also a documentary narrated by Brock Yates which followed the endurance series from Daytona to Laguna Seca and the now-defunct Ontario Motor Speedway in California, to Mid-Ohio and Road America.
Triangle Chapter Report – July 2012
RALEIGH, NC – (NCRSCCA) – The Triangle Chapter meeting for July was held a week late, on July 11, 2012, to allow folks to spend the Independence Day holiday with their families. It was unusual too in another way – we had it downstairs at El Rodeo in the back meeting room rather than upstairs, as is our custom. It seems that many of the El Rodeo staff had some time off and it was easier for them to accommodate us without having to climb the stairs. The back meeting room was smaller, but adequate enough, since it now has a big screen TV. We were entertained before dinner with in-car video from Mark Senior at VIR. This video was really unique because it was captured with a backward-facing camera. Mark recently added that to his video set-up to compliment the usual forward-facing unit, and this was the unedited footage from the rear as he raced his Spec Miata at the Double SARRC/Double MARRS. It was pretty cool to see cars suddenly slide backwards into view as Mark passed them. You could see their drivers frantically trying to keep up but inevitably fall behind. And we had lots of fun trying to guess his position on the track while looking backward at the last corner station he had just passed. What a hoot!
Triangle Chapter Report – June 2012
RALEIGH, NC – (NCRSCCA) – The June meeting of the Triangle Chapter was held at El Rodeo in Raleigh on Wednesday June 6th, the 68th anniversary of the Normandy invasion of WWII. We didn’t celebrate that so much, though some of us quietly observed it, as we did the first Regional race by rookie Blair Deffenbaugh. Mark Senior had Blair’s in-car video on his computer and he hooked that up to the big screen in the El Rodeo upstairs lounge. Blair didn’t do badly for his first time out – he finished where he started, didn’t mess up, and didn’t hit anybody – though we did see his IT-7 get passed by a couple of Miatas, most notably Mark Senior’s! Good job, Blair!
Triangle Chapter Report – May 2012
RALEIGH, NC – (NCRSCCA) – The May meeting of the Triangle Chapter featured in-car video from a new source. Neal Harrison provided footage of his third and fourth place finishes at Roebling Road the preceding weekend. Late Chuck Hines showed us in-car from his Miata for the same weekend. Thanks, guys! Poor Chuck didn’t do as well. He took second on Saturday but had head gasket issues which prevented a finish on Sunday. Better luck next time, big guy! And speaking of race results, James Echells took a third in his E Prod Miata. Good show, James!