Triangle Chapter Report – December 2015

The last meeting of the Triangle Chapter for 2015 was a lively one, in no small measure due to the fact that, once again, we were not alone in the upstairs lounge at El Rodeo. It seems that the staff forgot we were coming and booked another group in the downstairs meeting area, so we wound up with overflow dinner guests among our members. Oh well, I hope that they had a good time. But due to the crowding and the confusion, I opted not to try to hook up my DVD player to one of the restaurant TVs and show the Goblins Go in-car video that James Etchells brought, of the SARRC race in his EP Miata. Hey, Jim! Bring it again in the early part of next year, to the February or March meeting, and we’ll try again. We should be pretty well starved for racing videos by then!

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Triangle Chapter Report – November 2015

The November Triangle Chapter meeting was a lively one, if only because we had some noisy interlopers who decided they just had to have part of the action even though they weren’t members of the club. Oh well, maybe they’ll join up after hearing our meeting discussion. LOL! (BTW, many thanks to Trish Deffenbaugh for quieting them down enough so I could be heard!).

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Triangle Chapter Report – October 2015

The October meeting of the Triangle Chapter was short and lively.  But we had a couple of new members to welcome, so we went around the room, as is our fashion, and introduced ourselves. Joining the SCCA that very afternoon were Rodney King and Mark Bradley.  These guys have jumped in with both feet and bought themselves a race car, an E36 BMW, and are eager to get started.  They’ll be attending driver’s school in the spring, and in the meantime, they’ll be hanging out with us, looking for pointers and technical assistance readying their car. Good luck, guys! And welcome to the club!

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Triangle Chapter Report – September 2015

The summer doldrums are over. The Triangle Chapter met on Wednesday, September 2, 2015, and judging by the turn-out, the members are eager for the fall season of racing to begin. But while the racers have been off elsewhere (we’ll get to that in a minute), the Solo crowd has been going at it full-bore. They had back-to-back events at MCAS Cherry Point, which, among other things, brought us member-to-be Mike Miller, who had nothing but good things to say about the event. BTW, Mike is a veteran autocrosser, long a member of Tarheel Sports Car Club, and the 2009 C Street NCAC champion. Impressive! Mike autocrosses an “NC” or 3rd generation MX-5, and he runs a Corvette Z06 in HPDE events. Welcome, Mike!

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Triangle Chapter Report – August 2015

Well, August is the month for vacations, especially in Europe, and by the turn out at the Triangle Chapter meeting on Wednesday, August 5th, you might have thought this was France, or perhaps Spain, since we were at El Rodeo, our favorite Mexican restaurant, and only about a dozen stalwarts came by. What’s the matter, folks? No need to find an excuse to come out and drink beer with your racing buddies in the summer? Still on vacation? Or were you too tired from the last race? Or perhaps gearing up for this weekend’s NC Region picnic?

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Triangle Chapter Report – July 2015

Whether it was the Rolling Stones concert (Gimme Mick!) at the State Fairgrounds, or getting ready for the Double SARRC at Roebling, or the start of the Independence Day holiday weekend that kept people away from our meeting, I don’t know, but only eight stalwarts, including myself, showed up at El Rodeo for the July meeting of the Triangle Chapter. But we had a good time catching up and sharing plans. RE Rex Deffenbaugh and his wife Tricia are planning a trip to Mid-Ohio for the big AMA vintage motorcycle festival there the weekend of the 10th – 12th. The whole family is apparently going in the motorhome, even grandpa. Sounds like a great time!

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Triangle Chapter Report – June 2015

A hardy bunch of stalwarts braved the dreary weather to attend the June meeting of the Triangle Chapter. But it was bright inside the El Rodeo restaurant and the bench racing was going on so enthusiastically I had to ask for quiet three times before we could get the business portion underway. Mark Senior brought us in-car video, but after viewing it at the bar on his computer, he deemed it “too boring” to share. Apparently the view through the windshield was just the rear of the same car he was chasing lap after lap. Thanks anyway, Mark! It’s the thought that counts.

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Triangle Chapter Report – May 2015

The May meeting of the Triangle Chapter was short and sweet. James Etchells brought us a DVD of his recent outing at Savannah, including the spin that cost him 3rd place, he said, but we lacked a player to show it, so it will be featured next month for sure. Perhaps it was just as well we couldn’t show it, as the audience will undoubtedly be bigger for the next meeting, since so many people skipped this meeting to prepare for the SARRC/MARRS event that was just around the corner.

But we had some new faces present. In attendance was Roland Hill who wants to get into solo and is eagerly awaiting the novice school and following points event at MCAS Cherry Point over May 16-17. Welcome, Roland! Also present was Bob McDonald and his wife and crew chief, Gail. Bob used to race a Sprite back in the 1985-87 timeframe, and he’s looking to re-up. Welcome back, Bob and Gail!

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Triangle Chapter Report – April 2015

We had a good time at the April meeting of the Triangle Chapter. There wasn’t much to do except eat, drink, and catch up on what everyone had been up to, but we had a great time doing it. Assistant RE Mike Spencer brought his family’s long time friend, Marcella Hutscke, from upstate New York. She’s not a member yet, but as she wasn’t looking forward to returning home to the frozen northland, that may change as soon as she can retire and move to the sunny South.

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Triangle Chapter Report – March 2015

The Triangle Chapter meeting for March was a rousing success, despite it being only a couple of days before our first race of the season. While many regular attendees were absent, no doubt working feverishly to get the cars ready for the “March Into Spring” event, those who came out got to visit with our resident pro driver Tom Long. Tom was in town and also planning to attend the race because he had a couple of clients he was coaching. Let’s hope they do well!

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