Triangle Chapter Report
Triangle Chapter Report – March 2014
The March meeting of the Triangle Chapter went off in fine style. Our resident videographer, Justin Deffenbaugh, brought us in-car video of his dad, RE Rex Deffenbaugh, competing in the NASA-sanctioned Sandblast Rally down in South Carolina. What a hoot! We saw him and his co-driver barreling along those sandy trails in Cheraw, at least for the first five miles or so, until they broke an axle. Whoops! Maybe it was because Rex, the navigator, was wearing his new red racing shoes instead of his lucky old blue ones. Or maybe it was because switching to a limited-slip diff wasn’t the hot set up in Randy Deaton’s Honda Civic. But they needed some way to limit wheel spin because Randy, the driver, only knows one throttle position, flat out. Anyway, sorry you broke, guys. Better luck next year!
Triangle Chapter Report – February 2014
The first meeting of the Triangle Chapter for 2014 was held on February 5th at our usual spot, the El Rodeo restaurant in the Townridge Shopping Center in Raleigh. No one had any video to share, but those present were not short on enthusiasm for the new season at VIR. We can’t wait to see the newly repaved and reconfigured surface! And the track isn’t the only thing that’s new. Lots of things are changing in the Region and in the Southeast Division.
Triangle Chapter Report – November 2013
We had a great Triangle Chapter meeting this month, on Wednesday, November 6th. Justin Deffenbaugh brought a computer full of interesting in-car video to share. First we saw him behind the wheel of that old ITC Pulsar race fans know so well, but at a completely unusual venue, the Chase the Dragon Hill Climb put on by CCR last month. It was cool to see the tight course through the greenery and our own Steve Keadle (our Treasurer), who was stewarding that event, applauding Justin trackside as he crossed the finish line. Good going, Justin!
Then we were treated to a ride-along inside RE Rex Deffenbaugh’s RX-7 at the Goblin’s Go. We saw some close racing there. But it wasn’t as close as what we saw from inside Steve Rose’s IT-7 at the SIC in Savannah. The 2013 SARRC IT-7 championship was on the line, and the winner of the race was going to take it. Steve battled Gary Wilson for the lead from the start. I won’t say he was blocking, but Gary, who must have been driving the widest RX-7 ever built, if you know what I mean, finally made a mistake trying to defend the lead and wound up off-course. Steve got by and never looked back. He took home both first place and the championship. Way to go, Steve!
Triangle Chapter Report – October 2013
The Triangle Chapter met, as usual, at El Rodeo in Raleigh and, finally, someone brought a racing video to share. Chuck Hines, who comes all the way from the Fayetteville area to attend, brought his girlfriend Sandy Williams, and in-car video of his Spec Miata race at the 2012 SIC at Roebling Road. The 2013 is this coming weekend. Hopefully someone will get us video of that for the next meeting ’cause Chuck is on suspension. Imagine that! The only in-car video was provided by a guy who is not racing this season! Well, thanks, Chuck! We needed something interesting to watch.
Triangle Chapter Report – September 2013
The Triangle Chapter met, as usual, at El Rodeo, our favorite Mexican restaurant in Raleigh. (Tried the Baja fish tacos, this time. They were fabulous!) And, despite the fact that no one had any in-car video to share (What, again? Did y’all break those cameras or what?), we all had a great time. There was news aplenty. Doug Piner was there and he’s going to the RunOffs next week in his DSR. Good Luck, Doug! It’s tough to finish well and we wish you the best. Some of the older members were trying to add up how many times they had gone. Dan Robson, I think, holds the record of 22 Run Offs (!) as a contender, but Dennis Shaw and Sam Fouse may not be too far behind. But Dennis holds the record for pro events, often with Dan or Sam as crew! It’s amazing the stuff you can learn when you say, “Tell us a little about what you have done in the Club!”
Triangle Chapter Report – August 2013
The August meeting of the Triangle Chapter was well attended, despite the heat, though we had no in-car video to share. Still, we had a great time, with a wonderful mixture of old and new friends. We saw some faces we hadn’t seen in quite some time, like Carl Cason and Dennis Shaw, as well as some new members, such as Damon Hunter and motorsports journalist Tim Wolford. Ric Cooley was back from his first Formula Ford race at Road Atlanta, where I think he was third. Congratulations, Ric! By the way, he still needs crew help, he said. Someone wanna volunteer to help him get a first next time?
Congratulations were in order for some other attendees, too. Recent member Reid Garret announced that he was engaged to his lady Rebecca, whom he brought along so she could meet the group, while Tricia and Rex Deffenbaugh announced that they were celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary! Wow! Both ends of the matrimonial spectrum in the same room at once! How cool is that? And Sam Fouse rounded out the picture by telling us that his son had gotten married the previous weekend, with the son of another member acting as his best man. That really proves what they say about the SCCA. “I came for the cars, but I stayed for the people.” Congratulations to you all!
Triangle Chapter Report – July 2013
The Triangle Chapter meeting was well-attended, despite being held just a day before the Independence Day holiday, There were plenty of old friends, and a new acquaintance, Jarrod Turner. We all introduced ourselves in round-robin fashion and discovered that Jarrod is a professional driver. No, not for a race team, but it was funny to watch all the folks who met him for the first time mentally searching their memories to see whom he might driver for. But Jarrod is a chauffeur and he’s looking to drive something a little more exciting than what he does for work. We hope he’ll join us for an autocross or a weekend at VIR come October. Welcome, Jarrod.
Triangle Chapter Report – June 2013
Our June meeting of the Triangle Chapter was held at the usual location, the El Rodeo restaurant on Pleasant Valley in the Townridge Shopping Center, home of some of the finest Mexican cuisine around. But they had remodeled the upstairs bar area over the past few months (I think it debuted for Cinco de Mayo) and we got to meet there this time, rather than being crammed into the tiny, and partially open, room at the back. The new décor is very impressive, with pub tables and an enclosed bar featuring several overhead flat screen TVs, and there were a couple more strategically placed around the room. That made it easier for Justin Deffenbaugh to hook up his computer to one and show us his latest racing video, compiled from footage he shot at the SARRC/MARRS event at VIR in early May. Perhaps this is the start of a new era for us — no more standing on tables trying to reach behind a big screen TV to hook up a video cable to a connector you can’t see. It was like Christmas in June!
Triangle Chapter Report – May 2013
The May Triangle Chapter meeting was very well-attended. In fact, we had so many attendees it was standing-room only and many of the members were wishing we were back upstairs in the bigger bar area. But we got everybody seated and then we all enjoyed a video on the big screen. It was the view from inside the #11 IT7 car of Steve Rose, pounding his way from 5th to 3rd in IT7, at the Jim Stark Memorial Double SARRC at Roebling Road last weekend. It was even more enjoyable for the viewers because Justin Deffenbaugh, who had crewed for Steve, had edited video before he brought it and added some choice commentary to the action on camera. You can see it on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZarBQlTDbfQ&feature=share. Thanks, Justin! Well done, Steve!
Triangle Chapter Report – April 2013
The April Triangle Chapter meeting was held at El Rodeo and was well–attended, but no one had any racing video to share despite it being well after the March Memories event.
Come on, guys! Show us your stuff! But judging by the noise level our members found much to talk about. There was a lot of bench racing going on. It took several minutes to get the room quiet enough to start our meeting!