Triangle Chapter Report – April 2012

RALEIGH, NC – (NCRSCCA) – The April Triangle Chapter meeting wasn’t as well attended as the March one, but we had a great time, with good food, lively discussion, and good news.  The good news came in the form of race results. Steve Rose was there and he told us about his 1st and 2nd place finishes in IT-7 at Carolina Motorsports Park the preceding weekend.  Steve was pretty pumped when he told us about getting some driving tips that resulted in his first lap under three minutes there.  Way to go, Steve!  Then Chuck Hines told us all that he took back-to-back firsts in ITS, while Neal Harrison, who could not make the meeting, had done the same in IT-A.  We congratulated them all! Late in the evening we even saw some in-car video from Mr. Hines.

In other news, it was announced (by his mother, Tricia!) that young Blair Deffenbaugh had successfully completed his double driver’s school at Summit Point.  Congrats, young man!  His father, RE Rex Deffenbaugh, noted that while Blair had done well, he had a lot of people to thank, especially Randy Deaton and Blair “Pepe” Stitt, who crewed for him. Mr. Stitt apparently bought all the fuel.  Thanks, you guys!  For a good time, you can see the in-car video of Blair’s second practice race on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbR_ivxbUbA&feature=youtu.be  A lot of Spec Miatas get by, but be sure to stay for the end and the credits – it’s worth the wait!

Also in the news was Brock Nicholson for his other hobby – setting up static displays of Vietnam-era helicopters for folks to enjoy at special events.  A Vietnam-era chopper pilot himself, Brock and his group’s helos were part of the Vietnam Vets homecoming celebration at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Sam Fouse reported seeing Brock on the TV news!

For the business portion of the meeting, we talked mostly about two subjects. The first was the inaugural TCPS races that were part of the March Memories event.  46 cars entered, 44 competed, and 27 drivers were given checks for real race winnings they could cash!  Steve Rose, the series administrator, told us that the winners were uniformly enthusiastic about their experience and were quite pleased with the size and swiftness of the payouts.  Here’s to more success in the future!

The second item of business concerns the upcoming Double SARRC/Double MARRS event in May.  The MARRS folks have indicated that they want a substantial increase (60%) in the per-car fee that they will charge for their sanction, while the SARRC fees have remained constant, so our entry fees will have to go up. The Region is considering handing out a notice to MARRS drivers at the event explaining that this is not our doing but is being forced upon us. Stay tuned for more developments in this area.

And speaking of staying tuned in, there’s no better way than to join us for the next Triangle Chapter meeting, Wednesday, May 2.  The upcoming Oak Tree Double National (you’re all going, right?) will be in the history books by then and there will be plenty of stories to tell and perhaps more in-car video to share.  I’ll see you at the meeting … or at the races!

James Shanks
Triangle Chapter Coordinator

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