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!

And more congratulations were due to Marvin Fordham, who ran his first hillclimb, in his newly-prepped TR8. Marvin said he had a great time and told us that, in true British sports car fashion, the car threw its belts and expired (not fatally we hope!) at the finish of his last run. Way to go, Marvin!

The business meeting was short. We passed around some copies of the advertising that is due to appear in Grassroots Motorsports and SportsCar in the coming months hyping our October races. And we had a report from Sam Fouse on the newly-refurbished scales building that is part of the tech shed at VIR. As we reported last time, Sam and his crew and some volunteers had completely rebuilt our portion of the building because it was in serious need of repair. The volunteer work was done by members of the West Chapter, Dwight Cooke, Secretary Jerry Pell, and West Chapter Coordinator Buddy Matthews. And mention of them ushered in our final piece of news.

The West Chapter has organized a Region-wide picnic for all members to attend. See the West Chapter report for more information. The basics are these: The Region has rented a shelter at the Northeast Park in Gibsonville, North Carolina, which is about 15 miles north of the Interstate (40/85) as it passes through Greensboro, for us to use on Saturday, September 28. NCR will supply hot dogs and hamburgers and everyone else should bring additional food with enough to share. Done this way, the event commemorates the sort of social events that North Carolina Region held in its early days. By the way, I’m told that unlike some parks, this one allows adults to bring and consume beer, so long as it is in cans, and consumed at the shelter. The park itself is family-friendly with a carrousel, a small train, and miniature golf. They also have soccer and baseball fields, which brings up another point. The members of the West Chapter have challenged the members of the Triangle Chapter to a softball game to be held as part of this event. Holy horsehide!  I think that makes me the team manager. So let me know (jrshanks@bellsouth.net) if you’d like to play. And even if you don’t play, come on out to the picnic on September 28th and watch the others. It should be great fun. It’ll get started around 9:00 AM with us planning to eat in the afternoon, between 2 and 3. Hope to see your there!

And I also hope to see you at the next Triangle Chapter meeting, Wednesday, September 4th. Please come out and help me organize a softball team!  Can anybody pitch?  I’ll see you there…or at the races!

James Shanks
Triangle Chapter Coordinator

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