Triangle Chapter Report – November 2013

We had a great Triangle Chapter meeting this month, on Wednesday, November 6^th. 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!

After all this, Mark Senior provided us with in-car video of his outing in his “newest” race car, which is Dave Blum’s old ITA Protégé. He was running in the Carolina Cup at the Goblin’s Go. What was remarkable about this drive was that that car had been sitting for about ten years and Mark and his crew got it back on track in less than a week! The clutch let go with 3 laps to go, but still that’s a remarkable achievement. Better luck next time, Mark!

As you can probably tell, the actual business meeting was anti-climactic after all that great racing video. The Board of Directors is actively trying to find ways to reduce our overly large food expenditure at our races at VIR and is considering alternatives to providing worker lunches, such as just giving each worker money to buy his or her own lunch. There will be more discussion on this at the next Board meeting, and possibly future ones, but if you have ideas you’d like considered, please contact a Board member and let them know. It’s too soon to have all the financial information gathered on our last two racing events, but we are hoping for a good result, since we went into them about $5600 below our revenue targets for the year. Hopefully we can finish the year in the black.

The discussion got back around to the last two races. There were some complaints about protests and stewards decisions at the Goblins Go, but I won’t detail those here. Everybody who attended the 13-hour was still talking about how fast the overall winner of the 13-hour was in his Aston Martin. And nobody expected the Radical CSR from Canada to last long enough to finish, let alone take his class and be second overall. (BTW, you can get the race results on our web site at https://ncrscca.com/club-racing-results).

As one of the team volunteers from Long Road Racing for the 13-hour, I did two 2-hour stints in timing and scoring and I can’t say enough about the dedication of the regulars who make that race possible. It takes a lot of concentration to chart and audit over 300 laps! My hat’s off to the T&S regulars who not only do it with accuracy and professionalism, but with a smile. All they asked for was a couple of substitute monkeys like me so they could take a few short breaks to eat.

Other specialties earned praise too. The effort it takes to staff the 13-hour is well-known, but new FF driver Ric Cooley made it a point to praise the workers at the Goblins Go. It was his first outing at VIR and he really appreciated the warm reception he got on the grid and the blue flags from the corner stations. Take a bow, folks!

The next item of business we discussed was that the date and location of the Annual Awards dinner for 2013 has been set. Like last year it will be at Caffé Luna in Raleigh, on the second Saturday in January (January 11, 2014), so mark your calendars now. Thanks to Bibi Tucker Harrison, who graciously volunteer to chair this event one more time, even though she no longer lives in Raleigh!

Also coming up are Region elections. Nominations are due by the end of the next Board meeting (Wednesday, November 20^th) for the four Region-wide offices that are up for election. The RE position is open, as is the club Secretary, and two Members-at-Large positions. The RE spot is currently held by Rex Deffenbaugh, who announced he is running again. The Secretary position is currently held by Jerry Pell, who has indicated that he plans to retire, as well Members-at-Large Wayne Quick and Neal Harrison. So now is the time for anyone who’d like to be on the Board to take a shot at it. All adult NCR members in good standing are eligible to run. To be nominated you must submit a request in writing to the current Secretary with your name and membership number, along with signed endorsements by three other members, including their membership numbers. Any current Board member can accept that nomination document and carry it to the next Board meeting.

Before those elections, though, we have one of our major Solos coming up at the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, November 16 and 17. This is a big one with a concurrent Novice school and it’s on a military base, so all participants must register in advance. Use the link on the web site, https://ncrscca.com/events/2013/11/ncr-scca-solo-cfacs-points-event-7-8-november-charlie-romeo). The Marines (God bless ‘em) are letting us set up on huge Runway F (Foxtrot), so the event is known as “November Charlie Romeo at Foxtrot”. How cool is that!

We closed our meeting with a swap-and shop. Dennis Shaw has a friend with a 1985 RX-7 (no engine or transmission, but otherwise complete) just aching to be turned into a race car. Contact him at 919-872-2187 if you are interested. Blair “Pepe” Stitt is moving and is selling his house in Wendell. The house is a modest 1380 square feet, but it comes with a 1200 square foot garage that has 12-foot ceilings. Contact him at 919-231-0701 or racerpepe@yahoo.com if this country estate with race shop potential interests you. And Randel Sink has moved on to Spec Racer Ford, so his Spec Miata is for sale. It’s a fully-sorted, race-ready 1.6 liter ’92 Miata with spares and an annual tech that’s still good through next March. Contact Randel for details of this turn-key race car for a mere $12K if that interests you. You can reach him at randelsink@bellsouth.net or 919-218-5230.

And that was it. Get those nominations in for the upcoming elections, and speaking of elections, why not join us for the December meeting of the Triangle Chapter at El Rodeo on Wednesday, December 4^th. As required by the Region Bylaws we have to elect a Chapter Coordinator for 2014. Anyone who wants the job can just show up! I’ll see you there…or at the races next season!

James Shanks
Triangle Chapter Coordinator