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.

There were a few absent faces among the regulars. James Etchells, EP Miata driver, was uncharacteristically alone. His wife June had broken her foot. Ouch! Sorry, June, hope to see you next time! And his buddy Brock Nicholson was recovering from an auto accident that was not his fault. James said that Brock was waiting at a light, the first car in line, in his old Ford Ranger and someone making a left in front of him cut it too close and clipped his truck, tearing the bumper off. The air bag deployed, burning Brock’s forearm (not too seriously we hope!), and was now home recuperating. James said Brock’s biggest complaint was that the insurance company totaled the truck because of its age and Ford isn’t making small pickups anymore! Hope you feel better and find a new ride soon, Brock!

The meeting portion was short. We are basically waiting for the two October events to roll around, and hopefully those will provide enough income to cover our current debts. We are running about $11k below break-even for the year at this point. The discussion soon turned to last weekend’s Region picnic at Northeast Park in Gibsonville, which was very lightly attended. Too bad, it seems, because those of us who went, had a good time, despite the fact that Tommy Jackson had to cancel his antique engine expo due to having thrown out his back. Ouch! Hope you feel better soon, Tommy! There was on “antique engine” there, however. Treasurer Steve Keadle used the opportunity to take his 1970 Ford Torino Cobra Jet out for a spin. His classic muscle car was running well, he told us. Perhaps that’s the key for next year. Maybe we should have a street car show and swap meet in conjunction with the picnic. Let you Chapter representative know is you’d like to see that happen in 2014.

Steve also shared a picture of the memorial sticker for Phil Hennrich that will be available at the Goblins Go. At its last meeting, The Board had decided that this would be a fitting way to remember Phil, and Steve had volunteered to design and order the stickers. The design is of Phil’s famous orange baseball cap with the upturned brim and his signature slogan, “Movin’ Right Along.” They’re great! Be sure to get yours and display it proudly. Thanks, Steve!

There was also discussion of how Region members fared at the National RunOffs last week. Doug Piner, who was not among us, started ninth and finished 6th in DSR, which earned him a Sunoco Hard Charger award in that competitive class. Way to go, Doug! We also heard that Dwight Cooke is on the mend from his unfortunate accident in which his hand was injured when an improperly-wrapped tow strap came loose and wound up around his fingers. Ouch! This was probably the most serious injury reported at our meeting (are we jinxed?) but Dwight had attended the picnic and assured everyone that he will be fine in about six to eight weeks. See the RunOffs briefing elsewhere for more info on how Region member fared at that event.

Dan Robson reported that the SCCA took a great aerial photo of all the competitors at the 50th anniversary RunOffs from a helicopter. They put all the formula cars on the front straight of the Road America racetrack and all the others in pit lane, four or five abreast. Chuck Hines found it on the web and shared it with all present. You ought to look it up, too. It’s really impressive! Something to talk about!

And by the time the next Chapter meeting rolls around, there will be plenty to talk about, as we have two racing events in October, the Goblins Go, October 19th and 20th, and less than a week later the 13-hour Charge of the Headlight Brigade, October 25th and 26th. So I’ll see you at that meeting, Wednesday, November 6th for an update …or at the races!

James Shanks
Triangle Chapter Coordinator

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