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!”

In any case, we are all looking forward to the October events. And we heard that the Solo program is going great guns and they are averaging a record number of entrants per event. I think it’s up to 72. And there are so many newbies participating that they are in dire need of helmets to loan out. Lack of helmets to share is actually slowing down the events, so we need to fix that. Anything with a Snell sticker two levels back is good, so that’s 2005 and even 2000, which are no longer eligible to be used in road racing. Even a Snell motorcycle rating from those years is good. Got an old helmet gathering dust? Bring it to a Chapter meeting and donate it. We’ll see that it gets into the right hands for the Solo loaner program. Also, as part of the Solo program’s continuing partnership with the United States Marine Corp, they are planning a charity event for the end of the year to benefit Toys for Tots, the USMC’s traditional holiday program. Plan on going to that on November 30!

In the business portion of the meeting we learned that the supps for the 13-hour enduro had been finalized and that registration for that should open shortly. We are very concerned because the catering budget at VIR seems to be rising out of control (What? Again!?) and, that means that we will have to cut back on our Saturday night socials and perhaps other meals as well. It’s very expensive to feed people and VIR controls the menu and the prices. The only other real news was for the night was about the up-coming NCR picnic.

You can read about the Region picnic in other articles on the NCR web site, but the gist is still the same. It’s Saturday, September 28, at High Rock Park in Gibsonville. Folks should register on MotorosportsReg.com just as they would for any other event, but if they plan on bringing additional guests then they should shoot West Chapter Coordinator Buddy Matthews an e-mail, redstarracing@triad.rr.com, since the guests don’t show up in the attendee list. We don’t want to run short of food! The Region will be supplying the meat — hot dogs and hamburgers — but everyone is asked to bring their own drinks and a side dish or dessert to share. Elsewhere you can also read about a new attraction that been added that will appeal to gearheads and history buffs alike. Member Tommy Jackson will be bringing out some of his antique engines and farm equipment for everyone to see. You can marvel at these fine old contraptions, see how they work, and generally get a feel for what life was like when power equipment and mechanization first came to rural North Carolina after the turn of the last century. It should be a hoot and well worth the trip just for that!

Hope to see you all there! And, if not there, then at the next Triangle Chapter meeting, Wednesday, October 2^nd. And, if not there, well then…I’ll see you at the races!

James Shanks
Triangle Chapter Coordinator