Triangle Chapter Report – September 2014

The Triangle Chapter meeting for September was fairly well attended, even though no one had any video to share. Hey guys! Are those GoPros broken? Don’t just tell us you won. Bring video!

One member who had no video brought the next best thing, a picture of himself and one of him in the car, participating in the Chasing the Dragon Hillclimb V, as shown in the latest issue of Grassroots Motorsports. Turn to page 66 of issue #6, volume 13, and you’ll see Marvin Fordham behind the wheel of his gorgeous British Racing Green BSP TR8! Marvin was one of four participants that GRM chose to profile in that article. Way to go Marvin! I’m guessing you’ll be a participant at Chasing the Dragon 7, coming up September 13 and 14th. The event is held twice a year near Robbinsville, NC and is hosted by Central Carolinas Region.

We also had a new face among the crowd at El Rodeo for this meeting. Antonio Santibarez from Mebane, NC dropped by to see what we are all about. A body-and-fender man by trade, he showed me photos of his recently-restored cherry red 1980 Corvette. We did round-robin introductions, as we usually do when new folks drop by, so that Antonio could meet all the attendees and us him. He told us that he’s always wanted to get into motorsports but never seemed to find an opportunity. He’s eager to try Solo and to come to the races, so I’m sure we’ll see more of him. Unfortunately, he has a class which usually meets on Wednesday nights, so he may be attending the West Chapter meetings in Greensboro on the first Tuesday of the month for awhile. No matter. Welcome, Antonio! Glad to meet you!

The business portion of the meeting was short. Sadly, the autocross to be held in conjunction with the Tarheel Sports Car Club’s HPDE, RallyCross, and karting event, at VIR has been canceled due to low entries. Tarheel’s events are still on but our autocross is not. Here’s hoping we can do better next year. Financially, the Region is well in the black going into the last half of the year. The supps for the last two races have been sent out for approval. The Region’s second annual picnic was deemed a success, despite the rainy weather. A little over fifty people, adults and children, gathered in Northeast Park last month for a cook-out. The Region provided drinks, hot dogs and hamburgers, while the attendees brought chips and sides to share. Tommy Jackson showed up with some of his antique engines for the gearheads among us to examine and wonder at, and best of all, the total cost to the Region was less than $325. I cannot wait until next year. If the weather cooperates, we might actually have some folks drive their cool cars to show off! And finally, if the National Office cooperates, we may host the 30th anniversary of SRF at the 2015 Goblins Go.

We closed the meeting congratulating drivers who had recently done well. Mike Spencer recently tried his hand at an autocross held by Tarheel at the Piedmont Dragway. Mike said he was 4th in class in his Spec Miata until he got a tip from Justin Deffenbaugh that allowed him to move up to second. Way to go, Mike! Thanks in abstentia, Justin! And we all wished Doug Piner, the 2014 Eastern Conference Champ in P2, well at the RunOffs. We’re pullin’ for ya, Doug! By the way, he still has a professional pit cart and a motorhome for sale. If you are interested, the revenue would really help him out. Going all the way to California for over a week is expensive!

What are not expensive are the wonderful meals we have at El Rodeo. Why not join us there for the next Triangle Chapter meeting, Wednesday, October 1st? I’ll see you there…or at the races!

James Shanks
Triangle Chapter Coordinator

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