January 2011 Loud Pedal by Randy Unsbee

Loud Pedal Inside this Issue: • Meet the New R.E. • Motorsports MarCom • Rally Awards

January 2011

The Official Magazine of Oregon Region SCCA

$3.00

January 2011

Loud Pedal The Official Membership Magazine of Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America. Editor:

Randy Unsbee, ABC Sponsor PR & Marketing 1260 NE 20th Gresham, OR 97030 info@sponsorpr.com Editorial/Advertising Deadlines: 20th of prior month Please send address changes to: Oregon Region SCCA 4800 SW Macadam Ave., Ste. 110 Portland, OR, 97239 Photographers: Doug Berger, George Dwinell, Wayne Flynn, Ron Coelho The Loud Pedal is published monthly by the Oregon Region of the Sports Car Club of America. All contents copyright ÂŠ 2011 by Oregon Region SCCA Inc. Articles and letters to the editor may be submitted in writing, by mail, by fax, electronically on a CD disk or by electronic mail. Original photographs may be submitted, but do not submit, and Oregon Region will not accept, copyrighted materials without prior written permission from the photographer specifically granting Loud Pedal permission to reprint his or her work.

From the R.E. The Twisty Bits Motorsports MarCom Part I Rallying with Chris & Kristen Solo Book Review Event Sked Member Profile Notable New Members Director's Chair Region Directory Board Minutes Classifieds It is to be understood that all materials submitted and accepted for use by Oregon Region for publication in Loud Pedal may be used by Oregon Region in all of the forms that Loud Pedal is published and in all of the ways that Loud Pedal is used and distributed by Oregon Region, both as a physical magazine, and as an electronic magazine available at the Oregon Region website. These additional uses include, but are not limited to: membership communications, membership recruitment, and publicity. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the credited author only, and not necessarily those of Oregon Region, its officers, members, or the Loud Pedal staff. Publication of ads, articles, photos, etc. are subject to available space.

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Oregon Region Office 4800 SW Macadam Ave, Suite 110 Portland, OR 97239 Voice and Message Line 503-224-9469 Fax 503-224-9542 Tues. - Wed. - Thurs. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Please call or use email below: office@oregonscca.com http://www.oregonscca.com SCCA National Toll Free Number 1-800-770-2055 Cover photo by Doug Berger

LOUD PEDAL

The latest news from the Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America.

From the

R.E. Greetings Fellow Enthusiasts By Andrew Foley As the new Regional Executive for the Oregon Region SCCA I want to say thank you for electing me to the post. I look forward to the opportunity. For those of you I have not met, I wanted to take this chance to introduce myself. Many of you know me as Pirate Racing, or more simply “the pirate” or “Captain”! I have been involved in the Oregon region since I moved to Portland from Seattle in November of 2004. Being such a dedicated fan of auto’s and racing in general, my first race to see in Portland was the Rose Cup of 2005 and what an event! I still remember the party Nick Fluge had, absolutely first class Nick, and fantastic racing. One thing I love about the club was that no matter where our team was racing the SCCA region we were attending always felt like home, with a common passion amongst peers. Once again, thank you for this opportunity to be more involved in the club and I look forward to serving you all. The first order of business I would like to address is to thank

Andrew Foley is Regional Executive for Oregon Region SCCA. Dan Halloran, now past R.E., for his dedication, leadership and involvement over the past four years as our Regional Executive. During his tenure the club has grown in membership both during great economic conditions and, let’s say challenging ones as well. Most surprising is that we had the largest growth of any super region in the SCCA in 2010. A great note to end on but we know you won’t be far away (Dan has joined the board of the Rose Cup festival and is still on the current board as Past R.E.!)

That being said, we have some challenges as a club as well. The last year our attendance in the last two races were less than targeted. In our first meeting of the new board, we came up with a plan for getting feedback from the membership on how to address some challenges we are facing. Member input will help a great deal with planning for this year and the future. If you have already filled out the survey at motorsportreg. com we thank you for your input. If not, please take a moment to do so (it takes about two minutes to fill out and we would like to get as much feedback as possible).

"For those of you I have not met, I wanted to take this chance to introduce myself. Many of you know me as Pirate Racing, or more simply 'the pirate'. . . " Andrew Foley

Once again, thank you for the opportunity to lead the club. many of you are preparing for the upcoming season now, and it is shaping up to be another great year of racing in the Oregon Region. Please feel free to come and say hello at the track or at the board meeting, or to drop a note/email with any comments, questions or suggestions. I look forward to hearing from you. All the best, Andrew AndrewF@ blaser-die.thomaswebs.net

January 2011

The Twisty

Bits

Hauoli Makahiki Hou By Jim Murray That would be “Happy New Year” in Hawaiian; in case you wondered. Here’s wishing you all the best of life in 2011; and here’s to the 2011 race season coming soon! Constant readers of this column (both of you) will remember that last month, we offered prizes to winners of a brief quiz (in italics below): Brief quiz: Vettel, Webber and Hamlin…each has something in common with your writer. Send us an email with your guesses; the first three readers who guess all three answers will win a $10 Starbucks card. This is no multiple-choice exercise, either; you have to

guess out of thin air! And no…it’s not that each driver’s surname has six letters…as does your correspondent’s. It’s a little tougher than that. But, not that tough. Winners’ names will be published in the next Loud Pedal; if there are no winners we’ll reveal the answers. As this is written on New Year’s Day, we have no winners, so we’ll extend the response deadline until next Loud Pedal is published. Keep those cards and letters (emails too) coming in… Looking toward the 2011 season, our first event is March 11-13; this is our traditional driver’s school and a single Regional race. It’s an exception to our norm for the year, which will be double race weekends; that’s the biggest change for the coming season.

Another change expected is that on the May race weekend (6,7,8) we’re planning to run a Regional/Rational weekend. Note the “Rational” description; it means a Regional race and a National race running together. The term “Rational” is a working term at the moment, some might call it a “Negional”; even an “Irrational”…anyway, the idea is to create more racing opportunities. The concept was tried in Colorado Region last year, to improve entry counts by allowing the Regional drivers to run with the National classes. It’s been approved by the national SCCA board for use by regions in 2011. For our May weekend, this would mean that the Regional drivers would have two race opportunities, as would the National drivers. In the past, the Regional racers would only have the Regional race to run, while the National drivers could run both the Regional and the National. Having the “Rational” should mean more entries for the Region; it’s another race toward the Regional championship. I will say there’s still some controversy about this idea. In some parts of the country, there’s concern that the Regional cars and drivers are not up to the standard of the National

cars and drivers. The concern is that, in a race, the Regional cars/drivers might mix things up or create safety problems for all the runners. In Oregon Region, we don’t think there’s a problem as we don’t perceive there’s a difference. We’re working now to figure out how to manage the timing and scoring challenges of the “separate races” being run together. Assuming that’s possible, we’ll give this a try, as it offers more entry possibilities for drivers. If you’re a Regional entrant, wouldn’t you want to run a race on Sunday, instead of just run Friday and Saturday, then go home? The jury’s still out on this, and it may not happen; but it does seem like a good idea, offers a change, and more race opportunities when we’ve already paid for the track. You’re welcome to weigh in on this idea! Send those cards, letters and emails (with your contest entry) to us… And while we’re at it, did you fill out your survey response yet? The survey period ends January 15, so go to MotorsportReg.com and enter. If you’ve already done so, thanks. We plan to publish results in some form, most likely next Loud Pedal. In the meantime, enjoy the knowledge that the Winter Solstice has passed, the days are getting longer and Spring can’t be far off… More comments or questions? 541 788 2797 or jmmurrayjr@aol.com - aloha -

The latest news from the Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America.

Motorsports MarCom: Part I By Randy Unsbee, ABC info@sponsorpr.com Wait just a minute: are we a club or a business? Why do we need marketing communications, or MarCom? If we do need it, is this something that teams, individuals and volunteers can utilize to further their involvement and success in the sport? These are valid questions. There was a time in Oregon Region when marketing was discouraged. Some may feel sponsors and advertisers might sully the true amateur sporting experience. That’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with that, and if an organization can remain solvent with self funding, so much the better. Others are looking for ways to defray the costs of running the organization without drastically increasing participant fees. They also recognize we do not function in a vacuum, so we must make a pro-active effort to influence the attitudes of those around us; who may not have our welfare or best interests at heart. When I took over as the Loud Pedal Publisher and Editor, our region was flirting with a budget in the red. Through good stewardship of finances by our board, that situation quickly reversed itself. I wanted

to do my part by making the monthly magazine as self sufficient as possible even though that was never a mandate or goal of the organization. I felt if I could employ integrated marketing communication tactics that I had learned and develop through decades in my profession, then I could gener-

What the heck then is Marketing Communication, or MarCom?

Randy Unsbee, ABC

We started small, by offering our advertisers not just an ad in the magazine, but also the chance to lease title rights to a race event, or an entire race class or the entire season, along with professionally-written press releases distributed to news media via the Internet by a wire service. These releases are readily searchable online, which is where most journalists and people like you and me look things up. The releases also appear on Yahoo! and Google

news sites, and are subsequently picked up by dozens web sites. Since then, we have expanded the program even further to encompass social media.

“. . . marketing is giving our members, who are our customers, what they want and when they want it. Communication is delivering messages, telling them what we have, what makes it special, and why it's as good or better than what they'll find anywhere else.” ate much-needed funds for the region while providing a valuable service for the membership and motorsports enthusiasts.

Loud pedal

Quite simply, in the context of what we’re doing, marketing is giving our members, who are our customers, what they want and when they want it. Communication is delivering messages, telling them what we have, what makes it special, and why it’s as good or better than what they’ll find anywhere else. But it’s not just about our members. Our audience is more than that. It’s about potential members, people who will never be our members and wish we’d go away, community leaders, politicians, and of course, a variety of traditional and new media. More next month!

About the author: Randy Unsbee has 40 years of professional experience in marketing communications, public relations, advertising, journalism, photography, and social media in 14 different industries, including motorsports. A winner of over 30 professional awards and five sports car racing championships, he won the first of several hundred races beginning at the age of four in 1/4 midgets. He has worked for such worldwide powerhouse agencies as Burson-Marsteller, Aaron D. Cushman & Associates and Waggener-Edstrom among others, and was the award-winning Director of Communications for the Sports Car Club of America national headquarters. An experienced online communications advocate for over 25 years, he is currently completing a Masters Degree in e-Communication with Sheffield-Hallam University, Sheffield, England. He has been the Loud Pedal Publisher/Editor and evangelized Oregon Region SCCA's PR and Marketing efforts since 2006. This series of articles are adapted from his presentation at the Northern Pacific Division Conference held in Reno, NV this past November, and form the foundation for an upcoming e-book.

january 2011

Adelaide Zink Award Winner

Randy Hale

The latest news from the Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America.

LOUD PEDAL

Rallying with Chris & Kristen Ah, a new year. So bright and full of potential and promise! But before leaping into the new year to come, let’s look back briefly at December. ORG and Cascade’s Geargrinders held their joint annual rally awards ceremony on December 18 at Otto and Anita’s up in Multnomah Village. Otto and Anita’s, for those who don’t know, is a German restaurant— they serve authentic German food, so we had lots of wienerschnitzel, bratwurst, and spatzle as well as authentic German bier. I mean, beer. One gets caught up in the atmosphere there. We managed to cram about 60-70 men, women and children into the restaurant for our party. We thank Otto and Anita’s for accommodating us as well as their regular customers! It was a challenge and they rose to meet it admirably. Our Queen of Little Details/ Expert Party Planner Lawana Poirer did an excellent job setting up the place, with appropriate décor—a mix between car stuff, German stuff, and holiday stuff. It all worked well together, and everyone loves candy and kitschy toys! Lawana also pulled together a nice variety of door prizes. We had cocoa, slippers, shirts, hats, discounted entries to events, discounted services from special rally-oriented companies, snacks, movies, a neat roadside assistance kit, and the piece de resistance, earrings

and necklace of blue topaz and diamonds. My brother Mark and his kids were in charge of the door prize tickets (handing out and drawing them), and I got to be in charge of picking out the prizes, describing them and giving them away. We sprinkled door prizes throughout the evening, but the main event were the rally awards. Geargrinder’s Brandon Harer went first with the Friday Nighter season awards. The final results showed very tight races in all classes, with the top competitors separated by a miniscule amount of points. In Unequipped, Larry LeFebvre took top honors

as driver with 137 points over second place Jeff Zurschmeide’s 133. The Navigator side of Unequipped was a tie between Rick Vonk and Jill Zurschmeide, both with 137 points. In

Equipped, Driver Kevin Poirier and Naviagtor Chris Hale took top honors with 54 points over second place Driver Marcus Song and Navigator April Song, 53 points. More on Page 8

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Thank you to Oregon Region SCCA workers for another great racing season!

january 2011

Third place, Marinus and Renee Damm, garnered 52 points-- a very tight competition indeed! Kevin and Chris received the Geargrinder’s trophy for winning the series outright overall. With 8 events in the series, you can see how intense these rallies get! RallyCross awards were up next, with ORG RallyCross director Rebecca Ruston taking a few moments to honor some of the hardworking volunteers of the RallyCross program. This includes a trifecta of Hales, and a horde of Tabors. We were pleased to be singled out for thanks- we enjoy helping, but it’s always nice to be appreciated! Total scores for the RallyCross season included the best 5 of 7 events. Taking top honors in class are: Brian Gottleib in M2-Front, 92 points over second place Chris Sample’s 90 points; Greg Griffith in M2-Rear, 96 points over Kris Lilly’s 92. M4 saw a tie for first between Lawrence Arregian and Andy Sharples, both with 80 points, with Todd Legacher a

close third at 73. Scott Kovalik took the top trophy in PA with 100 points over Charles Morrill’s and Ben Boro’s 86. In PF, Robb McInroy blew his com-

petition out of the water with 100 points over the 50 points of Chuck Jewell in 2nd place. PR had a much closer competition, with Jeremy O’Harrow edging out Jason Hvam, 100 points to 94. William Wolfe took the class in SA with 76 points over second place Travis Gripp. In SF, Mike O’Harrow beat Erik “Goose” Laudenschlager 94

points to 84. And finally, in SR, John Reed edged out Jemal Mfundshi with 58 points to 53 to take the class.

The final award of the evening was the Adelaide Zink Rally Worker of the Year award. Every year, the ORG board is tasked with picking one worker out of the hundreds of volunteers to receive this award. The winner is someone who goes above and beyond—a Volunteer Extraordinaire—someone who

steps up to help out wherever and whenever help is needed, no matter which discipline of rally needs the help. We had a lot of good people to choose from, as usual, which makes our task really hard. How do you pick just one, out of all the deserving candidates? The nice thing about our volunteers is, there are no hard feelings from the ones who didn’t get the award, because they know just how hard everyone works, and that we are all winners. 2010’s Rally Worker of the Year is Randy Hale. Randy is a consummate volunteer—he steps in to help when he sees something needs to be done, he offers suggestions to make things work smoother, and he always shows up to help. Randy and his son Chris wrote the timing software for the RallyCross scoring system, and keep one-upping themselves by adding more functionality—2010 saw live scoring for RallyCross, to everyone’s delight! Randy also helps scoring and working checkpoints for RoadRallies,

The latest news from the Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America.

and is an amateur radio operator and stage captain assistant to Gloria Hale, a much bigger job than I can make it sound like. And, finally, we held our elections for President and Secretary. The ORG Members have spoken, and your 2011-2013 President will be Dylan Hooker, with current Secretary Phil Meyers sticking around for another term. Congrats, welcome, and thanks for staying on!! One more awards ceremony will be happening in January 2011. Stage Rally will hold its annual Pacific Northwest Rally Championship awards and rally worker appreciation banquet in Oakville, WA on January 15, 2010. As always, bring canned foods to donate to the local food bank, and door prizes to give out to workers! Nice work, everyone! Enjoy resting on your laurels for a couple of months, because the rally season starts up again in force in March 2011.

The 2010 Oregon Rally Group and Cascade Sports Car Club Awards Banquet resulted in hardware being handed out to the top finishers in a variety of Rally and RallyCross groups. Among the winners: The SA Class was won by William Wolfe, followed by Travis Gripp, Richard Lockwood, Jason Cole, Kala Rounds, and Alaena Young (pictured on opposite page). Chris Sample was second and Brian Gottlieb first in M2F (opposite page lower left) followed by Jennifer Johnson and Ansel Bayley. M2R was won by Greg Griffith, followed by Kris Lilly (opposite page, bottom center), Matt Grassaner and Jason Tuttle.

january 2011

M4 was won by Andy Sharples, followed by Lawrence Aregian (opposite page, bottom right), Todd Lengacher and Ed Rachner. Scott Kovalik won PA, followed by Charles Morrill, Ben Boro (bottom left), Kevin Kardos and Jason Stokes. In PF, Robb McInroy took first (bottom, second from left) with Chuck Jewel second (bottom, second from left), and Josh Kaestner. Mike O'Harrow won SF, while Erik Laudenslager (bottom right) was second, followed by Dave Haworth, Darren Beckstrand, and Steve Carper. Visit www.oregonscca.com for complete rally standings, news and scheduling.

JANUARY 2011

2011 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Tour Schedule

Solo

March 11-13 Dixie National Tour South Georgia Motorsports Park Cecil, Ga. Mar. 18-20 Texas National Tour Houston Raceway Park Baytown, Texas April 1-3 California National Tour Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, Calif. *May 6-8 Mid-Atlantic National Tour Southeast Location: TBD May 29-30 Spring Nationals Lincoln National Tour Lincoln Airpark Lincoln, Neb. June 3-5 Northeast National Tour Dover Speedway Dover, Del. June 10-12 Southern States Championship National Tour @ Blytheville Arkansas Aeroplex Blytheville, Ark. More on page 15

New Class Added for 2011 By Andrew Howe That would be “Happy New 2011 is here. What’s new? Well, for starters I am no longer Solo Director. George Wilder won the election in a landslide but I agreed to stay on writing articles for the Loud Pedal. We also have a couple anticipated changes to the Regional Supplemental Regulations that will be in effect this year. Sound enforcement has been a topic for a while. For 2011, Oregon Region is adopting the same restrictions as Northwest Region. The limit will be 100 dBA at 50 feet. This number will be familiar to those that compete with Northwest Region or participate in National Solo events as this number is unchanged from their restrictions in 2010. We were already monitoring sound levels in 2010 and many of you know where your car registers on the scale. What will be different for Oregon Region is firm enforcement.

Any run registering over the limit will be forfeited and scored DSQ. Additionally, an attempt must be made to reduce the sound level of the vehicle in order for additional runs to be permitted. Oregon Region will be adding a new class for 2011. This class will be an “Open Street” type format and intended to grab new drivers. As I understood the discussion, the requirements will be for the car to be both legal and licensed for road use and run on Treadwear 140 or greater street tires. Times will not be indexed – everyone races straight up. This class will accumulate season points and a champion will be crowned, but here’s the catch. After winning the season championship, a driver will be required to move into their appropriate regular SCCA class. The hope is that incoming drivers will have fun in the class and get hooked on the sport and then transition into the regular class system.

What’s new with the schedule? I don’t have an event schedule handy, but the Kickoff Party is scheduled for Saturday, February 19th. I would expect a notice about Annual Tech to be posted on the website soon as this usually coincides with the Kickoff Party. The National Solo schedule has been posted. Packwood National Tour and ProSolo events have been moved forward into mid-July due to the change in dates for the Solo National Championships, which moved into late August. The National Tour event will be July 16th and 17th while the ProSolo event will be July 23rd and 24th. There is no word yet about a 2011 Northern Pacific Divisional Solo schedule. Finally, I’d like to thank all of you for having fun while I was Solo Director. I felt that, while we had our bumps along the way, my tenure was generally successful. I measure success by whether or not the membership enjoying our events and improving their skills. I think both of these goals were met. Thank you!

The latest news from the Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America.

january 2011

Book Review Oregon Region's Andrew Howe's Definitive Volume on Autocross By Barry Cogut Having taken up autocross 30 years later than I would have liked, I work pretty hard to catch up with those who have more experience and keep up with others that are more talented or have younger reflexes. Over the past few years I have read (I counted at least eleven) books on autocross, driving, and car setup. Five of these were specifically about autocross. When doing a search on Amazon one day I was happy to discover this latest addition to the autocross books. In “How To Autocross”, Andy put together a comprehensive guide to the sport which has information that will be useful for everyone from the novice to advanced drivers working on more sophisticated techniques. He covers the basics of how an event operates and essential concepts such as course walk-

ing strategies, car handling, the friction circle, apexes, driving the line, slip angles and linking elements. There is information on how to get more experience, schools, where to get advice and skill improvement. There are also chapters on basic car setup and more advanced car control techniques for experienced drivers looking to improve their skills. Several sections of the book are devoted to describing the SCCA classing systems. As each class is introduced, with it’s allowed modifications, the author takes the opportunity to discuss in some detail those modifications. Stock topics covered are tires and wheels, front sway bars, shocks, alignment and exhausts. Some of the beyond stock topics covered are suspension, wheels and tires, race seats, and the update/backdate rules. Being fairly new to SCCA competition I found these discussions very educational and helpful in developing ideas and strategies to help me within my class. For modified cars Andy addresses engine,

differential, aerodynamics and other allowed changes. Finally, there is information for those interested in competing beyond local events at Divisional, ProSolo and National levels. I believe that every competitor can find some information and ideas that will be important to them and their individual situation. On a personal level, this book has helped me improve my driving. One example is that over the past few years I have pretty consistently been over driving courses in the corners. I have read and heard it said many times “slow down to go fast” and “go slow in the slow corners” but it never really sunk in. On several occasions my first “reconnaissance” run would be quicker than subsequent runs when I was trying to drive faster because I was going wide, over cooking the turns, sliding and scrubbing off speed. The section in How to Autocross on “centripetal acceleration” describes the math behind going slower on a tighter line vs. faster on a larger line to “reduce time”. This made sense and

made an impression on me that stuck. I am now going slower in the slow corners but executing them in less time which is what we all want. This is one way this book has really helped my overall performance. I have devoured all of the books I can find on autocross to improve my driving. Each of them has something to offer the autocross competitor, however, “How to Autocross” stands out as being the most influential for me. It is a combination of the breadth of topics covered (there is something for everyone) and in some instances the manner in which things are explained that has imparted to me new meaning and new information to help me be a better driver. I like the large layout and abundance of photos demonstrating everything from driving techniques (good and bad) to modifications and equipment. “How To Autocross” is also the most up to date of the books that I have read and is well rounded and balanced with information to help almost all drivers improve their skills and knowledge of the sport. I highly recommend it.

JANUARY 2011

Our SCCA Race Event and Race Class Sponsors lead the way in providing Oregon Region's Complete Motorsports Experience. Want to be a part? Call Randy Unsbee, ABC at 503-544-5944 for award-winning public relations and marketing communications for your business. We deliver the most loyal, pre-qualified customers of any medium in the Pacific Northwest. Join the conversation! Follow Oregon Region SCCA throughout the year in at the track or at home. Use our Web 2.0 social media channels in conjunction with Oregon Region SCCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s awardwinning Loud Pedal magazine and Web site - the key hubs for finding official news and features on whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening in northwestern sports car racing, rally and solo. email: info@SponsorPR.com http://twitter.com/orscca or text FOLLOW ORSCCA to 40404 in the USA http://www.facebook.com/orscca http://www.oregonscca.com

The latest news from the Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America.

Event

Sked

Road Racing March 11-13 -- Driver School & Single Regional, PIR April 16-17 -- Double Regional, PIR May 6-8 -- Regional & National, PIR June 17-19 -- Rose Cup Double Regional, PIR July 1-3 -- Double National, PIR August 6-7 -- Double Regional, PIR August 20-21 -- Single Regional, ORP (tentative) September 10-11 -Double Regional, PIR October 1-2 -- Double Regional, PIR

Solo Kickoff Party Saturday, February 19th - Sykart Practice Day Saturday, March 5th - PIR North Paddock - Stock AM Event #1 Sunday, March 6th - PIR North Paddock - Stock AM Event #2 Sunday, March 27th- PIR North Paddock - Stock PM

JANUARY 2011

Event #9 Saturday, August 13th - Packwood, WA - Stock AM June, 4th - PIR North Paddock - Stock AM Event #7 Sunday, June, 5th - PIR North Paddock - Stock AM Intermediate School Saturday, July 2nd - Packwood, WA (Pre-registration is required) Event #8 Sunday, July 3rd - Packwood, WA Stock PM

Event #10 Sunday, August 14th - Packwood, WA - Stock AM Event #11 Saturday, September 17th - PIR South Paddock - Stock PM Event #12 Sunday, September 18th - PIR South Paddock - Stock PM

Rally/RallyCross To be Announced. Check next month's issue of the Loud Pedal, or log onto www.oregonscca.com

Rally Drivers… Racers…

Novice School Saturday, April 30th, PIR South Paddock (Pre-registration is required) Event #3 Sunday, May 1st - PIR South Paddock - Stock AM Event #4 Saturday, May 14th - Packwood, WA - Stock PM

Stay sharp this winter Take a spin in the SkidCar.

Event #5 Sunday, May 15th, - Packwood, WA - Stock PM Event #6

Saturday,

www.prodrive.net • 503.285.4449

JANUARY 2011

Member

Profile

Jeff Niess By Peggy Gaston I am sure this had happened to all of you more than once; crossing paths with someone famous at the race track. Norton was working on a car in Miami. He looked up and notices a guard escorting this gentleman to the “blue room” stationed next to their paddock. He curiously asks the guard, “What does this guy do to need your services?” He replied, “He’s Don Johnson!” Just like Norton (who’s too busy to watch T.V.), he replied “Who’s Don Johnson?” Then he could hear loud laughter coming from the blue room. At Laguna Seca, it was the sound of stampeding feet that caught his attention. Suddenly from around the corner appears Paul Newman. Nort opened the side door to his van and said, “Quick hide in here.” Paul jumps in and Nort closed the door just in time as a herd of fans go running by. Paul thanks Nort, and then asks, “Hey, you got any beer in here?” In Atlanta, Nort’s wrenching in a track garage on a Porsche, hears several

voices outside the door of the garage and looks up to have Tom Cruise watching over Nort. Tom makes the comment, “I have one of these at home.” Norton has said to me, “If I ever run into Tom again, I want to buy him a drink. Tom’s garage was two down from us and all weekend long, attractive women were stopping by to ask if we had seen Tom Cruise?” I crossed the path of this member at the race track, he may not be as famous as the others but he has a wonderful personality and great to talk to. He is usually pretty busy working as our Deputy Executive Steward. As well as having his National Steward license, he also has his National and Pro Competition licenses in SCCA, please meet Jeffrey Niess. As far back as he can remember, Jeff ’s first heroes were race car drivers. His father and uncle took him to sprint car races in the Midwest and the June Sprints in Wisconsin. He remembers watching Jerry Hansen race thru Canada Corner at Road America in his orange McLaren and dreaming of racing through the hills of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. He

had been a fan since he was strong enough to hang onto the fence surrounding the track. He first started in the SCCA as an E-crew worker in 1994 and they became his second family. In 1999, his cousin Virgil gave him the opportunity to race his SRF. His most memorable race was competing in his first June Sprints at Road America in 2002. He said, “I cannot describe the feelings of realizing that dream. As I turned into Canada Corner for the first time, I glanced up to the forested hills to see if I could see a very young Jeffrey Niess standing against the fence and dreaming of this very moment. I have raced all over the country and have had better and more successful races, but nothing will ever compare to the first time I returned home to race at Elkhart Lake.” Member: Jeffrey Niess Member since: 1994 Present Job: Psychologist and Assistant Director of Special Education Service in Camas, WA Future Plans for Racing: To continue to check off the Bucket List of race tracks and

events that I have dreamed of racing at since my youth. Gary Manchester and I call it “The Living the Dream Tour.” Favorite Author: Paulo Coelho Last Book Read: The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson Favorite Entertainer: John Stewart Favorite Movie: Ronin Favorite TV Show: The Daily Show Favorite Food: My Mother’s Sauerkraut and Dumplings Favorite Non-SCCA Activity: Spending time with the family and working on home projects First Car Owned: 1974 Datsun 610 Wagon. It was so rusty that you could not wash it without an updated Tetanus Shot Favorite Car Owned: Spec Racer Ford Current Daily Driver: If you know me, you know my special ed bus – a yellow Nissan Xterra Favorite Race Driver: My Uncle John Daugherty who raced FV’s in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He introduced me to the drug that is road racing. Most Influential Person in my Life: My parents. I learned from them that Hope is the antidote for strife. And they taught me that being grateful for all the things I have received from the world, is the greatest gift I can give back to the world. I am the perfect amalgamation of both of them and it is an honor to be their son.

The latest news from the Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America.

 July 1-3 Northern States Championship National Tour @ Toledo Toledo Express Airport Toledo, Ohio July 15-17 Western States Championship National Tour @ Packwood Hampton Mills Packwood, Wash. July 29-31 Mountain States Championship National Tour @ Fountain Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colo.

JANUARY 2011

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JANUARY 2011

Pre-Season Tech Oregon Region SCCA's Annual Tech Day for road racing cars is set for Saturday, February 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Portland International Raceway. Mark your calendars!

Board Meetings Did you know that Oregon Region SCCA's Board of Directors Meetings are now held on the third Wednesday of every month? Well, they are! Location is the China Bay Restaurant, 13281 SW Canyon Rd. in Beaverton. Food service is from 6 to 7 p.m., with the meeting starting at 7:00 p.m. Board Meeting Dates are: January 19, February 16, March 16, April 20, May 18, June 15, July 20, August 17, September 21, October 19, November 16, and December 21.

Wish Catia Well One of our region members, road racing corner worker Catia Olson, is ill at St. Vincent Hospital as of this writing in early January. Her husband is former Chief of Flagging & Communication Dan Olson. Please keep her in your prayers.

Notable Region's Iraq Connection Did you know that John Walker, frequently seen in the #18 Spec Miata, has been deployed in Iraq since last June? He is part of the 2/25 Stryker Brigade!

Condolences Our heartfelt condolences to Sherri & Tom Masterson. Sherri's mother Esther Sicks (Munz) passed away on December 10. She will be missed by all of us who knew her.

Tornado Adrian Dyer and his family escaped property damage and injury during the December 15 tornado that ripped through Aumsville, Oregon. We are grateful for their safety and wish the Dyer family well.

25 Hours Later A team of Oregon Region SCCA drivers captured the 25 Hours of Thunderhill in December against an impressive lineup of competitors. Watch for Carrie Sutherland's article in the February Loud Pedal!

ORG Monthly Meeting The Oregon Rally Group meets each fourth Wednesday of the month at Buster's BBQ at 11419 Southwest Pacific Highway.

Banquet Door Prize Sponsors Thanks to all the great friends of Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America for donating such a wide array of great door prizes for our annual awards banquet last November. The rostor of donors inlcude: AR Auto Service, Baxter Auto Parts, Best Western Inn at the Meadows, Competition Motorsports, Crown Auto Rental, China Bay Restaurant & Lounge, Elmer's Restaurant, Houndogs Bar & Grill, 7 P's Racing, Kenton Station Restaurnt & Pub, Mars Meadows Chinese Restaurant, Pro Drive Driving School, Trackside Motorsports, and 99West Trailers.

RallyCross 2011 Contingency Programs Beginning with the Eastern States Championship at Stafford (Conn.) Speedway, January 1516, participants all season long in the 2011 SCCA RallyCross National Challenge will have contingency prizes available for strong finishes from a host of auto manufacturers. Volkswagen of America will continue to post prize money for all classes in 2011. Registered drivers running a Volkswagen and the required decals will earn $200 for every

win and $100 for a runner-up finish. Subaru has posted contingency prize money for the three All-Wheel Drive classes in 2011. Payouts will be offered to top-three finishers with $300 awarded for a win, but the opening event and the Western States Championships sees the prize money more than double, to $750 for a win. Subaru will give all eligible National Champions in those classes a $1,250 prize at the end of the season in Nebraska . Honda Performance Development has pledged a contingency program for the 2011 RallyCross season, providing $150 for winners in the twowheel drive classes, with $100 and $50 payments to podium finishers. At the National Championship event, those prizes increase to $500, $300 and $100 for finishing in the top-three. Mazda North American Operations also has put together a program for the National Championship even only in 2011, offering Mazdadriving winners in all classes a $500 prize, with $250 and $125 payouts for podium finishes. Registration information and full program details are available at www.scca.com/rally by selecting â&#x20AC;&#x153;Contingenciesâ&#x20AC;? from the left-side menu. Drivers are encouraged to review program requirements carefully to ensure full compliance.

The latest news from the Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America.

JANUARY 2011

Welcome to these Oregon Region members who joined us in 2010. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re very happy to have you! Michael Allen Quinn Allen Jeffery Anderson Lorne Andras John Angeli Keith Ansell Mark Anton Todd & Kathy Averitt J Patrick Aylward Timothy Babcock Derek Bangs John Banton Alex Bateman William Baugh Gord Bentley Thomas Bennett David Bennitt Lucas Bigeh Wes Bishop Jeff Bizzell Linda Blackburn Jerry & June Boone Ben Boro Todd Bradish Robert Briggs Rob Brooks David Brown Marlo Bulza Tyler Carver Travis Causey Spencer Chang Cory Charlson Edward Choe Wes Clarke Jason Collins Edith Crespin William Crist Josie Cummings Greg DeBord Audra Degg J Pat Derouin Robert & Lori Deveny Stew Dodge Adam Duerfeldt Michael Duffy Matthew Eaton Matt Ediger Dr Gordon Empey Gary Fairchild Shane Fanning John & Jan Farrar Alexandra Ferrick

Michael Fitzpatrick Dawn Folk Christina Fougere Jarett Freeman Roger & Susanne French Lenny Frost Chris Giles Steve Gilmore Matt Grassauer Dr Jonathan Greenleaf Benjamin Grewell Brett Gronemeyer Alaena Guinn Matt Hadley Donny Haley Deidre Hankins Rob Harbeck Scott Haynes Douglas Hedges Charles Hergert Shawn & Michelle Hill Tim Hill Ted Holbrook Darek & Kyle Hollis Monty Holt Gerald Hoodenpyl Dylan Hooker Stan Hopkins Ethan Hormann Nici Howland Craig Hudson James Hudson Stacey Hummel Jacobie Hutchison Karl Jacobson Chuck Jewell Brianne Johnston Elisabeth Judge Andrew Kamei Nathan & Tricia Kandoll Derrick Kephart Kraig Kerr Dan Killam Gerald & Gretchen Kolb Nathan Korstad Nicole Kramer Bernadette Kuehn Cary Kutter Carl Latzel Casey Lebold Robert Linse

Colin Loree April Loui Erik Lyden Keith Maher Brian Marsteller Glen Martin Anders Mason Leo Matthews Josh McCall Scott McCusker Nicolas Mendel Frank Mesmer Vikki Michailoff Ethan, Jennifer, Robert & Thomas Micich Chris Miller Tracey Miller Gary Morehead Nicholas Morgan Larry Mosegard Matthew Mulvey Leah Nagengast Brandon Names Jeffrey Newman Mikel Northcraft Robert, Jennifer & Jace Ocker Greg Olsen Joseph Olsen Ty Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neil Dennis Palatov Morgan Palatov Brian Palmer Colin Penno Steven Perret Cody Peterson Mark, Becky, Luke, Nick, & Tom Phillips William Pileggi Michael Pinto Michelle Pipkin Malik Pirani Ken Quale Logan Raffety Tyler Rakes William Randleman Cheree Rawlins Austin Ray Shawn Ray David Reich Josh Reynolds Gregg Robinson

Bob Rueter Corey Salsbery Jack Satta Carolyn Schoonover Chris Schultz Allyson Scott William Searles Derek Shortt Bryan Simmons Kathy Smalley Jason Smith Jeffrey D, Teresa, Mackenzie & Nathan Smith Jeffrey R Smith Tobias Smoldt Carey Stacey Chris Staats Jason Staats Robert Steck Timothy & Margaret Steck Kyle Steinkamp Vanessa Stokes Ryan & Emily Sullivan Tye Summers Paige Swenson Tyler Takaro John Tanner William Thorp III Tom Tompkins Bonnie Trofitter Craig Trotter Vincent, Cheryl, Clarissa, Kendall, & Treavor Vavrosky Mikki Walden Nastalzia Walden Mary Walker Travis Walter David Watt Nicole Weinbender Stephanie Weisz Chuck West Diana Whitmer Mark Whyman John Wigmore Alan Wizemann Marvin Wodtli Brian Work Kate Zurschmeide

JANUARY 2011

Tough times demand tough decisions. Thank you to all of my friends and customers that have made the decision to keep club racing alive, and have continued to support Competition Motorsports at the shop and at the track.

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“The Racers Store”

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The latest news from the Oregon Region Sports Car Club of America.

JANUARY 2011

January 2011

2010: The Year in Review By Todd Butler Well, first year down as a SCCA national BoD member for NorPac Area 13 (sometimes feels like Area 51). More trips to Topeka than I ever wanted. 6 BoD meetings starting in Dec 2009 thru Dec 2010. 2 more years to go. Ask me in about 18 months if I’m planning on running for a second 3-year term  Southwest Air at least flies direct from PDX to Kansas City, MO then it’s only a short drive of 70+ miles to Topeka. Not sure but they have got to be one of the few state capitals without commercial air service! Let’s talk about the good news then we’ll get to the challenges. The good news is overall the club is on sound financial footing. It’s about a $7M/year budget and the club will come in solidly in the black and very close to budget estimates. The Staff in Topeka really did an excellent job of watching and controlling operational costs and keeping tabs on expenditures. All the subsidiaries (Enterprises and Pro) are in the black as well.

Director's Chair A substantial portion of that $7M budget for the National office comes from Runoffs participation and membership dues. In the membership area our rate of loss actually slowed down. The December figures (current as of October 2010) showed overall membership down just under 1000 heads, considerably better than the 4000+ heads lost during the previous year! Runoff ’s entries were up marginally over 2009 (596 to 604) and the event was a participant and financial success. SCCA Staff is working hard with our partners in communication to update the SCCA website and to look at the presentation and format of SportsCar Magazine. SCCA continues to seek sponsorship deals for events, series and “official product” lines. In fact Marketing was very successful during the year and this helped offset some less favorable individual lines in the overall budget. I think we have to be happy that overall event participation, racing, rally, solo was very close to 2009 in participation numbers. While some areas were up slightly, and your individual regions may vary, the overall was essentially pretty event. Not bad for a very down economic year. For 2011 after a previous early scare looking at rate increases at the December BoD meeting, the Club successfully negotiated a favorable insurance package for 2011 and a promise of similar in 2012 (assuming no major payouts). This means insurance rates for events and per

Todd Butler is the Area 13 Director for the Sports Car Club of America.

car entry for race, rally and solo will remain the same in 2011. For those in the racing side of the house, there is an interesting new concept that will be expanded to about a dozen events in 2011. The “Rational”. This is a National race and a Regional race at the same time. Drivers choose, via their entry form, whether they are racing for National points or Regional points and both sets of cars, Regional and National are on track at the same time. Previously, it was permissible to combine Regional and National during practice only, under the Rational it will also include Qualifying and Racing. Why are we doing this? Different reasons in different parts of the country. In some Divisions, all they want to do is hold National races and nobody wants to hold or run Regional races. In some other Divisions, they could quite happily eliminate National racing and just run Regionals. While the Rational does present some complications, it appears to address these two opposite concerns. Some have asked, why not just have races? Eliminate the distinction between Regional and National races. This would not necessarily preclude a license distinction between Regional and National drivers and I’m sure a qualification system could be devised for the Runoffs as well. However, many in the Club feel there is a definite need for the 2-tier race class and that this helps distinguish us from other groups (like ICSCC, and NASA). So Rationals for 2011 are a step to-

wards testing the waters, either a special purpose race event, or perhaps a step towards just racing. On the solo front, SCCA BoD gave strong endorsement to supporting ProSolo, updating the equipment used for the event and encouraging expansion. The Solo national championship entry in Lincoln was at record highs and carried off very successfully. The SEB (Solo Event Board, the Solo equivalent of the Club Racing Board) continues to hum right along with very little noise, just getting things done. (As an aside maybe this is because there is really only 1 BoD member who actively participates in Solo, the rest of us are Club or Pro racers so there is more tendency to “meddle” in CRB affairs!) Rally and RallyCross. These are the only 2 venue programs that actually lose money, not much but enough to draw raised eyebrows when reviewing budgets. RallyCross expanded slightly in 2010 and moves to a new location for 2011 for the RallyCross Championships. SCCA has a tie in with Rally Car (formerly Rally America ) to cross promote our RallyCross (individual cars on course) and Rally Car’s Eurostyle, stadium style multi-car on track events. Last but certainly not least is membership and specialties. There were some heated discussions about the various specialties and Division Admins vs. National Admins and in the end the BoD voted to support Club Racing’s recommendation

Directory to formally eliminate the NA position. The national office is working hard to continue to improve the membership experience, via web sites updates, ease of renewals and incentive programs. They are also providing focal point for training seminars and videos for specialties across the board. Challenges moving to 2011…. lots!!!! The new effort to replace the NA position in certain specialties such as T&S and Tech needs to be fine tuned and tested. Membership always need work. Personally I’d like to see less dependence by National office on Runoffs and Membership dues, but this will not be easy to change. Historically we lose 80% of our membership over 3 years. Translation 80% of new people that join are gone by Year 4. We need to focus on adding value and membership retention. We need to continue the push towards being a customer friendly organization, this means not just to people who pay to play but between ourselves, our specialties, and look for ways to say how can we do this vs. no. There will also be challenges ahead with SCCA Pro Racing (new CEO needed). SCCA’s competition continues to evolve and we need to be relevant and attract our share of the market by trying new idea, new opportunities. Your fathers SCCA is long gone! If you have questions/ thoughts/input, I’m: Todd Butler Director Area 13 todd@coho.net

Tom Campbell Named Chairman of SCCA Pro Racing Board of Directors TOPEKA, Kan. (Dec. 13, 2010) – SCCA Pro Racing, Ltd. and Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), Inc. announced today that Tom Campbell , of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is a recent addition to the SCCA Pro Racing Board of Directors and has been elected Chairman of the Board. Campbell replaces former Chairman Brian Holtz, who passed away in September after an illness. A wholly owned subsidiary of Sports Car Club of America, Inc., SCCA Pro Racing is a leading sanctioning body for motorsports events in the United States . A member of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS), SCCA Pro Racing operates and sanctions a number of sports car and open-wheel racing entities. "The SCCA welcomes Mr. Campbell to the Pro Racing team and anticipates that the program will continue to grow and prosper under his leadership," Jerry Wannarka, Chairman of the SCCA, Inc., Board of Directors said.