Duffus 2014

Hi,

Anything that follows that makes absolutely no sense should not be attributed in any way to any of my three accomplices. However, many people know that Mike Rand has had an influence upon me (I will leave it to you to decide how that has gone!) so some of this is explainable. Those of you in the Northeast who have participated in or heard of the "Fools Weekend" outings will understand the spirit in which this is offered.

Based upon the success of the Summit Point Formula Fest, we are proposing to organize a very short series of "flash mob" (perhaps plague of locusts might be a more appropriate description?) events called Da Unofficial Formula F United States championship or DUFFUS in 2014.

We have but one legitimate, serious goal; to have as much fun as we did at the recent Summit Point Formula Fest. The DUFFUS will be two, three, but no more than four weekends and we are thinking that three would be the best number. The races will be held in the Eastern half of the US, mostly because I am getting older, more feeble and might not make it to the Mississippi River let alone go beyond it.

My three co-conspirators are Doug Fisher, Dave Harmison and Phil Kingham. Doug is going to help me organize the race(s) in the Northeast and Dave & Phil are going to organize the race(s) in the Central Division. Our initial thought was to have races at Mid Ohio, Summit Point and Pittsburgh International Raceway (formerly Beaver Run). We are open to suggestions for other venues, but those tracks should give you some idea of the geography and travel distances we are considering.

We met with all of the drivers who attended Formula Fest and the consensus was that everyone would be willing to do a "local" race, one race that required a longer tow and one race that was somewhere in the middle for everyone.

SCCA Formula F rules and Club Ford (Hondas allowed) on hard tires. We will use the MARRS Club Ford rules as our basis.

This is the point in time when SCCA regions are beginning to organize their upcoming schedules. When they are finalized sometime in January we are going to take a look and then begin our approaches to the various regions for the tracks that we will select.

Here is what we are going to promise:

1. We four will do everything we possibly can to ensure that we have as good a time as we did at Summit Point, if not a better one.
2. We will NOT have a DUFFUS event that conflicts with one of the ProF1600/F2000 events. We very much want Mike Rand to attend (and we will pay his entry fee(s), REALLY!) as a way to pay him back for all the superb events he has organized for us in the past.

That's it for promises....................

Here is what we are going to try to do:

1. No less than 4 to 6 weeks between DUFFUS races.
2. No conflicts with SCCA Major Majors ???
3. Three, but no less than two races per weekend. At Formula Fest we had one qualifying session and three races.
4. We will try and entice our friends Angela Slocum & Dave Gernert to develop a DUFFUS poster like the one that they created for Formula Fest so that we have a little gift for the participants.
5. A friend of mine once told me that somewhere there is an unfinished Remington sculpture (you know, the cowboy ones.......) that was simply the back half of a horse. We were thinking that something like that might be an appropriate trophy for a DUFFUS, so we will look into that.

Here is what you can or have to do:

1. Just show up. If you have some interest in joining us, please let us know by posting here. Having a firm car count really helps when you are negotiating with the regions.
2. If you are running for some type of championship; you may have to skip one of your regular races because we will undoubtedly wind up with some schedule conflicts. We don't understand why anyone would choose to run for points when they could run for a poorly molded horse's hind end, but that is up to you!
3. Take what you have read here and come to the races in that spirit; we just want to have fun racing in what we think is the best racing class ever...............

Please stay tuned, we will update this post as things develop and we will make sure we keep this in the 30 day window here on ApexSpeed. This race proposal is REAL, the rest is just to make it more fun!

Thanks,

Joe Marcinski

This is a great idea. Count me in for every race!

I like it. I would try to attend all I could in an effort to raise the Tiga car count.
Chuck Smith
Tiga FFA-81

I think it's a fabulous idea and will attempt to make all races ! This past weekend at Summit Point was an absolute blast to be "Pack Racing" again.
Thanks again Joe for your comitment and passion to keeping our great sport alive !
Wayne Nicolette
CF #2 Lola T-340

As long as everything goes as planned I will try to make it to all 3 events. I never knew I could have this much fun racing!

Great idea. A group of FV drivers did something very similar this year by creating the Autumn Challenge Cup. Having a number of different mini series organized by drivers might end up being the future of regional racing.

Ray

Thanks Joe et al, I'm IN !
Extremely glad that someone else is stepping up and shaking the bushes to get cars and drivers to run !
I am planning on supporting Joes initiative in any way possible.
To the point of refusing the free entry offer, I will play and participate like everyone else.
Can't wait, way to do Joe, DUFFUS it is !

I'm in. Looking forward to it!

Pretty sure I can say IN with a CF for at least Summit Point. In particular if you mush it in with the Jefferson 500, then I'm 99%, but not sure a multi-group event is what you have in mind.

David

My current plan for next year is to run as many Pro1600 and Duffus events as possible. Does this make me a Pro-Duffus?

Ed

I suppose I should have given this some additional thought to avoid name calling, but that horse has left the barn so yes Ed; that would make you a Pro DUFFUS.

I honestly hope that no one is offended by the name as we were really just trying to find ways to lighten the mood. It is my hope that we might actually induce in a paradigm shift that gives DUFFUS a completely different connotation. We may have to wait until after the first turn of the first race for that determination.

Anyhow, I am glad that response thus far is positive. I am told by a reliable source that Frank Delvecchio has seen this and his reply was "this is right up my alley". I see a special production run of DUFFUS tongue puppets in our future........... Its too bad they have all this EZ Pass stuff; the puppets were good for a "priceless" reaction at toll booths!

We will begin the car count and keep everyone updated as we go.

Thanks very much for your good humor and support.

Joe Marcinski

I will be there. It will be fun.:beer:

Trophy for 1st and last place

Joe,

I think this is a great idea, and I will do my best to support the events, the only issue being budget, so Mid Ohio might not be possible, but Summit is definitely on my bucket list. Also depends if there's a big 45th shindig that I would need to set money aside for.

I have a few suggestions:

I know people have mixed feelings on NJMP, but maybe an event could be worked in, im sure JD could help. It's in a good location, reasonable tow for many people, cheap hotels and large paddock, and seems to gather a decent turnout. But that would depend on everyone elses opinion, maybe Lightning since that seems to be the preferred track out of the two?

Another possibility could be ending the season at the NARRC Runoffs at Lime Rock, aka the DUFFOFFS? After emailing back and forth with David Lapham, he hinted that a FF/CF run group could be possible if we could guarantee around 20 cars. Nothing better than the beginning of autumn at Lime Rock.

Joe-cheers to you for trying to get a handful of events together with some big turnouts, if there's anything I can help out with, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks,

Will

I realize the list of potential venues is large and must be kept manageable, but I'll also add VIR to the list as it will be entirely repaved over the winter, with more pavement on key turns, a bigger pit road, AND the entire paddock will be paved. As much as I also want to race Summit Point (saw my very first race there) I have been reading a lot on here about the lack and danger of runoff areas...seemed to be a lot of folks who thought it was pretty dangerous (with respect to potential car damage anyway) so just suggesting a place that might hold fewer off-course surprises, especially for historic and Club Fords whose parts are not as available.

David

Hi,

Once again I am really grateful for all the response and positive commentary. As far as venues go, the Mid Ohio, Summit Point & Pittsburgh International choices were our initial thoughts. One thing to remember, particularly for those of us on the East Coast is that Dave & Phil came all the way from Michigan which is a 10 hour tow for them.

My friend Chuck Smith, who has checked in on this post, is from Indianapolis. Doug Fisher has been in contact with Steve Meyer, the 1975 NARRC FF champion, who lives in Colorado. Doug tells me that Steve would love to come with his DB1 so just imagine the tow that Steve is looking at just for a Mid Ohio event.

Please bear in mind that DUFFUS is intended to be an informal gathering of drivers who suffer from a common affliction. Formula F syndrome is characterized by a insatiable desire to race with large fields, close proximity (minus contact!) and then long discussions of current and past glories, screw ups and did you knows all while consuming beverages of dubious choice. The prognosis is usually life long friendships and the propensity to tow home with a big smile on your face.

Once we have the final SCCA schedules we will begin talking with the regions and I promise that we will keep all of you informed here on ApexSpeed. Our goal is to try and have the races at venues where we can hope to see the largest car counts. Many people know that I am all too familiar with the paddock issues at Summit Point and we had almost the same discussion regarding NJMP. We will keep all of those considerations in mind as go forward.

Keep our simple formula in mind, one that is "local", one that is a "long tow" and one that is in the "middle". We will try to satisfy all of these, but the Goldilocks conundrum will always be the result (this one is too cold, this one is too hot, this one is just right). Please keep the suggestions coming, I am compiling them all so we can do a good job for you.

Thanks,

Joe M.

I just had to go back in to correct my spelling of DUFFUS and now I don't have a name to call myself............

Nice job Ric, that is exactly what I had in mind! This is going to be even more fun than I had hoped.

Joe M.

In light of the work done to assign us spaces and we pack ourselves in tight. This past weekend went well and I think we had a spot or two that were not fully used. The carefull management of the space is probably why it works

My DB-1 Honda conversion and repairs are almost done (really), so count me in! Thanks Joe.

Well I see which end of the horse this discussion is headed towards... :) I guess we (Angela and I) can take a stab at a DUFFUS logo that is oriented to to the tail end of a horse. We'll try to keep it tasteful enough so Mom doesn't have to cover Jr's eyes in the paddock. Once we have an approved logo we can have DUFFUS Stickers made up for the "series" (they go on the back end of the car of course).

DUFFUS has "other" connotations that we want to avoid but the horse seems "safe" enough and we can also incorporate items from Duffus (Duff-us) which is a Scottish name and also the name of a castle. We can use that for irreverent logo inspiration.

Posters? OK doing 3-4 over the season is not bad. We should be able to come up with something. Is the 18 X 24 size we did for Formula Fest a good size?

A cheap trophy approach would be to weld up some pony or horse shoes. I shoe for 3rd, 2 shoes for 2nd and 3 shoes for 1st (we have a wood shop so we can make up some bases). Since this is a 4 step podium race should we have a toilet seat for last place as Ric seems to be suggesting?

It is a neat idea to layer a small series championship on top of the standard race series. This could grow. :-)

I have some interest in these events. Looking forward to the proposed schedule.

OK Joe, I'm in. Any special consideration for PRDA members?
I'll have to practice my "spoon hanging" for the after race dinner parties, but I'm not drinking any water from a flower vase!
[Ask Joe about the legendary post Lime Rock race dinners at the Red Lion Inn with certain drivers trying to out gross each other. Tongue puppets were obligatory.]

Is there a place for vintage Fords in this group?

Any and all Formula Fords, F, Honda, etc etc etc are welcome.
So run what ya brung.

There will be a separate paddock area for PRDA members so that we don't have to share our kielbasa with anyone! I will bring the good stuff from Connecticut. Do they make kielbasa in Akron? Hillshire Farms DOES NOT COUNT!

Ralph, I didn't know you had another car and as Doug has said, everyone is welcome so please consider joining us. My good friend Shelly Sadwin had an Alexis so I wonder if we are going to find out that this little world we all live in is even smaller than we thought.

This is starting to look pretty good with Chuck Smith, Jason Byers, Kevin and Ralph checking in from CenDiv. Dan doesn't count as CenDiv because he still roots for the Bills even though he lives in Ohio now.

Joe M.

Hey Joe
Sounds great! Depending on the schedule I'll dust off the old Merlyn and try and make a couple events!
Thanks Wes Allen

Joe:

You are running at two of my "home" tracks...Mid Ohio and PGH. How can I not participate?

As far as the Kielbasa, I live in the Cleveland area. No problem finding that around here.

Joe
I wonder if the vintage guys during the Pittsburgh Grand Prix would give us time to run with them? It's a great weekend! The concours is big fun!
Thanks Wes

Don't worry about the ' danger' of Summit Point at all. The issues and people complaining there are the same people that allow bump drafting with open wheel cars and said the tires weren't bolted together ( even though they actually are) yet they ( we , I am one of them) race The Glen twice which has little to no protectin of the guard rail in most places with much less runoff room but off course its the glen so it sets pro series records for entries and people don't pitch.

2 big crashes at SP this pro year, one was caused by bump drafting and in the other the cars never even left the racing surface. The place is perfectly fine. Go race and enjoy yourself !

Hi Joe:
I might chime in with Wes on the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix sanctioned by VRG.
They are also running a 45th FF event at Summit on May 15 -18th.
Since these are 2 of the tracks being discussed with your plan, maybe there is a point of departure.
Their President is a CF competitor so I'm sure he would at least listen to any proposal.
Greg Kokolus
PRS RH-01

As things begin to move along I will be asking those of you who have been so kind as to offer, for some assistance. Please bear in mind that we have not really finished the 2013 season just yet. We still have the JRRC, Jersey Road Racing Championship or JERK (now if that doesn't bring some one up short how could anyone be bothered by DUFFUS!) at NJMP this coming weekend.

Wes & Greg; thanks for the heads up on VRG. I had actually been looking in Vintage Motorsport Magazine for potential codefendants and saw that the VRG folks also run the Turkey Bowl here at Summit Point. I may wolf down Thanksgiving Dinner, leave that evening to come back to Virginia and see if I can speak with them during that weekend.

The response to this has been awesome! There are already some things that may be starting to take shape, but it is way, way too preliminary to talk about yet. Please keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks,

Joe M.

Joe
You might reach out to Steve Beeler , he ran the East vs West challenge for several years and it was great! He might have some good advice.
Wes

I need to find a CF to drive so I can be a part of this. Sounds like a great time. Would love to also buy this and race it in the series
http://www.apexspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59646

Duffus would be glad to have another competitor....go get that car !!

Or you could buy Peter Egan's Crossle 32 as listed in Vintage Motorsport this month. http://www.vintagemotorsport.com/viewdetail.asp?id=443

Complete rebuilt with new frame.

Very cool car, Bill.

I'm sure others got it, but the recent emailing from HSR said, "Love formula cars? So do we!" and proceeded to describe they would be celebrating formula cars at the Mitty in 2014.