Cen-Div FF - Who is doing what in 2012?

[Allen_W]

With the time change, pouring a new seat and whatnot, and the approach of April, I started wondering what folks are planning for this year . . .

- Who is running SCCA Nationals?

- SCCA Reigonals?

- Pro series?

- More or less than previous years? Not racing this year?

- New drivers?

My plans, after a lot of reflection that got me nowhere, are the same as always - all the Nationals, a bunch of Regionals, and some Council. Will be out early and often.

[reidhazelton]

Still no idea. Big lack of $$$. Going to play it by ear. With the schedule being all singles I might just do the bare minimum to qualify for the Runoffs.

Who else is in?

Marc Blanc?
Scott Rubenzer - Rumor has it he has a new paint job worth a few tenths.
John Grooms?
Jeff Bartz - Kid got a fancy new VD/Honda that he has done the conversion on himself. Looks great. He will be fast and is a super nice guy. If I make it out, I look forward to running with him.
Kautz - I hear he is planning on SCCA and F1600.
John Vlasis??
John Luxon??


Who am I missing??

Hey Allan, any chance Bruce is going to be getting his 98 out??

You heard it hear first folks, a Honda at Blackhawk with crush the track record with a good driver. RIP Kent, it was nice knowing you. (Flame away, Apexspeed. Flame away.)

RH

[Bill Bonow]

Reid,

Who is this Kent guy and when did he kick the bucket?

Besides. I thought Kautz had the record at Blackhawk, not some guy named Kent.

[Allen_W]

I thought the BHF record was held by some guy named Tony Coello

[reidhazelton]

I thought the BHF record was held by some guy named Tony Coello

I think it is like an 1:11.6. Tony did it a few year ago when the track was much better. But, it is repaved in 1 and 7. Should be speedy.

Kent was a good man. Reliable, simple, a real veteran of the class if you will.

[Allen_W]

1:11.553, I have it memorized. May National, 2010. It seems impossible, good track or not.

[reidhazelton]

It's a hell of a lap, but the way the Honda comes off the corner I think it is very reachable.

[Allen_W]

It's as crazy as a 2:21.053 at RA . . .

[reidhazelton]

It's as crazy as a 2:21.053 at RA . . .

[Bill Bonow]

OK, busted. Didn't check facts before attempting humor.

I'll be waiting to hear of the crushing of the old record.

BTW, what actually constitutes a "crush", a full second off the old record?

[JByers]

[quote=Bill Bonow;

BTW, what actually constitutes a "crush", a full second off the old record? [/quote]


Bill I was crushed when Justin beat my 11:7 the following weekend by a 10th

[jgrooms]

Hi guys,

I was just thinking about you the other day Allen so I am glad you started the thread.

I plan to run SCCA Nationals in 2012. The 30.5 mm restrictor for the Honda should make the Piper fun to drive. I also am just finishing some updates to my DB1 Ford so I haven't decided which car I will run at Elkhart.

I am excited about the 4 day schedule for the Runoffs. That change will almost certainly make me a participant if I qualify.

I am also pleased to hear about the continuing upgrades that Paul and staff are making at Blackhawk. What a nice thing to see investment in one of the old time Midwest tracks.

I also think the restrictor change for the Honda will get Bill Ehrlinger and some of the other guys to run a few more races. How about Jim Roberts? I hope to see him at a few races. I also assume Tony will be back in his Reynard since it must be available again.

See you in a few weeks.

John

[Allen_W]

Cen-Div Hondas: JV, Ehrlinger, Grooms, Kautz, Bartz, Murphy . . . ? others?

[Allen_W]

Hi guys,

I was just thinking about you the other day . . .

John

That's great news, John. As you can see I just posted crossing yours and asking about who would be running Hondas . . . Are you also doing the Pro Series again or sticking with SCCA Nationals?

See you at Blackhawk in a few weeks I hope.

Allen

[PiperFF]

DF-3 was a Ford now a Honda 30.5 ..did i say flycoop.

[Trhoades]

I spoke with Ehrlinger last year at the fall sprints and he told me he was thinking of running Nat and going to the runoffs.

[Allen_W]

I spoke with Ehrlinger last year at the fall sprints and he told me he was thinking of running Nat and going to the runoffs.

What are your plans, Todd?

[Trhoades]

I'm going to do test with Bruce early this year. The Nat at blackhawk, then of I'm comp then I'm going to try to qual for the runoffs.

[mblanc]

Hi Allen,

Not sure yet, Either one of these, (maybe a little of both)

[racingflyboy]

Hi Allen,

Not sure yet, Either one of these, (maybe a little of both)

Aren't those the two best reasons to live in Wisconsin? Only reasons?
(OK, I live in Minnesota - if you call that living!)


I'll probably do 4 or 5 Regionals this year, maybe a National. Plan to do both BIR events, as it's the only place I can race witin an hour and three quarters of my home, and then I need to get back to RA this year, haven't run there since the 40th! Plan to do BHF season opener at end of April.

BTW, I think Bartz took close to a full second off my BIR record. And then appologised for it! A very nice young man. (He also broke his dad's long standing CFC record at RA. New owner Dad's car let Jeff take a few laps in it at the Vintage evert there in Sept. I think his dad said he broke the record on his 4th lap ever in a winged car)

See you at BHF Allen.

[TimW]

Sounds like you guys are going to have great fields again this year, sorry I won't be able to be part of them anymore. I realize I hadn't done many races in CenDiv the last few years due to time constraints, but alas the Swift is on the coast now. We're mostly moved out of Chicago (house sold, car/truck/trailer/stuff moved, new house here, but still have my Cubs season tickets, a condo and a wife's job at DePaul tying me to Chicago still).

Am going to miss Road America and especially Mid Ohio. Sadly no more chances to take the kink WFO and prove the times I have weren't a fluke.

Have a great season guys...and come on out and rent a Porter DB6 and run Laguna Seca!

Tim

[Gokart Mozart]

Best of luck to everyone, we are reserving the Eagle for Vintage and occasional club-tire'd FF action from here-on-out. I'll see most of you out on the track though; I'll be in F5 #00.

Cheers,

JD

[cff96]

[FONT=Monaco]Hey Allan, any chance Bruce is going to be getting his 98 out?? [/FONT]


Reid:

Bruce had four sutures removed from his eye two weeks ago, twelve remain. He will see the surgeon every six weeks to determine if more sutures will be removed or if they will stay in place. Matt Cutter fit him with a hard contact the day after the sutures were removed and his vision in that eye is now between 20/25 and 20/30 corrected. His depth perception has returned.

Don't really know if Bruce will run any races this year, but the car is sitting on the ground and is almost race-ready. Right now his plans are to take the car out for a couple test days and then decide if he is ready to race.

Will we see you at the Council school/race weekend?

Cindy

[mblanc]

I'll be in F5 #00.
Cheers, JD

Whos? why? pictures?
inquiring minds want to know..........





Hey Bill E., I see you lurking, what are YOU doing?

[Gokart Mozart]

Marc,

Minds inquiring as to my activities? Scary!

Who's? We are purchasing Gordy Vogelaar's '98 Invader, which is part Van Diemen, part Raptor and part Scorpion. It belonged to Ted Simmons from 2007-2010 and Bob Gelles from 2000-2007.

Why? The FF Eagle had a huge hit at the Sprints last year and we figured that to prolong it's life as a racecar, it'll be better off on tires that don't make the frame twist like a a piece of licorice with me in it; and thus also fatigue components moreso than what they were designed to do.

We've always loved F5, it was the class we nearly started in back in 2004, and we helped sponsor Runoffs champion Mike Mueller last year. It's a great, affordable class, and that's what we're into.

Could we have purchased another FF? Sure, but since most of our spares are good for a car from 30 years ago, we'd be running into the same issue about chassis life and such.

The Invader came along at a great price, and it really only has about 5 years worth of time on the chassis; including FT at the 2002 June Sprints. All-in-all, it is a sweet package and I look forward to running it soon.

Pics: I have a shot from Gordy posted on our team web site: www.uemsimotorwerks.com

Cheers,

Jacques

[reidhazelton]

Whos? why? pictures?
inquiring minds want to know..........





Hey Bill E., I see you lurking, what are YOU doing?

Facebook tells all Marc....

[Wes Allen]

Hi guys
I had big plans this year with Nationals and the Pro FF1600 series. I also was planning on getting my son into some regional races. He had his 3 day skippy class this winter and has applied for his race license. However my season has gotten off to a bad start. At the Atlanta double national two weeks ago I lost my engine in the very first session. The crankshaft broke with out warning. It was the best engine I ever had. So... I'm hearing voices from the dark side!?! To be continued...

[PiperFF]

Luke was always tweeking his ride
Wes,Trust the force!
Wait,wait..........................Screw the Force..Come to the dark side...JV

[TimW]

So... I'm hearing voices from the dark side!?! To be continued...

Didn't you leave the dark side all over the track in Atlanta?

[emackey]

I'm planning to run the CenDiv Regionals this year. BHF in April will be the first outing.

Over the winter, my dad (Pat Mackey) had double knee replacement surgery, so he should be running around the paddock like an 18 yr old kid again. I asked the doctors to install a couple hydraulic lines to his artificial knees so I don't need to bring the car jack to the track anymore.

See you guys at the track,

Ethan Mackey
SC94 EuroSwift

[cgscgs]

Ethan,
Last time I saw your dad it was 90 degrees at BHF and he was pushing you through the paddock trying to get you bump-started.

Allen,
I'll make a trip west this year to join ya'll at BHF in July for the Dbl Regional. Thinking about Elkhart in August with MCSCC. Sure do miss the days of the EWC.

Chuck Smith
Tiga CFF #5

[LenFC11]

You heard it hear first folks, a Honda at Blackhawk with crush the track record with a good driver. RIP Kent, it was nice knowing you. (Flame away, Apexspeed. Flame away.)

RH

Idk but it seems to me reid might be telling you guys he's gonna be in a Honda this year

[Jon Jeffords]

After missing two seasons due to unemployment /new job / relocation, my 2012 plans got off to a great start. First, I bought an enclosed trailer off ApexSpeed to make race weekends a little less hectic. Then, I purchased Maisey's old Honda DB1 to further reduce the hustle and bustle at the track.

On Sunday, I finished cutting the grass and was heading inside to fill out the paperwork for the upcoming driver's school at BFR when shortness of breath and a tingling left arm convinced me to head over to the local hospital. Next thing I know, it feels like I have an elephant standing on my chest, and I'm on a flight-for-life ride to St. Lukes in Milwaukee. 100% blockage of the circumflex coronary artery. Luckily, they got a stent inserted before significant damage was done to the heart tissue.

Doctor says if all goes well, I'll be out of the hospital today (3/27), and able to attend the school in late April, followed by a full season of Regionals at RA, BFR, and maybe Gingerman. Can't wait!

[cooleyjb]

After missing two seasons due to unemployment /new job / relocation, my 2012 plans got off to a great start. First, I bought an enclosed trailer off ApexSpeed to make race weekends a little less hectic. Then, I purchased Maisey's old Honda DB1 to further reduce the hustle and bustle at the track.

On Sunday, I finished cutting the grass and was heading inside to fill out the paperwork for the upcoming driver's school at BFR when shortness of breath and a tingling left arm convinced me to head over to the local hospital. Next thing I know, it feels like I have an elephant standing on my chest, and I'm on a flight-for-life ride to St. Lukes in Milwaukee. 100% blockage of the circumflex coronary artery. Luckily, they got a stent inserted before significant damage was done to the heart tissue.

Doctor says if all goes well, I'll be out of the hospital today (3/27), and able to attend the school in late April, followed by a full season of Regionals at RA, BFR, and maybe Gingerman. Can't wait!

Damn, Jon. glad it came out in the long run.

What's the deal with the Stohr, now that the Honda is in the garage?

[reidhazelton]

After missing two seasons due to unemployment /new job / relocation, my 2012 plans got off to a great start. First, I bought an enclosed trailer off ApexSpeed to make race weekends a little less hectic. Then, I purchased Maisey's old Honda DB1 to further reduce the hustle and bustle at the track.

On Sunday, I finished cutting the grass and was heading inside to fill out the paperwork for the upcoming driver's school at BFR when shortness of breath and a tingling left arm convinced me to head over to the local hospital. Next thing I know, it feels like I have an elephant standing on my chest, and I'm on a flight-for-life ride to St. Lukes in Milwaukee. 100% blockage of the circumflex coronary artery. Luckily, they got a stent inserted before significant damage was done to the heart tissue.

Doctor says if all goes well, I'll be out of the hospital today (3/27), and able to attend the school in late April, followed by a full season of Regionals at RA, BFR, and maybe Gingerman. Can't wait!

Glad to hear you're ok Jon. Very glad. I saw a picture on Facebook and was going to see how you were doing. Sounds like that new blood pump you got should be worth a few seconds! Keep up on the recovery and I better see you out there soon!

RH

[Mike Kolthoff]

I am planing on Blackhawks. The sprints wil not work do to work requirements which I am finally glad to bitch about. Thank goodness some people are starting to buy office furniture again. I will have my very good now ok Kent lump still installed in back. If I really suck it is for sale.

I miss the old Cen-Div. our rite of passage was driving through Chicago a couple times a year. I think that experience actually helped our collective on track skills!

[thunderracing91]

I might make a race or two this year.........

[Allen_W]

Jon,

Hoping that all continues to go well and to see you get out to the track again soon. I still feel guilty over the trouble I brought to the Stohr in what I believe was your last time out at the 40th.

Best wishes for a full recovery,
Allen

[Jon Jeffords]

Damn, Jon. glad it came out in the long run.

What's the deal with the Stohr, now that the Honda is in the garage?

Thanks guys for the positive vibes!

Disappointed to say the Stohr FF will be up for sale on ApexSpeed shortly. I had initially envisioned a relaxing summer conversion to the Honda engine while I raced the DB1, but with all the recent excitement in my life (combined with the fact that it's only been on track for five weekends in the last six years), I have come to realize the Stohr is better off in the hands of a driver far more worthy than I.

[steve zemke]

Glad to hear you are going to recover. WOW!!!!! Give me a call. A couple of people have asked about the Stohr in the past.
Steve Zemke