Shootout in the swamp.

[Purple Frog]

The events of the past 10 days has caused many sorrowful feelings, and for most of us racing has had to be put aside to attend to matters of higher import. Those that follow my postings know that I try to report in a lighter comical vein. It has been hard to be comical recently. Last night the President again asked us to try to return to as much normalcy as possible, and for most of us that is racing. So following presidential edict, let the Frog report on some of the upcoming racing business in the South East Division.

The SARRC CFC Championship race will be held on September 30 at Roebling Road. For a class that the SE Division was going to put on the extinction list for lack of participation, this has been one hell of an exciting season. There has been a good showing of cars, a large variety of winners, close racing, and a lot of great camaraderie.

Going into this final race, four drivers have a chance of winning the SAARC Championship. Three of those totally control their own destiny, if they can win the race, they will win the championship. It’s that close after 11 months of towing cars all over the South. Let’s preview:

Marshall Aiken. “The Kid” to all the rest of the field. You’ll probably be reading more good things about him in the future. He is moving up to FC next season in his VD. He was Mike Eakin’s student at driving school in February. From day one at driving school it was obvious the kid from Alpharetta Georgia was going to be a competitive force in CFC. He is driving his bright red Swift SE-3. If you poll all the other drivers, they will probably tell you that if Marshall can keep it running he is the odds on favorite. This season if he was running at the end, he won. He needs to finish a motor rebuild this week to make the show.

Court Dowis. The 2000 CFC Champion. Driving an 88-90 red Reynard, Court loves side by side racing. Earlier in the season, mechanical ills kept him out of the hunt. But just like last year , he has done what needed to be done at the end of the season. The gentleman from Pine Mountain Georgia knows his way around the track, and has his car ready.

Mike Eakin. Consistency has paid off for his low-bucks effort. Driving the oldest car in the pack, a ’84 Reynard in new silver and purple livery, Eakin has finished his last 14 races, three times in first place. In a national event last year he did tie the current CFC course record for Roebling Road. He will be towing up from Sopchoppy Florida, a car that has had to have all of it’s bailing wire replaced since Labor Day.

Rich LaTerra. Rich has the CFC record at Roebling. He got that record this spring trying to chase down Marshall Aiken. Like Marshall he is driving a real pretty Swift. His black and aqua car has to be considered a favorite. Rich is the only one of the 4 that can’t win championship on his finish alone. He would need Aiken to fall back to third or fourth in this race. If it is dry and cool, expect to see lap records fall.

There are others, such as David Sava or A.J. Galinao, who could win the race but not the championship. We also may see Bunce and/or Hardy tow up from South Florida. Victor Bunce lead the championship points battle early in the season with his 84 Reynard.

All these guys have had fun all season, and genuinely like each other. Everybody has helped everybody else make the show. But, it will be a real showdown. Three old guys, that long ago saw four and even five decades pass by, will be chasing the kid.

A few things to consider…. This season the Swifts have proven to be the quickest, especially on dry fast tracks. Both Aiken and Eakin have won in the rain this year. When LaTerra rolls his Swift out of that prep shop in Charlotte, he will be ready. And he loves Roebling Road. Dowis, the incumbent, would love it to be close and side-by-side on the last lap. Eakin will probably be seen doing a Seminole rain dance all weekend. His 5 year old rain tires are the best tires he owns.

One thing for sure. Whoever wins this championship will have really earned it.

Stay tuned sportsfans.
And remember... all of this is eqivalent to a spec of flea dung compared to what is going on in New York.

[montfort]

Best of luck to you guys at the SIC. I was going to come and help at the grid or at the keg, whichever I got to first. But due to the state of the country, my expertise is needed elsewhere and I won't be able to make it. You guys enjoy the weekend and most of all, have a safe weekend. See you guys soon and I will keep in touch, Michael.

[Mark H]

Is the CFC still on the SE Divisions extinction list? And how well will the older cars do aginst the newer VD's if they are forced to run up in FC ?

[Purple Frog]

The South East Division will vote during their annual meeting at Jekyll Island this coming January on what status to keep CFC.

My best guess is that we will continue on probation for another year. At some events we had as many as 8 entries, at some others only 2. I would hazard a guess that we averaged 4 cars per event.

In terms of lap times compared to newer push rod cars, over the past couple of years we seem to be averaging about 2 seconds per mile slower than the front of the FC pack. That's on Southern tracks like Road Atlanta, Roebling Road, Daytona, VIR... which reward top speed and high speed cornering. On tighter tracks, such as Carolina Motorsports Park, we can stay a bit closer.

That said, it still is a lot of bang for the buck, especially considering that a competitive CFC car can be had for $10,000 - $13,000.