DUFFUS @ Mid-Ohio - Who else is coming?

[PK]

Motorsportreg is currently showing 14 entrants for the first DUFFUS race at Mid-Ohio. When announced, there were a lot more people expressing interest. Who else is coming who hasn't registered yet?

If you're not planning on it, please reconsider! At 14 cars it's already a decent field, but at 20+ it'll be that much better!

[Wes Allen]

I agree with Phil. Dust off those cars and come join us! It should be a great weekend!

[bobmelvin]

Motorsportreg is currently showing 14 entrants for the first DUFFUS race at Mid-Ohio. When announced, there were a lot more people expressing interest. Who else is coming who hasn't registered yet?

If you're not planning on it, please reconsider! At 14 cars it's already a decent field, but at 20+ it'll be that much better!

DUFFUSes:

I'm coming in for the Pro 1600 race. I have a '93 VD. I have no idea what your regs are but would my car fit into your group to?

Pardon my ignorance. I Googled DUFFUS but came up empty.

Thanks in advance.

Bob Melvin

[Will Velkoff]

Absolutely...you'd be in the regular FF class.

[Jonathan Hirst]

Looking forward to a great event, and the weather was looking good as well, the last time I looked.

Thanks to those that are pulling this together, see you in a week.



Jonathan

[Steve Bamford]

DUFFUSes:

I'm coming in for the Pro 1600 race. I have a '93 VD. I have no idea what your regs are but would my car fit into your group to?

Pardon my ignorance. I Googled DUFFUS but came up empty.

Thanks in advance.

Bob Melvin

Bob you would for sure fit in very well in this group. From what I have read this class is a single FF run group for all FF cars vintage or not. A friendly group for club racers.

[Derek Holmes]

I was planning on running the Mid Ohio Duffus race. My DB1 is still up on stands waiting on parts after an accident this year.

[Bill Maisey]

I was definitely planning to be there; but like Derek, the racin' gods have not smiled upon me. My Crossle CF got "back-burnered" at the shop doing the Honda swap. I retrieved the car last weekend, but there is a TON of finish work (wiring, fuel, plumbing, etc) to be done.

[Derek Holmes]

Bill we still have Formula Fest at Summit... I am looking forward to racing with Sean again.

[bobmelvin]

Bob you would for sure fit in very well in this group. From what I have read this class is a single FF run group for all FF cars vintage or not. A friendly group for club racers.

Steve:

I detected a bit of 'wankers are welcome' in your recommendation. I'll take that from you. Recent Pro win and all.....

Yeah, I am going to run these sessions for the additional track time. Reg is closed but it seems they are willing to take care of it via email.

Look forward to seeing you next week.

Bob

[Steve Bamford]

Steve:

I detected a bit of 'wankers are welcome' in your recommendation. I'll take that from you. Recent Pro win and all.....

Yeah, I am going to run these sessions for the additional track time. Reg is closed but it seems they are willing to take care of it via email.

Look forward to seeing you next week.

Bob

Ha ha ah, no not all Bob.

I would run it as well if I wasn't already doing double duty in the 2000 as well. All the posts I have seen on this group make it seem like a great bunch of guys looking to have lots of fun.

[Wes Allen]

Hi all,
Any ideas for fireworks on the fourth??? Got to have my fireworks

[Steve Demeter]

Bring em with you cause they are hardly available in Ohio... Legally that is...

[andyllc]

Is twilight testing available for DUFFUS or only the pro series?

[dgernert]

As of last word from Joe the Thursday practice was for FRP only.

[CF56]

Great Day 1 for DUFFUS. Good people, clean fast driving, beautiful weather. We'll probably all sleep with a smile tonight!

[Will Velkoff]

I had no 3rd or 4th gear in P1 due to shifter issues, and a motor problem in P2 that I'm not sure is resolved. But I had the most fun racing today than I've had in the past 4 years. What an awesome track!

Looking forward to a better day tomorrow

[Wes Allen]

Hi all
We had engine issues in the 1st practice and decided to drive back home to Ky. And change it out at my shop. We're on the road now back to Mid Ohio and will make qualifying in the morning.

[CF56]

Thanks to all the Duffi (?) for organizing a really fun weekend at Mid-Ohio. Looking forward to Pittsburgh.

[Dave Harmison]

Wes: Please post the video from Saturday. Also, you have any pictures of that really cool exhaust system?

[Will Velkoff]

Just wanted to thank everyone again who offered advice and parts to try and resolve my horsepower problems. Two cracked front rotors ended my day Sunday morning and was unable to make the race in the afternoon, probably was for the best since I was lapping several seconds behind everyone else.

Back to the drawing board to try and figure out what's wrong with my car.

[Michael Rand]

Vill Welkoff,
Give me some good dimensions for those front rotors as I have a stack of 10 used and I bet at least 2 would fit.
And as you bought the car from me I will happily rid my garage of them if they will work.
OD, bolt circle, nominal thickness, whatever else you think relevant, I will measure these up and ship 2 out to you as soon as I can identify exactly which will work.
Mike

[Will Velkoff]

Thanks Mike, I'll send you an email with the dimensions once I get them apart later this week or over the weekend.

I noticed a lot of photos being taken in false grid, on track, and on the podium. Does anyone know the photographer(s) and will we be seeing some pictures?

Thanks,

Will

[Joe Marcinski]

Hi,

First, to answer the question and end the debate; DUFFUS is pronounced "DooFuss". I know that might make some people uncomfortable, but it is all in good fun. As I have said before, I have always admired people who can make light of themselves and thus create a relaxed atmosphere. That is our intent.

I will leave the commentary on the success of the weekend to the drivers and crew who chose to race with us this past weekend. This is the thank you post to those who made it a great weekend for me. So, my sincerest thanks to:

Angela Slocum & Dave Gernert are the better minions than Gru has (obviously I have watched Despicable Me a few too many times and revealed an alarming level of immaturity, but then again I am a DUFFUS)! They went above and beyond to offer their help because I was busy with my K-Hill duties.

Larry Oliver for being exactly the kind of Chief Steward I had come to expect. He told us all what was needed, what to watch for and then stepped aside and let the weekend be about the drivers and racing. Thank you very much Larry!

Lenore Panas for being so kind in volunteering to sign in our drivers and crews and provide credentials. Made registration absolutely painless.

Angelo Zarra for making tech so easy for the drivers.

The very kind folks who do timing and scoring for FRP. It was literally a 2 minute discussion on race distance, transponder numbers, car numbers. Again, absolutely painless.

Becca Kingham for being our trophy queen and her brother Mark for being the Exchequer of Kill Stickers.

The very nice ladies of the Mid Ohio grid for all their help and interest in the DUFFUS series.

Bruce Foss of Hoosier for providing new Hoosier ball caps for our podium ceremonies.

Greg Rickes for being so kind as to announce our races. I think Greg was a little reluctant to call us DUFFUS, but believe me; none of us are offended.

Sandy Harmison for becoming the official DUFFUS photographer. Sandy will be posting some of the many photos she took during the weekend.

All of the drivers and crew that came to race with us. I really can't thank you all enough for choosing to support us on a major holiday weekend. I know that several of you changed plans (with some level of difficulty) to do so. I do hope everyone had a really good time and enjoyed the event. Special thanks to Wes Allen and Jon Hirst.

Wes had an engine problem on Friday in practice, went back to Lexington, Kentucky that night and changed his engine so he could come back and race with us on Saturday. Unfortunately, Wes couldn't race on Sunday due to an accident in Race 1 on Saturday afternoon. He does now have the first (to my knowledge) Don Garlits style FF header in the country though! I am sure there will be pictures posted. You would not believe the numbers of heads that turned to watch Wes enter the pits & paddock when he came in!

Jon came down from Canada with his beautiful Ferret and I was so pleased to see him take the Club Ford checker for the win in Race 2.

Mr. & Mrs. Brumbaugh for hosting our little get together on Friday evening.

I had the privilege of making a new friend in Bob Melvin, a true gentleman. Bob was kind enough to join us and do double duty with DUFFUS & the FRP Pro F1600. We all hope he will do so again.

It was smaller than anticipated number of drivers, but it was great fun. After the accident in Race 1 we had drivers who got together talking things over and laughing about it and taking parts out of their trailers or off of their cars to see if other drivers could get racing the next day. It is a real privilege to be able to count these folks as friends.........

I am sure that I have forgotten to make a thank you call out to someone so please accept my apology.

So, hopefully we will have a larger entry at Pittsburgh International Raceway on the first weekend of August.

Thank you all again,

Joe Marcinski

[PK]

Sandy Harmison (Dave's wife) shot on and off the track. Angela Slocum (part of the DUFFUS graphic department and FF racer with a currently broken car) also shot at pre-grid and the podium. I'm not sure yet exactly how or where they will be posted or otherwise made available, but I know that's the intent.

Phil Kingham

[Jonathan Hirst]

I wanted to chime in as well. I rolled in at about midnight last night - exhausted and tired from a great weekend.

Big thanks goes out to Joe and the DUFFI organizing committee for pulling it together. It was great to be part of an all Formula weekend and Joe was a gracious and accommodating host. This was my first experience with the registration process through FRP and the folks there were helpful and everything went smooth and fast.

It was a pleasure to meet many names I have "read" on Apexspeed in person , and race against what I feel are the top Club Ford racers in the North East ( gauntlet THROWN if you are a CF racer and that statement irks you! ). I also had the pleasure of paddocking near Steve Roux and Chris Horan who were fast all weekend in their FF.

Kudos of Phil Kingham who was the class of the CF field in his Zink - I ruined his hat trick weekend in the damp Sunday morning Semi final but otherwise he was motoring in every session and walked away with 2/3 wins to show for it.

Also met Will V who as mentioned was having a heck of a time trying to chase a bug in the motor/electrical/fuel system and eventually a couple cracked rotors caused him to say enough was enough. I hope to see you again Will when the Crossle is singing a sweeter song - just a super young man who deserved a lot better this weekend than what lady luck had for him.

I kept missing Dave Harmison all weekend until it was too late and he was loading his car and rightfully in no mood to chat. I met his wife Sandy who was shooting pics and assured me they would be available soon. I hope the damage wasn't bad Dave - none of us have enough race weekends in the summer and it will be nice to see you running again.

Wes - I saw Wes go flying by me in the 1st semi (thinking now I know how he got to Kentucky and back in a night) but unfortunately Wes and Dave were at the tail end of a chain reaction of events in Madness and Wes' Merlyn came out with an exhaust pointed skyward and was unable to continue. Dave H offered up his exhaust but I understand it wouldn't fit and he ended up on a trailer.

Chuck Baker was over a few times on the weekend and it was a real pleasure to make his acquaintance. He has a cool TIGA that he runs in SCCA and in Vintage events and it was nice to see him go home with some hardware at the end of the weekend.

I had a great battle with Kevin B (CF56) on Sunday in his Crossle. For the entire final we were back and forth - he with a FIT and I with a Kent. It was well matched and I had a great time, I was even in a good position to guide him as to where he could find his Go-Pro after the race.

Also a shout out to the the grid crew who were phenomenal all weekend. Umbrellas when it was sunny, umbrellas when it drizzled, water when we were sat on the grid for a while - all with smiles and waves all weekend.


Apologies if I missed anyone - hopefully there will be some video and photos up in the next week or so. I don't have the final results but I do have some shots of the practice and qualifying race results which I attached.

Jonathan

[Wes Allen]

Hi All,
Well I guess I was the drama queen this weekend! But I did have a good time and will be back. Below are a couple pics my Don Garlits header! I was disappointed because the new design was down on horsepower!

Video to follow as soon as I get a You tube account.

[MikeR]

Here is video of the Saturday afternoon race. The video captures the start of the race up until the incident at Madness. The incident starts ahead of Phil Kingham but he makes it thru Madness before Dave and Wes get together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfT4YXO4nGM

[helipilot04]

Tires... What tires are being used at the DUFFUS races? I would hope that there is a movement to some sort of treaded tire to keep car counts up and keep costs down. Having lots of FF's to race with at a "pro" type weekend but spending 50% less on tires would be very attractive. Just a thought..

Bob

[Joe Marcinski]

Hi Wes,

I have been asked to stay here at my client until Wednesday, but as soon as I get back to Virginia I will get pictures of the headers to you so we can decide which one (or both) you would like to try.

Joe M.

[Joe Marcinski]

Hi Bob,

We are trying to keep it simple by accommodating commonly used rule sets. We felt that if we dictated tire choices we might make it difficult for people to come and race with us. This is kind of a chicken/egg question in that we want to keep it simple, but we want it to be simple for people to come and race with us. Sometimes those two things are not the same. I am sure that you understand what I mean by that.

DUFFUS Formula F entrants comply with SCCA GCR rules and therefore the tire choice is free; you can run whatever tire you like. Club Ford is running per the MARRS rules which means we must run on one of the "hard" spec tires like the Hoosier R60, American Racer or the treaded Dunlop tires. We will be very happy to have our friends from vintage Club Ford join us and they can run the treaded Dunlops in their spec and race one another for the horse's pituty (not sure on how that is spelled, sorry) DUFFUS trophy. We thought that we might have a few Monoposto spec vintage Formula Fords join us and they can run on the tread tires specified by their clubs.

It is a run what you normally run and we see to it that you can race for trinkets/stickers with similar cars kind of thing. My personal choice would be to have everyone run on the hard Hoosiers because I thought that the late lamented East West Challenge series was at its best when that was the rule there. But, it is not economically feasible to make drivers who normally run one type of tire change and bring another type to our three "festival" type race weekends.

We are not looking to become a "series" like the Formula Race Promotions Pro series. We are rather trying to make a few weekends each year available for drivers with our Formula F cars to:

1. Race in whatever configuration they normally race.
2. Race only with other Formula Ford type cars (no Continentals, S2000s, Atlantics, etc.).
3. Race cars of similar configurations for cheap trophies of dubious propriety (and kill stickers).
3. Have as many as three races per weekend (when we can arrange that).
4. Have as relaxed and user friendly an environment as we can possibly supply.

In other words, just have fun racing in what we think is the best class ever invented.

Joe M.

[jgrooms]

Thanks to Mike Rand for sharing video of the race.

JG

[Will Velkoff]

Great to hear we will be seeing lots of great photos from the weekend. Will they be posted up on a photo hosting website for us all to access?

[Joe Marcinski]

Hi Will,

I don't know at this moment where the photos will be posted. Sandy Harmison was kind enough to volunteer to look into setting up a DUFFUS website, but as yet I don't have any details on it. I am sure Sandy will let us know shortly how we can get them once she has finished downloading them.

Joe M.

[Wes Allen]

OK here's the video of the incident. Don't try this at home! The drivers involved are trained professionals!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOhw...ature=youtu.be

[Wes Allen]

Attached are four stills taken from the video. I only had a very bent header and a crack in the rear shell! It was close!

[PK]

Yikes! It's even more dramatic looking at the stills. It's amazing how little damage was done to your car.

Dave's hoping to get it back together for Pittsburgh!

[Wes Allen]

Yeah,it's cool in the first picture,there is an ominous shadow developing?!? I actually lean to the right! I don't think there was more than 1-2 inches clearance!

[mblanc]

Wes, interesting how you calmly straighten your mirror at 0:17

Reminiscent of our incident at the keyhole, only you were doing the flying that time, but it was a little more like slowly bouncing over me, instead of that quick flight by Dave.
I still have that helmet with the divot, and tire marks on it...........

[Dave Harmison]

My wife got pictures posted (I hope this works)

http://www.inspiringimagesphotos.com...otos-2014.html