R.E.DITOR NOTES A VERY SURPRISED ROBERTA SPEH.

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1 MARCH 04 JAN 05 R.E.DITOR NOTES It has been awhile since the last newsletter, and to be honest, I had to calm down before I wrote anything to be published. There is a lot of effort put in to hold our annual Christmas Banquet, a site has to be found, menus approved, decorations, door prizes and awards have to be obtained. To have only 14 people attend was almost a slap in the face to those who helped in organizing this event. This event is for the membership as a fun event, one for all of us to get together and bench race, BS or finally get to meet some of the people you hear about but never see at the events. Think how you would feel if you planned a big party and no one showed up! The following awards were mentioned at the Banquet: Jim Martin Award : Allen Givens Arlo Moore Award : George Lowe Most Improved Award : Chris Ruesga Hard Luck Award : Derric Tubbs Cone King for 2004 : Clint Morrow A special award was also presented to our secretary, Roberta Speh, who has fulfilled this position for the last 12 years. That is dedication! We had one change in the Class Champions whenboomer Savanh notified me, by from a carrier in Hawaii, that he was not eligible for the championship since he had not renewed his membership. This boosted newcomer Mike Dorohoff into the championship for the year. Congratulations to all Class Champions. Jackets and mugs will be available at the meetings and events when we find a site. ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE WITH FIRE MOUNTAIN for us to have our monthly meetings there. Topper and I have scoured the neighborhood for a decent place to hold meetings and discovered that most places require a minimum of 25 people to reserve a room. It is up to you, the membership, for us to keep this site. It is located on Hwy 29N just south of 9 Mile Rd in the Wal Mart parking lot. Call me if you need further directions. We have sent in a request to the Navy to use Wolf Fld. for an event site. No response as of yet. I must assume they are still in Ivan recovery mode, and will get to us as soon as they can. For those that just need to run their cars, Paul Neal has researched events as far away as Atlanta for your benefit. I will get our webmaster to post this list on our web site. Walt W. R,E, A VERY SURPRISED ROBERTA SPEH Page 1

2 TREASURER'S REPORT Beginning Bal. 09/30/04 $ INCOME: Awards Banquet Member Dues Interest Earned 1.61 EXPENSES: Awards Banquet Awards Awards Banquet Dinner Pylon Oct Pylon Nov Trophies Ending Bal. 12/31/04 $ COMING EVENTS Jan Jan Feb Gulf Coast Region Meeting at Fire Mountain 9006 Pensacola Blvd (Hwy 29) 7 PM dinner, 8 PM mtg. Southeast Division Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet. Jekyll Island GA Gulf Coast Region Meeting at Fire Mountain 9006 Pensacola Blvd (Hwy 29) 7 PM dinner, 8 PM mtg. Future schedule to be determined. SOLO II 2005 SCHEDULE TO BE DETERMINED New Site must still be found!. Tech & Registration 8:00 am Registration closes at 9:30 am SCCA Members $ Active/Retired Military $ Non-SCCA Members $ PLEASE - NO PETS - Also Children MUST be under adult supervision at ALL TIMES!! PLEASE HELP FIND A SITE Editor: Walt Wurzbach (251) THE PYLON is the official publication of the Gulf Coast Region - Sports Car Club of America. Opinions expressed herein are those of the editors and authors who have submitted articles. The editor reserves the right to edit all material for clarity and space. Articles must be submitted prior to the 10th of the month to be included in the current month's issue. CLUB WHEELS: Regional Executive: Asst. Regional Exec: Secretary: Treasurer: Area III Director: Walt O. Wurzbach Topper Jones Roberta Speh See R.E. Bill Weston Leatherbury Rd Willis Rd. P.O. Box 1203 Editor Sonrisa Way Loxley, AL Foley, AL Foley, AL Walt Wurzbach Boca Raton, FL (251) (251) (251) wurzbach@gulftel.com (561) Director-at-large: Director-at-large: Solo II Chairman Solo II Co-Chairman Area XII Director: Earl Walker Zalma Chitty III Topper Jones Richard Felis Phil Mellor 4 Frisco Rd. 951 Old Shell Rd Willis Rd. 954 Palmetto St P.O. Box 151 Pensacola, FL Mobile, AL Foley, AL Mobile, AL Carnesville, GA (850) (251) (251) (251) (706) Page 2

3 GULF COAST REGION SPORTS CAR CLUB OF AMERICA Minutes of November 18, 2004 The meeting was held at Cock-of-the-Walk in Pensacola with 14 people attending. Special guests were James and Jasmyne Hodnett (hope they will be joining us a few years from now as autocrossers). Welcome back to Rich Jemison--you've been missed! "Great to see you again!" R.E. Walt Wurzbach called the meeting to order. He reported a balance in the treasury of $6400 after paying for trophies. SOLO II - R.E. reported on an from Greg Zimmerman who flies out of Whiting (re Wolf Field in Baldwin County). He did a low flyover and reported that the field looks clean. R.E. called Pete Peterson at NAS for contacts at Whiting which has jurisdiction and then talked with various people there. He said they were definitely receptive and he supplied all the documentation they requested. They committed to work on it in the next few weeks. R.E. and Topper Jones checked the site out last week. It is 8.9 miles west of Bronson in the community of Josephine in Alabama and a few miles south of Hwy 98. It has half mile long runways which are 200 feet wide. "The place is spotless!" The runway surface is like Bronson's, though not as rough. Ingress/ egress is the biggest problem as it is a one-lane gravel/dirt road. The entrance is locked so it will be a secure site. The Navy uses it during the week, so there can't be any midweek practicing. There followed a discussion of what to schedule for a January event in order to be prepared if permission to use is given. The majority leaned toward a regular event which would take less organizing than a school. R.E. noted the Axis vs Allies Solo II will be December 5 (day after awards banquet (see their website for details). SOLO I RE. reported that five members took first places in the Solo I championships. Richard Felis and Terry Green tied for one of them. "Way to go guys!" Savannah event: While Ann handled safety inspections and other tasks, Walt took to the track with enough finesse to beat two other (younger) drivers. Altogether it was a good event without any incidents. OLD BUSINESS - Reminded everyone to get their reservations in for the Awards Banquet ASAP since our seating capacity at the Trade Center has been limited to 40 people. MISCELLANEOUS - R.E. reported on information from National (can also be seen on website): Drivers who have active airbags in their cars cannot use full face helmets. Only open face helmets are considered safe. Next year all rule books will be online, however, downloaded copies are not considered official, so you will still need a printed version. Racing licenses have gone up in price but they include a free GCR. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned. Attending were: Walt & Ann Wurzbach, Topper Jones, Richard Felis, Gerry Swetsky, J. Jason Hodnett plus James & Jasmyne Hodnett, Rich Jemison, Roberta Speh, Jim Cromwell, J. P. Wetzel, Jim Story, and John Barber. Submitted by, Roberta Speh, Secretary Page 3

4 TEST DRIVING AN ELISE Saturday morning I grabbed an early flight out of Pensacola to Jacksonville so that I could testdrive the new Federal Elise. Long before we bought the S2000 in 1999 the Elise was my dream sports car. I was worried that once I finally got to drive one that my opinion of the car might make me perceive the car as better than it actually was. Conversely, I was worried also that my dreams and expectations were so high that they would be shattered by reality. Luckily my fears were largely unfounded as I found myself evaluating the car much as I would any other car. The temperatures in Jacksonville Saturday afternoon were on the chilly side and the winds were extremely gusty so the Saffron Yellow demo car was wearing the soft-top. This particular car was fitted with the $1350 Touring Pack which includes leather seats, electric windows, carpet, upgraded stereo, noise insulated soft top, and additional interior sound insulation. I appreciate that looks are a matter of personal taste but I found the styling of the car to be absolutely stunning. The car is small and it sits low. I have heard horror stories of how difficult it is to get in and out of the car with the top on. The only other Elise I had parked my butt in was topless, and while I found it somewhat awkward that first time, it was manageable. Getting in with the top on does add some challenges. As I stepped over the high sill to get into the passenger seat so the salesman could familiarize me with the car I banged my right knee hard enough to bruise it on the rigid edge of the soft-top. What, I banged my knee on the top while getting in? Sure did, this thing sits close to the ground. Once inside, the narrow non-adjustable racing style passenger seat, while confining, was comfortable. There was plenty of room for both head and legs as long as you didn t want to move side to side. The seat is deep enough in the car that the doorsill can pretty much act as an armrest. The seats are also close enough together that the driver and passenger are likely to rub shoulders often. Since Lotus says not to use the windscreen header as a handhold while getting in and out, getting out of the passengers side of the car ain t pretty, which is one more little needed reason to always be the driver. Getting in and out of the driver s side of the car I found to be no problem. It s not easy like getting in and out of a normal car and it will tax both your upper body strength and flexibility but it is doable. Granted I drive a formula car that is so tight to get in and out of that you have to do it one butt cheek and one shoulder at a time. Almost anything is a n improvement over that. Getting into the car the first time reminded me very much of getting into a two passenger sports racer without removing the steering wheel first. The seat really is basically a racing seat and while this version of the car is carpeted there is still a great deal of bare metal showing. The view out of the front is similar to that from the drivers seat of a 1968 to 1982 C3 Corvette with the arched fenders clearly in sight. The view out of the sides is not bad if and only if you are looking directly to the side and the passengers head is not in the way. The view of anything out of the rear is limited making backing and lane changes somewhat difficult. Properly set outside mirrors is a must. Starting the car is also tricky. After getting in the car you put the key in and turn it on, then push a remote button, and with the clutch in, the starter button. If you ve had too many drinks to remember the sequence you re not going to start the car. This is a car that bone stock can run 0-60 in 4.7 to 4.8 seconds and pull over 1g on the skid pad. While this is very impressive the car does it so effortlessly that a glance at the speedometer made me keep hoping Jacksonville s finest were busy elsewhere. I expected my first thought on driving the car to be about how small it was. Wrong, the size didn t bother me at all. I was how- (Continued on page 5) Page 4

5 (Continued from page 4) ever startled by how raw and loud the car sounded. It seemed that every sound from the engine and header a few inches behind the seat was being transmitted into the car. Once at a cruising speed things quieted down to a more normal level except for the wind noise leaking in around the soft top. In what almost seems to be like a throwback to British sports cars I drove in the 70 s Lotus claims that the soft top wasn t designed to be fully weatherproof so air and water leaks are to be expected. The optional hardtop does a much better job of keeping out the elements. The thing I liked least about the car was the shifter. It may have been due to this being a Demo car with over 1000 hard miles on it but I found the shifter to be both vague and notchy. Second gear in particular seemed hard to get into and I found myself hoping on downshifts that I was finding the correct gear. The pedal placement was not at all conducive to my style of heel and toe driving. Both the brake and gas pedals are adjustable so this could be rectified with a little work. The rear suspension emits a loud "thunk" over expansion joint type bumps but the car communicates everything that is going on better than any street car I ve ever experienced. The initial turn in is not as quick or twitchy as that of a MINI Cooper S but the car goes exactly where you tell it and is amazingly easy to place where you want it. On a grooved road it will "hunt" which could make for an interesting and intense drive in the rain. High side winds crossing the high-rise bridge over the St. Johns River shoved the c ar around much more than I would have expected also. I believe that many people sold their S2000 s because they found them to be too raw and too serious in their sporting nature. I expect a number of Elise owners will end up selling their cars for the same reasons, even those who swapped from the S2000 to the Elise. Next to the little Lotus the S2000 feels like a big, bloated luxury GT. That s not knocking the Honda, it s just that the Lotus is that much closer to being a racecar instead of a sports car. Will I buy one? I expect at some point I very likely will own one. For now though I m very anxious to drive one with the optional Sports Pack so I can compare the ride and handling. I m also very curious about the shifter action in another car. It was something that I was getting used to in my roughly 45 minute test drive but it was in my opinion the weak link. While I feel that this car is far to harsh to make a good daily driver it is so much fun to drive that I would probably drive it everyday anyway. Topper Jones Page 5

6 SCCA RUNOFFS MOVES TO HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA IN 2006 Sports Car Club of America, Inc. (SCCA ) announced today the results of a December vote by its Board of Directors to move the largest event of its kind in the world, the annual National Championship Runoffs, to Heartland Park Topeka (Topeka, Kan.) beginning in Heartland Park becomes just the fifth host in the event s history, dating back to Considered the signature event put on by SCCA, the National Championship Runoffs have been hosted by Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Lexington, Ohio) since Mid-Ohio enjoyed fourconsecutive three-year contracts for the event, running through the 2005 season, and the event experienced tremendous growth throughout its tenure. Heartland Park looks to continue the growth beginning with a three-year contract ( ) for the event naming the SCCA Club Racing National Champions. The SCCA Board of Directors believes that the event is due for a change, and, while there were a number of great bids, Heartland Park Topeka put together a proposal that earned the next contract of the Runoffs, SCCA President and CEO Steve Johnson. The track and the city of Topeka have big shoes to fill after a wonderful run at Mid-Ohio, but we believe they are up to the task to provide a great setting for the next chapter in Runoffs history. Heartland Park Topeka is proud to be the new host for the next era of the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, Heartland Park Topeka Owner Raymond Irwin said. We believe that the Topeka community and Heartland Park will present not only a world class championship event, but also will provide our SCCA competitors and fans a hometown friendly atmosphere second to none. The first-ever Interdivisional Championship, later referred to as the Runoffs, was held at Riverside Raceway (Riverside, Calif.) in 1964, and alternated coasts with Daytona International Raceway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) through In 1970, the event began a 24-year run at Road Atlanta (Braselton, Ga.), before moving to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in The event has grown in both size and stature over the years, with more than 700 drivers from across the country making the annual trek for the event that spans an entire week, preceded by an additional week of optional testing. The sheer number of competitors makes the Runoffs the largest annual amateur road racing event in the world, and results in an average local economic impact of over $10 million each year. The Runoffs annually crown the National Champions of SCCA Club Racing s National level classes (currently 23). Drivers from across North America race locally to earn points, with the top-10 qualifying drivers from the eight SCCA Divisions in each class earning an invitation to compete in the event. The list of past Runoffs Champions is a who s who in road racing history that includes Skip Barber, Michael Galati, Paul Newman, Bobby Rahal, Greg Ray, Boris Said and Scott Sharp. The 2004 event broke the all-time record for drivers shooting for gold in what s referred to as the Olympics of motorsports, with 732 drivers competing in 24 classes. Heartland Park becomes the first venue west of the Mississippi River to host the event since 1968, and moves what Car and Driver magazine called one of the 10 Best Motorsports Events to the most centrally-located road course facility in the contiguous 48 states. The Board of Directors reached a consensus after weighing the options and bids, and selected Heartland Park Topeka as the location best meeting the criteria of creating a positive experience Page 6 (Continued on page 7)

7 (Continued from page 6) for all participants, Johnson added. By 2006, Heartland Park will feature a large, level, paved Runoffs paddock and grid area, a Runoffs-specific track configuration and room for growth. The Board is also impressed with the great selection of accommodations, restaurants and services that the city of Topeka has to offer, as well as the community support for Heartland Park and motorsports in general from both a private sector and governmental standpoint on a city and state level. Heartland Park Topeka was constructed in the capital city of Kansas at a cost of nearly $22 million and opened in In its first ten race seasons, Heartland Park hosted major events for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), SCCA Pro Racing and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. NHRA drag racing has remained a consistent part of the Heartland Park Topeka schedule, but high-profile road racing at the facility has lagged since the late 1990 s. Already the owner of the Blackhawk Farms road racing facility, in Rockton, Ill., Irwin purchased Heartland Park Topeka in 2003 and received a $5 million commitment from the city of Topeka in 2004 for road course facility upgrades. Improvements scheduled prior to the 2006 National Championship Runoffs include new road course garages, a road course control tower and timing facility, showers, additional concessions, spectator viewing areas, an expansion of the current paddock to accommodate 1,000 participants, new camping and parking areas and a complete repaving of the circuit as well as a number of changes to the track layout. The SCCA National Championship Runoffs contract runs for three-year periods. During the second year of each contract, SCCA extends a Request for Proposal for the next contract. Upon reviewing the returned bids, the Board of Directors votes on the new contract prior to the final year on the existing contract. Key points to proposals include the racing facility, pre-event testing, hospitality, event support, local infrastructure, community involvement, media services, ticket pricing, sponsorship and deliverables revenue, and sanction and promoter fees. The date for the 2006 Runoffs has not yet been announced. The 2005 SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Kohler will be held Sept at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. For additional information about Sports Car Club of America, please visit For additional information about Heartland Park Topeka, please visit GEORGE LOWE RICHARD FELIS MIKE DOROHOFF MARIANNE JONES Page 7

8 DIRECTOR'S COMMUNIQUÉ What a great 2004 season! We recently had, among many others, the SARRC Invitational Challenge(SIC), the 13 Hour Enduro and the ARRC. The Southeast Division continues to lead the SCCA in fun events. We just returned from Topeka, where we attended the December Board of Directors meeting. A highlight of this meeting is welcoming newly elected directors and we welcomed our own Kaye Fairer! We also thanked Phil Mellor for his six years of service to the SCCA board. Phil has been particularly helpful to the Performance Rally community in his role as liaison to their board. Thank you, Phil! Your national Board of Directors continues to be involved in a number of very interesting issues. Another highlight of the December meeting is the presentation of the proposed 2005 budget. The projections for all three entities, SCCA, Inc., Pro and Enterprises, are to make a profit for 2004 and The Budget and Finance committee, of the Board, carefully reviewed the proposed 2005 budget and recommended its adoption to the Board, who approved. The proposed budget was presented by the new Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Dahnert. He comes to SCCA from an extensive background in both public and corporate accounting. We are very happy to welcome Jeff to the family. We will miss Sandy Abrahams, who will be moving to Wichita with a very lucky young man! We also reviewed the proposed insurance rates for As you may guess, they rose in recognition of the Club's worsening claims ratio; that is, the ratio of claims reserved and paid to premiums remitted. The claims presented by the Performance Rally program in the last several years led to the Boards decision to terminate the program as it then existed. That program was transitioned to the Rally America organization who, we understand, plans to run a full schedule in A revised, scaled back rally program was subsequently announced which will be run under much greater control. The Solo Events Board(SEB) and the Club Racing Board(CRB) continue to consider proposals that could impact your car or class. Please stay up-to-date by reviewing the proposals which are out for member comment in Fastrack. You may address comments to seb@scca.com or crb@scca.com. We are also anxiously looking forward to seeing you at the Southeast Division's annual meeting at Jekyll Island, Georgia on January Both of us want to continue to hear from you when you have a concern or opinion you would like us to take to the national level. Please contact us by phone or at these numbers: Kaye Fairer Bill Weston kfairer@scca.com bweston@scca.com Page 8

9 TROPHIES FOR JULY AND AUGUST THE FOLLOWING TROPHIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP IF YOU WOULD LIKE THEM SENT TO YOU, SEND OR CALL WALT WURZBACH GIVING YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS JULY AS-BOB LANGHAM, BS, 3RD NEIL WESTBY-GIBSON, CS-ERIN BATES, 2ND TREY CHRISTY, ES-EARL WALKER, GS-GARY KELLY, STS-CHRIS RUESGA, ESP-PETE KUMMER, AP-DERRIC TUBBS, CP-DANIEL AVALLONE, 2ND TERRY HYLAND, SM- ED CURTIS. AUGUST LADIES PAX-ROBERTA WETZEL, ES-PRESTON MELOUN, GS-GARY KELLY, HS- JEREMY SAPP, STS-BRIAN RICCI, 2ND CHRIS RUESGA, 3RD CLINT MORROW, FM- ZAL CHITTY, ESP-PETE KUMMER, AP-DERRIC TUBBS, CP-DANIEL AVALLONE, AM, FTD-TERRY GREEN, BM-TOM HAUGH, SM-ED CURTIS Mazda RX-7 FOR SALE Custom welded-in cage by Kirk Racing - Gutted Interior - Removable Steering Wheel - Autometer Gauges (tach, water temp, oil press, boost) Downpipe and Catback - Lightweight battery - Removed A/C and PS Camcorder mount - Bone stock otherwise. See a pic at $10,500 OBO Derric Tubbs Quick Questionnaire; Why did you not attend the Banquet? Do we need to change the format to make it better? Did you lose interest after losing the site? after Ivan? Was the Banquet site too far away? Did you have other commitments? Page 9

10 FOR SALE: 1974 GTV SCCA AutoX Class Champion I am selling my 1974 GTV, 3rd owner. Good interior, replaced 1974 seats with 69 GTV Recarro seats. Has had the following modifications.. Newly rebuilt motor top end and bottom end with less than 1k. Motronic pistons, milled head, cams, all Reinz gaskets, recored rad, electric fan with thermostat or overide switch, carb conversion with euro intake manifold and Shankle heel-toe kit. Brake rebuild with Porterfield R4S pads, recent brake MC, clutch MC & SC, 4.56 LS rear shimmed for more lockout. New exhaust Ansa front, Cisam center and Ansa dual pipe rear. (This exhaust is NLA, I purchase New old stock) New Motor mounts with billet alum sleeves for torque reduction. New trans mount.. Suspension: 1300lb front springs, 225 rear springs, adjustable front camber, recent ball joints, caster joints and tie rod ends. Spax 14 way adjustable shocks all around. New side mirrors.. Needs some rust replacement on rockers rear wheel arch, and ding on back. Excellent driver, very good track car, DSP Class Champion in Many Porsche events. Could provide a variety of wheels with car, Turbinas, steel stock wheels or Spider late model 5 star daytona. Also included is complete new carpet set, leather shift boot and original spare tire & wheel and some of the needed sheet metal for the rust repairs. This car is an absolute thrill to drive. Could be a daily driver and repair the rust as you wish.. Car is located in Mobile, AL and was NOT damaged by Hurricane Ivan. I am putting the car up here first before going on Ebay.. Price $ Contact Zal Cell , Zal.ChittyII@gesupply.com Editor s Note: Zal also has his race car and race gear for sale, contact him at the contacts above. Page 10

11 CLASSIFIEDS FMOD Race Car (updated 5/21/04) Solo II open wheel SoloVee race car with newly rebuilt 1600cc engine. Priced at $2,400. Digital pictures ed upon request. Call Rod home, cell ************************************************ Enclosed Car Trailer I have an enclosed trailer to haul your race car. I bought the trailer to haul my FMOD and AMOD car s asking $2,900. Digital pictures ed upon request. Call Rod home, cell ************************************************** For Sale: two P225/50ZR13 Hoosier A3S03 Radial Autocross Tires. These are real racing tires with a D.O.T. rating, legal in Street Prepared class, and they are the best autocross tire on a smooth surface. These have one autocross at Blue Angle Park on an X1/9. I paid $319.23, cost of tires plus shipping, I will sell both tires for $ Call "Mac" at (850) *************************************************** 1991 Spec Miata Built in 2004, Logbook, Raced once, 91k Miles, AutoPower weld-in Cage Toyos, 1 race old, Reliable, Runs Great, I just have no time to race it $ Fort Walton Beach, FL Paul at *************************************************** British Cars and Parts I am selling ALL of my numerous British cars and parts all at once, in one massive sale. I have far too much to even begin to provide a list. Please contact me if interested and please, serious inquiries only. Jim Cromwell or cromwell@aol.com *************************************************** 1993 Mazda RX-7 FOR SALE Custom welded-in cage by Kirk Racing - Gutted Interior - Removable Steering Wheel - Autometer Gauges (tach, water temp, oil press, boost) - Downpipe and Catback - Lightweight battery - Removed A/C and PS Camcorder mount - Bone stock otherwise. See a pic at $10,500 OBO Derric Tubbs Request from your Editor: If you have sold your items, please let me know, so that the ad can be removed! Thank You. WW Page 11

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13 THE PYLON c/o Walt Wurzbach Leatherbury Rd. Loxley, AL INSIDE JAN ISSUE * DIRECTORS COMMUNIQUE * RUNOFFS CHANGE * TROPHIES FOR JUL. AND AUG. WELCOME, NEW MEMBERS IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THIS PUBLICATION BY NOTIFICATION SEND TO: wurzbach@gulftel.com WITH Please Notify AS SUBJECT. Page 13