St. Louis Region SCCA
2010 is the 60th Anniversary of the Region
 
 

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Wheelspin - July, 2010 Issue 

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Visit the St. Louis Region  SCCA discussion Forums 

 
Wheelspin Past Issues are now archived at: 

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Region News
News from the Board of Directors Meeting
 
These
 are some highlights, the Official minutes are available at www.stlscca.org
 
 
SCCA Block 
The Board of Directors did a mid year financial review with the programs at the July board meeting.  Program Managers and Treasurers were asked to attend.
 
Performance Rally and Solo both expect to be right on or close to their budgets submitted.  PDX and Club Racing are both below budget and are estimated to lose money on these events this year. Road Rally jsut held a rally and no report was recieved.  RallyCross has not held any events thie year.

The monthly Socials have been a success and new members are attending and joining the region at many of them. Spazio's has been a great facility for this as everyone remarks on the good food and reasonable prices. The socials have helped increase membership. 

Membership is still growing (610 members) as of the Board metting) and we are  still at the top of the list in SCCA Regions with growth and retention.  The efforts towards growing made this year have been great. Solo has signed up members at almost all of their events this year.
 
The August 16th Board meeting the BoD is inviting our Webmaster, Jamie Leavell and our Program Managers to attend to explain Google Wave to all of us to see it's benefits for the region communications. 
 
Elections will be November 15th and nominations are open to all members over the age if 16. The 2010 Board of Directors are all serving as the nominating committee for this election and Steve Slotten will be chairman.  Nominees will be announced at the September Social 9/19 at Spazio's. 
Anyone wishing to run for election is to send their name and a short statement with their reason they want to run for the position and their qualifications to the Board by the September BoD meeting 9/13/10  BOD@stlscca.org
 
What qualifications are needed?  Management, financial, business, communications, computer, people, organizational, social skills are always welcome along with a desire to help the St. Louis Region. 
Time needed to do the job? Some members spend a few hours a week and some more. 
 
Positions open for election are:

REGIONAL EXECTUVE: (1 year position) 1 needed

A. The Regional Executive shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors, officers and

members.

B. He shall report at each meeting of the members and Directors on the condition of the Club.

C. He shall cause to be called regular and special meetings of the members and Directors in accordance with requirements of the law and these By-laws.

D. He shall appoint and discharge necessary and appropriate positions and committees.

E. He shall sign and execute, together with the Treasurer, all contracts in the name of the Club, and all notes and drafts. The Regional Executive or Treasurer may execute checks on behalf of the Club.

F. He shall perform or cause to be performed all duties assigned or delegated to him by the Sports Car Club of America, Inc.

G. He shall cause all books, reports, statements and other certificates and records to be kept and filed as required by law.

H. He shall enforce these By-laws and perform all the duties incidental to his office and which are required by law, and generally, he shall supervise and control the corporate activities and affairs of the Club.

I. He shall have such other and further duties and authority as may be prescribed elsewhere in these By-laws or from time to time by the Board of Directors.

ASSISTANT REGIONAL EXECUTIVE: (1 year position) 1 needed

In the absence or incapacity of the Regional Executive, the Assistant Regional Executive, or if there be none, the Secretary, shall perform all the duties of the Regional Executive, unless some other officer is designated by the Board of Directors to perform such duties. The Assistant Regional Executive shall perform such other duties as may from time to time be prescribed by the Board of Directors or by the Regional Executive.

SECRETARY: (1 year position) 1 needed

A. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors, Executive

Committee and of the members in appropriate books.

B. He shall attend to the giving of all required notices.

C. He shall be the custodian of the records of the Club, or at such place as he shall select, subject to approval of the Board of Directors, a person, firm or corporation to be the custodian of the records of the Club.

D. He shall keep the principal office of the Club, or at such place as he shall select, subject to approval by the Regional Executive, books or records containing the names, alphabetically arranged, of all persons who are members of the Club, showing their places of residence. He shall keep a book or record and the minutes of the members., Executive Committee and the Board of Directors Meetings available to members.

E. He shall attend to all correspondence and present to the Board of Directors at its meeting all official communications received by him.

F. He shall perform all the duties incident to the office of Secretary of the Club.

TREASURER (1 year position) 1 needed

A. The Treasurer shall have the care and custody of and be responsible for all the funds of the Club and shall deposit such funds in the name of the Club in such banks, safe deposit companies, or investments as the Board of Directors may designate.

B. He shall keep at the principal office of the Club, or with persons, firms and corporations designated by the Board of Directors, accurate books of account of all its business transactions and shall at all reasonable hours exhibit books and accounts to any Director upon application to the office of the corporation during business hours.

C. He shall render a report of the conditions of the finances of the Club at each regular meeting of the Board of Directors and at such other times as shall be required of him, and he shall make a full financial report at the annual meeting of members.

D. Any assistant to the Treasurer, in the absence of or incapacity of the Treasurer, may perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Treasurer, and shall perform such other duties as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe.

E. He shall further perform all duties incident to the office of the Treasurer of the Club.

MEMBERS AT LARGE (2 year position) 3 needed for 2011

A. They shall further help manage the region

 

 
Make it Easy, Make it Fun Socials - No Boring Meeting!
The St. Louis Region Monthly
MAKE IT EASY, MAKE IT FUN Socials 
The St. Louis Region SCCA Make it Easy, Make it Fun Socials at
Spazio's,
  EVERY 3rd Monday EACH MONTH,
12931 Lackland Road, 314-576-0400.
 
There are NOT meetings, but Socials!   
 They are EASY & FUN!
 "Make it Easy, Make it Fun with STL Region SCCA" - Social, Dinner
(if you chose, come right from work, Spazio's is open all afternoon).
 
July 19, 2010 
 
 Want info on how to enter or attend the National Solo Event in Lincoln? or the Runoffs at Road America?  Well come ASK US and we will get you with the correct peoplw who will give you all the info you want!
Upcoming Events for YOU!

 Upcoming Events:

Monday, July 19, 2010                      Region                 "Make it Easy, Make it Fun with STL Region SCCA" - Social, Dinner (if you choose) Bench racing, How EASY is  to go to the National Events - Solo Nationals or Run Offs

Wednesday, July 21, 2010               PDX                      PDX Afternoon Event

Saturday, July 31, 2010                     Club Racing        Club Racing Regional, National IT Tour Races

Sunday, August 01, 2010                  Club Racing        Club Racing Regional, National IT Tour Races

Sunday, August 01, 2010                  Solo                      STL Solo Series Event #9 ******revised was 7/25/10

Wednesday, August 11, 2010          PDX                      PDX Afternoon Event

Sunday, August 15, 2010                  Solo                      STL Solo Series Event #10

Monday, August 16, 2010                 Region                 "Make it Easy, Make it Fun with STL Region SCCA" -  Social, Dinner (if you choose) Bench racing, Make your racing experience more EASY and FUN with Sponsorship

Saturday, August 21, 2010               PDX                      PDX Full Day Event

Sunday, August 22, 2010                  Solo                      STL Solo Test n' Tune Event

Monday, September 20, 2010         Region                 "Make it Easy, Make it Fun with STL Region SCCA" -   Social, Dinner (if you choose) Bench racing, Solo National Report and how to go see the Run Offs at Road America

Wednesday, October 13, 2010        PDX                      PDX Afternoon Event

Sunday, October 17, 2010                Solo                      STL Solo Year End Event

Monday, October 18, 2010               Region                 "Make it Easy, Make it Fun with STL Region SCCA" -   Social, Dinner (if you choose) Bench racing, Happy Hour, Have FUN sharing your CD of photos or videos on the big screen TV, The EASY way to Meet the candidates for the Nov. Election

Saturday, October 30, 2010              Street Survival    St. Louis Region SCCA's First Annual TEEN STREET SURVIVAL SCHOOL

Monday, November 15, 2010          Region                 "Make it Easy, Make it Fun with STL Region SCCA" -  Social, Dinner (if you choose) Bench racing, Election Meeting at 7PM - Annual Meeting after election

Monday, December 20, 2010          Region                 "Make it Easy, Make it Fun with STL Region SCCA" -   Holiday Social, Dinner (if you choose) Bench racing, Meet the new Board of the Region, have a drink, say Happy Holidays to your racing friends and have FUN

Saturday, January 15, 2011             Region                 2010 Region Awards Banquet

                                                                                      

STL Region SCCA Main Website is www.stlscca.org

Club Racing Click from Main Website or www.roadracing.stlscca.org

Solo - Click from Main Website or  www.stlssolo.org

PDX - Click from Main Website or www.stlpdx.com

RallyCross - Click from Main Website or www.stlrallyx.org

Teen Street Survival School www.streetsurvival.org

Contacts:                                                                   

Region Board of Directors            BoD                    BoD@stlscca.org

Steve Slotten                                   Membership     swsohboy1949@yahoo.com

April Schnarthorst                          Solo                   aprils@eregion.org

Bryon Prokopf                                 Club Racing     br_prok81@hotmail.com

Jose Hernandez                             PDX                   jose_63042@yahoo.com

Scott Rose                                       Drifting              scott@drivingangle.com

Mark Huebbe                                   RallyCross        markhuebbe@hotmail.com

Ron Ferris                                        Road Rally        ronmferris@hotmail.com

Tom vanHatten                               Pro Rally           tvhevh@charter.net

Kevin Brown                                    Street Survival 09Plym@gmail.com

Program News
STL Club Racing Program News - from  the Committee
Program Manager, Bryon Prokopf
 
 
 Racing at GIR  
 
Registration is open for our next race.  We are holding a Regional/National/IT Tour on July 31-August 1 at Gateway.  In addition to our normal weekend, we are trying out a "Challenge" race for SRF's on Sunday.  It is an attempt to attract more drivers by trying to give them a dedicated session and some solid competition.  We are going to hold our 4th annual DASH race on Saturday afternoon.  This race continues to be a fun event for competitors and workers and we are looking forward to another fun weekend.
STL Drifting - GymKhana Program News - from  the Committee
Program Manager, Scott Rose
 

The newest program of the St. Louis Region has been busy doing the Midnight Madness Events with Gateway Raceway.   The PDX Committee has been  "mentoring" this program.  The next events for St. Lousi Region is being discussed now.  Interested in learning how to drift or what is going on in St. Louis with drifting?  Contact Scott Rose scott@drivingangle.com

 
STL PDX News - from the committee    
Program Manager, Jose Hernandez
 
STLPDX
Precision Driving Xperience (PDX)
 

All of us have done the burn-out at a red light, or taken that curve at more than the "suggested speed," imagining ourselves as racers while never leaving our street cars. With these events, you don't have to dream anymore!

PDX's are about you, the driver. Plenty of seat time, plenty of individual instruction and a ton of driving exercises make up these events held at Gateway Raceway on the 1.6 mile Road Course; both of which is designed to educate you and make you more confident behind the wheel, both on the track and on the street.

 A Precision Driving Experience (PDX) is an opportunity to work with an instructor and get practice.
A Precision Driving Experience (PDX) is an opportunity to work with an instructor and get practice in car handling and precision driving in your own car on the 1.6-mile road course at Gateway International Raceway. This is a non-competitive, un-timed event. Drivers are grouped by prior experience. For safety, drivers are required to wear a helmet, long sleeve shirt and long pants.

 

2010 Solo Performance St. Louis PDX Program 

Wed.  July 21, 2010 Afternoon Event;
Wed.  August 11, 2010 Afternoon Event;
Sat. August 21, 2010 Full Day PDX;
Wed. October 13, 2010 Afternoon Event. 
 

If you need help with Registration contact our registrar, Carla Russo at grail_girl@yahoo.com or 314-616-6313
 
Need Info on the 2
010 Solo Performance St. Louis PDX Program? Contact our Chairman, Jose Hernandez at jose_63042@yahoo.com or 314-753-3880
 
 

We are very proud to announce our Sponsors for 2010.

 
They are ......................................

Solo Performance Specialties  Visit Dave Whitworth or Jan Rick  at www.soloperformance.com or at 636-343-5095.

Izzy's Custom Cages  Visit Scott Rhea at www.Izzyscustomcages.com or 314-302-3395

McDonough-Whitlow, P.C. Visit Toni M. McDonough at www.mcdonough-whitlow.com or 217-532-9233

Dads Auto Repair Visit Bruce Stephens at www.dadsautorepair.net 636-970-2140

LKQ Corporation Visit Steve Kleeschulte at www.lkqcorp.com or 800-605-7359

Lynch Hummer, Visit Jim Lynch at www.lynchhummer.com  or 636-777-7600 or 1-800-HUMMER9.

Adventure Performance of St. Louis Visit Jim Lynch or Omar Phelps at www.adventureperformance.com or 636-777-7600

Takata  For more info contact www.soloperformance.com or at 636-343-5095.

PhotoMotion  Visit Robert Phelan at www.photomotiononline.com or call 314-795-9778

Spazio's Visit Mark Russo at www.russosgourmet.com or call 314-576-0400.
 
VISIT OUR SPONSORS SOON AND THANK THEM FOR SUPPORTING OUR FUN!
STL RallyCross News 
Program Managers, John Huebbe and Mark Huebbe
 

Gateway is no longer available for RallyCross Events. The group is looking for alternate fields to use.

Contact the committee if you knwo of any venues for this program.


STL Solo News - from the Committee 
Program Manager, April Schnardthorst.
 
 STLSOLO

Preceding Month's events:  

Event 6 was June 13th (87 drivers), Event 7 was June 27th (102 drivers) and Event 8 was July 11th (103 drivers).

We signed up seven SCCA members total at the last three events.

 

 

Budget Overview: 

Our financials were presented in detail by our Treasurer at the July Board of Directors Meeting.  As was mentioned, we are still showing a bit of a loss due to pre-paid lot rentals but are still on track to make money or at the worst, break even.  Our "special events" are not making the amount of profit that we expected so end of year trophies will be tight.

It would seem that most of our immediate equipment issues have been resolved and any future purchases have been identified for next year's budget.

No major deviations from our budget planning assumptions at this time.

 

Upcoming Events:

Event #9 is schedule for August 1st and our 10th and final points event is scheduled for August 15th.

Our second Test N Tune is scheduled for August 22nd.

Our End-Of-Year event is still scheduled for October 17th.

 

 

 

Next Event - August 1st, 2010 

Sign up NOW at www.motorsportsreg.com 
 

The Solo Program sponsors are: 

Waves Corporation - Waves Corporation is an Information Technology Services Provider providing Managed IT Services, Value-Added Reselling, and Leasing Solutions for Small to Medium-Sized Businesses in the midwest.  As an independent solutions provider and IT Management firm, Waves Corporation www.wavesco.com provides you with your own IT solutions team. Our managed solutions will help you take control of your IT Needs so that you can focus on your business. Contact Dave Schnardthorst for all your IT needs at 800-750-4880

 

Aprils Tax Service,  Inc. - Aprils Tax Service,  Inc. - April's Tax Service offers tax preparation for individuals and businesses with professional and personal service at practical pricing. The company is an authorized eFile provider for both federal and state preparations.  April Schnardthorst, President of the company, has been a tax and accounting professional since 1998 and currently services over 200 clients each year.  www.aprilstaxes.com She also enjoys racing with the SCCA Solo program. You can contact April Schnardthorst at 314-724-8804 or email at aprils@eregion.org

  

Takata - Takata isthe world leader in safety technology and the ultimate in safety and style.  Takata Multi-Point Racing harnesses, now available at Solo Performance Specialties trackside store and online. SCCA members be sure to take advantage of special pricing on harnesses. Strap in like a pro!  For more info contact www.soloperformance.com or at 636-343-5095.

 

 

You can always contact the Solo Committee by emailing them at SAC@stlsolo.org

Visit the Solo Website at www.stlsolo.org

 
STL Road Rally News
Program Manager, Ron Ferris, Chairman
 
The Road Rally Weekend July 10, 11, 2010 was held and we hope to recieve a report for the next Wheelspin on it. 
STL Rally News - from the 100 Acre Wood Committee
Program Manager, Tom vanHatten:
 
100AW
 
 

Plans are already in the works for the 2011 event!  Watch for news on this event from Pooh & the Gang!  

The gang is working on another event that might be possible this year.  Too soon to let it out of the forest yet, but stay tuned!

 

FYI - This event is sponsored by the St. Louis Region SCCA. 

This event is not sanctioned, operated or organized by SCCA, Inc
SCCA Street Survival Event - Kevin Brown, Chairman 
 

Street Survival  

 

October 30, 2010 at Gateway Raceway!

 

Mark your calendar for one of the most important things the St. Louis Region is doing for our community! 

 

Instructors will be needed and the call for the Pre Event Instructors Class will be announced.  It will be just a few weeks before the event is held.

The Tire Rack Street Survival® Teen Driving School - Car control instruction designed to provide teen drivers with accident avoidance skills and knowledge. It's not just about Driving, It's about Living.... 
 

The leading cause of death among 13-19 year olds in the US is from a motor vehicle crash. 62% of teenage passenger deaths in 2004 occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Teenagers cause 2.5 million accidents per year. In 2007 that resulted in over 6,000 deaths of teens.

 

If you have a teen driver at home or know someone who does, then those sobering statistics should be of concern. Recent and well publicized national stories have brought to light the tragedy of teen injury and death caused by traffic accidents. The stories often mention how the teen driver "lost control and over-corrected..." causing a tragic accident of some kind.

The Tire Rack Street Survival® Teen Driving School will be a great community effort for the St. Louis Region, SCCA
.

 
Membership
Membership News Membership Chairman Steve Slotten 
 
2010 is the 60th Anniversary of the St. Louis Region SCCA
542 Members as of January
613 Members as of July 16, 2010!
 

New members who recently joined the St. Louis Region - WELCOME 

 

Jon Kilburn Saint Louis MO 6/2/2010

Bob Morris Fairview Heights IL 6/2/2010

Tom Muffler Alton IL 6/2/2010

Jaymes O'Brien Olivette MO 6/4/2010

Duane Turpin Saint Louis MO 6/9/2010

Robert Bateman Glencoe MO 6/18/2010

Reid Barker Fenton MO 6/22/2010

Casey Nation Maryland Heights MO 6/22/2010

Jennifer Sheppard Saint Louis MO 7/6/2010

Mike Sheppard Saint Louis MO 7/6/2010

Gary Fogleman Maryville IL 7/9/2010

Edelmira Ledesma Glen Carbon IL 7/9/2010

Natalie Ledesma Glen Carbon IL 7/9/2010

Robert Ledesma Glen Carbon IL 7/9/2010

Ryan Ledesma Glen Carbon IL 7/9/2010

Bradley Mitchell Pittsboro IN 7/9/2010

Lance Morgan Millstadt IL 7/9/2010

Dave Black Saint Louis MO 7/12/2010

Francisco Perez Saint Louis MO 7/12/2010

Andrew Jennings Wentzville MO 7/14/2010

 

Protecting & Respecting Your Privacy
Colan Arnold, Vice President Member & Region Relations

From time to time SCCA is asked by a member about the Club's policy on sharing email and other member contact information.  Typically this question is a result of the member having received an advertisement via email for a product or service that looks like it might be SCCA related, but the sender was NOT SCCA or a Region.

The short and simple answer is SCCA NEVER shares email addresses with sponsors or advertisers, and postal addresses are made available to sponsors and advertisers under limited and controlled conditions.

Now for the longer and detailed answer:

E Mail Address Policy

Email addresses are shared with Regions and Club officials for conducting Club business including promoting SCCA activities.  Regions and Club officials may not share this information with advertisers or sponsors.

SCCA does not share or provide email addresses to any advertiser or sponsor.   This is why emails promoting a sponsor activity like the Volkswagen series are emailed from SCCA rather than VW.

 Postal Addresses and Telephone Number Policy

Like email addresses postal addresses and telephone numbers are provided to Regions and Club officials for conducting Club business and promoting SCCA activities.  Regions and Club officials may not share this information with advertisers or sponsors.

SCCA provides postal addresses to advertisers and sponsors under very tightly controlled conditions.  These conditions include pre-approval of the material to be mailed and how many times the list may be used.

Telephone numbers are not shared with sponsors or advertisers.

 

Given that SCCA does not share email addresses with advertisers or sponsors why am I receiving emails from the LetsGoFast driving school and Joe's Parts Emporium?   There are a number of ways these businesses may have obtained your email address including:  event entry lists and results that show email addresses, your friends and acquaintances may have provided the information, you have done business with the company or a principal in the past, or a Region or Club official may not have known or understood the policy regarding the sharing of contact information.

If you see receive something like an email that you believe is in violation of SCCA's policy regarding the sharing of contact information please contact or forward the information to me at 800-770-2055 or carnold@scca.com  for investigation.

 

 

Members Matter


Rick Myers, Region Relations Manager

Over the past several months we have seen an increase in Membership Applications being delayed when new members join at an event.  In some cases the delay has been up to two months.  While we understand the logistical difficulties that can occur, particularly when new members pay in cash, it is extremely important that Membership Applications are processed in a reasonable amount of time.  While not preferred, please feel free to fax (785-232-7213) new applications to us the following Monday after an event.  We can invoice the Region and follow up with payment at a later date.  Let's get new members off to a positive start!!!

Speaking of new members, through May we have attracted over 6,000 new members!  Now if we collectively can figure out how to keep them.  To date, we have had nearly 5,000 members decide not to renew.  In the past, there have been a multitude of reasons for not renewing.  Over the coming months, I will be performing surveys of non-renewing members, by Region, in an attempt to identify issues that are within our control and allow us to focus on areas where we can improve.

We are also in the initial stages of collecting participation data for Regions.  Recognizing that participation is the lifeblood of a Region, we are hoping to gather as much information as possible to share with Regions on where members are participating and what they are interested in.  This is a long-term project that will take time to implement, but is certainly worth the effort.

Other items to note through May:

  •   612 members have joined using the Weekend Membership Discount.  Among these new members, 54% have also been referred by a current member.
  • Our total membership is holding steady through mid-year and many Regions have experienced significant growth. 

Here are our leaders, through May (June statistics will be available soon):

Jumbo Regions (1000+):
Chicago Region                                   6%
Detroit/Oregon/Milwaukee Regions     5%
Washington DC Region                       3%
Large Regions (401-999):
St. Louis Region                                 15%
New York Region                                  8%
Kansas City Region                              7%
Medium Regions (201-400):
South Jersey Region                          15%
Reno Region                                       11%
Tennessee Region                                9%
Small Regions (<200):
Southern New York Region                 38%
Snake River Region                             30%
Eastern Idaho Region                          25%

  

8 Tried and True Tips for a $500 National Solo Budget

8 Tried and True Tips for a $500 Nationals Budget

By Heyward Wagner - National SCCA Solo Newsletter Staff Writer

One of the biggest excuses I hear for not going to Nationals is that it cost too much. In argument, I have made the statement that Solo Nationals can be done on a total budget of $500. Now, you are not going to win A-Mod on $500, (well, not without substantial help, I would assume), but it is possible to compete and experience all that nationals entails for a chunk less than it cost to enter the Runoffs. To prove this point, here are some simple tips for getting to and from Lincoln, without busting.

Boycott Wal-Mart! - It seems like every time I go to an event there is a Wal-Mart stop along the way. Over the years I have bought cooler, chairs, umbrellas, rain gear, tarps, tie downs, sweatshirts, sunscreen, water sprayers, tools, totes and of course, Advil. What are the two things all of these things have in common? I already owned multiples of all of them and they all cost money. The dent these stops put in your Nationals budget is staggering. All because something you have already paid for was left at home. The best method of plugging the Wal-Mart wallet drain is a plain ole checklist. Think about the have-to-haves, then nice-to-haves, ask friends what they take and build your list. Nationals is a long/hot/cold/wet/dry week, it is important to be prepared and it is most affordable to do the preparing before you leave home.

Grill Baby, Grill - The average menu item at TGI-Apple-ili's is about 12 bucks, if you can wait that long. For the impatient, the meal begins with a $8 appetizer and a beer, the big one of course, for $2 more. Figure you are going to want to let the conversation run its course (because there is always to talk about at Nationals), so you can add a few more $4-6 beers and their hot fudge brownie with ice cream and nuts really is pretty good... and only $6.99. Before you know it you just dropped $30+ on a so-so dinner. By comparison, for the price of your entree and appetizer you can probably pick up a few pounds of hamburger, a bag of buns, some fixin's and one of those big bags of chips. The difference is, now the same money is feeding 4 people and your share is 25% and a little time at the grill. If you don't have a grill or the means of transporting one, someone in your region does. If they don't, you can pick up a simple fold-up grill for about the price of a meal out. You will save money, never wait for a table and I promise you that your beer money will go a lot further if you open the bottles yourself. Last year, between the food provided at banquets, grilling out and peanut butter and jelly I spent less that $100 on food all week. There is no need, however, to disclose my adult beverage budget.

 

Not only do Cook-Outs save money, they are also a great way to build camaraderie within your region or division.

Shut up, and Drive - Let me let you in on a too well kept secret- your car does not have to be "ready" for Nationals. Despite rampant rumors to the contrary, there is not an inspection station just outside the main gate ensuring all entrants have unobtainium shocks and wheels that, were it not for the weight of tires, would simply float away. Now that we have that out in the air, there is no longer a requirement to pour cubic dollars into your car just to come to Lincoln. It is true that there will be drivers with roughly your annual salary invested in a car towed by a RV worth just slightly more than a 4 bedroom house. This, however, should not stand in the way of your attendance at the biggest and best autocross of the year. The important part of Nationals is the experience. Believe it or not, you can have that experience competing in the same car, with the same level of prep as you do at any other autocross. Just give it a wash, slap on some stickers and wa-la, you have a "Nationals ready racecar." -A tip; for your sanity's sake, you may want set some goals that are realistic for the equipment, (like being the fastest AMC product) for goals are one of the cheaper adjustable components on the market.

The Buddy System - If you just can't justify the trip unless you are driving a well-prepared car (and you don't have one) tire warming is your calling. There are a number of forums where these rides are listed and sought. To help you out, the unlimited nature of the practice course provides ample opportunity to adjust to a new to you ride, regardless of where in the country it is coming from. Co-drives can range from free to expensive but in generally will be significantly cheaper than prepping your car to the limit. All you have to do is arrive, drive and not beat the car owner, provided you ever want to drive the car again.

Use the Carpool Lane - For the vast majority of us, Lincoln is not close. As a result getting to Nationals is often the largest single expense. If you are not married to the idea of driving your own car, look to catch a ride with someone going solo. Often times having someone to ramble on with and share driving duties is payment enough for the travel. Failing that, $100 in the tank is generally cheaper than you can drive yourself and $100 more than they would have gotten otherwise. If you insist on driving your own car, look for locals in need of a ride for themselves or their gear. One year I paid for my gas to Nationals by hauling 3 tire trailers worth of R-comps, and I never had to stop to let them pee.

Sleep Cheap - I have tent camped at events before. On the plus side, it is cheap and you cannot beat the commute. In the other column is climate control and hot showers. On the hotel cost worksheet, less your AAA discount, there is little effect you can have on the total cost. Therefore, the savings comes on the "divided by" side of the equation. Executed to the fullest extend without crossing any boundaries of good sense and hygiene, you should be able to get the room down to $15-$20 per person, per night. A few tips to keep this humane- 1. Pack a towel, 2. Invest in an air mattress AND a means to fill it, 3. Get earplugs, 4. Bring a significant other. That last one may seem like an odd ball, but doing so will almost certainly determine that, should you have to share a bed, it will be with one of your more attractive options.

Spread out the Spending - This year the entry fee for Nationals is $150, pretty decent chunk of change to say the least. In my $500 budget, that eats up 30%. Coughing up that much dough a month before departure could be a deal breaker, however if you find a way to pony-up in June you can likely absorb that cost long before you have to figure out how to split the hotel bill 5 ways.

Drinks Lots of Water - Preferably, out of the same bottles, filled up each morning in the hotel. If you insist on sports drinks, buy the powder. last I checked it was roughly 1/10th the cost per serving compared to buying single bottles at the gas station. Even Red Bull can be bought in bulk at Sam's Club should you feel that is a need item. If you take this philosophy to the trip there and back, you can save even more. I cannot count the times I have walked into a gas station and dropped $2.50 on a drink that I already had in the cooler.

 

 
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