Newsletter
Wheelspin -  St. Louis Region SCCA

Edited by Eileen Waters

August
September, 2011

to

Dear friends,

 

It's been a challenging year for St. Louis Region, so I'm happy to pass along some great news!  As you may already have seen, local developer Curtis Francois has signed a lease on Gateway International Raceway, and NHRA has committed to a 2012 national date.  What you may not know is that Curtis has been a St. Louis Region member since 1990 and is a dedicated sports car enthusiast, having raced everything from Formula Ford to Spec Miata, IRL to Grand Am, not to mention

Superboats, drag racers, and more.  He is personally committed to all aspects of motorsports and making Gateway a success, be it drag racing, motorcycles, club racing, drivers schools, solos, you name it.

   

 

I had the chance to sit down with Mr. Francois recently and let me tell you, it was a treat.  He is both a real gentleman and a genuine enthusiast, the local racing community couldn't ask for a better steward for Gateway.  As he puts it, "anything with a motor and

wheels, I love it".  Far from an arms-length business deal, Curtis got involved at the eleventh hour because he couldn't bear to see the St. Louis area lose such a great resource.  Now all of us in the racing community need to work together and do our part to help him make this investment a success.

 

 

So let me just expand on that a bit, when I say "work together" I don't just mean St. Louis region, I mean sports car enthusiasts of all stripes, together with drag racers, circle trackers, everyone.  Even if all you do is autocross at Family Arena or race Pure Stock at Belle-Claire, supporting Gateway supports local motorsports and raises the tide that lifts all our boats (er, cars).  Let's get dates on the calendar, cars on the track, butts in the seats, and show Madison and St. Clair County how much the St. Louis motorsports community needs and supports our home town racetrack!

   

For my fellow SCCA types, this might mean stretching your comfort zone a bit.  I have to be honest, it has been a rough half decade for racing in Midwest Division.  Entry counts have been way down, and thus far our response has been to hunker down and wait for the storm to blow over.  But the fact is that it is in our hands to correct the situation, and the way to do that is to grow the local sports car enthusiast market.  That means you MUST bring your like-minded friends to the track, and we MUST cooperate and embrace and work together with the marque clubs, Chumpcar, even *gasp* NASA.

 

 

For amateur motorsports SCCA is number one.  No two ways about it, we are the biggest and the best, we offer the most serious competition, best trained officials and safest playground around.  But we are not the perfect fit for everyone.  Working together, even with those we have in the past considered "competitors" is the way to grow the total market.  A cooperative effort to put on lots of local events, cross market them, and get new folks involved in sports car competition will more than offset the occasional loss of a member to another club that's a better fit for them personally.

 

 

I've rambled on enough, feel free to let me know your thoughts.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Steven Burkett,

Regional Executive

St. Louis Region Logo 

IN THIS ISSUE
Checkered Flag - Huey Strong
Region News
Coming Events
Racetrack Rumors
Nominating Committee Update
Annual Awards
Team EggBoy

 

Checkered Flag - Huey Strong

by Mark Weber

  

  angel in clouds cropped    

 

Saint Louis Region lost one its best last Saturday (August 13) when Huey Strong lost his battle with cancer.

 

I first remember Huey at MAR (Mid-America Raceway), must have been about 1969 or '70. He was a corner worker and course marshal.  Later, he crewed for Gary Borgans and his HP Sprite. It was about this time that Huey rallied a MK2 Sprite with his older son John.

 

Huey was the father of 9 kids and for many races in the early '70s, he was the grid chief at MAR, bringing all the help he needed from his own household.  You could not get ready for your race without checking in with about a half-a-dozen redheads making sure you were safe to hit the track!

 

John was my crew chief from the late 70's until his tragic death in a road accident in 1983. Huey stepped up and crewed for me after John's passing.  He was the greatest at accessing the problems and situations that would always crop up and coming up with a solution that always fit time and budget restrictions.

 

When the traveling got to be a much, Huey commandeered his son-in-law, Bob Eichelberger, to help me out.  Bob remains my teammate to this day. 

 

I remember the time Huey and his daughter Carol (Bob's wife) took one of my Sprites to Hallett on the same weekend as the June Sprints.  Bob and I headed to Road America with the other car and raced on Saturday and then flew to Tulsa that night so I could complete my double header weekend on Sunday in Oklahoma.  Huey flew home and didn't miss a day of work.

 

After a few years of stunts like that, Huey took some time off, filling in occasionally, crewing for Tony Pandjiris, Dan Layton, Bob Spooner and many more.  He spent several years being crew chief for Chuck Udell.  His wisdom always came in handy. Raising 9 kids must have prepared him for anything! 
 
Huey Strong was the real deal, the kind of person that made racing in the 80's as much fun as anybody could want. 

 

The last thing Huey said to me was "Do good at the Runoffs".    I will Huey, and that's a promise!

 

 

Cards can be sent to Florence, Huey's wife of over 50 years at
2378 St Joseph
Arnold, MO 63010

 

 

News from the Program Chairs

 

 

 

The Solo program held a wet event on last Sunday at the Family Arena with 98 daring souls who braved the weather.   

 

Don't forget that this year there is a special "R" Pax class for road racers.   

 

This past Friday we hosted an autocross for the Electric Vehicle Conversion Convention that was held in Cape Girardeau, MO.   

 

There is one scheduled event remaining on October 9 at the Family Arena.   

 

We are also looking into a Trivia Night fundraiser for late winter...........just in time to shake off those winter "I haven't been racing" blues and get you ready for the 2012 competition season!  

 

 

The RallyCross program held an event on September 11 at the Bonne Terre (MO) Sand Drags facility.  Each entrant received 12 runs and they finished by 2:30 p.m.  Here's  a photo of Kim DeMotte in his wife's Subaru.  This event featured a unique format in that it was similar to a Pro Solo event with two cars starting simultaneously on the sand drag strip before each going their own way to complete the rallycross course.  The next event is Sunday, October 30 in Perryville, MO

Rallycross Sept 2011 DeMotte

Photo by Tim Williams.

 

 

The PDX Committee received high praise from our Area 6 Director Lisa Noble who said we were a leader for the entire nation in organizing PDX events. Congratulations!

   

 

The Road Racing Committee sends their best wishes to the following Region members participating in the 48th Annual SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America this week:  Jack Walbran (F500), Peter Zekert (GT-Lite), Chris Albin (H Production), Mark Weber (E and F Production), Bob Eichelberger (H Production), Sean Maloney (STO) and John McMurray (FC).   

 


The 100 Acre Wood Performance Rally Group (100AWPRG) will be hosting two coefficient one stage rallies, covering 37 miles of stage roads on Saturday, October 29 in and near Perryville, MO.  The Perryville Farm and Forest Rally will be held in conjunction with the Perryville Chili Cookoff.  Currently there are 13 entrants and the 100AWPRG will enter the Chili Cookoff contest.  There are also contests for hot wings, salsa, and scariest decorations.  The rally is sanctioned by Rally America and is a great event to learn the sport or shakedown a new car.  If you'd like more information about the event, participating, or volunteering visit the 100AW.org website and click on the link to the Perryville Farm and Forest Rally.   

 

   

Former Regional Executives Cesare Venegoni and Jan Rick are teaming up to organize another crazy bowl on November 19.  If you haven't been to a Cesare emceed bowling event you won't want to miss this.  It's beyond creative bowling! 

 

 

Charlene Lain and Julia Briggen are the 2011 Banquet Chairs.  The banquet will be held on January 21, 2012 at Spazio's in Westport.  Planning is now underway and banquet committee volunteers are needed.  To help, or for questions or suggestions, e-mail  [email protected].  Be sure to read the section below on the Annual Awards and send your nominations to Bill Schnardthorst, Awards Chairman, via email at [email protected] or via U.S. mail to his home address at 1063 Mission Hills Dr., O'Fallon, MO  63366.

 

 

Membership Chair Steve Slotten sends his congratulations to Susan Anderson and Carol Cohn who are celebrating their 40th Anniversaries as SCCA members.  Anderson is one of the few "100 Percenters" having attended all 39 SCCA Solo National Championships and has won nine national Solo Championships.  Cohn was named the very first recipient of the SCCA Member of Excellence Award by the National office in 2008 and is a lifetime St. Louis Region and SCCA National member.  

 

 

Congratulations are also in ordered for the most recent graduates of the Tire Rack Street Survival School presented by Enterprise at the Family Arena in August.  Check out all the smiling faces.  Thanks to all the parents, instructors, the committee and Enterprise for a very successful and worthwhile event! 

 

 

 

 

 

Donald Teadt with the Wellbridge Athletic Club and Spa in Town and Country sent his thanks for the SCCA members who participated in a car show they held on Tuesday September 13.  A number of people were thrilled to have the opportunity to sit inside the Lotus owned by Dave and April Schnardthorst. 


A new calendar only email
will be sent by the Region each month on the 15th.  Check your mailboxes to stay abreast of all the programs and activities we host.  

 

 

WHEELSPIN did not receive any photo caption contest entries from last month so the fabulous prizes are still secure in a secret vault.  If you're looking for the old WHEELSPIN index it can now be found at http://www.landiss.com/photos/racing/Wheelspin/

 

 

St. Louis Region embroidered clothing and other merchandize can now be purchased online at http://www.sccagear.com/St-Louis-Region_c_101.html

 

 

If you have comments or suggestions for the Board they may be reached at [email protected]. 

 

Coming Events
 

  Wednesday, September 28 - Southern IL Region, SCCA membership meeting at Callahan's Corner Restaurant and Sports Bar, Troy, IL.   

 

  October 1-2 SCCA Solo National Tour at Blytheville, AR.  There are currently 18 St. Louis Region members scheduled to attend this event.  For more information click on this link to the Tri State National Challenge Tour.  

    

  October 2 - Wild Country Auto Party (with a rain date of October 9) at the Wild Country Nightclub in Collinsville, IL.  There is a 8 a.m. signup with judging at noon, live music until 4 p.m., followed by awards.  There is a $15 entry fee (if you participate in the judged portion or $10 if you only display your car.  Race cars will have their fee waived.  Food and drinks are available.  More information can be found at www.wildcountrynightclub.com  

 

  October 7-9 SCCA National Rallycross Championship  at Tulsa Raceway Park (TRP). 

 

  October 9 - The Solo Series Event #9 at the Family Arena.

 

●  October 15 -St. Louis BMW Club Street Survival School at the Family Arena in St. Charles. 

 

●  October 17 - The St. Louis Region Social and Membership Meeting.  The regular membership meeting is from 7:00-8:00, get the latest updates on club activities and finances, and most importantly tell the BOD what's on your mind!  Come early for a drink or dinner in Spazio's Bistro.

 

October 22-23 - SCCA PDX at Memphis International Raceway (MIR).  Here's the link to the Mid-South Region for more information.   

 

●  October 29 - Perryville Farm and Forest Rally and 3rd Annual Chamber Chili Cookoff in Perryville, MO.  You can sample chili all day for $2 beginning at 10 a.m.  There are also hot wing, salsa, hidden chili pepper, bean counting and scariest booth contests.  The performance rally event is organized by the 100 Acre Wood Performance Rally Group, sanctioned by Rally America and begins at 10:30 a.m.    

  October 30 - RallyCross in Perryville, MO.

  

  October 29-30 - SCCA Solo National Tour in Nashville.  All the pertinent info you'll need is located at the Nashville Road Tour link. 


  November 19 - The Sometimes Annual/Sometimes Not Crazy Bowl/Cesare Fest/Extravaganza at the Brunswick Bowl.  Always emceed by Cesare Venegoni and his merry band of Grid Workers.  Check the next issue of WHEELSPIN for all the pertinent details and cost, but save the date now.


  November 21 - St. Louis Region's Annual Meeting and Elections at Spazio's in Westport Plaza.     

 

  Saturday, January 21 - St. Louis Region Awards Banquet - if you're interested in helping with this contact the banquet Co-Chairs Charlene Lain and Julia Briggen at [email protected].  

  

  

 

Racetrack Rumors

- contributed by the "Gossiping Gearhead"

Gateway Logo

 

 

Last month's rumors are rumors no more.  Here's the facts and they're great!  

 

St. Louis Region member and a local real estate developer, Curtis Francois, has been working with state and local governments to put together a redevelopment plan that will allow him to purchase Gateway International Raceway (GIR) and operate it for the long term.  The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) has already added the 15th Annual NHRA Midwest Nationals to their 2012 schedule on Oct. 5-7 as part of the "Countdown to the Championship" which will crown champions in the four professional categories.   

 

Francois and our R.E. Steve Burkett have already sat down to discuss what SCCA programs might compete at GIR next year.

 

 

 

MIR logo 

The news from the Mid-South Region and Memphis International Raceway last month was they planned to hold a PDX on September 10-11.  According to the message thread started by their R.E. Chuck Haynes on their website it was a huge success.   "I want thank everyone that was involved in the September PDX. I have not seen so many smiling faces in one place in a long time. From the Chief Instructor, Chief Steward, Race Control to the corner workers, start and grid, and Tech, all workers were engaged and smiling. The drivers are probably still grinning, regailing their co-workers with tales of the great weekend at the track", said Haynes.  Check the calendar section above for information on another PDX at Memphis. 

 

 

-GG 

 

 Nominating Committee Update

by Dave Jones  

Here are the nominees for each of the officers and At-Large positions for this year.  Next month's WHEELSPIN and soon your mailbox (with an absentee ballot) will have the candidates bios in them for you to study and determine who are the candidates that will best represent you and your club.

R.E. -  Chuck DeProw and Cesare Venegoni
Asst. R.E. - Matt Osmoe, Dave Schnardthorst and Tim Weatherford
Secretary - Susan Anderson and Lynn Wilson
Treasurer - Steve Burkett and Bill Schnardthorst

At-Large Board Members - Heath Harris, Chris Mertens, Jennifer Mertens, Bob Rutkowski, and April Schnardthorst

Ballots will be cast at the November Annual Meeting.  Be sure to either mail in your absentee ballot or attend in person to vote. 

Two nominees are required for each of the officers positions (R.E., Asst. R.E., Secretary and Treasurer).  R.E. candidates must have served on the Board at some point.  Those not elected to an office join the At-Large nominees for the remaining positions on the Board.  If you vote by absentee ballot you are only eligible to vote for the four officers positions due to the fact that those not elected to those positions join the other At-Large nominees for the remaining board positions.

All of the officer positions and two At-Large positions are up for election this year.

 

The elections will be held on Monday, November 21.

 

 

 
Annual Awards Nominations Needed
by Awards Chairman Bill Schnardthorst

  

It is that time of the year to recognize the accomplishments and achievements of racers, workers, volunteers, and events within the St. Louis Region. These awards simply cannot be done without the nominations from you! The awards are presented at the annual year-end banquet, which is scheduled for January, 2012. Mark your calendar for the banquet. There will be more information coming shortly on the banquet.
 
As the 2011 Awards Committee Chair, please submit your nominations to me by no later than November 30, 2011. Please submit your nomination along with a brief explanation as to why you believe that the nominee should receive the award. I will be assembling a committee to review all the nominations received. I will be contacting each program chair to seek a volunteer from that committee to serve on the awards committee. Nominations may be submitted by email to me at [email protected] or by US mail to my home address at 1963 Mission Hills Dr. O'Fallon, MO 63366 
 
Here is the list of the St. Louis Region SCCA Annual Awards along with a brief description of each award:
 
DRIVER OF THE YEAR (Presented in Club Racing, Solo, Rally, and Rally Cross)
The recipient should be a St. Louis Region driver who exemplifies the characteristics of driving ability, competitive spirit, modesty, courtesy and sportsmanship
 
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR (Presented in Club Racing, Solo, Rally, and Rally Cross)
The recipient should be a St. Louis Region driver who has demonstrated the greatest driving skill in his/her first year of competition.
 
MOST IMPROVED DRIVER OF THE YEAR (Presented in Club Racing, Solo, Rally, and Rally Cross)
The St. Louis Region driver who's driving ability improved the most during the 2011 season. The selection should be based on driver performance, not equipment performance.
 
ST. LOUIS REGION, SCCA MECHANIC OF THE YEAR
The recipient should be the St. Louis Region's most outstanding mechanic. The general characteristics to be considered are mechanical excellence, reliability, competitiveness, success, enthusiasm, resourcefulness and initiative.
 
ST. LOUIS REGION, SCCA EVENT OF THE YEAR
Awarded to the most outstanding event of the year
 
ST. LOUIS REGION, SCCA WORKER OF THE YEAR
The recipient should be a St. Louis Region worker who has contributed the most outstanding efforts in support of events throughout the season.
 
SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS REGION, SCCA AWARD
Presented to the region member whose direct contribution and service to our club has resulted in an outstanding achievement that has measurably improved and benefited the entire region.
 
 
Thank You all for your help in this process.
Bill Schnardthorst
2011 Awards Chairman 
  

 

     
ChumpCar Racing's Team EggBoy

Submitted by Jeff Krekler 

(Editor's Note:  I requested this article to find out what one of the Region's race teams was doing during the road racing hiatus at Gateway International Raceway.)

EggBoy Racing 2011

Proud of this team and everything we accomplished! - with Rob Corzine, Steve Rhea, James Elterman, Jeremiah Johnson, Derek DeVore, Richard Wise, Dillon Vander Pluym, Russ Melton, Matt Melton, Jerry Adlersfluegel Sr, Jerry Adlersfluegel, Matt Crabby Vnuk, James Huber, Scott Rhea, Izzy's Custom Cages, Jeff Krekeler and Matt Osmoe.  Photo by: Tighe House. 

 

 

It started innocently enough, as these things often do, with a post on the STL SCCA forum in the fall of 2009. Jan Rick had posted a press release from the ChumpCar World Series announcing the new organization for road racing $500 cars and listing a date at Gateway International for Spring of 2010.

 

Several of my old autocross buddies (Jerry Adlersfleugal and the Melton Brothers, Matt and Russ) noticed the post as well and emails started to circulate. Our Sundays spent on the parking lots had turned into Sundays at the soccer field, park, or baseball stadium but the desire to race, really race, was still burning fiercely within us all.

 

We started scouring Craigslist for a suitable race car. "Just bring a $500 car" touted the ChumpCar officials and race with us for 24 hours. Glory and awesome trophies await your efforts!  We settled on a 1990 Ford Taurus SHO, seduced by the 220 hp Yahama engine and ignorning the fragile transaxle. $390 later, our crapcan (as $500 race cars are affectionately called) was driven onto our trailer with the last fiber of its toasted clutch. We revived the EggBoy Racing moniker and set to work stripping the SHO of all unneeded ballast. I bought a $200 tubing bender and we debated the cage design. At this point, we asked advice from two guys who would change our perspective and futures. Rich Wise came on board with his years of road racing experience and expertiese. With Rich's help, we went from "playing race car team" to amateur racers. Rich and Russ insisted on using Scott Rhea at Izzy's Custom Cages to fabricate the cage. Like most newbie ChumpCar teams, we had planned to cage the car ourselves and in hindsight it would have been a huge mistake. We dedicated the team to Safety First, Fun Second, Compete Third. We acquired our individual safety gear (figure $500 to $1,000 per driver) and finished the car (we had about $4,500 in our $390 car by the time it was race ready).

 

The Gateway date got moved to Memphis (Motorsports Park), but by this time we were too far along to slow down. Then Dover (Motorsports) closed Memphis and the date got moved to Nashville (Superspeedway). The logistics of our first race became more complicated, but we were determined to make it happen. We arrived in Nashville for race weekend with a shiny new race car and clean safety gear.

 

On Saturday morning of race day, we put our most experienced road racer Scott Rhea into the car for the green flag. Scott immediately moved up the field and we were in P1, first place. All of our hard work and countless emails were paying off.

 

And then it rained. And rained. And rained. The Nashville area received over an inch of rain per hour for 15 to 18 hours straight. Nashville flooded, lightning was striking the ground around the track, the race was red flagged and eventually canceled. We were encourged to get home while we still could.

 

We were in fifth place after two drivers, a little more than three hours into a 24 hour race and had five drivers who still hadn't realized their dream of wheel to wheel racing. We packed up, took our fifth place trophy and planned for our next race at Iowa Speedway. We finished fourth at Iowa.

 

Our good friend Bryan Cohn joined us for a race at Hallett (Motor Racing Circuit) in the fall and we suffered our first DNF. We limped home with the determination to rebuild over the winter. We added Scott's brother Steve to the team after racing against him in Bud Scott's car at Hallett. James Elterman also came on board with his SCCA and Time Attack experience.

 

This April at Road America we took our first real podium with a third Place finish after a mechanical issue limited the car to running on four cylinders. The entire team lined pit wall and cheered Rich as he took the checkered flag.  It was our proudest moment to that point.

 

Six weeks later we ran an almost perfect race at Iowa and won. Our trophy cabinet was filling up with awesome ChumpCar hardware!  Over July Fourth weekend we battled some mechanical issues at Nashville, (but thankfully no epic flooding) and finished third, our third podium finish in a row.

 

Endurance racing is endurance first, racing second. A popular quote is "in order to finish first, one must first finish". In addition to the mental and physical challenges of two hour racing stints in every imaginable condition, the team strategy for tire and fuel maintenance, the heart stopping excitement of pit stops and the inevitable dog fights make this the most fun one can have in a car.

 

Matt Osmoe and Cliff Castle joined the ranks of EggBoy Racing mid season having never had any wheel to wheel experience. We finished the season with another DNF at Heartland Park Topeka and a disappointing 22nd place finish at the National Championship when the transmission broke with six hours left in the race.

 

Team EggBoy will be back for another season in 2012. ChumpCar has allowed a group of guys who didn't grow up racing or karting to do real racing, on real tracks, with real drivers, in really cheap cars. No racing is cheap, but we compete on a budget comparable to an autocross budget if one attends Regional and National events. Just like SCCA road racing and autocrossing, the friendships are priceless. We enjoy hours of seat time on some of the most storied tracks in America (Road America, Laguna Seca, Nelson Ledges, Sebring, and Road Atlanta just to name a few) and race wheel to wheel with teams named "Tubby Butterman", "Bear Patrol",  and "Surfer Dudes" who campaign crapcan E30s, Datsun 510s, Porsche 944s and even the occasional Buick Roadmaster Wagon.

 

Getting involved is easy. The forums at www.chumpcar.com are a great place to start. Any given race will have several teams looking to fill their driver roster by renting seats. A seat rental typically runs $500 to $800 depending on the team. Chumpcar offers a "try before you buy" class for SCCA IT and Spec Miata cars. Unlike the 24 Hours of LeMons, there is no car claiming, no car destroying and no silly penalties for putting a tire in the grass. The annual ChumpCar license runs $50 and requires a one hour rookie classroom session. That's it, you are literally that close to being a real road racer.

 

Is it possible to have more fun in a car than crapcan endurance racing?  Possibly, but there aren't many drive-ins left.

 

For more information about getting involved with a local team or forming your own team feel free to contact me at [email protected]

 

 

  

Wheelspin is sent on behalf of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Region Sports Car Club of America.  You are receiving this because you are a member of the region, or have expressed an interest in the region and SCCA.  If you don't wish to receive e-mail from the region in the future, please follow the unsubscribe link below.  Past issues of Wheelspin can be viewed by visiting www.stlscca.org.

Thank you for reading, and our thanks to each of you for your support of the St. Louis Region SCCA!


Sincerely,

2011 BoD
St. Louis Region SCCA