Road Race Report Newer Road Race ReportsAmerican Road Race of Champions/Sunoco 500--October 23-26, 1997(Photo Tour including the night enduro)
Andy Felker went down to co-drive an ITS Miata in the enduro, with Darlene helping with
crew duties. The MR2 was resurrected from the dead for this race, after being essentially totaled at the last race. It looked pretty good in its new paint but still spent Thursday and Friday in intensive care - for mechanical items (front hub bearings, brake pads, rear ball joint, master cylinder and exhaust pipe). But when it came time for the races, it performed flawlessly. Good wrenching Carl, Will and Art.
In the ARRC race for ITC, ITT (truck) and ITD cars, Will qualified the Midget 16th overall (of 30) and first in ITD. The race started in the dry, but this soon changed. A cloudburst struck first at turns 11 and 12. The pace car was sent out, but before he could pick up the field, a pile-up started at turn 12, at the bottom of the hill. Eventually 11 cars were crashed; the majority totaled. The track was fully blocked. Six drivers went to the hospital with broken bones, concussions, etc. None of the injuries seemed to be life threatening. Gail radioed Will about the pace car and he pulled into the pits, the first car to come around that avoided the wreck. The race was delayed 1-1/2 hours for medical crews to return to the track. Will restarted with the second and third place ITD cars immediately behind him. Will finished first in ITD, and 7th overall, with ITD cars also in 8th and 9th overall. The Midget passed its teardown in tech (remove carbs, manifolds, cylinder head). But many did not, including the first place overall IT Truck.
The ITB, ITC, ITD & ITT enduro schedule was shortened to 2-1/2 hours also. It also included competitors from throughout this country and even Nova Scotia. Will started, and sat thru a long black flag period for another cloudburst. At the pitstop Art refueled and Bill took the wheel with the rain returning. About 7 laps after the pitstop the rain flooded the track and caused an early checker. The Midget was uncontested in ITD and 24th of 44 registered overall. POINTS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Roebling Road, SARRC Invitational Championship -- September 28, 1997
Will Perry, with crew, Bill and Gail Perry and Jamie Hamilton (she is our Regions first Speed Freakz member) took the Midget into battle leading the points, but with two others close behind. Will qualified first but only by .1 second over another Midget. They swapped the lead perhaps 15 times as Will would pass going into corners and the other Midget coming out. On the last lap Will went for it, Checker or Wrecker. It came up wrecker. On the last lap, at the last corner coming into the finish straight they were essentially side-by-side when an ITC car attempted to drive between them. Three wide doesn’t work in this 95 MPH corner! Will was forced off and spun in the sand. He still took second place, but had to be pulled by a wrecker to impound because sand and grass had jammed the throttle open. So, after seven straight wins in SARRC this year, with the second at the SIC, he repeats as ITD Champion. Next Event - The American Road Race of Champions. He will co-drive with Bill in the Sunoco 500K. Will also will co-drive with Carl Blevins in the four hour night race in the MR2. John Leigh went into the SIC with a nice points lead. He qualified second in the HP Sprite and started about 50 feet behind his Honda-mounted competition. At the end of 15 laps he remained 50 feet back. John was hindered by water temperature of 230 to 260 degrees for the last half of the race. Also an EP Triumph TR6 interfered with his battle with the Honda. So John also finished second in the SIC but ended up as 1997 HP SARRC champion again. John doesn’t plan to race again in 1997 but has bought a FP Midget. He may run both HP and FP in the SARRC in 1998. Sebring ECR -- September 20, 1997
Andy qualified third of four SSCs, only .003 seconds out of 2nd place. He passed for second place early, after a blocking and bumping episode with an ITC car. He pitted 3 seconds out of first. Keeping up with the action in the dark is difficult so Andy isn’t sure if he finished 2nd or 1st as official results aren’t in yet. Andy thought racing at night was a blast. As we had noticed before, drivers seem less likely to cause full course caution flags in the dark. If IT drivers drive better in the dark, would some do even better blindfolded? I think its worth a try on a few fellows that wreck every weekend anyway! This leaves Andy third in the ECR for SSC with one race to go. Next event, the ARRC-Sunoco 500K at Road Atlanta. He will be co-driving an ITS Miata with Rob Ebersol. This event is October 25. Older Road Race ReportsRed Sand in My Shoes
Updated December 12+1, 1997
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A crew
of Cheryl and Steve Tompkins, Gail Perry, Art Thompson, Jamie Blair (all Chattanooga
Region members), Todd Ayers and Chip Mautz allowed the Rivergate Racing Pod to take on an
ambitious racing schedule for this nationwide event. Carl Blevins brought the ITA Toyota
MR2 and Will and Bill Perry the ITD MG Midget. The crew performed spectacularly,
especially considering that some were beginners at Road Race crewing. The five inches of
rain that fell over the weekend added to the workload. 
Due to mechanical trouble Carl qualified toward the back for the ITA 18 lap
ARRC sprint race. Amongst ITA cars from throughout the country (CA-2, MI-2, WI-2, IL-2,
OH-3, etc.) the MR2 finished fourteenth of twenty eight on a drying track.
Saturday night the MR2 raced in the Sunoco 500K race for ITS and ITA cars.
Carl started the race in a light rain. Andy Felker co-drove an ITS Miata with Rob Ebersol
of Atlanta. About an hour into the race, after several full course yellows, the rain
increased. Repeatedly, drivers would go down the front straight, where there were lots of
bright lights, into the dark at turn one. Suddenly they couldn’t see so they drove
straight into the gravel trap or tire wall. The race was red flagged and scheduled for
completion on Sunday, shortening it from 4 hours to 2-1/2 hours. Will drove on the start
Sunday. At the stop, Steve refueled and Carl finished the race. They finished 15th of 53
cars overall, 7th of 23 in ITA. The overall winner was Peter Cunningham (World Challenge
champion in an NSX) in an ITA Honda CRXsi. Andy and Rob finished 17th overall and 10th in
ITS.
The MR2 made it through both races without any contact, strangely defeating
the physical attraction to RX7s - but the attraction proved irresistible after all. While
the car was sitting in the pits, after the enduro, waiting to be sent up to impound, an
RX7 drove into the pits and hit the MR2 in the rear. Trying to avoid this force seems
fruitless!
The SARRC Invitational Championship (SIC) was attended by two local racers
pursuing a championship in their class. Both lost the battle but won the war.
Andy Felker, with crew Darlene, took the SSC Miata to Sebring for the Enduro
in his continuing quest for an ECR Championship. He ran the test day on Friday to get
familiar with the 1.8 mile course. To his surprise he found that the race would be at
night! This required a quick headlight repair job.