Inside this Month: Temp Control Rose Cup Photos ... - Oregon Region

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Letters I’d like to take this moment to thank you and the rest of the Portland Rose Festival Association team for another great Rose Cup. The fi nal numbers aren’t in yet, but preliminary reports indicate that we exceeded our expectations on entries this year, and that’s no mean feat with today’s gas prices. I believe that as people are making their competition decisions, they recognize the stature of the Rose Cup. That stature comes not only from the race’s long history, but from great coordination between PRFA, SCCA, PCA, and our newest partner, Willamette Motor Club. Organizing these races and coordinating between SCCA, PCA, WMC and our sponsors is a tremendous undertaking, but with teamwork and a clear focus on our shared goals, we get the job done with pride. I also want to acknowledge the sponsorship from Temp Control Mechanical Corporation and Sunbelt Rentals. Our sponsors not only pay some of the bills, but they bring more public attention to the event. With the current controversy over the future of PIR, positive community-oriented multi-use events such as the Rose Cup show the combined economic and social value of racing and of the PIR facility. It’s always a pleasure to work with our whole Rose Cup team, and I believe we are wellpositioned to raise the civic profi le of the Rose Cup race in the years to come. Very Truly Yours, Jeff Zurschmeide, Regional Executive Oregon Region SCCA Page 6 I had the misfortune to have a small-ish fi re in my Sports 2000 at the April regional. I thought it might be good to share my observations via the Loud Pedal: Things I Learned About Being On Fire 1) We have great corner workers, safety and medical crew. It’s great to be in such good hands when you need help! 2) When what you are breathing doesn’t seem to contain any oxygen, an otherwise manageable situation isn’t. No matter how calm you were when you saw a lick of fl ame coming from the engine bay, you won’t remain calm when you run out of breathable air. 3) When you make a change in the race car that might impact the operation of the emergency equipment, you should evaluate how the change will affect a panicking driver (see item #2). In my situation, the placement of my mirror post made it about 5% more diffi cult to get to the extinguisher trigger. Thanks SCCA Workers! www.Blish.com When I installed the mirror I thought about it briefl y and dismissed it as being too trivial to matter. When you can’t breathe, you may only have one shot at triggering the extinguisher, and that 5% may matter. A lot. 4) If you see fi re, trigger the extinguisher immediately. My biggest regret is that when I saw fl ames my response was “I need help. I’ll drive to the nearest corner station”. I’ll never know for sure, but I suspect I might have been dealing with relatively minor repairs if I had triggered my fi re system and then headed for help. 5) Even after arriving at the corner station, you may well be the only person dressed in Nomex. If the body needs to come off to deal with the fi re, you are probably the best equipped person to do that. If it requires a little wiggle and shake to get it free, for sure you are the best person for the job. Thanks again to all of our race workers! Mark Brandt, Spec S2 #14 Driver Development Professional Engineering and Data Acquisition Specialized Arrive and Drive Programs Star Mazda Factory Trained Mechanic on Staff Year Around Testing Available!
(continued from page 4) In 1981 they were all SCCA rookies at the 500, many were personal friends and we all found ourselves together at Indy that May; so it seemed appropriate to pen an article on the subject that SportsCar published in July 1981. Maybe I can dig out a copy and reprint it here one of these days. Josele caused the biggest stir at the Speedway because he led the race as a rookie and could have won. A mechanical failure caused him to crash out. Most didn’t know at the time that he was only 19, not the required 21 to race at the 500. Josele and Geoff both had problems during the month of May with stalling their engines leaving the pits, but sorted it out by race day. Geoff told me after the race that when he took the checkered fl ag and felt his car cross the famed yard of bricks, his engine blew. He fi nished a remarkable fi fth. Brabham’s best 500 fi nish would be fourth in 1983. For many of those nine SCCA rookies, the 1981 Indy 500 was the peak of their careers. Kevin Cogan fi nished fourth in 1981 and tied with Garza for rookie of the year honors. He would nearly win the 500 in 1986 but lost to my fellow Illini and SCCA school instructor, Bobby Rahal. Cogan won at Phoenix in 1986 and retired in 1992. Scott Brayton would qualify on the pole position in 1996 but lost his life at the Speedway in a practice crash. Michael Chandler’s 12 th was his best fi nish in three starts at the 500, but later suffered serious injuries. He was present at the memorial tribute for his father this past February, L.A. Times publisher Otis Chandler, and now lives in Bend, OR. Tom Klausler would race Indy cars again in 1983 before retiring, but not again at the 500. I have heard confl icting stories that he still works with McLaren Engines in Michigan, or that he died of cancer. Josele would never repeat the magic of that day in May though he would continue on for many years. He had a career-best fi nish of second at Michigan in 1986 and is now apparently into Scientology. Brabham would become one of the most successful of IMSA GT drivers ever in the Electramotive Nissan with four championships, and he went on to twice win the 12 Hours of Sebring and once the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Bill Alsup would retire in 1984 with a best fi nish of 11th at the 500, and Buddy’s dad, Bob, would never race there again after fi nishing 19 th . I ran into him at a Champ Car race in Fontana a few years back and asked him why he never drove at Indy again. He told me the costs involved with that one race were so prohibitive that it took him years to recover. Pete Halsmer was 24 th that year, nearly won at Cleveland for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers in 1983, would compete successfully in the Trans Am, and to this day can be seen on the Speed Channel racing in Grand Am Cup. The “Class of ’81” as I called them then had their triumphs and tragedies. These nine were the largest and last rookie crop to work their way through SCCA’s minor and major leagues to challenge the pinnacle of motorsports at that time, the Indianapolis 500. In 25 years we have yet to see their equal in a group so numerous and talented, and perhaps we never will. Ryan Justice storms to top ten after 1 minute penalty in Montreal June 26th 2006, Montreal, Quebec, CANADA - It looked to be another great weekend for Ryan Justice and the #38 Northwest Autosport team in Montreal. That was until suspension damage as a result of a horrifi c 17 car accident on lap one of the race left Justice’s Northwest Autosport crew with some tough decisions. Afl ying suspension component from Daniel Herrington’s car had made contact with Justice’s right front suspension, severely damaging it, and the car’s handling. While under red-fl agged conditions, the crew of the #38 car decided to gamble on whether offi cials would penalize them for bending the component back in order to fi nish the race. This gamble resulted in a 1-minute penalty at the restart, which put Justice at the back of the fi eld from his third place restarting position. When Justice re-entered the track he was in 26th place, but he certainly made the most of the little time remaining in the race. In the remaining four laps, Justice drove fl awlessly, passing 17 cars to fi nish ninth, setting the fastest lap of the race by a large margin in the process. Despite a result a lot lower in the fi eld than normal, the Northwest team was happy with how the team performed in this situation. “Ryan did a great job all weekend. He was fastest in both practice sessions and did all that he could to try and win this race. The way the race unfolded would discourage most drivers, but Ryan drove his heart out, even when he was looking at a not so great result,” Peter Jacobs, the team’s engineer commented. New addition to the Northwest Autosport team, Tom Sutherland, had the sort of building weekend needed to lead to some good results in the #40 ClickAway Computers & Networking Pro Mazda. Due to the regulations for the Montreal weekend, it meant that Sutherland would have to start 31st in the deep 41-car fi eld. After a great start that launched him into the top twenty, contact with a fellow driver ended his racing for the weekend. Northwest Autosport team driver Phil Fogg had another great weekend going in the #29 Consonus Pro Mazda, until the massive 17 car accident collected him on lap one. Fogg was one of the expert drivers to beat, being as high as ninth in the fi rst practice session. Fogg continues to impress, regularly running in the top ten, in both practice sessions and races, in the overall championship. The Northwest Autosport team heads back to Portland to prepare for the next race at Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 16th. Until then Ryan Justice and the Northwest team will be working on their charity programs with the children’s hospitals in the Portland area in preparation for the Portland round of the championship in late July. Northwest Autosport and Ryan Justice are dedicated to these causes throughout the year in almost every city that they race in, working closely with the Racing For Kids® group. For more about Ryan Justice and Northwest Autosport visit northwestautosport.com or contact Ronnie Swyers at ronnie@northwe stautosport.com. Page 7
Page 1 and 2: OREGONSCCA.COM Inside this Month: L
Page 3 and 4: Columns Editor’s Desk Page 4 Road
Page 5: Oregon Region SCCA People You May W
Page 9 and 10: Everyone wanted to meet Bud (top le
Page 11 and 12: 2006 Test Days $ 300 - Reservations
Page 13 and 14: Membership Application Dear Prospec
Page 15 and 16: Top Dead Center With Rose Cup’s s
Page 17 and 18: Thanks SCCA Workers! www.Blish.com
Page 20 and 21: Thanks SCCA Workers! www.Blish.com
Page 22 and 23: OREGON REGION SCCA BOARD OF DIRECTO
Page 24 and 25: Every Day Can Feel Like Race Day. J
Page 26 and 27: The Duck Stops Here Once again, it
Page 28 and 29: (continued from page 27) Everything
Page 30 and 31: Saturday: Aug 26, 2006 Sunday: Aug
Page 32: Advertisers’ Index Change Service

Inside this Month: Temp Control Rose Cup Photos ... - Oregon Region

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