This newsletter has a larger than normal mailing list. If you ran in the Kryderacing Regional Championship Series last year you are included because a copy of the press release announcing the 2002 series follows. Information and dates for several other 2002 racing activities are also included.
 

KRYDERACING REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

2002 marks the 20th Anniversary for the Kryderacing Regional Championship Series at Nelson Ledges Road Course. It was twenty years ago when Reed and Sandi Kryder sat with Track Manager John McGill in his kitchen and offered to buy the first place trophies if the series would be called the Kryderacing Regional Championship Series. Nelson Ledges had been without a series for a couple of years and we felt it needed to return. John thought it was a good idea except for one thing: he wanted us to also run the series.

We have seen a lot of things during the course of the series. There have been good times and bad times. Right now we are in a growth period, which has lasted for several years. Total entries, average entries per event, and participation at the Awards Banquet have all shown steady growth. There is no reason to not believe 2002 could easily be our best ever from these and other standpoints.

The list of award winners includes many multiple winners who have been regulars at Nelson Ledges for a long time. Names such as F. Reed Andrew, Dave Smith, and Ray Longhitano appeared as trophy winners in 1983. They are still active. Ed Lowther won a Kryderacing Trophy. Dick Greer, who most people know as a GT racer, was a Sports 2000 Champion in 1983. Ahsen Yelkin won several times years ago. His son, Cemal, was the 1998 Formula Continental Champion. Bob Ruman won the GT1 Championship in 1993 before moving onto the Trans Am Series. His daughter, Amy, totally dominated every Spec Racer Ford event she entered on her way to the 1999 Championship. Firestone’s racing tire director, Al Speyer, has a Kryderacing plaque somewhere amongst his collection of awards. Other past Champions such as Mike Galati, Tom VanCamp, Mike Cyphert, Steve Fried, Ben Beasley, and Will Nonnamaker have gone on to National Championships and professional careers.

Over the years the awards banquet has also become a platform from which to also honor many of the workers who contribute so much to the events at Nelson Ledges Road Course. This annual November Banquet has become recognized as one of the “must” things to attend at the end of each season.

The series has been associated with many well-known companies during the last 19 years. The Magic Touch Award presented by Mechanix Wear to the outstanding mechanic has been well received during the last couple of years. Hoosier Tire has been at the track and a supporter of the series. Baer Brake Systems joined us last year. 2002 series supporters will be announced at a later date. Mazza Vineyards joins the series for 2002.

For the third consecutive year, five SCCA Regions will put on events. There are eleven events spread out over six weekends. Five of the weekends will feature “Double” events with results from each day counting towards the point totals. The season finale, a single event, will award double points for the feature races held on Sunday.
 

2002 Kryderacing Regional Championship Series Schedule:

May 4-5 Double Regional Steel Cities Region

May 25-26 Double Regional Finger Lakes Region

June 15-16 Double Regional NEOhio Region

August 17-18 Double Regional Mahoning Valley Region

October 19-20 Double Regional Mahoning Valley Region

October 26-27 Single Regional Western New York Region

November 23 Awards Banquet Colonial Catering
 
 

MAZZA VINEYARDS JOINS KRYDERACING REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Mazza Vineyard joins the series for 2002. Bob Mazza races a Formula Ford in SCCA and a Porsche in the Porsche Club Race Series. We are thrilled to have them join as an Associate Sponsor. You’ll definitely have to attend the awards banquet to reap the reward of this association. We’ll have more info in a future issue of the newsletter on Mazza Vineyards.
 
 

2002 KRYDERACING CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES T-SHIRTS

The special 20th Anniversary edition of these annual t-shirts should be available prior to the first event. Kryderacing will be stocking them at our Nelson Ledges store and several of the Regions will also have them.
 

TRACKTIME PERFORMANCE DRIVING SCHOOLS

Kryderacing is happy to announce we will be continuing our relationship with TrackTime. For several years we have had an agreement to supply trackside mechanical support for students who have vehicle problems. We offer advice for free, getting greasy comes with a fee, and we also have several products for sale. Reed occasionally helps with classroom activities. We have also helped student prepare their cars for the schools and provided vehicle transportation. The schedule for 2002 is:

Road America’s Elkhart Lake May 14-15

GingerMan Raceway June 5-6

Virginia International Raceway June 22-23

Road America’s Elkhart Lake June 29-30

Watkins Glen International July 10-11

Putnam Park Raceway July 27-28

Michigan International Speedway August 10-11

Elkhart Lake’s Road America August 27-28-29

Putnam Park Raceway September 7-8

GingerMan Raceway October 5-6

Sebring International Raceway December 8-9

Please contact us if you have any questions. The TrackTime Website can also be accessed through www.kryderacing.com.
 

CLEVELAND AUTO SHOW

Every few years Sandi and Reed make a trip to the Cleveland Auto Show. In the past it has always been in conjunction with the appearance of one of our racecars. We have had them included a couple of times with the Neohio SCCA display. Twenty years ago our Datsun 280ZX was the centerpiece for the carmaker. This was the first time we have ever gone to the show just to look at cars. And it was worth the trip. Both Ford GT40’s looked great. The original and the latest rendition were located some distance from each other and it was difficult to notice the size difference. Dodge was pushing their NASCAR efforts with several racecar examples. GM had a variety of show cars spread throughout their various divisions. And a new Nissan 350Z was the centerpiece in their area. We also visited with a long list of friends. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.
 

NEOHIO COMPETITION CLINIC

An old favorite continues to grow after its reinstatement several years ago. When Reed started his racing career, the annual two-day clinic put on by the local SCCA Region was a must. It was geared towards beginners. Attendees had a big jump on other competitors because of the things learned at it. It grew into a gigantic affair and became a “must” not only for beginners but other competitors as well. As a result it evolved into a giant social function, which served as an annual bench racing session. Somewhere along the way the original purpose of helping beginners and serving as a refresher course for returning drivers was lost. The “comp clinic” then started to fade and eventually was dropped. But some people remembered the original goals and brought the clinic back several years ago. It was cut from two to a single day and the evening dinner was dropped. The current organizers know their objectives and have stayed focused. As a result of their efforts the function is healthy and growing. Kryderacing has participated for the past three years and will stay involved as long as the event stays on track.
 

ONE-LAP OF AMERICA

As mentioned in the last newsletter, Reed will be joining John Bender again for the One-Lap of America. This will be their third year together. They finished fifth overall two years ago in John‘s Corvette ZR-1. Last year they dropped to seventh in John‘s new Corvette Z06. The Z06 out-handled the ZR-1, but the modified ZR-1 out-powered the Z06. However, the biggest cause for a drop in position last year was a couple of mistakes made in learning to drive the new car. John says we may have a few more ponies under the hood this year. And the new car mistakes should be a thing of the past. The competition is always strong with numerous modified vehicles included in the 100 car fields. We will have to see what shows up, but a return to the “top five” is a reasonable goal.
 

OPEN TRACK CHALLENGE

This is a new event and in some ways is similar to the One Lap of America. It takes about a week to run and each day is spent at a different venue. But the similarity ends quickly. While everyone in the One Lap must drive between sites in their competition vehicle and no support vehicles are allowed, the Open Track Challenge allows support vehicles and has a complete, separate set of classes in which the car can be transported between tracks. Instead of only the single three-lap run of One Lap, Open Track has several track sessions during the day and the three fastest laps are used to compute your score. The distances traveled between tracks during the week are three times longer for One Lap than Open Track. But the track time for Open Track is much greater than One Lap. Vehicle preservation will take two very different approaches. The “mind games” between teams will also be very different.

Reed will be teaming up with long-time friend and past One Lap teammate Russ Wilson in Russ’s Kryderacing prepped Corvette ZR-1. They will be running in a category which requires the car to be driven between tracks. The event starts in Pahrump, Nevada, includes events at Willow Springs, the Streets of Willow, Buttonwillow (both clockwise and counterclockwise), Thunderhill, and ends at Las Vegas Speedway. By the way, the event starts (in Nevada) the same day One Lap ends (in Rochester, NY).
 

KRYDERACING TEST DAY AT NELSON LEDGES

Eight cars participated in Kryderacing’s second annual test day. Finding a good open day for testing has always been difficult for us. Last year the only possibility was a very early April date. We had to share the track with the annual Safety Training day for SCCA workers. But that‘s okay, you never know when you might need some of their types of services. The only other problem was the threat of nasty weather in the early days of spring. The choice was an excellent one last year. The weather was beautiful and no one needed any special assistance.

This year was different. As we left the shop early in the morning we were driving through several inches of snow. The forecast was for sun, but a high temperature under 40 degrees. The snow wasn’t on the ground at Nelson Ledges, but we did experience some snow flurries just prior to the first car going onto the track. The sun did come out and everyone finally made it onto the track. The Safety Training appeared to be a big success again and we gave them a little extra work when one of the test cars got upside down. In all of Reed’s years of racing he has never been upside down. He cannot say that any more. It’s a long story.