RAY BARNHART

Ray keeps his Improved Touring E (or is a Super Production?) BMW at the Kryderacing shop.  He has been trying to sell the car this year.  But in the meantime he occasionally gets the itch to do some racing.  When that happens we prep the car and deliver it to the track for him.  Such was the case during the Fourth of July Mid-Ohio Double Regional.  We don’t know if he plans any additional races this year but if anyone is looking for a fast BMW they should give Ray a call.
 

MATT CARSON

Matt2 (as we refer to him) hasn’t been doing any racing this year.  He has been busy in Iraq.  Matt2 had worked for us for slightly more than a year when Uncle Sam needed him in Iraq.  We must have had an effect on him.  While on duty overseas he purchased an ITS class 280Z (on the internet) and plans on going racing when his tour of duty is over.  We plan on rehiring him as soon as he is available.  He has arranged to get leave during the Run-Offs and will be helping us with the four entrants we expect to be assisting.
 

BRUCE KEILLOR

Bruce rented our Nissan NX2000 ITS class racecar earlier in the year to complete his driver school requirements.  He has his own ITC class VW Rabbit and raced it once at Nelson Ledges.  But it needed some engine work, which is taking longer than anticipated (welcome to racing, Bruce).  Thus he found himself back at Nelson Ledges Road Course in the NX for the Finger Lakes Region Double Regional on the weekend of August 7-8.  The car is faster than when he drove it at the school and Bruce’s lap times showed improvement throughout the weekend.  He finished sixth in class on Saturday and improved to fourth on Sunday.  Bruce also drove a Honda Civic in the Nelson Ledges 12-Hour race (see below).

REED KRYDER

Reed has been very busy giving rides in stock cars at Homestead Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, and California Speedway.  On his few “free” weekends he has found a couple of races to run.
 
On June 21st he was at Nelson Ledges to observe some testing of the Cadillac CTS-V he ran in the 2004 One Lap of America.  John Bender, the vehicle’s owner was also in attendance.  Chuck Mallett had extensively modified the car compared to its One Lap trim.  The target was a tuner car challenge scheduled for the following week at Michigan International Speedway.  This was the first test of the modifications and there were a few problems with respect to smoothness of the engine.  Chuck continued the program a couple of days later at a test track in Michigan.  The event started on the weekend following this initial testing.

“Car & Driver” magazine has been doing this tuner car challenge for several years.  This year there were two categories: overall and sedan.  There are few rules other than the car needs to be street legal.  The cars are evaluated for drivability and comfort on regular roads for a complete day before they are taken to Michigan International Speedway for performance comparisons.  The “course” consists of a dragstrip, road course, 100-150 MPH acceleration measurement, and coming to a complete stop from 150 MPH.  ALL of these items are part of a continuous flow and the total time from start to finish determines the overall winner.  Each vehicle is given five attempts.  The Cadillac still had a few teething problem, but Chuck and his crew worked on it all day.  On the fifth run everything came together and it won.  Look for an upcoming issue of “Car & Driver” for a complete report.

On the 4th of July weekend Reed entered the Kryderacing ITS class Nissan 240SX in the Mid-Ohio Double Regional.  There was a big field of ITS cars and Reed was satisfied with his sixth place finish on Saturday, especially since he had been punted into an off-course spin on the first lap.  On Sunday he opted to avoid first lap issues by starting at the back.  This resulted in his missing a big first turn incident, which saw numerous cars in the grass.  He worked his way through the field and once again finished sixth.  Higher finishes would have been more satisfying, but considering the situations, these results are acceptable.

A month later he entered the same car at the Finger Lakes Double Regional at Nelson Ledges.  This time Reed had a couple of minor issues on the track but posted a third on Saturday and a second place on Sunday.  The car has many victories in the SSB class but has never won since its conversion to ITS.  But we are getting closer.  Last year Reed got the initial podium finish.  This year we have posted three seconds.  A victory is now the target.
 

GARY MARTZ

Gary switched from Central Division to Northeast Division in 2004.  While Gary does most of the work on his E-Production Mazda RX-7, Kryderacing is often assisting him at the track.  At the June 6th Mid-Ohio Race of Champions he finished a strong third.  This was a good run on the Mid Ohio circuit, which will be used for the Run-Offs.

On June 20th he won at BeaveRun.  But the win almost never happened because a broken header was discovered when he started the car to drive it to the grid.  There were three Kryderacing vehicles competing in this particular event.  One was still on the track finishing their race and another was on the grid for the same race as Gary.  It should have been panic time.  Gary did have a spare header and somehow the swap was completed in time for him to take the victory.

On July 11th Gary raced at Watkins Glen for the first time in his life.  As anyone who has run at this circuit can tell you, it is a fast track, which demands smoothness, skill, and practice.  Gary finished a satisfying fourth.

On the weekend of August 7-8 Gary raced Matt Miller’s ITC-class Capri at the Double Regional at Nelson Ledges.  This car had just completed the 12-Hour enduro at the track and was a little “tired”.  We don’t remember where Gary finished on Saturday but he did record a third on Sunday.

A last minute decision found Gary at the Pocono Double National on August 21-22.  He qualified on the pole both days but finished a close second in each race.  On Saturday “the one lap to go” signal was not given to Gary and the other E-Prod he had been swapping the lead with for most of the race.  By the time he realized the checker was out it was too late.  A first lap spin during Sunday’s race moved him from the first to last.  He came back through the big field and actually passed for the lead.  Unfortunately he was about 50 feet beyond the checker.  These two second place finishes put Gary into second place in the division, only two points out of first.  His will be racing outside the division on Labor Day weekend in an effort to win the Championship.
 

MATT MILLER

In addition to running the day-to-day Kryderacing shop operations, Matt has been finding lots of time to race this summer.
At the June 6th Mid-Ohio SCCA Race of Champions National he finished third in a G-Production Datsun 510.  He followed that up with a fifth at the BeaveRun National on June 20th.  At that point of the season he was in first place in GP points in Northeast Division.  He had completed his race requirements for qualifying for the Run-Offs and it appears unlikely he would drop out of the top ten in points.  Rather than continue to race it, the car has spent the rest of the summer being prepared for the Run-Offs.

But Matt has several cars and has been very active behind the wheel.  At the Mid-Ohio Double Regional on the 4th of July weekend he drove his ITS class Mazda RX-7.  He surprised even everyone, himself included, with a second place qualifying effort on Saturday.  But he dropped to seventh during the race.  On Sunday he didn’t qualify second, but it was a good lap time.  However, a multiple car incident at Turn 11 mid-way through the race resulted in Matt failing to finish.  He returned to Mid-Ohio a few weeks later with a repaired car.  He recorded a ninth and a fourth in these Brat Bash events.

But his biggest personal program of the year was entering three cars at the Nelson Ledges 12-Hour event.  The above mentioned Capri won the ITC class.  The Mike Olivier owned SSC class Honda Civic finished third in class.  And the ITS class Nissan 280Z finished seventh in class.  The amazing thing was all three cars were running at the finish.
 

MIKE OLIVIER

The SSC Honda Civic mentioned above is owned by Mike and maintained in the Kryderacing shops.  The 12-Hour was Mike’s first enduro experience and he was assisted by Bill Pintaric and Bruce Keillor in the driving chores.  Mike has been improving steadily since he started racing a couple of years ago, but this race represented a new challenge.  He not only loved it, but he learned a few new techniques along the way and is now posting his quickest lap times.  Mike actually hadn’t raced a lot so far in 2004 because he is starting a new company.  He does plan on running at the Mahoning Valley Double Regional event on August 28-29 and a Mid-Ohio race in September.
 

BILL PINTARIC  

Bill led flag-to-flag at the Mid-Ohio Race of Champions SCCA National on June 6th.  This was Bill’s second National win of the season.  He had built up a three-second lead at the half-way point only to have a full course caution bunch up the field.  His quote over the radio was “all that work for nothing”.  But as soon as the track returned to green flag racing Bill turned his fastest lap times of the weekend and quickly re-established his three-second cushion.

The BeaveRun National on June 20th was another story.  Bill qualified near the front but was involved in a multi-car incident in the first turn.  He continued but the car was damaged.  He eventually finished fourth, then moved to third in impound.

The Watkins Glen National produced a second place finish.  The thrilling part of that affair was the battle Bill had with another GT4 car.  Bill was handicapped because the proper ring & pinion had been damaged in an earlier race.  He tried both a taller and a shorter ratio in  practice, but both had serious shortcomings.  For the race, Bill opted for a higher “top end” speed and less initial acceleration.  The third place finisher was slightly faster than Bill exiting the turns but couldn’t complete the pass by the end of the straights.  Bill really worked for the second place.

Next on the schedule was the Gateway National on August 1st.  This was an easy win for Bill because he had no real competition.  Bill was probably bored, but a win is a win.  At this point in the season Bill was leading the NeDiv GT4 points with three wins, two seconds, and a third.  A max of six results are used to calculate results.  The only race left on the schedule was a Double National (Pocono) and two drivers had a mathematical chance of beating Bill if either one won both events.  Bill went to Pocono and qualified, but opted not to race when neither of the other drivers showed.  The next race for 2004 NeDiv GT4 Champion Bill Pintaric will be the Run-Offs.
 

DAVID PINTARIC  

Bill’s brother David is in his first year of National Competition.  His vehicle of choice is a Corvette running in the Touring 1 Class.  David has demonstrated the ability to go fast, but has not escaped making a few rookie mistakes.  He is acquiring experience with each race and could be a surprise at the Run-Offs.  At the Mid-Ohio Race of Champions on June 6th he finished seventh in a very tough field of cars.  The significant difference between this race and previous events was the lack of mistakes during the race.

Two weeks later he qualified fourth at BeaveRun.  However, he became involved in a first turn multiple car crash just like his brother.  Unlike his brother, David was unable to continue.  In this incident, the sixth place qualifier took out not only David, but the second place qualifier.  He also damaged the third place qualifier, who had to pit for repairs before continuing.

Next on the schedule was the Gateway National.  David (and Bill) had never been to the track before.  Since David had some serious competition he decided to get more practice by running the Regional event on Saturday.  He was never challenged for the lead.  He also got practice dealing with a wide variety of traffic situations as he lapped slower cars.  The only T-1 car running the National, but not the Regional, was the fastest qualifier.  During the National race David got around him for a few laps, but later dropped back to second.  He never gave up the fight and finished 2.469 seconds behind the winner.  All the Saturday “passing” practice paid off with many of the techniques (and more) being put to use on Sunday.

The Gateway race went a long way towards earning David a trip to the Run-Offs.  It was probably a good thing he ran Gateway because the next race resulted in a DNF.  An off-course excursion at the mid-point of the August 15 Mid-Ohio race filled the radiator with sand and resulted in an overheating condition.

A week later he returned to Mid-Ohio and participated in the NASA races.  These races were part of something called the Triple Crown Tuner Challenge.  Racing was only a part of the car related activities at the track.  The biggest reason for attending was to practice on the “pro course” which will be used for the Run-Offs.  His lap times were very respectable.
 

PINTARIC

We do want to mention one other item related to the Pintaric’s and felt it was best to do it separately since it involves their company - WRP Investments.  Each year their representatives are called to a large meeting in Youngstown to discuss various company issues.  In the past there has always been a golf tournament on the day proceeding the meetings.  Last year a day at the track was added for the non-golfers in the crowd.  Even though it was raining in 2003, the program was a success and continued in 2004.  The Kryderacing prepped Nissan 240SX, Nissan NX2000, and Honda Civic spent an entire afternoon giving rides to a lot of happy WRP associates.  The day ended with a large outdoor dinner party at a Youngstown country club.  Kryderacing wishes to thank WRP for involving us in these enjoyable activities.
 

BILL SCHAUER

As mentioned earlier, Reed placed second at Nelson Ledges with the Kryderacing ITS class Nissan 240SX.  We also said the car now had three second place finishes.  The first two occurred with Bill Schauer behind the wheel at the June 12-13 Nelson  Ledges Double Regional.  After a winter of minor modifications to the car Bill recorded the fastest lap it ever turned by the car at Nelson Ledges.  But things didn’t look too good after Saturday’s qualifying round.  Bill was mired mid-pack and running a couple of seconds slower than we thought the car could run.  With all of the changes we had made we forgot something simple.  We corrected the problem and when the green flag waved it took Bill about one second before radioing “the car’s fixed!”.  He wasn’t even to the starter when he called in the report.  He also sounded quite happy.

We had hoped Bill would be able to run the early September Mid-Ohio Double Regional, but scheduling problems will keep him away.  Reed holds the fastest time at Mid-Ohio for the car, but he also is unable to run it again this year.  With the changes made since the last Mid-Ohio appearance we were all interested in seeing what Bill could do.  Looks like we may have to wait until 2005.

Bill Schauer was also a driver in one of the Matt Miller entered cars at the Nelson Ledges 12-Hour enduro.  He ended up in the Datsun 280Z (drivers were sorted by height in the three car effort) which finished seventh in ITS.
 

ALAN SCHULTZ

Earlier in the year Alan used the Kryderacing Nissan 240SX to successfully complete his SCCA Driver School requirements.
He then used the Nissan NX2000 to run several events, including the June 12-13 Nelson Ledges Double Regional and the Fourth of July Weekend Mid-Ohio Double Regional.  He is now trying to decide what he wants to race in the future.
 

RUSS WILSON

Russ has not been racing his Corvette ZR-1 recently.  Therefore we have no reports.  But a big event is coming up which involves Russ.  For the fourth year Kryderacing will be assisting Russ with a “fun day” at Willow Springs.  This year we will be on the “Streets of Willow”.  The event is scheduled for Friday, October 29th.  If you are familiar with this event you already know Russ.  Call him or us and let us know if plan on attending this year.  With regard to “coaches”, we will be initially calling those who have helped in the past.  If you are going to be in the area on the 29th and are interested in joining us for a relaxing day at the racetrack, please call.
 

KRYDERACING REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Six races have been held so far in the 2004 Kryderacing Regional Championship Series at Nelson Ledges Road Course.  All of these events have seen a 10-20% growth in entries compared to last year.  This is directly related to the improvements in the facility.  The remaining 2004 schedule includes:

 August 28-29  Mahoning Valley Region Double Regional
 October 16-17  Mahoning Valley Region Double Regional
 October 30-31  Western New York Regional (Double Points)
 November 20  Awards Banquet