VOLUME 20, ISSUE 1
February 16, 2007
DAYTONA
Let’s get right to the biggest story around Kryderacing so far in 2007. As predicted in our December newsletter, Kryderacing has returned to professional level racing. Discussions started at the PRI Show in Orlando led to our prepping and crewing three Koni Challenge cars during the January 25-28 Daytona Grand Am weekend. Phoenix Promotions had entered four cars that weekend in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The prep required for the two Porsches and two brand-new Corvettes was enormous and Will Nonnamaker offered the Koni operation to Kryderacing. Between Christmas and the event Matt Miller and Matt Carson divided their time between our shop and the Phoenix shop prepping a Dodge SRT4 and two Porsche 996’s for the Koni Challenge race. Sandi and Reed devoted hours of their schedule towards assembling crew-members, obtaining licenses, reviewing equipment needs, logistics, and a long list of items required to successfully operate the team. These were all things we had done before, but it had been a few years and we needed to make sure we were current with rules and procedures.
Crew-members in addition to those mentioned above included Tim and Brent Walton, Rod Whalen, Will Robb, Rob Piekarczyk, Mike Olivier, and David Pintaric. They not only brought a wealth of racing experience, but had a variety of skills. From wrenching to bodywork to welding to wiring, we had someone who was experienced. Unexpected challenges arose when the lift-gate on the truck transporting the Dodge broke and kept us from working on the car until moments prior to its first track session. Another challenge was a weak clutch on the same car necessitating a change which was finished as cars were proceeding to the grid.
There were a couple of minor problems during the race, but all three cars took the checker. The driving team included Joe Sahlen and Will Nonnamaker in the #03 Dodge SRT4, Mike Canney and Wayne Nonnamaker in the #04 Porsche 996, and Joe Massesa and Ernie Becker in the #05 Porsche 996. The race is scheduled to be shown on SPEED on March 10th at 8 pm. In case you were wondering, Reed did have his driving equipment and has a Grand Am drivers license, but he did not drive. It was more important for Kryderacing to have success crewing these cars than for Reed to have fun driving.
And our operation was a success. The crew did a great job and received complements from both drivers and the car owners. Kryderacing has been asked by Phoenix Promotions to provide similar services at six additional Koni races and three Rolex events during the 2007 season. More races are possible. If you are on this mailing list and wish to join us at one of them, please contact us at www.kryderacing.com or call 330-854-4889.
Most of the crew stayed and
watched the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Reed and Sandi assisted the Phoenix
crew in the pits providing help in several areas. If you have never
been involved in an endurance race of this magnitude, you might not fully
appreciate the logistics involved in making sure tires are ready, fueling
rigs are always full, drivers are where they need to be (when not driving),
meals are prepared and served, lap times and the “race flow” are followed,
and hundreds of other things. The mechanics going over the wall on
pit-stops are high profile, but the support staff behind the wall is bigger.
Phoenix Promotions has been racing these types of events for a long time
and they are well organized. Sandi and Reed were glad to help.
SCCA NATIONAL CONVENTION
Reed and Sandi were attendees
at the 2007 SCCA National Convention in San Antonio on February 1-3.
While both have attended the SCCA NeDiv Mini-Cons on several occasions,
this was their first trip to the national event. They attended numerous
seminars including tech sessions, rule procedure reviews, town meetings,
registration procedures, pro racing, etc. Most of the sessions fall
into one of two categories. They are either working sessions aimed
at improving specialty areas such as timing and scoring or are informative
sessions on the inner workings of SCCA and how to work with them.
Between sessions there are meals (usually with a Tex-Mex flavor in this
case) and in the evening there are several social gatherings, both scheduled
and unscheduled (the bar seemed to be a popular hangout).
Reed and Sandi, along with
Cliff McCandless represented the Mahoning Valley Region of the SCCA.
They came away with the two significant impressions of the participants.
The SCCA office staff consists of some very intelligent people who put
in a lot of hard work for the membership. The rest of the participants
came from all across the country and had one thing in common: they were
all trying to improve the club. Even when opposing viewpoints were
evident, both sides of the issue were presented with non-confrontational
approaches.
2007 KRYDERACING REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AT NELSON LEDGES ROAD COURSE
This year will be the Silver Anniversary for the series. The schedule is as follows:
April 28-29 Neohio
Region Double Regional
May 12-13 Steel
Cities Region Double Regional
June 9-10 Finger
Lakes Region Double Regional
June 30-July 1
Mahoning Valley Region Double Regional
October 20-21
Mahoning Valley Region Double Regional
October 27-28
Western New York Region Regional (Double Points)
This should be an exciting year for several reasons:
All five SCCA Regions have
events this year.
Event dates are better
spaced than we have seen them in a long time.
The June 30-July 1
event is also a MARRS series race and should have the largest Regional
participation seen at Nelson Ledges in several years.
The date and location of
the Awards Banquet has not been finalized.
NELSON LEDGES
2007 should also be a special
year for Nelson Ledges Road Course. While there may be no big improvements
as seen in recent years, Track Manager Scott Lane will continue improving
the facility. And as the pro-level tracks continue to price themselves
out of amateur racing, tracks like Nelson Ledges prosper from club racers
looking for affordable race sites. The 24-Hour endurance race (“Longest
Day of Nelson”) will return after a long absence. It is part of an
endurance series and is scheduled for August 24-26. There will be
both a Northeast Division National (May 26-27) and a Great Lakes Division
National (July 28-29). There was almost a “Dual National” on Memorial
Day Weekend but politics kept it from happening this year. The premise
for this event is unlike any National ever held anywhere. 2008 is
still a possibility for the “Dual“. The April 20-22 Driver’s School
at Nelson Ledges is the only 2007 SCCA school at the track, but the good
news is that it is a “double“. This means it is possible for a student
to complete all their school requirements over a three day period instead
of having to attend two separate weekends.
HANS
In our last issue we mentioned
rule changes pertaining to door bars, window nets, seat belts, helmets,
and numerous other items. We suggested everyone check their rulebook
and how it pertains to them. While HANS devices are not mandatory
in SCCA racing, they are a proven piece of safety equipment. Kryderacing
has recently become a dealer and would appreciate your business when you
decide to order yours.
WHAT'S AHEAD?
* David Pintaric’s T-1 Class
Viper will be on display at the Cleveland Auto Show from February 24 through
March 4.
* One week after the show
David plans on racing the Viper in the Memphis Nationals. He set
the T-1 lap record last year.
* Neohio Region will hold
their Competition Clinic at the Cleveland I-X Center on March 17th.
* Kryderacing will be assisting
John Buttermore’s T-1 Corvette and/or T-2 Cadillac CTS-V at the March 24-25
Road Atlanta National.
* And then we get busy.