The Wishbone Alley Gazette
October, 1998 Rainier Auto Sports Club
Rally News----------------------------------------
o Big news at Prescott Forest PRO-Rally was that Carl Merrill died.
Six miles into stage #1, the Carl Merrill/Lance Smith Ford Escort Cosworth
went off the road on a straight-away and hit a tree. Co-driver Lance Smith
was slightly injured. It is not clear whether something happened to Carl
Merrill to cause him to go off the road.
Competitors Dave White, Tony Takaori, and Joe Noyes all administered emergency
CPR treatment until the EMTs arrive, and a helicopter was called to bring Carl
to Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott.
Carl never recovered, and died at the hospital. He was 62 years old.
oAndy Schupack has been the media coordinator for the National SCCA PRO-Rally
series. He works for Kermish-Geylin Public Relations, Inc. That firm has
resigned from the SCCA account as of the end of the year. Series-sponsor
Michelin and SCCA (Denver) will have to find someone to fill the position.
o Also announced at Prescott Forest: ESPN2 won’t be covering the SCCA PRO-
Rallys. The Speedvision channel may take up the slack. Doug Plumer (Replica
Productions) will continue to cover the events.
o The Evergreen State 1000 came off very well, lacking only another 15
entrants to make it truly successful. The $120 entry fee didn’t help. $90
entry fee plus $30 for dinner still didn’t make a profit for the club.
The Critiques had the usual glow about a good route, nice roads, potty stops,
etc.
The weekend was uneventful, but not dull. A 16 mile swing through a paved
forestry road allowed for "rapid transit", although none was required. This
was the day that a Forest Ranger decided to "watch" the road, with his radar
unit. Against the odds, only one car got his attention- with a warning!
There is a "dish farm" north of Brewster, operated by US Electrodynamics. 38
skyward-aimed dishes of various sizes provide a significant portion of
worldwide communications via satellite. The rally included a 20 minute tour of
the place. It turned out to be far too short, barely allowing time to see the
place, let alone get an idea of what goes on and is done.
Workers Mark and Mary Hillman sent out a faint call on the radio that they
wouldn’t make it to their last CP. That’s all we heard, making us wonder what
disaster had befallen them. We didn’t even know where they were! Slow service
at a restaurant was their problem.
Mike and Gretchen Jones rented a Ranger pickup for the weekend. The tailgate
opened and dumped a box full of stuff on the road. Coming upon the litter, it
looked like a serious accident. I picked up the mess, and got the story from
them at their CP.
We had enough workers- something that was not assured at the September
meeting. Richard Crosier brought Sharon Euster, although there is no sign that
they shaved any points off his wife’s scores. Steve Richards brought a
traveling buddy, Brian Fairchild, along to see Central Washington in his Audi.
Steve made all his CP’s despite avoiding gravel roads in the pristine red car.
Uh, this apparently involved exploring the high end of the car’s ability. Good
place to do it.
We trained two Wenatchee teams in the fine art of rally working: Paul & Peggy
Appel and Sal & Judy Spagnole. Their training was by doing; we scored their
CP’s despite Nolte’s efforts. I assumed that they knew the area- it’s close
to home, after all. It slowly sank in that they don’t get up that way any more
than I get to the Centralia Power plant. Thank goodness they were HAMs, so
the education could continue under way.
The Jones’ and Hillmans claim they had a good time. The Jones’ always mutter
something about retiring to the area.
o The POR ran in daylight this year, but lived up to its name. There was
some grumbling about sharing the roads with civilians at "challenging speeds",
but the pace car was able to stay ahead of the rally and RM Gene Henderson
says the situation wasn’t anticipated during "real time" checkouts.
Satch was a notable DNF when he avoided an oncoming civilian and dived off
the road, crumpling a fender.
Trivia-------------------------------------------------
o The Breazeales have clinched the deal for the Kenai RV park. The Audi is
repaired and painted. They even found replacements for the Hella 2000 & 500
damaged by the moose. They catch the October 9 boat for new home. (They don’t
actually have a place to sleep lined up yet..)
oBellevue’s "Stongard" supplied the Alcan with lighting "covers" for all the
vehicles. The product is some sort of clear plastic that sloughs off rocks.
I paid $60 at the Subaru dealer for a headlight setup, which included the
turn signals, too. The adhesive doesn’t stick to Rain-X; I had to replace the
turn signal covers that had peeled off.
On the visit to get the replacements, Jim Elder’s red Ford Pickup was there
to get (a much thinner) material applied to the painted surfaces.
We measured my Hella 190’s and 2000’s , and found a proper fit to protect
those driving lamps. At $30/pair, still cheaper than a broken lens. -Nolte
o The Simons traded the Camaro in for a Jeep Wrangler. Pete Shelton bought
the Quattro Coupe with the idea of making it into a PRO-Rally car, but the
reality of parts ($$) is causing a rethink.
Found: A masonite Clipboard with white digital stopwatch clipped to it. Looks
new. Pete Shelton picked it up at the August Saturday Nighter rally.
Club News----------------------------------------------
o September meeting notes: Treasurer reported we have money in the bank, with
some important bills outstanding.
Events: The dismal August Saturday Niter was discussed. The Rallycross in
Oregon had 100 entries, including some really neat cars (Ford RS200!). The
Alcan report was "all-positive", except for the low turnout.
Kirk and Terry looked at some Wenatchee-area roads for a possible Pro-Rally.
More roads need to be "viewed".
A low turnout (14 cars?) for ES1000 brought up discussion of cutting costs,
particularly trimming the trophy expenses.
SCCA scheduled the fall Divisional-Pro’s on Halloween. Vince and Nolte begged
out of being Stage Captains, so our volunteers will contact the organizers on
their own. There followed a few stories of "rallying vs. hunting season."
Jerry had some Magellan GPS "loaner" units for sale, before he sent them back.
o Nominations for the 1999 Board will be made at the October meeting, with
elections at the November meeting. The current Board has assembled a
nominating committee.
o Its not too early to consider the 1999 rally schedule. Nolte rallymastered
3 TSD’s in 1998, and won’t go through that again (burnout). The Raindrop
barely broke even, ES1000 lost about $60, and the Saturday Niter wasn’t
profitable.
For Sale-----------------------------------------------
o For Sale: Mazda 12A header, plus RX3 parts.
Also: ’79 RX7, 13B (205hp), close ratio (competition) 5 sp, 4.6 posi. (Tim
Paterson’s running gear in a newer chassis.)
Also an interesting collection of tires. Pete Shelton (206)365-4173
o Omni PRO-Rally car, ready to race. The deal includes a spare shell, and
more parts. (New priorities encouraged sale). Kirk Simons 425-806-1741
o’69 Firebird, rolling and runs. A good winter project car to make it
"cherry" Kirk Simons 425-806-1741.
o Nomex racing suit, XLG, 1 layer, Blk/wht/red- $75 each. Proban Racing suit
(XXL), 1 layer, Red- $40. Bonnie, (503)692-1314 or e-mail:
rainbonnet@worldnet.att.net
o Breazeale’s closeout: Car trailer, $1000, new tires, electric brakes, sway
control and load leveler.
Tourisimo "project car" $2000- Fresh Hakkas, large motor/ automatic tranny.
"great on gravel"- Call Robert at (206)244-3735 (White Center) to view/make
offer(s).
Wanted--------------------------------------------------
o Setting up a rally car: need "rally" seats, big lights, and a rally
computer. Brian Langford 360-671-6103 (Bellingham)
1998 RASC Calendar
o Call the NWRC Hotline at (425)277-4351) for latest info on Puget Sound TSD
events.
oFor most B.C. events, see Dennis Wendes' Web page at:
http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/dwende
Oct 24-25 "Totem Rally" (TSD), BC RM: Paul Westwick (604)682-3296;
Registration: Tony Latham (604)263-1971. Chiliwack>Kelowna>Merritt. $75 US.
Oct. 30 – Ghouls Gambol TSD, Portland
Oct 31/Nov 1 Dryad Quest Div-Pro, Olympia. Saturday night FCO 7pm, Sunday FCO
10am.
November 14- Armageddon TSD by Chuckanut, RM: Ken Lingbloom (360)733-8897 FCO
10:31, 250 miles. $40 with $10 discount before Nov. 7. All paved.
Marysville>Mt. Vernon. Entry fee includes ferry transportation.
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Provisional 1999 World Rally Championship Calendar:
1 - Monte Carlo Rally January 18-20
2 - Swedish Rally February 12-14
3 - Safari Rally February 26-28
4 - Portugal Rally March 21-24
5 - Catalunya Rally April 19-21
6 - Corsica Rally May 10-12
7 - Rally Argentina May 23-25
8 - Acropolis Rally June 7-9
9 - Rally of New Zealand July 17-19
10 - Rally Finland August 20-22
11 - Rally of China September 17-19
12 - San Remo Rally October 3-6
13 - Rally Australia November 4-7
14 - RAC Rally November 21-23
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Rules of Northwest Winter driving
1. Your windshield wipers are worn out.
2. The Rain-X on the windshield will wear off just before 5 days of downpour.
3. There are no great snow tires, except the ones on your car. No one will
agree with you.
4. Your ice scraper will break when you’re late for work.
5. You put the wrong size tire chains in the trunk. When you get (eventually)
home, the other set is also the wrong size.
6. After driving on slippery roads and avoiding horrendous accidents, you’ll
slip on ice on your porch and break your wrist.
7. Ice buildup on your radio antenna will cause it to whip into the
windshield, causing a small crack.
8. Flashlight batteries that were fine in the fall will be flat when needed in
the winter.
9. At the first hint of snow, every office worker in town leaves early "to
avoid the rush". No one gets home until 9pm.
10. After 15+ years, Metro still hasn’t figured out how to get buses through
the snow.
11. Fog lights only work up to about 25 mph. No one goes only 25. You get
passed and follow taillights like everyone else.
12. Sanding trucks sand all the freeway off ramps except yours- the steep one.
13. With full time All Wheel Drive, studded Hakka’s, and vast driving skill,
you’ll still be stuck behind the pickup with no weight in the bed and bald
tires. And when that vehicle finally gets out of your way, you find yourself
behind an SUV weaving all over the road. Why? Still looking for the button to
turn on the 4WD.
14. You buy a block heater, but still can’t start the car at work.
15. You see cars on the shoulder up ahead, and back off. The vehicle ahead of
you sees them, and slams on the brakes. Yep, black ice.
16. Under horrid conditions, you slow for a green light, which causes the
tailgater behind you to honk. Just as you speed up, someone runs their red
light. If you hadn’t slowed down, the tailgater would have met the "runner".
No justice.
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Rainier Auto Sports Club will meet this coming Monday, October 12, at 7:30 PM
at CoCo's in Bellevue,
(520 112th Ave., between the "NE 8" and "NE 4th" Exits of 405 on the west side
of the Hwy.) We have a meeting room set aside in the back. Monthly meetings
are the second Monday of each month. Past Members, visitors, and spectators
are welcomed.
Agenda:
Should be a quick meeting: Not much more to say about ES1000 or Alcan.
Nominations to discuss, but there aren’t many new people to nominate. And
there is the fall season Divisional PRO-Rallys, Dryad Quest and Sou’Easter.
1998 Board Members:
President: Pete Shelton- 206-365-4173; Vice-President: Jay
Kingsley-206-243-9102 Secretary: Rod Chelgren- 206-523-9330; Treasurer: Terry
Simons- 425-806-1741 Membership: Mike Jones- 425-823-8329, Member at large:
Cristy Breazeale
The Wishbone Alley Gazette is published for the members and friends of Rainier
Auto Sports Club. Subscription price is $10 per year.
The editor is Mark Nolte, ph. 425-226-3155. Contributions and paid/unpaid ad
eagerly received at
2108 NE 12Th. St., Renton, WA 98056
WAG FAX Line: 425-226-1469. E-Mail: RALLYMASTR@aol.com.
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