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Rainier Auto Sports Club |
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Rainier Auto Sports Club April 1999 The Wishbone Alley Gazette
Minutes of the March Meeting Called to order at 7:30 PM Minutes of February meeting were read and approved. Treasurer reported $1602.96 in the bank. Billing for NWRC hasn't been received. Discussion of the RASC Post Office Box: No mail is received there, it's been empty except for a few misdirected items and "junk mail". No invoice has been sent to us from the Post Office, yet the rental is "due". It was brought up that we may not need it, but what would be the alternative? Jerry Hines uses his own address for Alcan, and our FCC License also uses Jerry's address. NWRC- The new NWRC number was announced. There was some discussion whether we had updated the May 2 Raindrop date adequately. Nolte said he'd do some follow-up- already asked Hightower to update his Web site. SCCA- the recent downgrading of SIR by an SCCA inspector was discussed. Although not suitable for SCCA National races any more, the track will be used by other groups. Vince Plancich said the track still had a full schedule, with other groups using the track. The SCCA only had one race scheduled. Raindrop: Vince Plancich reported that the Dash Plaques have been ordered. He will also get an ad in the SCCA News. Nolte said the course was under investigation, probably around Arlington. Hoping for an Everett finish site, but nothing has been done about it. Pete Shelton pointed out that the graphics on the flyer covered-up the address of the Alley Chevrolet (the first "1" in 11550 was compromised). Nolte asked how many workers we'd get, and everybody responded that it wouldn't be a problem. Mike Jones asked if we could have a banner made to hang at our events. Such banners are hung at PRO Rally's, and we could benefit with the advertising. Mike will look into the cost and check out suppliers. It was noted that Jerry Hines has one for the Alcan, and may have a source. Manufacturers of door awnings may be a source. Doo Wop II and IV: Vince described the RASC stage as "B-line", said it was a good stage. There are 20 RI's, with 12 side roads to banner guard. The Flying Finish has been previously used, and will work OK. He thinks he has barely enough workers. Although it runs at 11:43, he wants the workers to meet at 9am at the Summit Lake Park and Ride lot. Terry Simons reported mailing 33 Gazettes, with 25 more "e-mailed". Ken Lingbloom, of Bellingham and Chuckanut Sports Car Club, has volunteered to check out the Alger (Skagit Speedway) racetrack for a possible Rallycross site. Vince Plancich announced that SOVREN is going to have a hillclimb at Maryhill on October 3. This is at Goldendale. There was a hillclimb done here in past years, and was a lot of fun. The members present thought it was a neat idea and we should go, possibly as a "worker force". Roy Ward announced that Paul Appel was firming up a rally route from
Wenatchee to Spokane. A date was discussed, with conflicts noted. A late-year
date may be OK- October/November may be OK on that side of the mountains.
Doo Wop III & IV (March 13 & 14)
Counting 60% toward National ProRally points, the turnout was 33 or so cars. Clearly the class of the field was Paul Choinere's Hyundai. Other cars of interest were a multitude of Volvo's, a BMW and 2 Audi's. The rally's were on State lands in Capitol Forest, northwest of Olympia. RASC had a Saturday Stage, chaired by Vince Plancich. This has been called many names, but we referred to it as the "B-Line". Vince raised barely enough workers, and had adequate coverage of the stage. Tom Masterson/Sherri Jones were the start Ham's, and Nolte took care of Finish duties. Notes from the Flying Finish: The drudgery of laying and picking up the landline in the rain and sleet caused a change of plan- it wasn't done! By moving the "mark" down the road a few hundred feet, the cars could be timed from the STOP Control car. Dave Folker was confident he could do this, and it was a much more comfortable situation. Both Vince and John Nispel looked at the situation, shook their heads, but approved the arrangement. It worked fine, with consistent timing. I laid out 3 pneumatic tubes across the "line", wired to lamps. These would flash as the rally cars crossed them. This hasn't been adopted by everyone for reasons soon discovered. Although the area is gravel, spikes or nails can't be driven into the roadbed- it's a fairly solid pile of rocks, pounded solid by truck tires over the years. Of the 3 lamps, one hose was thrown off the road by a passing car, another light bulb stuck in the "on" mode. One out of 3 worked for the second running, which was good enough. Besides Dave, Tom Palidar and his friend Mike Hoffman manned the Finish. Tom uses this as an excuse to picnic, and brought roast beef this time. The stages were typical: two cars went off the road enough to DNF the stage, both without injury. The sweep car towed two out, on tandem ropes. Sort of a train. The Hyundai finished the stage, wherein the driver jumped out, grabbed his towrope from the trunk and was standing by his car when the next car, an Audi, arrived. The Audi got the time card and pulled forward the precise length of the towrope. Just as they were "hooking up", one of the codrivers yelled "Not in a control zone!" The Hyundai was pushed forward to the other side of the sign and they left. All we could say was "What was that all about?" It was a very smooth operation! Sunday featured the Brooklyn Stage, a monument to Ray Damitio's perseverance. The stage 1) closes down the main road into Brooklyn and 2) crosses the county line for two counties. Getting a "use permit" must be a daunting task. Dave Folker and I met in Oakville, then looked over the Stage, visiting the famed Brooklyn Tavern. Although the place burned down years ago, it was rebuilt to look the same as it always has. Bob and Penny Murphy were warning cars about the road shutdown, and Bob volunteered that the old wood in the Tavern was reused from old buildings. Anyone who claims this isn't a spectator sport wasn't at this stage.
People everywhere, some with lawnchairs and coolers (and passing squalls
didn't make this just "pleasant outing"). Parking was tight, but there
were awesome viewing spots, too. Dave and I got a particularly good spot
(I volunteered to HAM, then passed the job to Lee Chambers). The "cautioned"
corner saw one spin, and some flamboyant driving; we "graded" the cars-
the rear wheel drive cars received the most points, especially the Volvo's.
The downside of the spectating is always one fool who wants to try it himself.
The radio net crackled with a description of the car, and Ron Barker was
on the cell phone to arrange a meeting of the county police with the driver,
whose progress was tracked via HAM radio!
Trivia Rod Johnson got the blue Tourismo running, although it took some effort. This car was originally "built" by Roy Ward for gravel use, but he didn't fit", so sold it to the Breazeales. They moved to Alaska and had it for sale. Rod was looking for some "wheels" for his teenage daughter, and bought it. Now that it's running, he's decided that it is a bit too much car for a "learner". Tom Palidar has started his NWRC promotion campaign. This is colored flyers for the Friday Niter series. The March Friday Niter had 10 cars. Steve Roberts laid out an exquisite little tour with enough trappiness to catch the Nolte/Simons team in the classic communication" problem- about 8 minutes worth. As an experienced rallymaster, Steve picks his speeds very carefully, often very slow. This tends to extend the agony of discussion as the rally team(s) try to decide if they are on-time or even on course. Nolte is looking for checkout crews to preview the Raindrop course. This will run in "realtime" on Sunday, April 25. For various reasons having to do with road use, the Wild West Pro-Rally weekend has been postponed a to June 18/19 (Friday night/Saturday). This conflicts with ORCA's TSD rally, with a new date to be announced. John Nispel says he's missing some control signs. If anyone has them,
he'd sure like to get them back.
Wild West Postponed!
The Heart of Darkness is an all night time-speed-distance event, part of the BC Rally Championship following the 1999 BC Rally Regulations, which are available from Rally Pacific Motorsports, Paul Westwick (604) 682-3296. The rally runs on straight-forward instructions, and will be approximately 475 km in length with roads about 60% gravel and 40% paved. Maximum distance between gas stops is 300 km (180 miles). Required equipment: 1 reflective warning triangle, 5 BC fire extinguisher, basic first aid kit, open cars require a roll bar. Recommended equipment: map light, driving lights (strongly recommended), clipboard, pen. Each leg of the rally will end with a gas or rest stop, and is divided into Transit stages and Regularity stages. Transit stages give a stage time which is adequate for completing the stage well within posted speed limits. Your time will not be recorded in Transit stages. Regularity stages list specific average speeds, which are below posted speed limits, and which you must maintain in each part of the stage. Timing controls will be in Regularity stages only, and will not be placed within 200 metres of stop signs or busy intersections. Procedure when approaching a control is simply to drive straight past without stopping. The control official will record your time. For double checking the results, you may wish to note the time and mileage at each control but this is not required. Your timing in these stages determines your score. Timing is to the second, with one point per second early or late from absolute rally time. The lowest score wins. The maximum penalty at a control is 300 points (5 minutes) to a maximum of 600 points (10 minutes) in any one regularity. Control officials will remain in place at least until all remaining cars are beyond 10 minutes late. Ties will be broken by the most zero scores, then the most 1 second penalties, etc. Exceptions to scoring: a competitor coming upon an accident is required to stop and render aid if possible. In such cases, the competitor should record the time and mileage in the stage, and the time lost as a result and give a written declaration of this to a rally official or the event steward. Unless it is determined that the incident did not occur as declared, the declaration will be accepted and the remainder of the leg scored as if delayed by the time lost. Hence, lost time must not be made up until the next end of the leg. Declarations of time lost will also be considered for organizers' errors which make official time unattainable, and other discretionary safety concerns. Prizes will be awarded for overall position and according to the following classes: Novice: Neither team member having entered more than 3 TSD rallies prior to the current year, and equipment lmited to calculator class. Paper: No calculators, rally tables or accessory odometers. Calculator: Accessory odometers, non-programmable calculating devices which are not driven by a wheel. Unlimited: Unlimited equipment. Historic: Vehicles manufactured more than 25 years ago, as per the date stated on the vehicle registration. Navigation equipment must either conform to Calculator class or also have been manufactured nore than 25 years ago. The organizers reserve the right to upgrade entries to the next class if less than 2 vehicles are entered. Officials of the Event Rally Masters: Martin Wilson (604) 683 6517, <martin_wilson@bc.sympatico.ca> Bill Westhead (604) 258-2758, Registrar: Lucia Wilson (604) 683 6517 Steward: TBA Tentative Schedule Saturday April 17, 1999 Start location: TBA. 9.00 pm Late registration 9.00 pm on Technical inspection 10.30 pm Drivers' meeting 11.01 pm First car out Sunday April 18, 1999 8.00 am End of rally Entry Fee: $60 (USD 45) for entries received before March 31, 1998 $70 (USD 55) for late entries $10 discount for WCRA members
Rally Car:
69 Pontiac GTO (Project Car) I have all the part except for an engine and transmission. Nice project car. Asking $600.00. Call Kirk or Terry Simons at 425-806-1741 1990 Audi 80 (non quattro) 134,000 miles. New timing belt, exhaust. Nice alum wheels. Black paint, tan interior. Hella 3000's mounted up front. Asking 6400.00 obo. Contact Jim Streicher 360-240-1214 marbee@email.com Please forward any items for sale to Terry Simons, e-mail: tjs9820@gte.net.
or call 425-806-1741
Information made available from Ben's Rally Page
The Wishbone Alley Gazette is published for the members and friends
of the Rainier Auto Sports Club. Subscription prices $10 per year. The
NEW editor is Terry Simons, phone 425-806-1741. Contribution and paid /
unpaid ad eagerly received at 4029 228th St Se Bothell, WA 98021
or e-mail to tjs9820@gte.net.
It's that time of year again. Starting in January membership is due.
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 Terry Simons, phone 425-806-1741. Contributions and paid/unpaid ad eagerly received at 4029 228th St SE, Bothell, WA 98021
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