November 2000
Rainier Auto Sports Club
Rally News
Followup- Wild West stage rally- by Mark Nolte
The HAM coordinator, Lee Chambers, sent out the HAM
packets a full week before the event. One less thing to worry about and I was able to
fiddle the gathering and assembling process. Much kinder for those of us driving down from
Seattle.
Workers: At the Start, Mike and Gretchen Jones greeted the arriving rallyists. A short
distance beyond, Kirk and Terry Simons timed the cars off. They were all
"linked" by FRS radios.
Parked in the woods, Jarvis Owens "road guarded" the long road up to the
radio towers. He had a quiet time, and his hound slept through the whole thing (come to
think of it, the dog sleeps through every rally)
Parked on the mainline was Duane Lewellen and his oldest son. Mom (Carol) had another
commitment, but volunteered her family.
Eric Horst, who mentioned that he had a Ham radio with him, covered the last spot.
"Huh, I asked?" "Oh, I've got a license for it." He replied. "I
wish you'd let me know- we can take advantage of that talent." "Well, I haven't
charged the battery lately"
The Finish crew all fit into Tom Palidarıs van, and that's how they eventually
arrived. (Tom tried a new route to get here). Their location had to be moved upstage a bit
when the nearby gravel pit turned "active" for the morning.
Mikes Workman and Daily covered the Flying Finish, while Tom and Joe McLaughlin handed
out times at the STOP control. Gary Reid showed up in the blue MGB and regaled theses
newcomers with tales of the good ol' days. Wish I was there.
With all the competent workers, I was detailed to build hamburgers. These barely got
delivered in time. After all the machinations and excitement of a national rally, the
hamburgers got the most comment.
Go figure. - Mark Nolte
October Friday Nighter- Kirk Simons
With the unfortunate cancellation of Night on Bald Mountain, the October Friday Nighter
gained a few more competitors than what was expected. At least the weather cooperated.
The teams headed off into the early evening to decipher the route instructions and stay
on course as best as possible, while the Rally Master prayed there wouldn't be a lynch mob
waiting for him at the finish.
One by one the teams rolled in, with somewhat mixed feelings and a few questions. It
soon became apparent that I had kept the competitors too busy with the route instructions
as there were a lot of missed checkpoints and several time decs. turned in.
All in all, it still turned out to be a good evening of fun. Once again I would like to
thank everyone who helped out with the Rally and those who participated in it.
Canceled Rallys:
The Nite on Bald Mountain was cancelled when itıs October 14 date was the same as opening
day of hunting season.
On Vancouver Island, things are worse. The Coast to Coast Rally news release said it
well:
"Glyn Trafford, Rally Director for the Island Rallysport Club, pulled the plug on
it today. "We have been dealt a virtual death blow by the complete lockdown of
logging company holdings leading out of the Victoria.
"The shortage of the 'normal' complement of competitors from the Vancouver area,
coming after the financial loss because of low entry levels in Edge of the Rock 2000, has
given us major concerns." (The Edge of the Rock stage rally had 9 entrants; the
Midnite Rally (TSD) drew four cars.)
Hello RASC, 10/24/00
C. Breazeale
Life in rural Alaska is very,
very different from life in West Seattle. For
one thing, I’ve been waiting almost 2 weeks fo a rotor for my Saab. For another, we used to either work or run a rally
at least once a month. Now a rally is a very
special treat. So I should recognize that
this year has been especially nice . . . .
If you’re a member of RASC or
a subscriber to the WAG, you’ve read the articles I’ve written this year about
taking 2nd place in the T-Bird Rally; helping
to set up & work the Alcan 5000 Winter Rally, (winging my car off the road backwards
near Champagne, Y.T. on the course survey), meeting the “Round the World in 80 Days
Rally” in Anchorage, and finally trying an SCCA Arctic Chapter Road Rally.
Anyway, we finally got the RV Park
shut down just last weekend . . . . in the snow!!
We’ve moved into The Sprucewood
Lodge, an awesome 3,500 sq. ft. 3-story log lodge right on the Kenai River in
Soldotna. There’s no garage or shop
space, but for free rent & utilities offset by just a bit of housekeeping. I guess we
can rough it this winter. Jim likens it to
staying in an hotel for 6 mos. For free.
He’s now working on an
offshore drilling platform and is only here on the weekends, so I have the run of the
place all by myself most of the time. He had
to shave, though. Imagine Jim, whom
we’ve known for 20 years with a beard . . . without a beard .
. . . strange . . . .
The lodge is a “bed-&-breakfast”
so I have to clean rooms occassionally (whenever folks are crazy enough to visit this part
of Alaska in the winter), visit with the tourists & set out “breakfast fare”
(bread, muffins, bagels, cereal, fruit, coffee, juice, hot cider & chocolate, etc.,)
for the aforementioned crazy folk; & for that we get a room 5 X larger than our 123
sq. ft. “office/summer home” trailer at the RV park. Awesome, Huh??
We plan to run Gary Webb’s
Grand Canyon Tour Rally in January. Hope to
see you there!!
Club News--------------------
Elections at the November meeting: The RASC method is for the members to vote for the
Board, and the Board selects officers in a meeting preceding the January meeting.
The NWRC may meet in December to select dates for various events, and decide who'll do
which Friday Nighters.
The 2001 NW Pro-Rally schedule should be available at the November meeting.
TRIVIA ---------------------------------
* Dave Folker retired the Sirocco, got a green Toyota Tacoma.
* Roy Ward got bored with the Lumina, got a white Chevy Monte Carlo.
* The Graffıs have taken up residence in Deer Park Their address is:
42617 N. Short Rd.
Deer Park, WA 99006,
phone 509-262-9681
* Pete and Connie Linde sold their Auburn house and are moving to Buckley.
*Whatever happened toŠRich Roberts? :"I left my job at Ravenna for a very
successful independent garage in Marysville. No freeways and congestion for us.
"Thanks for all the fun, maybe our paths will cross again. If youıre are up in
Marysville, Stryker Brothers is at 1036 Cedar. ( I still have my Saab 99 and my bug-eyed
Sprite)."
* Wayne Moddison is recovering "on schedule" from his heart surgery. He expects
to be back at work around the end of November.
* Tom Palidar took his vanagan into the shop, and the nice folks at Campbell-Nelson VW
supplied him with a "loaner" for the weekend. He got a call from the service
manager later that week. They put the loaner van on their diagnostic tester, and it
revealed some trip details that Tom thought should remain secret. The car had a memory!
For Sale : ------------------------------------------
Call Jerry & Colleen, 425- 823-6343 about:
* 1987 RX-7. 5-speed, sunroof, new CD player, runs good. $1500.
* 1988 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 Sport. 5-speed, 4.0 engine, alloy wheels, good tires, good sound
system w/CD. $2200.
* 1989 Dodge 2.5 turbo motor w/ Auto trans still attached. $300.
* 1991 Yamaha 650 VXR Jet Ski. Seats 2, includes 1998 trailer. $1600
RASC Calendar---------------------------
Call the NWRC Hotline (206) 256-9627 for latest info on Puget Sound TSD events.
November 18 Armageddon TSD ("monte carlo"), Bellingham. 4hours, "all
paved", Registration Noon, FCO 1:01PM, Rallymasters: Lingblooms (360) 733-8897
(e-mail: slingbloom@nas.com www.nas.com/cscc
December 2- Rumors of a stage event on Oregon, but no info reached the WAG news desk at
press time.
2001 SCCA National Schedule---------------------
January 26-27 Sno*Drift; Atlanta, Michigan
March 15- Cherokee Trails, Chattanooga, Tennessee
April 7-8 Oregon Trail, Tillamook, Oregon
May 4- Rim of the World Palmdale, California
June 1-SusquehannockTrail, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
July 27-28 Maine Forest, Rumford, Maine
August 17-18 Ojibwe Forests, Bemidji, Minnesota
September 7-8, Wild West, Olympia, Washington
October 5-7 Prescott Forest, Prescott, Arizona
October 19-20, Lake Superior, Houghton, Michigan
----------------------------------------------
Rainier Auto Sports Club will meet this coming Monday, November 13, 2000, 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: We'll have gentle and well-mannered presentations by the candidate for the 2001
Board, and then vote. Unlike a recent election. There'll also be discussion of events for
2001.
Nolte may have tales of the Totem Rally.
2000 Board Members:
President: Terry Simons- 425-806-1741; Vice-President: Jerry Hines (425)823-6343
Secretary: Pete Shelton- 206-365-4173; Treasurer: Ed Millman (206)361-7389
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 ads eagerly
received at 2108 NE 12Th. St., Renton, WA 98056 or e-mail: mnolte@qwest.net
Rainier Auto Sports Club, P.O. Box 852, Kirkland, WA 98134
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