Chuck Wins in Indy

Two Saturday's ago (10/18/2008), I was at a Hockey game with some friends, and my Team-mate John Ryan e-mail's a link to a post on the SCCAforums, concerning an Event 10/26/2008.

<http://sccaforums.com/forums/permalink/326010/328005/ShowThread.aspx#328005

As a principle member of Team AwesomeSauce, I was a bit disturbed by the comment, my racing colleague Geoff made... as well as his allegations. A fire lit inside me. I sent out a couple e-mails to wrangle together some local drivers who may have skipped the event due to late-season symptoms. Things like corded tires, destroyed clutches, etc.

We decided to throw John Ryan into STFU STi in the SMS class, and Melissa Britten (A budding Fort Wayne Region Star) into STU L. And Of course, I'd be in STU-X. X designating the Indy region Pro-class to show Geoff an others I didn't wear woman's underwears (well, sometimes on my head, just after they've been finessed off).

First heat was cold (low 40's) and drying conditions. Luckily, none of us had to drve until the 2nd heat, where both my co-drivers were placed. John's first run in the car yielded ended up being his fastest and .001 behind the multi-year reigning SMS Class Champion..Ending 2nd in a hugely subscribed SMS Class.

Melissa who typically drives an H-Stock Corolla did very well in the STi. After her first run she seemed out of breathe and surprised that a Subaru not only had "turn-in" but would also hang it out. She won STUL by 7.815 seconds. Which would have put her 6th of 9th in the STU Open class... and 4th in the SMS Open class running the same heat. DESTROYING drivers in their own cars...

Both seemed to comment on how predictably the car would rotate/slide around a variable 270 degree sweeper at the beginning of the course.

STU drew 3rd heat to run. My first run was sloppy as hell, one section walked WAY faster than it drove. so i dove into this section, and slid the car side-ways into a cone-wall.. Horrible time.. sickening sloppy run. Came back to grid frustrated, Heard The local hot-shoe (one of my hero's), Kevin Kent come in with a blistering 52.1... barely heard the time being announced over the cheers. I was happy for him, but still hung my head, My day was over. Or so i thought..

.. Went out for my second run, just going through the motions.. kept it nice and smooth, accelerated hard, what the hell, i had nothing to loose. Came into a display reading 50.955.. My jaw dropped, along with about 30 spectators. Timing and scoring paused the event to make sure it wasn't a timing error. at this point Kevin and I were fighting over top-time of the X-class.

Kevin was supportive as usual, If you ever encounter him, you'll note his graciousness, and willingness to help. We discussed shift points, and an apex section. I took on a passenger for my 3rd run.. which I told, not to expect another sub 51sec run, but we went 50.783. Kevin went faster to a 51.432, but still not enough to catch the STFU STi. Our 4th runs we went slower, I had a slide which ate a good second from my time., and Kevin dropped a couple thousandths. Which is a real testament to his computer-like consistency and perfection. So WE won it. Team AwesomeSauce was taking the traveling Pro-Class Trophy Home for the winter. During the drive back home, Kyle Mavis, who was commuting in the STi posted this:

<http://sccaforums.com/forums/permalink/326010/329272/ShowThread.aspx#329272

Quite Appropriate, don't you think??

Final Results here:

<http://indyscca.org/SoloFiles/SoloResults/2008/ev7/event%207%20-%20102608_fin.htm

<http://indyscca.org/SoloFiles/SoloResults/2008/ev7/event%207%20-%20102608_pax.htm

I'm So stoked from the results of the win, I've registered for the Florida State AutoX Championships. I'll be leaving next Thursday for Sebring. Hopefully, thanks to the help from the guys at Turn In Concepts, Dunlop Tires, and my teammates, We'll Continue the pwnage

Chuck McMillion

Last Ditch Racing takes on the Laurentian region!

September 11, 2008

Bangor, Maine USA

Last Ditch Racing headed to the beautiful Laurentian region North of Montreal for round 4 of the Canadian Rally Championship, Rallye Defi-St. Agathe.

Driver/owner John Cassidy was joined by co-driver Dr. Jennifer Daly for this event. Recce went smoothly, and Friday's smooth, short stages were seeing the crew get used to each other and some recent modifications to the car.

It all went pear shaped when the team refueled the car prior to embarking on the last few stages of the evening. Shortly after exiting the refuel area, the car died. Cassidy attempted to trouble shoot, but other than cranking the car and popping the hood to look for loose wires, there wasn't much to do.

Being just outside the service area, the crew opted to get pushed back in for repairs/troubleshooting and take a penalty for illegal servicing. Hoping to get back to the parc expose in downtown Ste. Agathe on time, members of several rally teams swarmed over the car. It was determined that the the recent fueling was to blame and the fuel tank was drained, showing a large amount of water in the fuel. A new fuel filter was sourced from the Subaru Canada support truck and the team was on their way to expose. The team had filled some fuel jugs from a half full barrel back at the shop, and the only explanation was that rain water found it's way into the drum.

Unfortunately for the team, although they had arrived at parc expose 22 minutes prior to their assigned out time, they had accrued maximum permitted lateness for the entire event. The Stewards informed the team that they would not be able to restart the second and final portion of the event on Saturday.

Said Cassidy, "Fielding a rally team is a huge endeavor on many levels for all competitors. Crew had flown in for the event from opposite ends of the continent, 100's of hours of car prep had gone into making sure the car was perfect. Te be struck down by something that was essentially non-rally related was heart wrenching for me as a team principal. Telling the team we were out was one of the most difficult announcements I've made to them in some time. We loaded a car that was ready to race back on the trailer and headed out for a late dinner. There was no other alternative, and at the end of the day, that's rally."

Not a team to dwell on the negative, the LDR service crew volunteered their to fettle the Washpa Rally Team's Toyota MR2 for Saturday's stages. Cassidy hit the stages with pro photographer Mark Fleming and found out how difficult it is to catch rally cars in action-especially on a rainy day!

Last Ditch Racing would like to thank Jen Daly for strapping in the right seat and bringing chocolate chip cookies! We'd also like to thank Iain from Planet Motorsport, Karl Sprongl and Steward Ho from CanJam Motorsports for their help in the service park Friday night. We'd also like to thank crew on hand for the event: Duncan Matlack, Dave Getchell and Ken Anctil.

The team's next event will be Rally of the Tall Pines and possibly the LSPR rally in the UP of Michigan in October.

Last Ditch Racing Takes Double Win at New England Forest Rally 2008!

Bangor, Maine USA

Last Ditch Racing, defending 2007 Rally America Eastern Open Class Champions, took the overall and Open Class wins in both the Mexico Regional Rally and the Berlin Regional Rally at last weekend New England Forest Rally. Their performance was enough to earn them a fifth place overall in the national portion of the event, after starting 16th. The team set several top 10 stage times and set personal team records on seven stages. The New England Forest Rally, held in Western Maine and parts of New Hampshire, is Round 6 of the 2008 Rally America National Championship and regarded as one of the roughest and difficult events in the Championship.

The team began 2008 by taking the overall win at the Team O'Neil Rally in New Hampshire in icy conditions. The team continued on their winning streak by taking an award for the longest jump at the recent Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs in Quebec and finishing 10th overall in the national event. The recent wins at the New England Forest Rally give the team a commanding lead in the Rally America.

Driver John Cassidy and Co-Driver Dave Getchell drove a tidy and quick event and brought their 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX STi home relatively unscathed. Said Cassidy, "This result is the equivalent of a win for us. To be 5th overall after a past production car world rally champion and two series contenders is amazing. Maine is known as a rough event and this year was no exception. We kept out of the scenery and had only one puncture, with the tire going flat after we were done with the stage. Dave and I were at the top of our game and reached a new level of performance in the car. We were definitely pushing and this is an event we'll remember for a long time!"

Some not familiar with the team were surprised with their impressive finish, but Cassidy expects more of the same in their remaining events this season. "We really struggled with development of our current car early on, leading to some poor finishes and a season where we went from fourth in the Championship to not scoring any points at all. Since last fall, we've hit our stride with the car and recent additions to our service crew have bolstered our confidence."

The team had close battles with Dave Mirra and Jeff Moyle, both piloting Subaru STi's prepared by Vermont Sportscar. "The cars we were racing are quite advanced relative to ours. Our ace in the hole was our experience and perhaps our advancing age! Both Dave and Jeff were right there throughout the event and our ability to avoid drama put us in a position to take 5th. On the final stage, we caught two cars near the end and literally had to stop in the thick dust because we just couldn't see the road. Mirra told me when he came through he didn't have any dust to contend with and that made me worry that he had perhaps caught us. He took 30 seconds out of us, but it wasn't enough and we held station."

The Maine Forest Rally 1999 was Cassidy's first event in a Honda CRX. "The team has made obvious significant strides over the last 9 years. We've still got plenty of room for improvement, but our hard work over the years as a privateer team is starting to pay dividends when we achieve a result like this. To have our career best finish at home after such a long time in the sport is a dream come true. It definitely fuels us to strive for bigger things in the future. We've been asked recently if we'd consider a full US national schedule next year, and while we'd love to do that, we'd need far more external support to do it properly. Time will tell!" The team's next event will be the Rallye Defi-St. Agathe in Quebec, Canada.

Chuck's Ramblings about the Oscoda Michigan Divisionals

Oscoda Michigan Divisional...
http://www.soloseries.org/2008/08DET_fin.htm

(Note; dual course. morning/afternoon.)

In the afternoon.. I made 1 run in my car.. traded Azmath cars for the second run (he drove the STfU STi and I drove his Mazda 3) then 3rd run I traded John.. (I hate Neons now more than ever!!!!!)

They LOVED the STi!!!!

The courses were HEAVILY FAST-R-comp-car biased.. ESP, SS, BM, CM
PAX results reflects that.

The top 20 on pax was almost reciprocated at the OVR Divisional.. with the same people.. due to asphalt vs concrete.. and a less biased course layout.


Sunday:
http://www.nworscca.com/modules/event_results/results/2008/2008_e5_web_files/2008_e5_web_index.htm

(note: I was the only one in the top 5 (maybe more) that had NOT driven this course (they set up the same course.. twice a year.. and let people try to set the class record...)

I was in first heat.. Greg was 3rd heat.. and has driven this course... twice a year since OCT 2004.

ALSO..

I broke the old STU record by nearly a second... which stood for 4 years.

This was using an economy tune.. all weekend.. driving..to / from events... and at the event.... the tune is good for 27.15 MPG... I'm sure i could have picked up an easy 1/2 second with more power.

The car is great... too much rear camber though...(-1.9) adding camber bolts this week (while the wheels are off to change brake lines) and re-aligning to -1.2 ish...

Thanks for your help!!!
Chuck

Williams, Carlton, TiC Headline 2008 Roadrally Season

Columbus, Ohio

Having completed the first 3 events of the 2008 season, the 2005 Impreza 2.5RS wagon campaigned by T. Williams (williaty) and M. Carlton is making a strong showing thanks to support from Turn In Concepts.


The season opener for the Central Ohio Rally Club was the Mad River Run rallymastered by Willams and sponsored by Turn in Concepts. Taking place over 120 miles of twisting, blind, and narrow gravel and tarmac roads in Union, Champaign, and Logan counties in Ohio, the rally saw twice the usual number of entries due to Subarus competing for a generous prize donated by Turn In Concepts and the promise of challenging driving.



Round 2 of the 2008 season was the annual River Run, rallymastered by Eric Jones, retired pro-rally (including WRC) driver and navigator. The Run followed more than 300 miles of the most challenging and technical roads in Ohio. 93 cars started the event in Canal Winchester and 92 of them finished in Zanesville (1 Triumph was lost on course, we suspect it's in someone's pocket). Along the way, the route took teams along US-33, through Hocking Hills, portions of Wayne National Forest, along the Ohio river, and up State Route 555. Defending the Subaru name against many British sports cars (including a Lotus Esprit Turbo) were 3 Imprezas from Central Ohio Subarus and a brand-new 08 STi from Cleveland. The 4 cars quickly formed a convoy led by the TiC-sponsored RS wagon of Williams. Only Williams had remembered to bring
a navigator. Over the course of the day, the convoy was given the point-by from every other car, failing to finish 1st only due to the small matter of the STi nearly running out of gas miles from the nearest 93 octane pump. However, all 4 Subarus counted the day a major success and well worth running again.


The Champaign T Party made up Round 3 of the 2008 season. Held in Champaign county, Ohio, the rally covered 75 miles of back roads. Many roads were repeats from the season opener. However, ODOT had decided to smile on rallyists everywhere and had liberally coated the entire
county in fresh gravel. Roads that had been clean tarmac in April were an inch deep in gravel in June. The target speeds had been set when the roads were tarmac, so the actual pace necessary for the rally was, to say the least, brisk as it wound through blind square left after blind square right. Williams and Carlton fared well, placing 1st in Class as well as 2nd Overall. Running in the least-equipped class, Seat of Pants, Williams and Carlton recorded a 0 (perfect time!) on
Stage 4 and a 3 the very next stage, scores typically only seen by the highest Class of computer-guided cars. Williams and Carlton are hoping to continue this success throughout the 2008 Season, putting the TiC Rally Cow on the podium each month. With 3 events remaining in the 2008 Season, including the Ohio Forest Rally which takes place on the historic Sunriser Rally pro-rally stages, Williams and Carlton are determined to make a strong showing for the honor of wagons, NA's, and TiC.

Last Ditch Racing flies high and far at Rallye BDC-Readies for NEFR!

Bangor, Maine USA

Last Ditch Racing flew high and far at the recent Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs, in New Richmond Quebec. Round three of the Canadian Rally Championship, the event, is known for it's driver's stages, combining technical sections with fast flowing sections. Conditions this yearwere especially difficult due to recent rain.

Finishing 10th overall, the team set 8 top 10 times out of 17 stages. A record 46 competitors took the start of the event, 27 finished and19 DNF'd, attesting to the difficulty of the stages.

The team took the DC Shoes sponsored, "Longest Jump Award," after flying their 2003 Subaru WRX STi 116 feet off the famous jump at the end of the Camp Brule stage. Said driver John Cassidy, "The first time through Brule, we had a flat on the rear so couldn't take the jump with any speed. We only had one more pass and wanted to give the fans something to remember, so took the jump in fifth gear!" The team landed hard, nearly knocking co-driver Dave Getchell unconscious. Said Getchell, "That's the biggest hit I've taken without crashing!"DC Shoes principal Ken Block, suggested the award and won the rally outright in his 2008 Subaru Impreza STi, driving for the Subaru USA Rally Team. Block's jump was 115 feet. "Ken has really progressed in his driving over the past few seasons and devoted himself to the sport. His progress has been impressive and I think we'll see a lot more of him in the years to come," said Cassidy.



The event was universally praised by the crews. "We've been coming to the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs and have encouraged other US teams to do so. It's almost like one of those secrets you don't want to share with anyone, but we love the event and encourage all our fellow US
teams to come up. It's clearly the top event in the North American calendar at the moment. We'll be back in 2009 and I'm sure more US teams will as well!"

The team's next event is their home event-The New England Forest Rally. Held in Rumford, Maine and based out of the Sunday River ski resort, the event is known for it's fast and flowing roads that are also filled with car breaking rocks. Said Cassidy, "This was our first event in 1999, and we've been there every year since. Because it's our home event, we tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves. Coming so soon after Baie adds another degree of difficulty as there's
car re-prep to do as well. The Fourth of July weekend will be a work weekend here at Triple Caution Farm!"


The team is hoping for a repeat of their 2006 10th place finish. "Erik and I finished 10th that year after a really clean run over the two days. We're hoping for a repeat and will do our best to give the home fans something to cheer about this year!"

For more information on Last Ditch Racing, please visit: http://www.lastditchracing.com
To Purchase Last Ditch Racing Gear, please visit:
http://www.cafepress.com/lastditchracing
For more information on the Rallye Baie Des Chaleurs, please visit:
http://www.rallyebdc.com/
For more information on the New England Forest Rally, please visit:
http://www.newenglandforestrally.com/

Brad Withorn (Scooby921)'s ProSolo and Latest SCCA Endeavors!

Well, the Toledo ProSolo was a blast this past weekend. Right from the start I took the fight to 2006 and 2007 STX Pro champs Billy Brooks and Greg McCance. Saturday morning runs finished with me in 2nd, just 0.085 seconds out of 1st. Saturday afternoon we all picked up speed, shaving a few more tenths off of each run. Saturday wound to a close with Greg in first, 0.196 up on Billy, and me just 0.073 behind in 3rd. Sunday was a treat for anyone watching the group. Every run saw positions changing. I jumped from 3rd to 1st before Greg laid down 2 quick times to shuffle me back to 2nd. 5th jumped to 3rd, 4th fell to last...then the second drivers came through and in the end I was shuffled down to 3rd while my co-driver managed to pull himself from last to 5th by taking 1.4 seconds off his time. If I hadn't pushed the car too hard on my last run I might have taken 2nd place, but I had to try for first and gave it all I could. There is no disappointment though, I lost to the eventual overall winner.


Here's the complete list of events I've run thus far. I had to cancel trips to the Peru and Milwaukee nat'l tours due to a lack of funds, but I'll be filling in the schedule with a few smaller events at nearby regions.

April 20 - South Bend Region SCCA event - 1st of 3 in class, 23rd of 86 (this is without having a clean run...clean run would have put me 8th on index)

May 4 - Detroit Region SCCA event - 4th of 18 in class, 5th of 161 overall

May 18 - Michigan Sports Car Club event - 1st of 17 in class, co-driver finished 2nd in class

May 26 - Detroit Region SCCA event - 2nd of 10 in class, 2nd of 92 overall

June 8 - Michigan Sports Car Club event - 1st of 9 in class

June 22 - Detroit Region SCCA event - 6th of 18 in class, 8th of 120 overall

July 5-6 - Toledo ProSolo - 3rd of 8 in class, co-driver finished 5th

*In my local region I run in the "Pro" class, which is based strictly off index times. I run on the STX index, but its basically a fight for the top PAX time. It keeps the top drivers from dominating the other classes and makes everything more fun for the average competitor. The class consists of about 15-20 former national champions and national level trophy winners.


I can honestly say that without parts and support you've provided the car wouldn't be nearly this competitive. After this weekends result I feel like there is a definite chance at taking home a trophy from Nationals in September.

-Brad

Jared Lantzy (Jard) Takes First!

I took first place in prepared AWD (PA) class at the SCCA Easter States Rallycross Championship at Summit Point Motorsports Park in Summit Point, WV on June 14th, 2008!

...powered by Turn in Concepts (at least by the rally cows!).




From the official SCCA blurb (http://scca.com/newsarticle.aspx?hub=2&news=3374):

The day started out beautiful and the course was a good mix of tight technical sections and flat out fast gravel roads. I came out conservative on my first run, just trying to stay on course and ended up setting the fastest first run time for AWD! On the second run I pushed a little too hard and I was 4 seconds slower +2 cones...ack!I almost coned it away completely with that run.

The course was changing all the time as people splashed through the muddy sections and turned dry corners into slip 'n slides but I managed to settle down and finish my next two runs clean, getting faster each time. It all came down to that last run and I had about a 2 second lead coming into it. I blazed through the course and I knew it was fast, but was it fast enough?

When it was all said and done I finished 0.78 seconds ahead of the second place finisher in PA class and 2nd overall out of the AWD cars.

The AWD cars did not get to take any more runs as Mother Nature decided to start dumping rain and lightning on us as we finished the 2WD afternoon runs. Because of that, there's no way to compute a real overall ranking including the 2WD cars, but I did end up with the 4th overall "average" run time.

Now it's on to Nationals in Tennessee in October!

~Jard
teamSPB Racing