2006 Newsletter
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STRUGGLES!!!! - SCAC #9 |
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However, in spite
of the fact I won STS2 to close out the SCAC series season, this event was
not fun for me. The course was great, but I have recently made some setup
changes in the suspension, which have totally left me out in left field. I'll
get them straightend out, but the fun sure was
"sapped" from this day. Other BMW Notes: |
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A Game of Millimeters - CCR #8 |
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Going into the
event, I held a 4 point edge over veteran Miata pilot At the speed we
were traveling, that works out to about 2mm in distance if you want to
imagine the effect of what the photo finish would have looked like if we had
been racing. I finished fourth
behind Rich, as In other BMW
notes, Per Ezelius moved into a 1st place point tie with The last event for
CCR is going to be very interesting. I will try to update with times when the
results are posted, but in the meantime, I'm really looking forward to the
next battle. This is going to be fun to compete in and watch. Thanks for coming
by. |
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Hurricane |
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The two guest
drivers shot it out in the feature event, and Krolly
emerged with the victory over the CRX. Meantime, I was off
"sightseeing" someplace, and forgot to drive. This was my second
worse performance of the year....nuff said. The event offered
a great opportunity to see my car in action in the hands of a great driver,
and after the event, Other BMW Note: Stuart K made it
8-in-a-row in D-Stock, and is starting to look like the SCR "Driver of
the Year" - at least he would get my vote. Per Olof won top PAX in the
Mini as he prepares for the Nationals in More later, and as
always - thanks for stopping by! |
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Continental 24 Hours Autocross |
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September 3, 2006 (Charlotte, NC), The format is
simple. Run as many times as you can over a 24 hour period from noon on
Saturday to noon on Sunday, and whenever you choose to do so, you may pull up
to the starting line and declare an official run which will be scored on the Offical Results. You are alowed
to score six official runs counting toward the final results. The Labor Day
Weekend event annually draws top-flite competitors
from the The official
results may not be sorted and posted for some time yet, but in STS2, E-Stock
transplant Justin Mitchell from Before the dust
had settled on the opening hour of the event, Mineheart,
whom usually drives a Honda Civic SI, had burned a 37.5 which would be the
standard for STS2 for the entire event. I don't believe that time was
achieved by another STS2 car (Pro Class or otherwise) over the 24 Hour
period. I will try to post
more when the official results are available, but let me say I left the event
happy and satisfied with the Z3. I am more conviced
than ever that a Z3 can go to the Solo Nationals in |
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Orangeburg - SCAC #7 |
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It was a good
thing he passed me that info when he did, because newly-minted STS2
competitor Other BMW Notes: |
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HOT Time in |
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While I was
struggling with the heat, Clark Doggett and Marty Bull were struggling with
their Miatas on what was a "Z3 friendly" course. The win was my
sixth-in-a-row this year in the SCAC series, and by my calculations, a
seventh place or higher finish in the next event would sew up the 2006 SCAC
STS2 Championship. The persistence of Marty in this year's SCAC series will
keep him in it to the end. Other BMW Notes:I must wait for the
official results to be posted, but I believe it was a good day for BMWs. I
believe Joe Oliver and Per Olof came home 1-2 in the
pro class, and |
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Victory at NASCAR Tech - CCR #6 |
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The irony is there
is no venue at which CCR competes which affords Miatas a greater advantage
over my Z3 than the small encombered area we have
at NTI. However, It was a tough day
for BMWs as Per Olof struggled to a 7th place finish in pro class, and Shane Eudy's M3 was "broken" as he ran the event in a
borrowed Mustang. The pro class for this event was saturated with national
championship and national trophy winners, and was one to the toughest single
classes I have ever seen. |
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Lowes Motor |
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If you don't want
to take my word for it, just browse through the SCR results at
www.scr-scca.com and look at the D-Stock results for the last couple of
years. Now consider this: not only is his 330cia an automatic, he always runs
on street tires. In addition to that, a lot of you know DJ Bruner whom he
took to wire last year, and that ain't no easy task. In fact, I'm not
sure he can't take my Z3 into a divisional event and break up the CRX parade
better than most of the Miata guys in the southeast have been able to do. And
yes....I know I'm a mile behind Feinberg and Sawyer's CRXs,
but I don't believe Stuart is that far behind. At any rate,
Saturday at Lowes Motor Speedway in a non-points
CCR event that resembled more of a mini-version of a Solo Trials event than
it did an autocross, Stuart destroyed me while I was busy destroying the rest
of the STS2 field. This group included most of the regular competitors in CCR
plus a few from other regions. Stuart beat me by
over a second while I covered third place Justin Mitchell's Miata by a
second. Justin is from The event was run concurently with the annual CCR June Jam Road Race, and
it was good to be around some sports car racers again. It is hoped that this
will introduce some of our autocross competitors to Other than being
hot, it was a great day and everybody had a blast. Thanks, Stuart for
coming up to |
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The Ultimate Zoom Zoom Machine |
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I shoulda' just finished the run and called it quits, but
it was fun watching Mike, who is the
defending NCAC and CCR C Stock Champion has moved to
It was an
impressive win as Mike managed to turn a faster time in the street-tired Z3
than his old rival Bill Crummett was able to muster in his Hoosier shod C
Stock Miata. In fact, the charging Little also was faster on this day than
the C Stock driver. Grumbles win kept
me from falling behind in the point standings, as Rich and I both are tied
after moving in front of an absent I will update
other notes when the official results are posted. Until then, thanks for
stopping by. |
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Hot Town in the Summertime - SCAC #5 |
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Today, the changes
were tire pressures, and after some bad advice from a fellow Z3 autocrosser,
I had to do a mid-event about face just to recover and beat a charging Marty
Bull. Marty is coming on strong, and the For now, at least,
I'm going back to basics which have worked for me in Other BMW Notes:Stuart continued his
winning ways with 5 in a row in D Stock as the destroyed the field on street
tires. I will report more
results when they are offically posted - In the
meantime thanks for stopping in and stay tuned. Thanks Garrett
Knox for the Photo. |
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SCAC Goes Home - SCAC #4 |
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In addition to
that, it's fortunate for me that Summerville is only a dozen miles or so from
In fact, after my
second run of four, Stuart changed my course "attack" strategy
totally, and I was able to carry my Z3 to a new level of performance. This
was the first time I have been within five percent of the FTD since moving to
STS2 this year. Thanks, Stuart.
You've got to be one of the best teachers in the sport today. Other BMW Notes: Stuart K
continued his winning ways in D Stock, making this his 4th win in a row;
Dustin Pike finished a strong second in E Stock driving on R Comp tires for
the first time ever; Don Miller had a great win with his M Roadster in B
Stock; Chris Gillam drove his 318Ti to victory in G Stock; PJ Boykin took
another Street Mod win driving a different car - his e36 M; Wow!!! It was a
great day for BMWs! |
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Drought Ended! - CCR #4 |
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The main attribute
to the win was in the fact on Saturday I had totally "missed the
setup" with the newly installed suspension components. After a night of
hard work, and a very early morning of "test-n-tune," I had the car
to a point it handled better than in its stock configuraton.
On Saturday, I believe it actually handled worse than stock. The course for CCR
#4 was perhaps the best course I have run on in quite some time. The When the official
results are posted, I will update this entry to include BMW Notes - Stay
tuned, and thanks for coming by!!! |
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Tough Day at Knights - CCR #3 |
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I will cover the
event in more detail when I write up tomorrow's event and the official
results are posted, but both Casino and I was struggling
with car setup as I was unable to appproach the
blistering Miata pace set by the Little-Casino pair, but was finally able to
put together a run which was within three tenths of a second of the "dyanmic duo." With the addition
of TCKR Koni Coil-overs I totally guessed wrong on
the setup, but at least we only have to wait until tomorrow to try to correct
it. I did leave With the newly
added feature of negative camber adjustment for the front end, I believe I
have got to go "back to the drawing board" regarding tire
pressures. The Kumho MXs did not respond well to my
customary pressures, and tomorrow lower pressures will be in order. Other BMW notes: I will update in
the second day coverage when the official results are posted, but one thing I
do know is More later, and thanks for coming by!!! |
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A Little Help From Your Friends - SCAC #3 |
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I won't go into a
lot of details, but after driving my car today in "fun runs," and
beating my best time by more than a second, he helped me understand my
steering wheel input in a way I had not experienced since 1979. Oh sure,
there were flashes of that "understanding" last year as I ran
Hoosier tires, but since I returned street tires this year, I have been lost.
Any strides I have made this year were largely due to Stuart's input. Well today, he
took me to a new level. Not just a new plateau to "rest" on, but a
new level from which I can continue to advance. Thanks, Stuart.
You don't know how much I appreciate it. Other BMW notes - |
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Bringin' one Home -
Finally!! - SCAC #2 |
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And....on top of
all that, today's event was held at a venue at which I have never won. But....today it
all came together at BMW US Manufacturing in Greer, and for the first time in
seven tries in less than 2 years, I finally won an event at the birthplace of
the BMW Z3. I'm not going to
say much except "I was ready!" For the first time in my memory, I
went out and ran my fastest time on my first run, and came off the course
thinking that I had just gone as fast as I possibly could go. And for the
first time this year, I was looking at It felt good to
win. Maybe it's time to start prepping the car a little more. I shared some
interesting setup ideas with Stuart K today. Speaking of
.... Other BMW Notes: Thanks to everyone
whom came out, and thank you all for your support. |
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CCR #2 at |
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I appologize to my friends and fellow BMW fans whom often
stop by this site and come out to support me. My efforts will be greatly
stepped up in the near future. Congratulations to
It wasn't a great
day for BMWs, but it was good to have Dustin and Don up from SC with their
Roadsters. Look forward to seeing more of you guys in the future. |
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Cold Day at Orangeburg - SCAC #1 |
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I was fortunate
and excited to edge out Marty Bull in his Miata for the STS2 win. In fact,
until it was over, I didn't even realize he was breathing hard down my neck.
I hope Marty will be a regular in STS2 this year, because great competition
always makes us better drivers. I was also excited
to see so many promising newcomers at this event, and some old faces that did
well. My friend and fellow Mooresville native, Michael Bright, brought his
350Z to O'Burg and took top time of the day, as
well as top PAX time. Congratulations, Michael! Also there is
quite a bit of good BMW news from SCAC #1. Dustin Pike came out in his 1.9
Z3, and finished 3 in E Stock, narrowly missing second place by less than .2
seconds. Jay Weathersby ran a strong 3rd in the always strong DSP class, and
this time had some e30 company from Zack Hawkins who finished less than a
second behind him and in front of his Dad, David. I believe this was Zack's
first event on R comp tires. Way to go, Zack! Per Ezelius won
PRO class in his Mini S, and Greg Lipscomb won G Stock by beating Teresa
Hammock. Additionally, Mike Vitha brought his Z4
from That brings us to
D Stock where I simply felt
faster today - thanks Stuart. Next event is
"HOMECOMING" as the SCAC travels to BMW Manufactu
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STS2..A New Beginning - CCR #1 |
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The bad news is: For the first time
in his young Solo career, Having 5 entries
is good news for the fledgling STS2 class - especially in the STS2 is a Street
Touring (Street Tires only) class which was created in 2004 by the SCCA to
provide a venue for 2 seat sports cars to compete on street tires. I am excited about
the prospects for the class in 2006, and even more excited about the
prospects of competing in CCR and the SCAC in only one car this year.
Particularly one car for which I do not have to transport racing tires all
over the This will be a
season-long development of last years SCAC Championship winning 1.9 Z3, and I
hope the rest of the year is as rewarding as the first event in CCR for 2006!
Other BMW Notes:
Joe Olivera and Per Ezelius were 1-2 in the Pro
Class with Minis; Tony Hodges drove Chuck Tegeler's
new "Monster" e30 to 2nd in SM in the car's first outing; and.. More later...Thank you. |
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2005 Newsletter |
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