BK Karl has once again graciously offered his facility for our Annual Tech Party. It will be held starting at 12 noon on Saturday, April 14, at Bob Karl Sales and Service at 2791 Sixth Avenue, Troy, NY. If you have not [...]]]> from Jack Hanifan’s Competition Report in the February Knock Off

Annual Tech Party

BK Karl has once again graciously offered his facility for our Annual Tech Party. It will be held starting at 12 noon on Saturday, April 14, at Bob Karl Sales and Service at 2791 Sixth Avenue, Troy, NY. If you have not already done so, now is the time to start getting ready.

Noteworthy rule changes

D. Displaying Minimum Weight

Except for classes in which there is only 1 required minimum weight (i.e., ASR, FB, FC, FE, FF, FM, FS, FST, FV, SM5, SRF), all cars shall display the correct minimum weight specified in the current GCR in a manner that is clearly legible to the scrutineers at the scales. Cars that are run in more than one class must display the correct minimum weight for each class so that it is clear which weight applies to each class.

The above rule change appears in the February GCR, it is a change from the original rule which detailed the size of the numbers and letters. Use common sense and help our tech workers. Remember, sometimes the workers read the numbers from drivers right and sometimes from drivers left. Place your weight on both sides of the race car and make it large enough to be legible.

Helmet Requirements

2 Crash helmets approved by the Snell Foundation with Snell sticker 2005 or later Special Application (SA2005) or SAH2010, or by the SFI with a SFI Sticker SFI 31.1, or by the FIA standard 8860-2004 or later, or British Standards Institute BS6658-85 type A/FR. The back of each driver’s helmet shall be labeled with a minimum of the driver’s name. Effective 1/1/12 the use of a head and neck restraint system that has been certified in accordance with SFI 38.1, FIA 8858-2002 or 8858-2010 is required; an SFI 38.1 or FIA 8858-2002 or 8858-2010 label must be properly affixed to the device.

Accident damaged helmets should be sent by the driver or his or her representative to the Snell Memorial Foundation, 3628 Madison Ave., North Highland, CA. 95660 (ph) 916-331-5073 (attn. Edward B. Becker). Details of the accident should be included. Freon based total loss helmet cooling systems are not allowed.

As stated above, SA2000 helmets are no longer compliant, SA2005 and SA2010 are OK.

Head and Neck Restraint Systems – As stated above head and neck restraint systems are mandatory as of January 1, 2012. Note that the system must also have a SFI or FIA sticker. This means if you have a HANS or other device without a sticker, you have to send it back to the manufacturer go get it re-certified.

Join Mohud SCCA for our first Winter Kart Series. If you are going stir crazy like the rest of us, who do not ice race OR have winter homes near Florida tracks – THIS IS IT! Some MoHuders have planned a winter karting series at Checkers [...]]]> Register in advance for each event at motorsportreg.com

Join Mohud SCCA for our first Winter Kart Series. If you are going stir crazy like the rest of us, who do not ice race OR have winter homes near Florida tracks – THIS IS IT! Some MoHuders have planned a winter karting series at Checkers Out in Johnstown, N.Y. The first several dates have been worked out, and depending on turnout, the remaining season will be scheduled. All are welcome! Read through the following details.

Follow the 2012 Winter Kart Series at the forums.

Dates

• Event 1 — Saturday, January 14 at 3 p.m.
• Event 2 — Saturday, February 4 at 3 p.m.
• Event 3 — Saturday, February 25 at 3 p.m. – Because of a 20 entrant limit, please register only if you’re sure. We can do a waiting list if necessary.
• Event 4 — TBD?
• Event 5 — TBD??

Location

Checkers Out Speedway
www.checkersout.com (and on Facebook)
2299 State Highway 30A, Johnstown, NY
indoor slick track oval

Details

• Must bring a helmet (only requirement is DOT-approved, open-faced or closed-faced fine)
• Each event capped at 20 entrants
• $10 registration fee at your first event, good for all season
• $400 rental fee/event split among entrants (=$20-$40/entrant depending on turnout)
• Entrants will be divided into two groups, with each group racing in a 50-lap feature race.
• Transponders on karts, scoring handled by facility
• Sign-up details to be posted soon!

Questions? Post them up here or contact Eric Smith (EJEvo8@gmail.com).

You do not need to attend all of the events, but think of how much fun you will have if you do (har har). Watch the forums, this page, and the Knock Off for more info.

See something out of sort, not functioning, or missing? Contact Zeke [...]]]> Rich Welty and Eric Smith did the heavy lifting over new year’s weekend to get the main .org domain pointed to the new website, and today I reflashed the forums and upgraded them to the latest version of PHPBB3. Stay tuned for future progress.

See something out of sort, not functioning, or missing? Contact Zeke at zekew1@gmail.com or comment on this post.

Jeff K models his raffle winnings — a Shinsen Version hat and emasculating Miata tie. He also picked up the Driver of the Year award in Solo.

The 2011 season awards banquet [...]]]> Download final results for the full 2011 Solo season, and season-end standings and trophies. Or view final results online via Google Docs

Jeff K models his raffle winnings — a Shinsen Version hat and emasculating Miata tie. He also picked up the Driver of the Year award in Solo.

The 2011 season awards banquet was held Dec. 3 at the Troy Elks Club (same as 2010). It’s located at 134 North Greenbush Road / Route 4 in Troy, just south of Hudson-Valley Community College. Following is the bulk of the awards and trophies as presented at the banquet.

by Regional Executive Russ Burckhard, excerpted from the January 2012 Knock Off

Street Survival Appreciation Award

This year in association with Patroon BMWCCA we held our first Tire Rack Street Survival Event. For those who do not know what that is, it is a program that is geared to helping young drivers the opportunity to learn how to drive their vehicle under some extreme conditions. The training includes driving and class time that takes over where driver’s education leaves off. It gives the students the opportunity to see what their vehicle will do when it is pushed to its limits in a controlled environment. These are situations that more than likely will arise at some point while driving down the road. These students now have a good idea what will happen and what to do when it does. We have already heard of a few students that have avoided accidents because of this training.

MoHud has wanted to put on a Street Survival event for a number of years. We were lacking a site that could handle it. Last year Fortitech allowed us to use their site. This year I asked them if we could gain an extra weekend so that we could put on a Street Survival event. They were excited at the opportunity and even helped to get us a tractor trailer from Auto Solutions for one of the exercises. With the approval from the Solo Advisory Committee, the event was scheduled to happen.

Bill Wade, the National Program Manager for Street Survival, had nothing but good to say about the event and the amount of volunteers and the enthusiasm that they had for the program. The parents and students also had nothing but praise for the program as well. All of this would not have been possible without the efforts from everyone that had helped with the event. Thanks to everyone that had helped with this event. While it took many to make the event happen, it was the efforts of one that we are recognizing tonight.

The wheels were set in motion and the planning for the event started. After a slow start, something wonderful happened. Will Schambach stepped up and asked if he could be the event chairman. I stepped aside and let him run with it. Will worked hard to get the right people in all of the right places and made sure that they had what they needed to get the job done. He made sure that all of the necessary materials were in place and that all of the details were taken care of. It is my pleasure to award Will Schambach with the Street Survival Appreciation Award.

PDX Appreciation Award

For the second year in a row MoHud has put on a Performance Driving eXperience. Last year was held at Monticello Motorsports Park. This year it was held at Lime Rock Park. In my opinion this event could not have been much better. The staff that was assembled was second to none. The participants had a full day’s mix of classroom training and driving time. The instructors were well-suited to handle the task of teaching a range of drivers from first-timers to experienced racers. The track workers and specialty chiefs all handled the event like they have been doing it for years. The truth is that many have been doing what they do for years. Patroon BMWCCA has been holding these types of events for years. MoHud is fortunate that many of Patroon’s members are also MoHud members. Without the help from Patroon’s members, our event would not be the success that it was. The person that put all of this together is DJ McArdle. It is due to his leadership that this year’s PDX was such a great event. It is my pleasure to award DJ McArdle with the PDX Appreciation Award.

Solo Trophy Winners

2011 was another good year, with seven points events, three test and tunes and a first Street Survival event. The point events averaged close to 50 participants at each event. This is up from last year, and we had better weather.

• Stock

5th Place from CS Kevin Gebert
4th Place from FS John Danese
3rd Place from ES Tom Moeller
2nd Place from CS Greg Cuda
1st Place from GS Bill Bennett

• Street Prepared

4th Place from FSP Lyndon Peck
3rd Place from CSP Bert Huiest
2nd Place from DSP Bruce Kosakoski
1st Place from DSP Will Schambach

• Prepared Modified

2nd Place from CP Arne Beebe
1st Place from CP Russ Burckhard

• Street

6th Place from ST Allan Varcoe
5th Place from SM Jeff Kanetzky
4th Place from ST Ian Wallace
3rd Place from ST Carmine Russo
2nd Place from SM Phil Shoemaker
1st Place from SM Eric Smith

• Street Tire

3rd Place from ASP Steve Jones
2nd Place from HS Robert Harrington
1st Place from ESP Devin LeMoine

• Novice

4th Place from BS Dean Baker
3rd Place from CS Scott Cherry
2nd Place from CSP Andrew Lauria
1st Place from SS Keith Lauria

Specialty Trophies

Novice of the Year
The 2011 winner was the toughest pick again this year. We had several nominees that made impressive debuts. For the winner, while some of his finishes were not as good as the other nominees; they were respectable. He was open to criticism and accepted the suggestions from others and made steady progress throughout the year. Several voting members commented on how they were impressed with the results of the competitor given the preparation level of the competitor’s car. In a very tight battle of the brothers, the 2011 Novice Driver of the Year is Andrew Lauria.

Most Improved Driver
The nominee for this year’s Most Improved Driver had an outstanding year. He made huge improvements from last year. Last year his average finish in class was around 15th in Stock. This year his average finish was 4th but he finished 5th in the Stock group. The 2011 Most Improved Driver is Kevin Gebert.

Female Driver of the Year
This year we had 2 competitors eligible for the Female Driver of the Year; Gabby Varcoe and Tracey Burckhard. Anyone of them would be a good choice for this award, but we had to narrow it down to one. The winner started off strong with a third place finish at her first event of the year. She followed this up with 3 6th place finishes in a row despite being hampered by a growing belly. Her final event of the year she managed a 6th place finish in a car she wasn’t used to competing in, just 1 week after giving birth. The 2011 Female Driver of the year is Tracey Burckhard.

Driver of the Year
This year’s Driver of the Year had some impressive finishes. He had finished the top of his class twice and captured a fastest time of the day and a fastest Pax along the way. Even though he only made it to 5 events this year, he did all of this in a borrowed car that sometimes wasn’t arranged until the morning of the event, and was never in the same car twice. Each time he beat the car owner’s time. Would the owners of those cars that Jeff co-drove and beat like to stand up? The 2011 Driver of the Year is Jeff Kanetzky.

Worker of the Year
The Worker of the Year is another tough award to give out as there are many that do so much during the year. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone that has helped with the Solo program this year. This year’s winner was asked to step up and take over for a recently vacated position. He did this even when he had to entertain relatives from out of town and could not stay to compete. He came to the event, did his job, and then left to do what he needed to do. When he was able to stay, he helped out with timing usually as an announcer. For those that have heard him at the events, they can attest to the quality of his color commentary. For those that have not heard him, you are missing out. The 2011 winner of the Worker of the year is DJ McArdle.

The 2011 season awards banquet was held Dec. 3 at the Troy Elks Club (same as 2010). It’s located at 134 North Greenbush Road / Route 4 in Troy, just south of Hudson-Valley Community College.

At the October general membership meeting, the club ruled to pay a “tow fund” for entries in the 3 major championship events: the Runoffs, Solo National Championships, and the ARRC.

We ruled to pay out the usual $200 per entry in these [...]]]> Posted: Chip VanSlyke, MoHud Treasurer
Post subject: Tow Fund for 2011 Championship Events

At the October general membership meeting, the club ruled to pay a “tow fund” for entries in the 3 major championship events: the Runoffs, Solo National Championships, and the ARRC.

We ruled to pay out the usual $200 per entry in these events contingent on submission of an article to the Knock Off. However, due to limited funds this year we ruled to cap the total at $1000. If we get more than 5 entries, we will divide the $1000 among all entry/article submissions.

To be fair, we are allowing until the end of November for people to submit articles to the KO. The $1000 will be split between all entries who submit (not publish) articles before Nov. 15.

—Chip

Open to any MoHud member who attended any one of the above three championship events and will write about the experience for the Knock Off. Send article submissions to Lisa Hanifan, Knock Off Editor.

Deadline is November 30.

The Northeast Divisional Mini Con will be upon us November 4-6th at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga Springs. Please give some thought about attending this event. MoHud needs some help with this event. Contact Jack Hanifan or Russ Burckhard for more info or to help out.

Where — Holiday [...]]]>

The Northeast Divisional Mini Con will be upon us November 4-6th at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga Springs. Please give some thought about attending this event. MoHud needs some help with this event. Contact Jack Hanifan or Russ Burckhard for more info or to help out.

2011 Mini Convention details

Where — Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center, Saratoga Springs, NY

• Room Rate $99.00 – newly renovated rooms with refrigerators, walk to shopping and fine restaurants, casino and harness racing within one mile. More information at www.spa-hi.com.
• To make room reservations call (518) 584-4550, and mention SCCA / Sports Car Club of America for our discount group rate.

Holiday Inn Saratoga Springs Hotel
232 Broadway, Route 9, Downtown Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Springs, NY
(518) 584-4550

Schedule

Friday, November 4, 2011
• Registration and Welcome Party — 7-9 p.m.
• NeDiv Scheduling Meeting — 9 p.m.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

• Registration — 8-9 a.m.
• Meeting with Directors — 8:30 a.m.
• Club Racing Meetings

Head and Neck devices
Divisional Administrator sessions
Open Stewards meeting
NARRC and NYSRRC meetings
discussions on SM Tire rules for 2012

• Solo, Rally, and PDX meetings
• Street Survival and more
• Awards at the Saratoga Auto Museum — Saturday evening

Sunday, November 6, 2011

• NeDiv Council business meeting — 8:30 a.m.

Registration fees and info

Full Registration $85 includes: all meetings, breaks, and meals
Saturday meetings only: $50
Cocktail hour, food, and awards at the Saratoga Auto Museum only: $35
Special MoHud reduced fee for meetings and meal: please inquire.

To Register — email Jack Hanifan (JackHanifan@hotmail.com) with the following information:

• Name
• member #
• Region
• name and title for name card
• beef or fish for meal (indicate if you have special diet needs – vegetarian, etc.)
• type of registration (full, seminars only, museum only)

Mail check payable to: Mohawk Hudson SCCA. To Mo-Hud SCCA, 39 Ramsey Place, Albany, NY 12208

-reg closed, event over-

SCCA Level 1 PDX Lime Rock Park, 497 Lime Rock Rd, Lakeville CT

Saturday, October 22, we visit scenic Lime Rock Park for a fall foliage driving experience. Drive the challenging Lime Rock Park full 1.56 mile course. Lime Rock Park is about 1 to 1.5 hours south of Albany.

“The Tire Rack Street Survival program hosted on September 17th as a joint venture between MoHud SCCA and Patroon BMWCCA was a resounding success. The event was held at the Fortitech warehouse facility just off the grounds of the Schenectady County Airport in [...]]]> by Will Schambach, originally appearing in the October 2011 Knock Off

“The Tire Rack Street Survival program hosted on September 17th as a joint venture between MoHud SCCA and Patroon BMWCCA was a resounding success. The event was held at the Fortitech warehouse facility just off the grounds of the Schenectady County Airport in Glenville.

When planning started for our TRSS program around 90 days ago, I was encouraged that there was tremendous support from both the MoHud and Patroon communities and that we had so many capable volunteers who ended up making the event the success that it was.

The initial focus for the program was to cap the program at twenty students, and we would have one instructor per student. When the event registration was finally accessible to students we had no doubt we would be able to fill our program number for students. Word spread to the MoHud and Patroon communities and we drew a number of students from those clubs. The rest of the registrants were friends of club members or friends of other registrants. No other outreach was made and we were able to fill our twenty-student objective a couple of weeks before the event. We even ended up with four students on the event’s waiting list.

Outreach to instructors was of more concern for the event. Obviously we wanted the highest quality instructors from the two clubs and also wanted to fulfill our one student per instructor objective. Thanks to the efforts of DJ McArdle and our TRSS Chief Instructor Kevin Belden, our event was set up for instructors on Motorsportreg.com. Email blasts were sent to all individuals who had instructed for Patroon and/or MoHud events in the past. Response for instructors was somewhat slow but we did sign up roughly half those needed early on. Our one-to-one number looked to be difficult to attain.

A few weeks prior to our event we were still shy of meeting instructor numbers. I decided to reach out to some newer autocrossers who hadn’t any previous instructing experience. All were individuals I have driven with on-course, or I’ve instructed at autocross schools. I was confident they would fulfill their roles in our program. The response I received was very positive. These individuals were thrilled at being asked. I was very pleased with how seriously they took the task. They all asked for instruction materials prior to the event and made sure they understood what needed to be done on event day. I think being asked to participate in such an important event has provided some validation for these newer region members that they are an important part of our organization.

We ended up having a few more instructors than registered students and the decision was made among the event Chiefs that we would open registration up for a few more students. With last minute cancellations of some instructors and students we were able to accept all of our wait-listed students. With those added we ended with 22 students and one instructor to every student. This allowed Chief Instructor Kevin Belden to move from an active instructing role to support for our instructors during the day and talk individually with each and every parent present about the program and the progress of their child.

Since this was our Region’s first TRSS program, it is program policy to have TRSS National Director Bill Wade provide instruction for the classroom portion. Our future classroom chief Brian Bailey was present all day to follow Bill Wade to learn the ropes of the classroom instruction program. I’m sure Brian learned a great deal in the nearly eight hours of classroom presentation done twice to provide all students in the split-session format that was run.

The hands-on portion of the program started with a panic stop “wake-up” exercise. After which the group was split in two, half making their way to the course and the other half to the classroom. We were lucky enough to have services from the Air National Guard who provided a 4000 gallon pumper truck and at least four guardsmen to flood our skidpad course with water. In combination with a freshly sealed surface, the water made sufficiently slick conditions for students to experience and learn control with under- and over-steer conditions, and, of course, was lots of fun to watch! If the cars wouldn’t provide oversteer on their own, our instructors were sure to adjust the physics of the chassis by pulling the e-brake handle.

From the skidpad, the students could head to the full course which was a slalom linked by chicanes into a tight turn linked to a lane change linked to a stop box. Early in the day, most instructors stopped students after each individual element to provide feedback. Later on in the day as their skills progressed, students were encouraged to link exercises together at increasing speeds with mandatory stops only after the lane change and stop boxes.

For increasing their interest and challenge, later in the day, students linked the skidpad into the full course. Additionally, the slalom was changed to provide offsets, differing space between gates, and even helpers throwing cones out as avoidance drills. A bent stop box was set up at the end of the course providing a turn-and-brake maneuver. I didn’t get a chance to watch every element in detail all day but I can tell you from the really tentative “panic braking” done early in the day to the really hard (but controlled) screeching brake-and-turns happening later in the day by EVERY STUDENT, these kids learned a enormous amount about what their car can do in emergency situations.

At the end of the day all students were provided a program completion certificate. More importantly, they were provided the tools needed to become much safer drivers on the road. Our event objective was completely fulfilled and the feedback we got from both parents and students was unilaterally positive. As a bonus, everyone had a great time even those students who were not eager participants at the start of the day.

As a past instructor for one of these TRSS programs, I believe our instructors were more fulfilled from the experience than they may have thought they would be. After reflecting on my instructing experience, I really felt we made a huge difference in the student’s life behind the wheel. I have no doubt that many lives are saved because this program or ones like it provide these students with great new driving skills. Scott Goodyear put it well: “Usually the first time a young driver has their car skid or slide underneath them, they’re on their way to their first accident.”

I owe a large debt of gratitude to our TRSS Chiefs. They really did make my positon as event chair easy. They are: Lora Kanetzky, Ron Bass, Brian Bailey, Bert Huiest, Kevin Belden, and DJ McArdle. Thanks also to Russ Burkhard for being the liaison to Fortitech and to the trucking company which provided a semi-truck for a mirror demo. In particular, thanks to DJ McArdle and Kevin Belden who were on the receiving end of countless emails from me and as event day got closer, the number of those emails grew exponentially. Eric Smith and Jeff Kanetzky also provided immense help and gave their time to the program and are huge assets to the Region.

Thanks to Fortitech for allowing us the use of the site, SODEXO for providing lunch for everyone on site, and the Air National Guard for the pumper truck and personnel.

Thanks to the following people for instructing. You did the “heavy lifting” for this program and made it what it was: Ron Bass, Kevin Belden, Bill Bennett, Michael Breault, Jim Bucci, Russ Burkhard, Ron Carl, Matt Collings, Kevin Gebert, Tom Hansen, Rob Harrington, Jeff Kanetzky, Doug Kelley, Bruce Kosakoski, Keith Lauria, Phil LePore, Chazz Logue, Tom Moeller, Lyndon Peck, Phil Redington, Moises Samaniego, Eric Smith, and Jon Staude.”

from Russ Burckhard’s RE report originally appearing in the October 2011 Knock Off:

“The Tire Rack Street Survival program was held last month. Will Schambach had put together a great group of people to pull the event off. The Joint efforts of Mohud and the Patroon BMW club made for an event that Bill Wade, the National Program Manager for Street Survival, had nothing but praise for. He said it was the best first event that a region had put on. That is something all that helped out with should be proud of. The students started the day off not knowing what to expect. They got more than they bargained for. Every one of them left with a big smile after they drove their parents around the course to show them what they had learned. The parents had smiles that were just as big. You could see how proud they were to see their kids use their newly acquired skills knowing that those skills may someday save their kids lives. I have heard nothing but positive feedback from everyone in attendance. Students, parents, relatives, instructors, volunteers, and spectators were all happy with the way the event was held. I am asking that we do at least 2 of these events next year. Who is with me on this?”

Saturday, September 17th, 8:00AM-4:30PM Rudy Chase Dr. and Route 50, Glenville, NY 12302 Registration is $75 and is open to teens ages 15 to 21

The primary emphasis of the Tire Rack Street Survival® is a “hands-on” driving experience in real-world situations! We use your own car to teach [...]]]> REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE AT MOTORSPORTREG.COM

Saturday, September 17th, 8:00AM-4:30PM
Rudy Chase Dr. and Route 50, Glenville, NY 12302
Registration is $75 and is open to teens ages 15 to 21

The primary emphasis of the Tire Rack Street Survival® is a “hands-on” driving experience in real-world situations! We use your own car to teach you about its handling limits and how you can control them. The students will become more observant of the traffic situation they find themselves in. They will learn to look far enough ahead to anticipate unwise actions of other drivers. As the students master the application of physics to drive their cars, they will make fewer unwise driving actions themselves. They will understand why they should always wear their own seatbelts, and why they should insist that their passengers wear seatbelts, too.

It’s about more than driving – it’s about LIVING!

Fortitech will be the site of our first of (hopefully) many Street Survival schools on Saturday, September 17. The club will be looking for anyone interested in volunteering to help run the event. Details will be posted as they are available. Additional information and volunteer sign-up available on the forums.

All Schools $75
Register now
See our FAQ page here. Any questions after reviewing the FAQ page can be answered by Bill Wade, National Program Manager, @ 502-649-4871 (8 am – 8 pm EST)

Fortitech will be the site of our first of (hopefully) many Street Survival schools on Saturday, September 17. The club will be looking for anyone interested in volunteering to help run the event. Details will be posted as they are available. Additional information and volunteer sign-up available on the forums.

For more information about Tire Rack’s Street Survival program, visit here. A local Street Survival school will stand to be a valuable resource for young drivers in our area. The event will require volunteer staff to run — Russ has a tentative list of what staff we will need to run the event. Head over to the forums to get into the conversation.

WHAT IS? from streetsurvival.org

The primary emphasis of the Tire Rack Street Survival® is a “hands-on” driving experience in real-world situations! We use your own car to teach you about its handling limits and how you can control them.
…
How long do Tire Rack Street Survival® events last?
This is a one-day class. Most start early in the morning and end late in the afternoon.
How much is the course?
$75 per course, per person.
What is the minimum and maximum age a student can be to participate in a Tire Rack Street Survival® school?
Licensed or permitted drivers, ages 15 to 21 are allowed in the program.
More Frequently Asked Questions