May 2017
www.cascadesportscarclub.org
ISSUE 5
EL PRESIDENTE
Hello members,
By the time your read this memo we should have completed our first event and hopefully we had a
great weather that always turns to a great turn out.
I like to say thank you to the following people (Gary “honorable” Bockman, Dave “wonderful” Reihl,
Signa “superwoman” Vernholm and Scott “generous” Goodrich) that spends hours to clean out and
organize our equipment at North paddock. I also I like to say thank you to all the volunteers that has
spend countless hours at the all kind of events to promote the Club.
Our new web site is being prepared and it will go online any day. We all have to say a monster
thanks to Charles “Master Craftsman” Freeborn. He has certainly exceeded my expectations.
Here is your chance to be a star. If you have any short videos of any kind of auto racing put it on
YouTube and send me the link and we will put it in our website and you may get lucky. Who knows,
Hollywood may call. Also if you have any cool pictures of the race events email it to me. The idea is
when people visit our website they be able to see that this is a family amateur racing and we are
having a great time. Lastly, if you have any comments on the new website feel free to share them
with us.
This could be the last Auspuff you may be receiving by regular mail. It costs the club about $300 per
month to print and mail the Auspuff. That is $3,600 per year. If you are one of those few that have
no access to Internet you need to contact Steve Powell and confirm your mailing address so you
continue receiving your news letter by mail. We will continue emailing the Auspuff so if you are not
receiving it, contact Steve to confirm your email address. Keep in mind that you can always find the
last four years of the Auspuff newsletter on CSCC website.
Till next time, think SUN SUN SUN and more SUN. Otherwise if this rain
continues, the track may be converted for boat racing so we may all have
to trade in our race cars to some kind of watercraft!
MJ Hajari
President
#08
[email protected]
1
Upcoming Events
DATE
EVENT
MAY
5
5
6
6-7
7
9
19
20-21
19-21
CSCC DRIVER TRAINING @ PIR
FRIDAY NIGHT RALLY @ Milwaukie Lowe’s 6 PM
CSCC GENERAL MEETING @ PIR end of race day
ROSE CITY OPENER @ PIR
AUSPUFF DEADLINE
CSCC BOARD MEETING @ 6:30PM Elmer’s Delta Park
IRDC DRIVER TRAINING
IRDC RACE #2 @ Pacific Raceways
ORSCCA SUPER TOUR RACES @ PIR
JUNE
2
3-4
4
7
9
13
23-25
CSCC DRIVER TRAINING @ PIR
CHICANE CHALLENGE @ PIR
CSCC GENERAL MEETING @ PIR end of race day
AUSPUFF DEADLINE
FRIDAY NIGHT RALLY @ Milwaukie Lowe’s 6 PM
CSCC BOARD MEETING @ 6:30PM Elmer’s Delta Park
RACE #5, #6, #7 @ SCR
2
CASCADE SPORTS CAR CLUB
http://www.cascadesportscarclub.org
President
Majid “MJ” Hajari-Zadeh
[email protected]
503-807-5539
Vice President
Vince Vavrosky
Secretary
Emily Smith
[email protected]
360-607-1180
Treasurer
Bob Peters
[email protected]
503-365-8680
Director
Olivier Henrichot
[email protected]
503-896-8821
Director
Gail Fetterman
503-860-6870
[email protected]
Director
Linda Blackburn
Dragondreams21
@gmail.com
360-513-9769
Director
Steve Powell
503-632-3446
[email protected]
Jason Brassfield
[email protected]
Director (Alt)
CASCADE CONFERENCE REPRESENTATIVES
E-Board Rep.
Bob Hillison
E-Board, Alt. Rep.
503-522-1553
[email protected]
OPEN
Competition
Committee
Vince Vavrosky
Contest Board Rep. Contest Board, Alt. Race Officials Div. Rep.
Chris Heinrich
Kimberly Kuzma McFar503-690-0939
Open
land
[email protected]
[email protected]
CASCADE RACE OFFICIALS
Race Chairman
Gary J. Bockman
[email protected]
(503)209-6349
Asst. Race Chairman
Kai Keliikoa
[email protected]
Starter
Ralph Hunter
Kim Kuzma McFarland
[email protected]
Communications
Bonnie Aarseth
bonnieaarseth
@gmail.com
Teresa Hanken
Timing and Scoring
Linda Blackburn
360-513-9769
Dragondreams21
@gmail.com
[email protected]
Tech
Steve Lovejoy
rattlesnake-pete
@hotmail.com
Driver Services
Kasey Klaus
503-929-0054
[email protected]
Registration
Gail Fetterman
503-860-6870
gailfetterman
@comcast.net
Pre-Grid
Julie Riehl
360-513-6728
[email protected]
Hot Pits
PERSON NEEDED
Weigh Master
Gary Ridgon
[email protected]
Safety
Adam Jacobsen
360-751-5152
mightymouseracing
@yahoo.com
Co-Flag Chiefs
Holly Remington
[email protected]
Ali Montgomery
[email protected]
Equipment Manager
Scott Goodrich
360-606-9447
slgoodrich001
@gmail.com
Pace Car
Tim Stanley
503-693-8139
[email protected]
OPEN POSITIONS
Announcer
Paddock Marshal
Course Marshal
CASCADE COMMITTEE CHAIRPEOPLE
Dash for Kids
Signa Vernholm
Dashforkids
@gmail.com
503-720-7971
Banquet Co-Chairs
Kimberly McFarland
[email protected]
Carol Faris
[email protected]
Auspuff
Tucker Sheppy
CascadeAuspuff
@gmail.com
Marketing
Linda Blackburn
360-513-9769
Dragondreams21
@gmail.com
Webmaster
Mark Estes
Volunteer Coordinator
Kimberly Kuzma McFarland
[email protected]
Parliamentarian
Scott Faris
[email protected]
Membership
Steve & Julie Powell
503-632-3446
[email protected]
Calendar & Activities
Gear Grinders
Points Keepers
Grace Skinner
[email protected]
Drivers Training Chair
Tracy Klein
360-904-9999
racergirl0110
@yahoo.com
Historian
OPEN
[email protected]
Kim McFarland
[email protected]
OPEN
CASCADE SPORTS CAR CLUB, INC AUSPUFF PUBLICATION
The AUSPUFF is published monthly for CSCC, Inc. The contents are the sole responsibility of CSCC, Inc. The AUSPUFF and its contents are
copyrighted © 2011, by Cascade Sports Car Club, Inc., with all rights reserved. Unsolicited articles and photographs are welcome. No responsibility is
assumed for their return. Opinions or viewpoints expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of Cascade Sports Car Club, Inc.. Please
send items for publication to the Editor at the above e-mail address, to: PO Box 4304, Portland, OR 97208, or bring them to the monthly meeting.
Articles are greatly appreciated. The AUSPUFF is provided at no charge to all members of Cascade Sports Car Club, Inc. Send all address changes
and advertising, both classified and display, to the above address. Submittal deadline is the 7th of each month.
3
CSCC General Meeting Minutes – April 1, 2017
Meeting Started: 7:30pm
Board Members: Steven Powell, Bob Peters, MJ Hajari-zadeh, Gail Fetterman, Vincent Vavrosky, Emily Smith, Linda
Blackburn
Absent: Olivier Heinrichot, ALT; Jason Brasfield
Reading of March general meeting minutes dispensed.
Announcements
Guests: No guests.
*contact information for committee heads is available at www.cascadesportscarclub.org*
Committee Reports
 Activities & Calendar: Kim Kuzma; Absent, MJ reporting- The last minute booth at OMSI After Dark was fun. Weather was
decent. While attendance was not as strong as last time, there were still some interest and exchange. The contract from Sheraton Inn has been acquired. Things look to be in order, but Gary Bockman is going to attempt/speak to World of Speed to see
if they can meet the Sheraton Inn costs so we can hold our banquet there. Auspuff: Tucker Sheppy – No report.
 Suggestion made by MJ Hajari-zadeh that the Auspuff become a bi-monthly, online newsletter. This will save us a significant bit of money by the end of the year, as the average monthly cost of printing and shipping the Auspuff is over $300. To
accommodate the number of members who would be unable to view an online newsletter, a limited number of hard copies
could still be printed and shipped first class. The BOD will come up with a finalized proposal at the April Board meeting.
 Charity Event: Signa Vernholm- Donations and sponsorships are still coming in. So far the numbers sit at 17 donations, 7
promised donations, 5 paid sponsorships and 71 persons/companies contacted. If you have possible sponsorship contacts or
are interested in donating yourself, please contact Signa Vernholm.
 There will only be one raffle ticket this year. There are 2 prizes for giveaway, and the buyer will have to indicate
which prize they will like to enter for at time of purchase.
 Contest Board: Chris Heinrich- No report.
 Driver School Chair: Tracy Klein: absent, Brett Mckown reporting- There are just around 24 drivers already signed up for
the May drivers training, a solid early number. Of those already signed up, there are about 6 or so using the Groupon promotion. The Groupons themselves have sold out, but we are waiting on them to be redeemed through motorsportreg.com. All
schools for the remainder of the year have been posted on motorsportreg.com.
 E-Board: Bob Hillison (absent)– No report
 Enduro: Chris Heinrich – The format for the October enduro has yet to be decided. If you have any ideas on how you would
like to see the event broke down, contact Chris Heinrich. He will be sending out a survey after the Rose City Opener.
 Geargrinders: No report.
 Historian: (open position) – No report.
 Marketing: Linda Blackburn – Marketing for the year has so far been going very well. We had great turnout at the Portland
Auto Show and Portland Roadster show, with nearly all of our wallet cards handed out, and we would like to thank all the
volunteers for helping with these events. The next big event Marketing plans on attending is the Oregon Trail Rally (April 21
-23).
 We have a stack of color posters with race dates and general CSCC information for display. If you know of good
locations to post these, please contact Linda Blackburn.
 Linda is currently in the process of getting price quotes for CSCC emblem stickers, window clings and patches.
 Also, Jo Maloney is out of the hospital and doing well. She’d like to thank the club for their well wishes and the
flowers.
 Membership: Steve & Julie Powell – New members announced to membership for approval: Steve Jensen and Patrick and
Sherry Hague. There were no objections.
 Points Keeper: Grace Skinner – Don’t forget to send in your points for ALL CSCC events attended. If you’re not sure if an
event counts for points, send them in anyway. Points are totalled at the end of the year for prizes.
 Race Chair: Gary Bockman- Not much to report. The schedule has been finalized and approved, including the June Double
race weekend.
 ROD: Kimberly McFarland – The Road Race Marshals 101 is being held April 2nd at 9:00am. There will be no fire school at
the training (that will be held later in the year). There are 18 confirmed RSVPs, with two of those coming from Seattle. The
Ridge/IRDC training was canceled due to lack of interest, making ours the only marshals training in the PNW.
 Treasurer: Bob Peters – no report.
4
CSCC General Meeting Minutes Continued

Website: Mark Estes; absent- A big thank you to Charles Freeborn, who is currently in the process of rewriting our website for
an easier to navigate formatting and better compatibility with cell phone use. Good content is needed to make a website successful. If you have photos or video from CSCC events, please contact Mark Estes.
Old Business
No old business
New Business
No new business
Meeting adjourned – 8:39pm
Dash for Kids
WOW!!! As of the beginning of April we have 11 sponsors and 16 auction donations. A
BIG THANK YOU to Rhom Innovations, Lucky Dog Racing League, The Smythe Co., Mark
Scholz Portland Homes for Cars, SAFaris Motorsports, Marque Motors, Casa belle, A Framers Touch, Woodstock Motor Sport with Mt Hood Miata Club, Millennium Graphics and
Forms, and Interstate Special Events as sponsor s. We still have r oom on our t-shirt for 2 gold, 2
silver and 1 bronze sponsors. Don’t wait too long to claim your spot on. I also have opportunities for
sponsoring our tent and dinner.
Our committee is working hard to make this year’s event as successful as past years. Please consider
helping us. We need help with securing donations either monetarily or items for the Danny Frasier
Silent Auction. Remember all checks need to be made out to CSCC Charity Fund. Reaching out to
your favorite restaurant, retailer, sports or recreational venue for an auction donation is easier than
you think. I can provide you with our donation request letter and 501(c)3 letter. I am also looking for
help at the event: family registration, auction tent, kid’s activities, food pick-up for Saturday and dinner set-up. If you have coolers for Saturday to hold food during the day let me know. If you are interested working on Dash committee or at the event please let me know too. Send me your ideas and
contacts.
I am looking for volunteers that face painters, magicians, artist to do caricatures or anything that kids
would love. Do you have a friend, acquaintance or family member that has a talent? Send them my
way.
Raffle tickets are ready for purchase. This year the tickets at $10 for 2 chances to win, 2018
ICSCC Race entry fee or a $250 gift card. We will be selling these tickets at all events and meetings.
Drivers, it is never too soon to sign up for Noon Time Rides.
Also with the required upgrades to helmets this year, you can donate your old helmets to Dash and we
will give you a donation receipt. See you at the track.
Thank you for your help and support,
Signa Vernholm
[email protected]
503-720-7971
5
CSCC BoD Meeting Minutes – April 11th, 2017
Meeting Started: 6:31 PM
BOD Members- MJ Hajari-zadeh, Linda Blackburn, Emily Smith, Steve Powell, Bob Peters, Vincent Vavrosky, Gail Fetterman, Olivier
Heinrichot Alt; Jason Brassfield
Committee members- Gary Bockman, Bob Hillison, Grace Skinner, Signa Vernholm, Chris Heinrich
Visitors- Charles Freeborn
Committee Reports (Only if any new information from our previous Business meeting)
Motion for approval of dispensing of the reading of March minutes: approved















Activities Calendar: Kim Kuzma– No change from the general meeting.
Auspuff: Tucker Sheppy – The next president’s message will include a request for all members wanting a physical copy of the
Auspuff to contact CSCC membership. The board has been entertaining the idea of sending the Auspuff via email, and would
appreciate the input of the general membership
Charity Event: Signa Vernholm – No change from general meeting.
Contest Board: Chris Heinrich- No report.
E-Board: Bob Hillison – No report.
Enduro: Chris Heinrich – Paving has been scheduled at PIR for the south paddock, unfortunately during our October enduro.
This will make the south paddock unusable and may impact access to the bridge as well. The enduro survey has been updated to reflect the change and will be sent out within the month. Watch your inboxes!
Historian: (open position) – No report.
Marketing: Linda Blackburn – A new order of CSCC ‘business’ cards has been made. The QR code on the back has so far received 28 hits.
 A motion was made for Austin Bradshaw to create a 15-20 minute long promotional video for CSCC, to be used at
marketing events and a shorter video to be used on our website. It was approved unanimously. Payment has yet to
be decided.
Membership: Steve & Julie Powell – 1 new member, Tim Roddick, from BC Canada. The BOD unanimously approves him
to be brought before membership at Feb general meeting.
 There are 181 current members, down from 235 at the end of last year.
 It was proposed by Linda Blackburn that Bob and Kathleen Ames be given lifetime memberships, as they are original
members. Unanimously approved.
Merchandise: Café Press storefront – www.cafepress.com/cascadesportscarclub for online store. No report.
Points: Grace Skinner – 1st quarter points totals have been sent to the Auspuff.
Race Chair: Gary Bockman - The Chiefs Meeting is schedule for May 13, 9:30 at the Elmers at Delta Park.
 The Rose City Opener schedule has been finalized and sent to Rover security. In addition, 2 ambulances have been
ordered for saturday and 1 for sunday, the same as last year.
 Gary has submitted an order for 10 radio mics and 7 batteries. Tentative cost is $1,025, MJ is working to find a
better price.
Race Team: Tracy Klein – No report.
ROD: Kimberly McFarland – The Road Race Marshals 101 was a success with 21 new people in attendance! The interest by all attendees was very strong and we are hopeful we’ll see a majority of them at the track this year. All
attendee information has been given to both ORSCCA & CSCC flag chiefs, so they can invite the individuals to future race weekends. The cost to each club was $63.24 for light snacks and drinks.
Treasurer: Bob Peters – We are waiting on the income from our May race before paying the next insurance installment. The
checking account will be very low, and we are hoping to avoid pulling money from the savings account. Currently both our
savings and CD accounts are sitting at $50,000. The CD account reached maturity April 8th. We have until April 18th to transfer those funds into savings without penalty, which we are going to do.
 MJ is going to do research into local credit unions to see if it would be beneficial to move our savings, and eventually all accounts, out of Chase. Local credit unions typically offer better benefits, better interest rates and more perks,
and may even be willing to sponsor portions of our charity event. MJ plans to make an official proposal by the May
BOD meeting.
6
CSCC BoD Meeting Minutes Continued

Vince Vavrosky, our vice president, is going to be authorized as a check signer. Steve Powell is going to be removed
from that responsibility.
 Website: Mark Estes – Our current website domain is expiring in roughly 3 months. Charles Freeborn has graciously created a
new CSCC website on his own time, which he presented to the BOD this meeting.
 Therese Lombardi has agreed to donate some of her photographs to the new site. Thank you Therese!
 We are hoping to change the emails for the BOD and chair peoples to fixed emails, instead of personal, using the
@cascadesportscarclub.org address. Charles will check to see how many mailboxes we get with the domain.
 The calendar on the site has been changed over to a google calendar, one that can be updated from google with any
changes transferring directly to the site. Kim Kuzma (activities/ROD), MJ (President) and Emily Smith (secretary) will
have the access to this calendar.
Old Business
No old business.
New Business
The club will be looking into sending out monthly email blasts to keep the membership aware of what’s going on in CSCC, potentially through the motorsportreg.com email database.
Meeting adjourned – 8:30 PM.
CSCC Membership Reminder
April 2017
Dear Cascade Members,
Just a friendly reminder to those who have not renewed your membership for 2017………
Your 2016 membership expired at the end of December 2016. Renew early and benefit fully from
your yearly membership. You can either renew through MortorsportReg or if you prefer you can
download a form from the Cascade Sports Car Club website (www.cascadesportscarclub.org) and
mail it to us with a check. The form is found under the “Membership” tab. There is a drop down
with the various forms shown. The web site also has a handy link on the front page that goes directly
to the renewal page at MotorsportReg. When renewing, please verify that all of your contact information is correct.
We will be printing the 2017 Membership Directory probably in late April. All paid members are
eligible for inclusion. Renew soon so you will be included.
Thank you,
Steve and Julie Powell
CSCC Membership
7
CSCC Points Totals as of March 31, 2017
Please note that the totals shown are for " members only" as of 3-30-17. For a view of the entire worksheet for members only, here is
the link to a Google Spreadsheet https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9N8kbMIhPb_QXpmeWJOajNxOXc/view?usp=sharing
Last Name
First Name
Points
Last Name
First Name
Points
Achepohl
Blackburn
Bockman
Bradley
Brassfield
Clark
4
78
30
7
7
7
LeBlanc
Lovejoy
McKown
Moline
Peters
Plavcan
Darrell
Steven
Brett
Robert
Bob
Matthew
10
4
4
4
9
7
Donkel
Dunning
Estes
Fetterman
Freeborn
Goodrich
Hajari
Heinrich
Heinrich
Adam
Linda
Gary
Valerie
Jason
Garrett
Doug and
Heather
Dave
Mark
Gail
Charles
Scott and Kelly
Majid MJ
Chris
Dan
4
4
5
31
14
11
13
33
2
Powell
Powell
Price
Reinhard
Riehl
Riehl
Serna
Sheppy
Skinner
45
14
3
4
4
8
4
12
40
Heitman
Henrichot
Hillison
Jess
Olivier
Bob
8
7
7
Vavrosky
Vernholm
Julie
Steven
Sue
Rich
David
Julie
Addie HH
Tucker
Grace
Vincent and Treavor
Signa
16
16
Notice: Simpson Performance Products Snell SA 2015 Certified Voyager 2
Helmet Recall
Simpson Performance Products has recently discovered a potential safety issue with its Snell SA 2015 Voyager 2 helmet. If the helmet’s chin strap experiences large tensile forces during an accident, it could detach from one or both sides
of the helmet. This presents an enhanced risk of injury to the head should the helmet not be retained in a crash.
Simpson Performance Products is voluntarily recalling the Snell SA 2015 Voyager 2 helmet due to the chin strap’s potential inability to withstand load forces on a consistent basis. The problem was discovered during testing with the Snell
Foundation. We stress that no problems have been reported from the field in nine months of use but in the interest of
racing safety, we are proactively recalling these products and providing our customers with a safe resolution. This recall
applies to the Snell SA 2015 Voyager 2 Model only, sizes Extra Small – Large with manufacturing dates in 2016 only
(the only sizes sold and available to date). It does NOT apply to any other Simpson helmet models with Voyager in the
name, i.e. NOT Snell SA 2010 Voyager or Snell SA 2010 Sidewinder Voyager, etc.
See http://simpsonraceproducts.com/pdf/simpson_voyager_recall_2017.pdf for details
8
2017 CASCADE RACE SCHEDULE
RACE 1
– ROSE CITY OPENER, MAY 6-7 (NO CHICANE)
RACE 2/3 – CHICANE CHALLENGE, JUNE 3-4 (CHICANE)
RACE 4
– DASH FOR KIDS, AUGUST 19-20 (CHICANE)
ENDURO – 42ND ANNUAL CASCADE ENDURO, OCTOBER 14
** NEW FOR 2017 – THE CASCADE GRAND SLAM & CASCADE CUP **
(SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS ON THE CASCADE GRAND SLAM AND THE CASCADE CUP)
2017 CASCADE TRACK DAY SCHEDULE
*FRI. MAY 5 – NOVICE, INT/ADV, HPDE, TEST & TUNE (NO CHICANE)
SUN. MAY 7 – INT/ADV, HPDE (NO CHICANE)
*FRI. JUNE 2 – NOVICE, INT/ADV, HPDE, TEST & TUNE (CHICANE)
SUN. JUNE 4 – INT/ADV, HPDE (CHICANE)
*FRI. AUGUST 18 – NOVICE, INT/ADV, HPDE, TEST & TUNE
(CHICANE)
* = CLASSROOM IS THE THURSDAY EVENING PRIOR TO THE ON TRACK PORTION
NOTE: NO CLASS FOR SUNDAY EVENTS
PRICING: FRIDAY - $135 - $225 SUNDAY - $149 - $199
9
Dash for Kids
WOW!!! As of the end of February we have 4 sponsors and 7 donations. A BIG THANK YOU to Rhom Innovation, Lucky
Dog Racing League, The Smythe Co. and SAFaris Motorsports who were the first to offer sponsorship. We still have
room on our t-shirt for 2 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze sponsors. Don’t wait too long to claim your spot on. I also have
opportunity for sponsoring our raffle ticket, tent and dinner.
Our committee is working hard to make this year’s event as successful as past years. Please consider helping us. We
need help with securing donations either monetarily or items for the Danny Frasier Silent Auction. Remember all
checks need to be made out to CSCC Charity Fund. I can provide you with our donation request letter and 501(c)3
letter. I am also looking for help at the event: family registration, auction tent, kid’s activities, food pick-up for Saturday and dinner set-up. If you have coolers for Saturday to hold food during the day let me know. If you are interested
working on Dash committee or at the event please let me know too. Send me your ideas and contacts.
Drivers, it is never too soon to sign up for Noon Time Rides.
Also with the required upgrades to helmets this year you can donate your old helmets to Dash and we will give you a
donation receipt. See you at the track.
Thank you for your help and support,
Signa Vernholm
[email protected]
503-720-7971
10
CASCADE GRAND SLAM
&
THE CASCADE CUP
Win the same class in each of the four Cascade Championship races and win the
Cascade Grand Slam! Winner s receive a Gr and Slam trophy and $400.00.
All classes that average at least three entries are eligible for the Cascade Grand
Slam.
If the Cascade Grand Slam slipped through your grasp or your class averages less
than three entries, don’t worry, there is still the Cascade Cup!
The Cascade Cup is a championship series that counts points in each of Cascade’s four championship races. Points follow the ICSCC Championship point
structure. All drivers are eligible regardless of club or license affiliation. You
must enter all four races to be eligible. Trophies are awarded to all class Champions. Trophies for 2nd place are also awarded in classes that average at least four
entries as well as for 3rd place in classes that average at least six entries.
See www.cascadesportscarclub.org for point standings
All drivers entering all four Cascade Championship races receive a Denny’s gift
card. So go have yourself a “Grand Slam” breakfast and celebrate what was or
reflect on what might have been!! Gift cards will be distributed at registration at
the Dash for Kids (August) race.
Race 1
Race 2 / 3
Race 4
May 6/7
June 3/4
August 19/20
Rose City Opener
Chicane Challenge
Dash for Kids
11
First I was Shocked, Then Awed
Imagine someone standing in front of a group of 30 vintage racers and saying changes have to be made and then actually
does it! Welp, it happened on Saturday at the SOVREN Quarterly Membership gathering in Seattle. Even with my best
effort to encourage participation a small (but enthusiastic) group gathered to hear Tony Parella, owner of the Society of
Vintage Racing Associates (SVRA) and 25% owner of Trans-Am speak about his vision for vintage racing.
The Glossy Carbon Roux Helmet
Tony Parella (in the red cap) speaking at the SOVREN Quarterly Meeting in Seattle
Tony who came all the way up to Seattle from Dallas Texas to share his vision of "Professional" vintage racing (which is
what SVRA is) with the SOVREN crowd and to encourage and support SOVREN and the SOVREN racers who he happily
admits he needs to fill the grids for his events, especially the Portland race in July.
First he noted that when he bought SVRA in 2011, they had 5 races and 2 of those were support races as opposed to
stand alone. SVRA was losing $80K a year. Today with many of Tony's innovations in place, SVRA has 15 events across
the USA and is bringing in lots of spectators and sponsors. He did this by bringing in groups like Spec Miata to add a large
group of close racering to wow the paying spectators. Then when the groups were small, he combined the groups so instead of 6 cars going around for 20 minutes in 3 groups, there was one group with 18 cars. Much more interesting for everyone instead of seeing 3 boring 6 car races. Then, GASP! He called his season ending race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX the Vintage National Championship and gave gold helmets to the winners of each class!! Who does
that? A mad man. Why he'll ruin vintage racing, you'll have priceless historic cars crashing and banging so the owners can
win a gold helmet for a prize. This will never work. Ah....he did and it does work.
Tony quickly surmised that you can't keep racing going on the backs of the racers. That is, that with track rental costs going
up and up and everything associated with putting on a race going up, you can't keep raising entry fees to pay the expenses. If you do car counts will fall (Oh, Oh, there goes the discussion on low car counts again) and you will be in a death spiral. So he started marketing. Seems all sports car racing really is a sport of the affluent. Yes even the poor of us in club
racing are more affluent than the rank and file citizens. At the upper in there are many who are very affluent and even
those of us at the bottom have more disposable income that probably 1/2 of the people in America and Canada (Oh wait,
aren't all Canadians rich?) Anyway he brought in Jaguar to give Rover demos and F1 Jags for autocross at selected SVRA
races. How it did it work out? Today Jaguar is putting in well over $1,000,000 to be working with SVRA. Oh last year they
gave over 10,000 Rover demos and sold over 500 cars (at a price around $80K each). Is Jaguar happy. You Bet. And
now he has a number of high end clothing companies, watches and more, all targeted to the affluent.
What does all this mean? It means that now 64% of the revenue into SVRA comes from someone other than the racers. Entry fees are staying the same or lower, the events are fantastic with special entertainment such as rock concerts
with Three Dog Night (for those of you under the age of about 40, just Google them). SVRA now has more than 4,000
members, a very cool quarterly magazine and the car counts are going up. Just to throw in one more figure, the cost to
rent COTA for 3 days is $200,000 and that is just track rental and doesn't include insurance, ambulances, and all the rest.
So Tony has commercialized Vintage racing and ruined it with all this innovation. For sure he has really ticked off a whole
lot of traditionalist. What he really has done is something different from the norm. Only time will tell if he has ruined vin- 12
tage racing or saved it. For sure I was shocked and awed by what he had to say.
After we've had all these serious discussion about low car count here in the NW with the main overall driving factor being
the rising cost. It was shocking to hear someone doing something about it.
A question was asked if SOVREN was going to race at the Ridge with SCCA. Right now the survey of drivers has between
11 and 118 saying Yes to the event. Then a man commented about lack of hotels in and around Shelton and how he was
staying in a Bed and Breakfast found through a website Air B &B. Seems there are lots of rooms around the area and rent
is cheap (like $90 for the weekend). Immediately it came to mind, why are we not going to Air B&B and getting advertising. We just need to hustle so we can take some of the cost off the backs of the racers.
OK I think you get the idea that listening to Tony Parella for 45 minutes on Saturday has me fired up. There is no doom
and gloom with Tony, it is all about change for the better to save the sport. Yep, many will not agree with Tony and I'm betting I get some emails when this is published, but one thing for sure, we're not in Kansas anymore Toto.
The Glossy Carbon Roux Helmet
Three Texans - Tony Parella, Tom Armstrong and Armadillo Andy
As you can see from the photo above, Tom Armstrong was there to hear what Tony had to say. Did you know Tom was a
big part of the PacWest IndyCar team back in the 1990's. Yep. He has sold all his race cars and has kept his collection of
vintage road cars. Tom shared how as a kid in Texas he took the train to Chicago and then the bus to Indianapolis to
watch the 500. He was thrilled as an adult to be there as a team owner. Once a race fan, always a race fan. Tom as one
of the founders of SOVREN is a man we all owe a great debt to as he helped start vintage racing in the NW. Way back
about 1992 when I was Regional Executive of NW Region SCCA, we were organizing our 40th anniversary banquet. I
wanted a guest speaker but was told there was no time in the schedule for a speaker. Then I saw the announcement in
National Speed Sport News where 2 time Trans-Am Champions Scott Sharp was to drive for PacWest. I called Tom immediately and asked if he could arrange for Scott Sharp to speak at our banquet. Long story short, Tom made it happen. We
had over 225 people in a room that only held 200. The entire PacWest IndyCar team was there with Bruce Armstrong the
other owner with Tom, Dominic Dobson (former Indy 500 driver) and a Galmer IndyCar parked out front of the hotel. It was
a night that I'll never forget. Still Tom went to SMU (Southern Methodist University) as did his wife Susan and most of his
kids, but I'm over it ...sorta.
Man, this is one of those enews where I can't type fast enough to tell you all the stuff that happened. Course the faster I
type the more typos I make and that slows everything down. Anyway, I wish more of you could have been there to hear
Tony as it was inspiring, innovating and for sure different. Now if you aren't totally ticked off or offended, plan to come to
the SVRA race in Portland in July and see the new Trans-Am series for yourself. You might have some fun or you might
have a whole lot of fun. I know Ana and I along with the whole Armadillo trailer/store will there.
Armadillo Andy
13
CLASSIFIEDS
Driving safety gear free to a good home.

Display Advertising Rates by Size
Full Page
7 1/2 X 9 1/2
1/2 Page (V)
9 1/2 X 3 5/8
1/2 Page (H)
7 1/2 X 3 5/8
1/4 Page
4 3/4 X 3 5/8
Business Cards
Business Cards CSCC Member
$100.00/mo
$ 50.00/mo
$ 50.00/mo
$ 30.00/mo
$ 10.00/mo
Free.
** RATES FOR 12 AND 6 MONTH AD RUNS **
12 MONTHS FOR THE PRICE OF 10
6 MONTHS FOR THE PRICE OF 5
DOES NOT APPLY TO
BUSINESS CARD SIZE
MUST BE PAID IN ADVANCE
Men's double layer driver's suit - size is large and it was
manufactured by Worth
 Women's single layer driver's suit - size is small and also by
Worth
 Women's single layer nomex underwear (goes with above
suit) - manufactured by Medalist-Allen A
 Two pair gloves (one large, one small) by Glover
 One pair nomex socks
 One Nomex hood
Contact via email if you have interest.
Dave Luck
Lake Oswego, OR
[email protected]
Deadline for all ads is the 15th of the month. Payment
in full must accompany all ads. All ads must be supplied in camera ready art work to the desired finished
size or they will be sized to fit the spaces requested.
Cascade assumes no responsibility for poor reproduction or ads failing to appear in a timely manner.
Model Cars:
1/18 scale l957 Chev,Bel Air, 1954 Chevy, 32 Ford , 32
Ford Street Rpd, 1953 F-100 Ford Pickup, Special
Ed.Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, top Elimator dragsters
ADD A PHOTO TO YOUR AD FOR $5.00.
MAIL PHOTO WITH YOUR CHECK MADE
OUT TO CSCC. NO CHECK,
Books:
Lorin Sorensen That American Ford Series of (6) Books,
three other smaller books by Lorin, 4 Hop up books
E-mail ads to: [email protected]
Mail ads to:
Auspuff Classifieds
PO Box 4304
Portland, OR 97208
Dorothy Fulbright
360-423-7214
NICKS ACRES
16323 NE 94th Ave
Battle Ground, WA
360-573-9785
BLUEBERRIES,
RASPBERRIES & CURRANTS
Wholesale or U-Pick
3 Varieties of Blueberries, Since 1978
14
Exp. 3/13
Ad. Exp. 10/12
For Welding, Fiberglass repair and other things that surprise you call…
SCOTT GOODRICH 360-606-9447
[email protected]
at the track to help any race team to stay on the grid
Ad Exp. 12/12
Ad Exp. 6/13
Ad Exp. 12/11
Ad Exp. 2/13
15
16