TOPEKA, Kan. (May 12, 2008) – Sports Car Club of America, Inc. announced today the results of a vote by its Board of Directors that will move the National Championship Runoffs® to Road America (Elkhart Lake, Wis.) in 2009. Road America will become the sixth venue to host the event, dating back to 1964.

The Board directed its staff to move forward to negotiate a three-year agreement with Road America for SCCA Club Racing’s signature event, which has averaged over 650 participants since 2000. The Runoffs is currently in the final year of a three-year agreement at Heartland Park Topeka, in Topeka, Kan.

"Given the deep history the track, the town of Elkhart Lake and SCCA enjoy, it only seems natural for the most prestigious Club Racing event in the world to be hosted by Road America," SCCA President & CEO Jim Julow said. "The Board had a difficult decision, as we had an unprecedented number of outstanding potential hosts for the event, meaning the long term future of Club Racing’s National Championship is very bright."

"The SCCA has been an integral part of our 53 year-history," Road America President and General Manager George Bruggenthies said. "The opportunity to showcase our facility and our community to a nation of SCCA racers and fans is a tremendous honor. On behalf of our board of directors and staff, my thanks to the SCCA for their confidence. We promise to build on the outstanding Runoffs tradition and exceed stakeholder expectations."

The first-ever "Interdivisional Championship," later referred to as the "Runoffs," was held at Riverside Raceway (Riverside, Calif.) in 1964, and alternated coasts with Daytona International Raceway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) through 1969. In 1970, the event began a 24-year run at Road Atlanta (Braselton, Ga.), before moving to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Lexington, Ohio) in 1994. After 12 years in Ohio, the Runoffs moved to Heartland Park Topeka in 2006. The move after three years signifies a change in philosophy after such long runs at venues from the 1970s through the turn of the century.

"Club Racing in the United States has evolved in the last decade, and rotating the Runoffs will do nothing but help the event and the Club Racing program, overall," SCCA Chairman R.J. Gordy said.

"This is by no means a reflection on the job that Raymond Irwin and his staff have done at Heartland Park Topeka," Julow added. "In the last four years, they have met every challenge and request and built a tremendous facility that is worthy of potentially hosting not only the Runoffs, but other high-profile road racing events in the future. Additionally, the local community and business groups have been outstanding and we thank them for their continued support."

The event has grown in both size and stature over the years, with approximately 700 of the nation’s best amateur race drivers from across the country making the annual trek for the event that spans an entire week, preceded by additional days of optional testing. The sheer number of competitors makes the Runoffs the largest annual amateur road racing event in the world, and results in an average local economic impact approaching $10 million each year.

The Runoffs annually crown the National Champions of SCCA Club Racing's National level classes (currently 25) and has been referred to as the "Olympics" of motorsports. Drivers from across North America race locally to earn points, with the top-10 qualifying drivers from the nine SCCA Divisions in each class earning an invitation to compete in the event. The list of past Runoffs Champions is a who's who in road racing history that includes Skip Barber, Michael Galati, Paul Newman, Bobby Rahal, Graham Rahal, Greg Ray, Boris Said and Scott Sharp.

Road America’s history dates back to the early 1950s when public street races in the Elkhart Lake area were a part of the SCCA national championship series. When street racing became illegal in 1952, participants and supporters joined efforts and raised funds to develop Road America. The track held its first event, the SCCA National, on September 10-11, 1955. The inaugural June Sprints® was held the following year, June 23-24, 1956. Today, the 14-turn, 4.048-mile track holds its original configuration and continues to challenge the world’s best two- and four-wheel racers.

The date for the 2009 event has yet to be finalized, although it will move from October to September.

The 45th SCCA National Championship Runoffs will be held at Heartland Park Topeka October 6-12, 2008.

For more information about SCCA and the National Championship Runoffs, please visit www.scca.com/Runoffs.

For more information about Road America, please visit www.roadamerica.com.

For more information about Heartland Park Topeka, please visit www.hpt.com.

TOPEKA, Kan. (May 9, 2008) – Sports Car Club of America’s Board of Directors approved today at its face-to-face meeting in Topeka the approval of National Auto Sport Association licenses for Regional Club Racing competition, effective immediately. The NASA Competition License joins those of 13 other organizations approved for Regional competition. Any of these license holders may participate in a Regional event, providing they are a full, First Gear, family or weekend member. The full list of organizations with licenses approved for competition are:

BMW CCA - CACC - FIA - HSR - ICSCC - IMSA - MCSCC - NASA - PCA - Ontario Region CASC - SCCA Pro Racing - SVRA - VMC - Waterford Hills - West Canada Motorsports

Association Detailed information on the licenses approved for each organization is available in the SCCA General Competition Rules, section 3.1.5.

We have a contract signed to have an event at Terre Haute Airport! The area is about 400x1300 feet. If you look at an aerial view (click here), we will be using the West Ramp of the tarmac. Nice flat smooth concrete. Think Grissom type grip, only flatter. More details to come....... Stay tuned.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (April 7, 2008) – Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced today the selection of 30 drivers to compete in the all-new Jetta TDI Cup series. The drivers were chosen at a driver selection event April 3-6 at the Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, Ariz.

"We’re offering a unique opportunity for some of the best and brightest drivers to get their start in a factory-backed racing series," said Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO, Volkswagen of America, Inc. "Through an exhausting driver evaluation process, we looked at a variety of factors including driving ability and potential, media and communication skills and overall fit, to choose the 30 best drivers to help promote Volkswagen and the introduction of our all-new 50-state clean diesel Jetta TDI, and ultimately themselves."

The 30 drivers are:

Chad Brassfield, 20, Phoenix, Ariz.
Caleb Kenney, 22, Berkeley, Calif.
Gary Williams Jr., 26, Dana Point, Calif.
Ryan Buetzer, 25, Long Beach, Calif.
Evan Pflock, 20, Redondo Beach, Calif.
Andy Lee, 25, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Jimmy Underhill, 21, Denver, Colo.
Taylor Broekemeier, 21, Fort Collins, Colo.
Josh Hurley, 23, Cooper City, Fla.
Mark Pombo, 25, Duluth, Ga.
Timmy Megenbier, 16, Melrose Park, Ill.
Nick Mancuso, 21, Mettawa, Ill.
Adam Love, 21, Normal, Ill.
David Richert, 25, Niverville, MB, Canada
Chris Castagna, 22, S. Boston, Mass.
Michael DeNino, 18, Gaithersburg, Md.
Chris Kuenning, 20, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Noah Arundel, 27, Tonka Bay, Minn.
John Shim, 22, Starkville, Miss.
Adam Crepin, 20, St. Louis, Mo.
Jake Dallenbach, 18, Charlotte, N.C.
Adam Kretschmer, 21, Brampton, ON, Canada
Andrew Cordeiro, 24, Woodbridge, ON, Canada
Chris Holman, 20, Burlington, ON, Canada
James Kirkham, 23, Beaverton, Ore.
Derek Jones, 24, Philadelphia, Penn.
David Jurca, 22, Federal Way, Wash.
Liam Kenney, 16, Sterling, Va.
Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle, 23, Puebla, Mexico
Wyatt Dallenbach, 16, San Antonio, Texas

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup series is an innovative approach to motorsports – 30 factory-prepared and managed 2009 Jetta TDI clean-diesels will be piloted by talented, up-and-coming drivers, ages 16 to 26. Volkswagen’s goal is to find the driver with the most talent and help them break into the world of professional motorsports. The Jetta TDI Cup series is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Pro Racing Inc.

The concept is as revolutionary as the car, which is powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder TDI, clean diesel engine. The Jetta TDI is lightly modified from spec, featuring race-ready suspension and brakes, and a six-speed double-clutch automatic DSG transmission. Additionally, to highlight its environmental dedication, Volkswagen has partnered with Carbonfund.org to certify the entire race series as carbon free.

"With the Jetta TDI Cup, Volkswagen has created an amazing platform to develop young drivers and expand their knowledge about clean, quiet and powerful diesel technology," said Robert Wildberger, president and CEO, SCCA Pro Racing, Inc. "We look forward to the series in hopes that it will attract more attention to the drivers and advantages of diesel power."

In the end, the winner of the race series will be awarded $100,000 from Volkswagen to aid them in their next steps as a professional racer. An additional $150,000 will be given to the winner if he or she signs a contract with a professional level team within six months of winning the Jetta TDI Cup series.

 

Larry Harts made the news in a Rochester IN paper this past week. It might have been a slow news day, but any vehicle that he could stick in the back of his Mini is newsworthy to us.

Full Article ---
GETTING AROUND Larry Harts, Bunker Hill, in his new Smart car by Mercedes Benz. His is the second one sold in Indiana. It gets 41 miles per gallon. Harts’ parents are Richard and Marilyn Harts, Rochester IN.

Indy Region now has a discussion forum on SCCAForums.com. No.... our forum on Yahoo groups is not going away as that is where we are posting our news as well as announcements. However, feel free to use the old group as you always have.

The new forum is typical of a modern forum that is segmented into groups as well as have a list of topics rather than the top down approach yahoo utilizes. This makes it nice for folks to view only the discussions they might be interested in. It makes it a bit nicer and possibly foster more discussions.. as well as possibly not being as intimidating to make a post. I think it will be a fun to have a discussion forum as it may help new folks get to know us a bit better as well as check out posts from all around the country!

Ghost Tracks, a then-and-now look at the history of some of sports car racing's greatest tracks, is Pete Hylton's testament to the enduring impact these sites have had on the progression of the sport. "The progression from street circuits, to airport circuits, to early permanent facilities, to the current generation of tracks has been amazing," Hylton said. "It is part of what has shaped our sport." In Ghost Tracks, Hylton describes the tracks as "the asphalt playgrounds of race car drivers, echoing with the roar of engines and the squeal of skinny bias-ply tires. The paddocks were filled with gentleman racers tinkering on Ferraris, OSCAs, bathtub Porsches and Coopers. Now, they sit silent and the engines scream only in memories." Hylton has first-hand knowledge of the subject. In the 1980's, he raced Mid-America Raceway, one of the tracks profiled in the book. He joined the Sports Car Club of America as a high school student in 1973 and competed for 25 years. He served on the SCCA board of directors for nine years, and holds the honor of being the youngest-ever elected member of that body. After retiring from his position on the board, he volunteered to become historian and archivist for the world's largest active motorsports membership organization. Hylton also became a contributing writer for "SportsCar," the SCCA's official magazine. Ghost Tracks is based on the series of the same name that he published between 2001 and 2007. This is his second book on the history of the organization. Ghost Tracks takes readers back to such great permanent tracks as Mid-America Raceway, Meadowdale, Marlboro and Brooklands, along with airstrips, parks, stadiums and roadways across the country where drivers competed in the early years of club racing history. In many cases, all that remains is an overgrowth of trees, shrubs and weeds while other sites have been replaced by shopping malls and housing development. In many cases, Pete found traces of the original course. and perhaps the spirit of long-gone drivers. "At one point my 6-year-old daughter became convinced that she could hear a race car coming and that we needed to get off the pavement. Perhaps she did hear the ghosts of SCCA races 30 years ago. When I tried, I almost could too." At the end of his quest, Hylton concluded that there was very little difference between the tracks of the bygone eras and today. Time and technology may have progressed. But there is actually a great deal of similarity between the old and new tracks - both were constructed to give racers a fun and challenging place to go play with their toys. Ultimately, that is what SCCA is about. "We are people who love cars, and love driving them fast," Hylton says. "For well over 50 years we've been looking for fun places to do that. So not surprisingly, there are a lot of similarities between the historical tracks and today's circuits." Ghost Tracks is published by Legacy Ink Publishing, a niche market publishing company that specializes in business and organizational historical titles. The book will be released in September. To reserve your copy today, with no payment required, go to "Coming Soon" at Legacy Ink Publishing, www.legacyinkpublishing.com.

For more info, go to http://ghosttracks.wordpress.com.

Hal Brown's Speed World Challenge rig and cars were stolen 6/18 from a Hampton Inn off Exit 15 on I-75 in an area called Monroe, Michigan. The truck is a 04-05 Silver Dodge Crew Cab Dually with VA plates. Cloth interior. No markings on the exterior. The trailer is a white Haulmark 48 foot gooseneck. No markings on the exterior except for the required Pro labels with the car numbers and SCCA Pro racing on them. The cars are 2 black and silver SRT 4s. They are the Sorted Performance World Challenge cars. They are owned by Hal Brown.

If you have seen them since Monday 6/18, please contact Hal Brown at 540-449-1575 asap to help out our SCCA family members. Any information you have may be of help.

In case you missed the announcement in SportsCar, or at www.scca.com last week, SCCA has launched a new program designed to encourage membership growth by rewarding current members who refer new members to the organization.
For each new member referral generated, current SCCA members will receive a $5 discount on their next renewal. In addition, new members referred to the SCCA receive a $15 discount. For more details please click on the announcement link: http://www.scca.com/News/News.asp?Ref=818