The Observers Stand

OVR-SCCA 2024 Election

We have our Regional Executive (RE) position and 3 3-year board of director positions available in 2025. You can vote for One candidate for RE and up to Three candidates from the list of candidates seeking election. The candidates who are selected will begin their term on the OVR, SCCA board of directors in 2025. Voting is open now and will close at 8pm on 11/6.

This is the link for the election:

https://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/survey/uidSurvey/A107CC47-D9E3-1B55-CB73304053729F0F

We are using an online voting system for this election. You will need to create an account on the site if you don’t already have one. Please reach out to our Elections Officer (Matt Downing) with any questions or issues. elections@ovr-scca.org

• The H-Production Invitational race with around 30 or so of the top H-Prod cars and drivers in the country.
• The Sports 2000 North America Series race.  This series was designed to get the S2’s out of the garage and back on track, and they select events to race at across the eastern US. https://www.sports2000na.com/
• The weekend was dedicated as the Phil Alspach Memorial Race.  Phil was instrumental to the Ohio Valley Region, the national autocross program, and SCCA in general.  There was a very nice display and artifacts memorializing Phil and his contributions.   Thanks to all who helped with this!

We drove up late Friday afternoon to set up and get registered, and then sleep at home overnight.  This simplified things tremendously.  Registration and tech was a breeze and we were back home around 7:40 pm.

Our class, Super Touring Lite (STL), was in the last race group, Group 8.  Our schedule was qualifying late Saturday morning, race around 4pm, then on Sunday a short qualifying race around 10:30 am, and the championship race at the end of the day around 3:30pm Sunday.  After a series of issues that were self induced or due to ignorance at Nelson Ledges and Gingerman, I was optimistic for a smooth weekend.

Saturday qualifying for me was pretty much a disaster.  The track was slippery for everyone, and exacerbated for me as the car was very loose, both in anything but straight line braking, mid corner, and corner exit.   Qualified 16^th OA out of 18, and 6^th out of 8 in class.  Discussion back at our padock, came to the conclusion that the R7 tires I had weren’t working accounting for the general lack of grip, and the shocks needed tweaked to adjust the balance. Picked up a set of A7’s from Stupid Fast Tires at the track, and dialed out some rebound for the race.

(I won’t tell you about the part where Kathy Grunenwald got after me for being such a cheapskate by using up the tires I had. I tend to be a slow learner when it comes to opening my wallet.) 

Our friend and former neighbor Mike McCloud showed up around this time.  It was great to see him and he was a good help in taking care of things with the car.   We watched Matt Brannon and Brayden Connely run away with the H-Prod race with their Midwest Bayless X-1/9’s.  Great race with battles through the field. Much fun there.

We relaxed much of the afternoon until our race. We had E-prod, F-Prod, STU, and STL in our group. Max Gee in his STL Prelude was the class of the STL field, a good six seconds a lap quicker than everyone else – the only time I saw him was at the start and at the finish; as I was taking the white flag, he was just off my flank taking the checker. I had a reasonable start and by the time I got to the chicane and through the keyhole, I could tell the car was transformed.  I could finally go hard through turns, place the car, etc. and have confidence it would do what I wanted.  Slowly made my way up through the field.  Had a good battle with an STL Solstice and a couple STL Miata’s.  Inherited third and a podium with the Solstice slowed with issues.  8^th OA / 3^rd in class. I’ll take it.

Back in the paddock, the mood was much brighter.  Pretty happy with the finish and learned a lot about what the car likes and doesn’t like.  It sure drives different than the Mustang.

Attended the dinner and party hosted by OVR and got to talk to a lot of friends and racers.  Phil’s family was there – spoke with Jeff Alspach, Andy Nixon, and Phil’s sister.  I had not seen Jeff and Andy in forever and that was good. Ron Thomas now has Phil’s 1979 RX7 and brought it up for display.  Ron did a very nice job detailing it and got it running again (simple fix).  It was good to see it and it looks great.   Headed home for a good night’s sleep.

Arrived at the track on Sunday around 8:30 am.  We got there a bit early as my weight was close to minimum after the race, and I wanted to have some cushion so I added about 10 lbs ballast provided by my pal Matt Miller (T4 Mustang).  Turns out I really didn’t need it – see note at end. By this time, friends Dick Burrell and Mark Hartman came up and joined us,.

The Qualifying Race on Sunday morning was a 10 lap sprint using the Pro Course, and I gridded where I finished on Saturday – 8^th overall.   Got a solid start and within a couple laps made it to 6^th OA and 2^nd in class.  Happy with that.

Went over the car again and watched a few races. I really wanted to see the S2000 race but since they were the group right before my group we didn’t have the chance.  Headed to grid around 3:30 pm, and ended up starting 4^thoverall as Kevin Ruck (FP Integra) was for some reason gridded in the back, and one of the other cars ahead of me didn’t come to grid.

Had a solid start and was chased pretty hard by a couple of STL Miata’s for a couple laps.  But slowly was able to pull away, building a decent lead.  But then, cars started having problems eventually bringing out the Pace Car and full course yellow.  The STL Solstice had issues again, and John Schmitt (STU Accord) pulled off at the worker station at Thunder Valley.  Kevin Ruck had passed me early in the race, maybe lap 2, but then he had to pull over with,uh, a bodywork malfunction.   So, the lead I had developed over 3^rd and 4^th in class had evaporated.

Fortunate for me, I had Kathy paying attention and on the radio, and she gave me a heads up the green was coming out, so I got a strong restart coming out of the carousel and as able to build up a strong lead over 3^rd and 4^thbehind me.  Finished a solid 6^th overall and 2^nd in class.  Happy with that.

Trophies were very nice, and we took our time packing up and headed home around 5:30 pm.

Lessons learned, some re-learned:

• You’ve got to have good tires.  A good chunk of the issues at Nelson Ledges, Gingerman, and Saturday morning at MidOhio were due to using up my old stock of tires instead of making sure I had the right tires with predictable performance.  Sometimes being a cheap bast…er, frugal chap is a curse.  I really should know better.
• Finally getting a handle on braking.  This is the first car I’ve owned where I have more brakes than I can use.  With the Mustang, I could lay on them as hard as I wanted.  With this car, modulation is much more important.
• Read and reread the rule book. My comment above about ballast and weight?  Turns out I had calculated my minimum weight incorrectly and am carrying around 40 lbs I don’t need.

Still, all in all, a very good weekend.  Superb weather.  Great racing. Car did not require much attention.  Got to hang out with friends.

Much gratitude for the workers and volunteers that support the racing action, from registration to grid to corners and the rest!

Looking forward to the next race.  We’ll be back at MidOhio in October but may try to hit another track between now and then.

A few photos attached for your viewing pleasure.

We headed to the track on Friday afternoon, and got set up, registered, and tech’ed, and headed home around 7:00 pm.   Early Saturday we headed back up to MidOhio (about a 40 minute drive from home) to prepare for qualifying scheduled for 10:15.   The morning was cool but sunny, with mostly sunny skies.  Our friend Dan Hardison was in my group in his ITE Ford Mustang Cobra,  his first race with the new car.

I hit the track and the first thing I noticed was how slick it was. I wasn’t prepared for the general lack of grip, and Kathy came over the radio with my times about 7 seconds slower than August.  I knew it was cool but didn’t expect that.  This was complicated by a few drops of rain at the entrance of Thunder Valley (turn 9 on map – https://midohio.com/info/facilitymap).  This happened on laps the out lap and lap 1, but it was clear on lap 2, so I figured it was just a momentary thing. Lap 3, I came charging up to Thunder Valley to find a full-on rain shower and got a handful of steering wheel to keep it straight and stay on track.  Radioed Kathy to let her know and she said “It’s dry and sunny here at turn 1.  Went around on lap 4 and halfway through it was damp all over the track and full-on rain.  Figured no one was going to get quicker so came in.

Frankly, I was quite bummed with my times until I saw that my competitors were also 6 – 7 seconds off of their typical times.  So, I gridded 9^th for the race overall, with my three STL competitors directly in front of me.  After my session, hopped in the Pace Car to pace Race 1 just before lunch.  By that time, it was full on wet and we were expecting excitement and incidents from the Spec Miata (SM) and B-Spec fields.  It was a split start between the SM and B-Spec fields, with a separate pace car for B-Spec.

Surprisingly, there were no full course yellows or pace cars, but there were plenty of offs with the SM cars.  Fellow central Ohio Valley Region (OVR) racer Matt Downing led the B-Spec field and claimed a win driving a superb race in the wet. Matt passed 15 or so SM’s and two B-Spec cars for the win. Tom Hopson of also had a solid outing in his B-Spec Honda Fit finishing just off the podium in treacherous conditions.

Conditions dried up a bit over lunch and early afternoon, but it still looked threatening on the weather map.  I decided to put the rain tires and set up on the car, and glad I did because by the time my group went out at 3:15 pm it was full on rain.  Dan Hardison (ITE Mustang) missed the race with clutch issues, but frankly he didn’t miss much given the conditions.  I had a miserable start as I missed the 2 – 3 shift while those behind me blew by, dropping from 9^th to 14^th overall.  After getting around the MR2, I got into a little bit of a rhythm and started working my way up the field.  I made it back up to 8^th or 9^th by lap 4, but then the windshield started to fog.  My car has no defrost on it, and unfortunately, we forgot to put the “rag on a stick” in the car to wipe it down.

Still, I continued for a lap or two and had a good run down the front straight, ready to pass the 3^rd place car in my class going into 1.  However, between the fog on the windshield and the spray, as I approached the bridge I had the rather unnerving realization that I a) missed my braking point, and b) was in the wrong place in the track.  Rather than try some heroics that would have been a big off into the T1 gravel trap, I went straight off past the bridge.

If you’ve ever noticed, there’s a section of grass between the Armco on your right and the gravel trap on your left that you can take.  I thought “You know, that tire wall in front of me is coming up pretty fast.  I better turn.” and did a wide turn into the gravel trap.  Downshifted into 2^nd, kept it going, and exited just before the crossover, making my way back on to the track.  The car seemed no worse for the wear, and I took off to rejoin the pack in DFL.

Continued to work my way through and re-passed several cars, and for some reason the fog seemed to dissipate from the windshield, so visibility was back.  Ended up finishing 9^th / 14 overall, 5^th / 6 in STL. Spent the rest of the day cleaning up the car for Sunday’s qualifying at 10:15 am and headed over to the party to spend some time with OVR members Dave and Joyce Jones, Bruce and Barb Turner, and many others.  The social and storytelling part is the best part of it. Left around 7:30 pm and stopped at “The Local at 97” for dinner.  Kathy had a sandwich, and I ordered the 10 piece “Drummettes” thinking they were the drum portion of the chicken wing.  Nope – they were the full leg!  Plenty left for the next few meals.

Got to the track just in time (sorry Bob!) to hop in the Pace Car for the 8:00 am SM / B-Spec qualifying race.  Matt sat this one out (“I don’t do qualifying races…”) as I think he was tying his stringback driving gloves.  Tom had another solid race finishing 4^th.  Hats off again to the field for no FCY’s.

Went back to the paddock and finished prepping the car for my qualifying race at 10:15.   Had another slow start, hampered by an MR2 in front of me that blocked progress.  Still, I got around him at the exit of 1 and was up with the top 3 in my class by the keyhole.  Passed a few cars and finished the qualifying race 7^th overall and 2^nd in STL.  Reasonably happy though I felt I should have been quicker.  Another trip back to the Pace Car to drive before lunch, and another strong showing by Matt who again took the B-Spec win.  Tom was happy also with a well-earned third.

Back in the paddock, Kathy went up to meet our friends Ed and Diana who joined us for the afternoon.  Very appreciative that they came up.   Did some minor fiddling with the car, and went back on track at 3:15 for the 13 lap feature race, gridded 7^th with the STL leader in the row ahead of me.  Once again, had a poor start – that 2^nd – 3^rd shift is killing me – but the pack was bunched at the keyhole so I was right there.  Had an opening to get by the top 2 STL cars at the end of the straight, and held it through the esses to Thunder Valley, putting me in the lead for STL.  Pretty stoked about that.

For the next couple of laps, stalked Charly Baruth in her STU Miata, trying to figure out how to get around her.  Her car was slightly quicker, but I knew if I could get around her, the other two STL cars behind me would struggle and I could gap them.  But Charly did a very nice job of placing her car and not flinching as I tried different tactics.   Outbreaking at various places, etc.  I just couldn’t quite get beside her enough to get a good line and pass her.

On lap 5, I had a good run through turn 11, and thought I would try around the outside of the carousel. However, the 4 – 3 downshift didn’t take and the distraction put me out in the marbles and off the track. I kept it out of the tire wall, and re-entered at pit in, heading down the pit lane (a bit more spirited than I should have I was soon to learn).   I re-entered in 6^th place in STL and 11^th overall.

The remaining laps were spent catching and passing the field which was great fun.  Made it all the way back up to 7^th OA and 3^rd in STL,  just 2 seconds out of 2^nd in STL.  I was closing in on 2^nd by about 1.5 seconds a lap, but just ran out of laps.   Pulled into pit lane and got a friendly talking to from the Steward for going too fast on pit lane – “Hey, we don’t want to scare the workers!” – which I agreed with and appreciate how he handled it.

Got through impound and back to our paddock.  Took our time with packing up, and sat down and had a beverage before we left. MidOhio is lovely this time of year as the paddock was mostly cleared, the sun was setting, and the trees were turning.  Thought of Racer Phil and what this place meant to him.

SUMMARY

The 2024 racing season is a wrap for us. It’s been a reasonably satisfying season.  Kathy was a huge help at the track all along, more so than any other year.  That was mainly my issue as I can be a bit of a control freak and was reluctant to let her do stuff. But I am working on being better!   Nelson Ledges was a huge learning experience, Gingerman less so with glimmers of hope, and August at MidOhio was good.  This weekend was good with the exception of the foggy windshield and shift up to 3^rd / down to 3^rd experience.  Rectifying those two issues would have gained us more positive results. But, this year was all about learning. Played with suspension settings more than I ever had in the past, generally to positive outcomes. One chuckle is that it appears I won the Great Lakes Division Regional Championship for STL.  An odd set of circumstances collided to enable that, but hey, I’ll take it!

We have a long list of items for the car to get it ready for 2025.  Adding Flagtronics, finding out with the issue is with upshift from 2^nd and downshift from 4^th is, a decent rain light, fixing the windshield fog, a fresh set of rains, going over everything.  I want to make sure the car is 100% to ensure qualifying for the 2025 Runoffs at Road America a reasonably straightforward matter.

Until then, have a great winter and see you in the spring!

To OVR Board Members

From the Alspach and Nixon Families

We send our sincerest thanks to the Board members of OVR, as well as the many others who contributed to the beautiful and touching celebration of Phil Alspach’s life at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Phil cherished his membership in OVR, and remembering him as you did last Saturday at the Regional Race was such a wonderful way for him to cross the finish line. I know he would have been so touched by the love and the attention to every detail which made the day so memorable. The beer koozies featuring his Ocelot, the plaques with his photo and his race cars, the beautiful framed photo gallery: all outstanding. Having his much embellished RX7 appear later at the dinner was such a
wonderful surprise. He would have so loved that! But the honorary three laps around the track were the highlight of the day for all of us. The checkered flags signaled a final farewell. They sent a message, “this is good night, but not goodbye”. Please let the members of the Club know how forever grateful we are.

Fondly,

Chris Alspach Nixon, Racer Phil’s sister

As the summer wanes, the Club works towards the “Championship Season” with titles on the line at the Solo
Nationals, Runoffs, Rally Cross and Time Trials Championships.
So, here’s what I did since my last report…..

Video Conference Meetings:
➢ Club Racing Board (CRB) (8/6): This meeting was cancelled since we had just held a face to face meeting in Kansas City. The results of all of the CRB rules changes can be seen here.
➢ Electrified Vehicle Advisory Committee (EVAC) (8/14): As we had no meeting while I was out in Oregon on vacation, we had quite a full agenda. We got an update on our FAQ document that we hope to be able to send to regions. We discussed creating a new Vehicle Technical Specification (VTS) specifically for EVs. We also chatted about the makes and models for the new Electric Touring class in Club Racing. Once we had that figured out, we moved on to the specifics of what items to consider for
the specs lines.
➢ Board of Directors (BoD) (8/26): Our financials are still looking pretty good. As the competition season draws to a close, entries are near early projections. Membership renewals are also as expected. Mike Cobb reported on the upcoming “Championship Season” as the various programs will have their crowning events occurring in the next month or so. As in other years, it’s an “all hands on deck” situation. The Club Racing program is in the middle of announcements about upcoming changes. As I liaison to the CRB, I was able to add some nuance to the discussion. The BoD went into “Executive Session” (unrecorded, BoD only) to discuss a report from Chris Robbins about a member behaving badly.

SCCA Events:
➢ WMR Solo at Grattan Raceway (9/2): This was the first time I would solo my new BMW i4. I asked the Solo Events Board (SEB) to classify the car and they stashed her in A Street. This is a class
dominated by Porsches, Corvettes, etc. The Bimmer would be MUCH heavier (she weighs in at a robust 4650 pounds) and be on MUCH narrower tires (225s for longer range) compared to my class colleagues. I didn’t think I would be competitive. Then again, I wasn’t there to win this event but to have fun. I wanted a challenge and I got it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…..autocrossing is a VERY different skill set from Club Racing and I have not transitioned to that skill set yet. Once again, the WMR folks ran a nice event which ran smoothly with over 90 cars getting six runs on the nearly two mile track. Dan Moody and his crew should be very proud of the event they organized and ran.
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Later this month, I’ll head off to Roads America to attend the 60th Runoffs. Road America is a special place for me. I remember going there as a kid back in the 60’s and watching my father race there. I entered my first regional there back in 2001. I’ve worked a few races there over the years. I won my first national there in 2006. It’s also where I had a significant altercation with the concrete wall in the kink in 2013 which destroyed my car and earned me a trip to the hospital. I was able to compete in the 50th Runoffs there in 2013. So, some good remembrances and some bad. This year’s event looks to be exciting and fun as everyone likes to race at Road America. I’m looking forward to it and hope you can attend in some fashion. I’ll have plenty of free time so please consider dropping me a text (517.575.9450) so we can meet up and have a chat. As I’ll be there until well into October, I won’t be able to do an update next month. I’ll return for an update for November.
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Be sure and visit the GLDiv website for information about all of the SCCA programs within the division. We have schedules, official’s contact info, standings, etc. for all the SCCA programs. Please take a few minutes and make sure your contact information is accurate in the SCCA database. It’s important to have the correct information there so the club knows how to contact you. Log in to your my.scca.com page and check.
There is a new path to getting your annual waiver. You can now get it through the Member Account Portal (MAP). Follow this link to get the instructions. There is also a story about the program here. I’ve done it and it only takes a couple of minutes. Be prepared to upload a headshot picture of yourself. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you may have about any facet of the GLDiv. I want you to make the most of your
membership and I will help out in any way possible to make that happen.
Dayle Frame
Area 4 Director
Great Lakes Division
517.889.1117 (h)
dframe@scca.com