No Slowing for the Cone Zone The McKee Autocross Family

By Blake Tatum

The Woolley Brothers and Dad Race Team Story

By Blake Tatum, Photos by Jonathan Johnson

The 2020 racing season is only two races old and is really taking a licking. Regional Races 3 & 4 had promise written all over it as late as the Tuesday before the race. Entries would be bolstered by the addition of World Speed Formula Car Challenge, Brent Morgan’s Formula Pro F3 and F4 USA Western Championship, and Peter West’s Pacific F2000 series.

After over a month of bright sunny 70-degree weather, the forecast for the weekend was heavy rain. Which is always a buzz kill when it comes to entries. But the rain was the least of the concerns. Three days before the weekend the nation basically went on shut down because of the Covid-19 virus.

Thirty-four students received their Novice Permits at the 2020 SFR Competition Licensing School, after a busy three-day weekend at Thunderhill Raceway Park. It was a smaller class this year, but there was lots of quality. The educational duties were again handled by Kevin Rogers as overall Chief Instructor, with three veteran Group Leaders. The combined years of teaching experience was amazing. Returning instructors were supplemented by some new instructors, giving the school a good Instructor-to-Student ratio, with lots of professionalism and personal attention, and in some cases, one on one experiences. With the overall smaller enrollment, there were fewer passing challenges and practicing of the teaching concepts. So, a schedule change was approved which combined the two closed wheel groups for a practice session and one of their three races. One unintended consequence was that Saturday and Sunday’s schedule was shortened. No complaints there!

Formula Fords are often referred to as mini F1 cars or little IndyCars, e.g. real race cars that react similarly to their big brothers. Iconic racers such as Mario & Michael Andretti and Aryton Senna are among hundreds of famous race drivers that started out in, or have raced Formula Fords.

Being the oldest and foremost road racing sanctioning body in America, SCCA has run and sanctioned more FF races than all other sanctioning bodies combined. 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of Formula Ford as an SCCA class.

2019 Season In Review

The season’s finale had a little bit of everything – weather, drama, good racing, exciting racing, parade racing, a Formula Ford Fiftieth Anniversary double-header, a rousing Saturday night Social & Party, and a visit by Mike Cobb, President of SCCA.

There were 206 entries, of which 185 actually quali ed, while 21 wereDNS. Of those 200+ entries, 29 were from out-of-region, including 13 from Cal Club, which was hosting the PCRRC at Buttonwillow the same weekend. The Worker Crews were somewhat thin, especially Course Marshals, Emergency, Pit Marshals, and F&C – which had to be supplemented by TRP track workers. The early morning Worker meetings were greeted with lovely sunrises.

Weather was a big topic. There were two days of heat – eighties and nineties with little or no wind, with a few wasps thrown in for good measure, while the rest of Northern California suffered from highwinds and fires. The third day was an about face, with temperatures dropping to the sixties, and very strong, gusty winds, the likes of which we’ve never experienced. The winds had been previously forecast, but not with the ferocity that showed up Sunday morning. The trackwindmills were running at warp speed. The flags were straight out -those that survived. A porta-potty blew over in the paddock. One hotel in town lost roof shingles, and some trees were blown over. All week the threat of a PSPS existed – Public Safety Power Shutoff. It didn’thappen, but the winds were so strong that an of cial schedule change, was made – no ve-mile course for Sunday’s races.

Round 10 was the last chance for competitors to practice for SCCA Nationals in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was held at Marina Airport on August 25, 2019, with the event co-chaired by Carole Zepeda and Alex K. The course was designed by Ben Martinez.

Mark Lindle, in a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, took the top spot in S1. Peter McMillan took second place in a 2001 Porsche 996, while Jaylyn Hagen took third in a ’18 Camaro ZL1.

Read more in the September issue –>

The Double Regional 9-10 Races at Sonoma Raceway the first weekend in July had serious hot weather. It was a two-day event, with the largest Regional field this season – about 215 cars. The Friday test day was well-subscribed with more than 100 drivers. At Sonoma, the db limit was 103 all day, yet the morning session had more than a few drivers stretching or exceeding limits. Maybe it was the cloud cover, which did dissipate. It was nice to see drivers earning DRAFT Card credits toward a test day or regional entry, working on corners and in Timing & Scoring.

A group of SRF drivers, under the leadership of Joe Briggs and his Healdsburg Distillers group sponsored four Worker of the Day awards during the weekend. The number of race shops and drivers in thisventure include more than half the 32-car eld in Group Six for SRF3/SRF. Each of the four were selected by a driver, and received a $150 check. The lucky recipients were Curt Storek from St. Louis/F&C; Jennifer Bickett/T&S; Jess Ann Link/Course Marshals; and Michael Joseph/Pit Fire Marshal.