March 2020

2020 Competition Licensing School

By Lynne Huntting

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!

Read More in the March Edition of The Wheel —->

2020 Competition Licensing School By Lynne Huntting 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, […]

March 2020

February 2020

The Formula F Resurgence

By Norm Marshall and Eric Little / Photos by Richard Gordon

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.

Read More in the February Edition of The Wheel —->

The Formula F Resurgence By Norm Marshall and Eric Little / Photos by Richard Gordon 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 […]

February 2020

January 2020

THUNDERHILL TEST DAY BIG SUCCESS

December 28, 2019, saw San Francisco region’s wholly owned subsidiary Thunderhill Properties open the track up for a free test day. In order to participate in the event you had to have a San Francisco Region SCCA membership and you had to have a car to drive. This year for the very first time the day was also made available with track time for the Autocross members of the region. The Track must have magical powers because the sun was out and short sleeve shirts were the uniform of the day.

With over 100 cars showing up for the day it obviously brought value to the members. The numbers were pretty evenly split up with about fifty cars taking a swipe at the three mile road course and about 50 cars running through the cones on the Thunderhill autocross site.

Read More in the January Edition of The Wheel —->

THUNDERHILL TEST DAY BIG SUCCESS December 28, 2019, saw San Francisco region’s wholly owned subsidiary Thunderhill Properties open the track up for a free test day. In order to participate in the event you had to have a San Francisco Region SCCA membership and you had to have a car to drive. This year for […]

January 2020

December 2019

2019 Season In Review

The 2019 San Francisco Region Championship is over. After a brutal 15 race schedule we have crowned the champions. Lets look back at the winners, losers, and could have beens for the past season.

We have 57 different classes on the books in our region. Some of the classes evolved from the very beginning of SCCA and others have evolved due a particular niche we were trying to satisfy. Classes like EP, FP, and HP have evolved from the very early roots of the club when a bunch of wealthy aristocrats wanted to play with their sports cars together. Other classes have been around for a long time but have had their name changed. Back in the sixties SCCA had several sports racing classes – it went from ASR (Can Am Cars) to ESR which was a full bodied purpose built Sports car with a small engine. Now these cars are Called prototypes and we have two classes of Prototypes P1 and P2.

The problem with offering 57 different classes is not all of them have people that participate in them and some of the classes only have people that run one of two races during the season. The other conundrum is how do you eliminate a class? Because the class was created for a reason and there could be a very good reason for no participation in a particular year but you never know what will happen the following season.

In order to be classified as a regional champion a driver has to run at least 51% of the races. If a driver finished in second place in the points, but ran the minimum number of races — whereas the first place points getter did not run the minimum number of races, the guy with the lesser points but the minimum participation record won the championship.

Lets look at each group and see who won, who did not win, and who could have won if they participated in enough races.

Read More in the December Edition of The Wheel —->

2019 Season In Review The 2019 San Francisco Region Championship is over. After a brutal 15 race schedule we have crowned the champions. Lets look back at the winners, losers, and could have beens for the past season. We have 57 different classes on the books in our region. Some of the classes evolved from […]

December 2019

November 2019

SCCA San Francisco Region Regionals 13, 14 & 15

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.

Read More in the November Edition of The Wheel —->

SCCA San Francisco Region Regionals 13, 14 & 15 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 […]

November 2019

October 2019

SCCA San Francisco Region Regionals 11 & 12

This year’s Labor Day race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, was a two-day weekend, with a track-promoted test day on Friday. It had better driver and worker turnout than last year, and better weather – not much fog on Saturday and none on Sunday. The weather was warm, without last year’s debilitating heat. More of the new and refurbished corner stations were in use, most with welcome roofs and shades.

There were seven SFR race groups with 200 entries, better than the Majors. Even better was a nice Worker turnout, especially for a holiday weekend. Having more two-day weekends seems to have been a well-received decision, as has been the special Worker hotel rate for Monterey races. Both were BoD decisions based on member input.

Read More in the October Edition of The Wheel —->

SCCA San Francisco Region Regionals 11 & 12 This year’s Labor Day race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, was a two-day weekend, with a track-promoted test day on Friday. It had better driver and worker turnout than last year, and better weather – not much fog on Saturday and none on Sunday. The weather was […]

October 2019

September 2019

Solo II SFR Round 10

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.

S2 was led by Justin Moore in a ’06 Porsche Cayman S. In second place was Glenn Austin in a ’05 Nissan 350Z, with Rishi Kirby taking the last podium spot in a ’18 Honda Civic Type R. The rest of S3 included Youmna Zalzal, Eric Martin, Howard Yang, Gary Fazekas, Jonathan Domagala, Chris Guzman, John Gamble, Wade Spurlock, Ryan Herbst, Tj Kloby, Fangzhou Jiao, Aaron McCollum, Amon Pereira, Thomas Flewell, Robert Hudspeth and Brian Berry.

August 2019

2019 SFR Road Racing Championship – Regional Races 9 & 10

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.

July 2019

SCCA Sacramento Round 5

Early was dry late was Wet

The weatherman predicted rain and for once he was right. The morning run groups got through 90% of their runs before the rain started to fall. I for one didn’t have windshield wipers on my car, so a careful placed rag had to suffice. There is an old saying that a bad day at the track is still better than a great day at the office. Everybody that showed up to race had a great time and left with a smile.

June 2019

Wheelworks – Why do they do it?

By Blake Tatum

Ever since I was a kid I was jealous of the men and women who worked at the SCCA events. I think my jealousy came from the eyes of a ve year-old kid at the race track. When you are ve years old, your attention span is short as well as your stature. Back then, SCCA races were at places that were converted into race tracks, such as the port of Stockton. There were no grandstands; and the ability to see the action on the racetrack was determined either by height or status. Since I did not have status, I had to rely on height, which I did not have. Naturally, the fencing at these converted race tracks was wooden snow fencing (how did that ever y). When you are less than four feet tall, your view of the race track was the total sum of ashes of light that would pass between the slats of the snow fencing. I remember seeing Corvettes, Cobras, and Porsche’s ash by, only to disappear to an area unknown. I would wait and the ashes of the cars would come by again. The time between the cars ashing by was painful; and the idea that the people holding the ags knew where they were going was even more painful. When the races were over, I would just stare at the people wearing the SCCA of cial clothing. I would wonder how I could be one of those guys.

May 2019

Wheel Works – Good Bye Sherry

By Blake Tatum

Every organization has that one go to person that knows the ins and outs of the operation. We have all seen it, the person that knows the history behind every change. The person that knows who caused a certain policy implementation. The person that could tell you what the organization did last year as well as what they did five years ago. They can tell you who got things done and who caused more work than they were worth. This person is usually not the boss or the face of the organization but is usually one layer down from the top. When everyone is stumped on what to do they go to this person for the answer. It is the person the boss or owner sends everyone to answer the hard questions. The San Francisco Region of the SCCA has such a person. This person is the regional manager Sherry Grantz.

April 2019

Worker of the Weekend

Alan Mertens – F&C. Selected by the Stewards Group.

“Alan Mertens was staffing Turn Two box covering Flag & Comm positions. Seven cars came through on the second lap of the Miata Race. Several cars spun and several had body contact. The situation was chaotic, at best. Alan provided accurate and valuable information as the incident unfolded. After the situation settled down, Alan provide a concise and detailed report, that allowed Race Control and responding workers the ability to make quick and safe decisions that allowed the incident to be cleaned up and racing to resume. Through it all, Alan maintained a calm and informative demeanor that was reflective of his many years of track service. Well done!”