21  Dec 2007

Happy Holidays!


I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. Please note that our club meeting will be on January 8th instead of the 1st due to New Years.


Club News:


In case you messed out on the elections for the 2008 officers and for whatever reason you don't frequent the forums (which you should), they are as follows:


RE - Nick Amick
ARE - Brian Johns
SC - Steve Crotts
ASC - Kevin Burch
Treasurer - Allison Nash
Secretary - Tara Johns
RC- Randy Lee

BoD - Dan Chadwick, Brian Johns, Brendan Thompson, Tara Johns, Steve Crotts, Barry Vincion, Andrew Cowden



**Our Awards Banquet is tentatively scheduled for January 26th, 2008 at Legends in Smyrna. Please check out the thread in the forums for more information on this as it will be updated as the date gets closer. Also, please either post in the thread or contact Andrew at cd@trscca.com and let him know if you are attending and how many will be in your party.


**Recently the SCCA decided and voted in favor of change in their membership policy. Starting in 2008 you will have to either be a SCCA member or signup for a Weekend Membership in order to run a sanctioned SCCA event, be it Solo, Time Trials, etc. What does this mean to you? It means that if your are currently not a member of our region that you will be paying $35.00 instead of $30.00 in 2008 and beyond. I'm am sure this will cause some discussion not only with our regions' non-members but with others regions also. But let me say this, the SCCA recommended to every region to raise their non-member fees by $15.00 and we decided to only raise it by $5.00. You can by as many weekend memberships as you like, but it will cost you more to do so. There are a few reasons why the SCCA did this but the main reason was so that all members at an event have the same insurance coverage and clubs are not as liable as they were for non-members. 
Now, there is a perk to this if you want to call it that, if you buy a weekend membership and decide to join the SCCA, you get to take $15.00 off of the normal membership dues which is currently $70.00, add that to our policy of you get that event free if you are new and join our region, it's a pretty good deal. If you run more than two AutoX's a year, it is well worth the price to join.
There will also be a thread on this topic in the Solo section of the forum, so if you have a comment, post it there but remember, this was a decision made by the SCCA National Office, not our region.

--
Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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31  Oct 2007

Hello...

Club Notes:

We will be having elections for our 2008 officers at our upcoming meeting this Tuesday. November 6th. These elections will determine who runs our club for the upcoming year so it is very important to come out and make your voice heard. If you can't make it to this meeting then the next one is the most important of the two as it will be where the actual voting and elections take place. The following positions will be up for grabs: Regional Exec, Asst. RE, Solo Chair, Asst. SC, Treasurer, and Secretary. Also there should be a couple of board members being voted in also.

Also remember that if you are running for year end points, that you must vote in the December election in order to receive a year end award.

AutoX News:

The end of September was the Solo Nationals at Topeka and was a worth while trip for many of us that went from our region. Brian Johns and his wife, Tara Johns, both won the National Championship in E Stock and E Stock Ladies so next time you see them let them know what a awesome job they did representing the club! Also Carter Thompson finished 3rd in B Stock and future TR member and current ETR member Jason Collet won the National Championship in A Stock.

We only have two events remaining before our season is over for this year, so if your like a lot of us who go through NRS (no racing
syndrome) then you need to make sure to make it out to our last two events of the year.

RallyX News:

We had our final Rally of the year a few weeks ago and as I have said many times, this is something you just have to try, it's a blast! As for next years schedule there are rumors that Nashville may play host to the National Rally Championships and our Rally Chair, Randy Lee finished 5th at this years Nationals in Nebraska just this past weekend. Good job Randy!
--
Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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03  Sept 2007

Hello!

First off, let me say that I hope for all our sakes that the heat wave is over and we can enjoy some somewhat cooler weather. If you came to an event the last couple of months, you know where I am coming from!

We are still in need of event chairs for a couple of events this year so please help out the club and host an event. Contact Andrew Cowden and he will hook you up.
Also, in case you don't read the forums, which you should be, the club officers voted in a couple of changes that take effect this year. 
First, you must either be present or mail in your vote for officer elections in December in order to qualify and receive a year in trophy for the points championship. Second, we are now holding a raffle drawing for a free AutoX at each of our club meetings. These new changes were done to try and get some involvement from new people in the club. There are only about 10 or so that put a lot of effort into the club to make sure that things happen for the rest of us and sometimes it can get old so we are just trying to do whatever we think may help to draw in more involvement from our members.

As of this week, the first posting of the TRSCCA point standings is up for your viewing pleasure. Just click on events and results to take a look.

The month of September is a big month for a lot of us as it means that The Tire Rack Solo Nationals in Topeka are at the end of the month and from what I am told it is a blast. I will be finding out for myself this year and I am looking forward to it.
We also have (2) events in September with one this upcoming Sunday and another on the 16th, so make sure to come out and enjoy! And after all the September fun, we have OctoberFast to look forward to as this years event will also be a Southeast Super Regional. This will be your chance to see how you might stack up against some of the best in the Southeast.

RallyX - And don't forget that after a short layoff that there is a RallyX event on Sept. 9th, so get your beater out and come on out and play in the dirt!
--
Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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28  March 2007

Hello all!

It's been a while since my last column here but if you missed this past weekend, you missed a heck of an event put on by Jason Farley. We had a
95 car turnout, great weather, and a great course! Our next event is April 15th and we hope to see another big turnout.

We are also still in need of Event Chairs for this season, so please, if you have been with the club for a while by now you have a pretty good idea of how things work. It's not a very hard thing to do and it gives you the chance to run the show and design a course your way. 
There is a sign-up area within the forums, so stop by and take a look at the schedule and see if you can help out.

RallyX News

This weekend is also the our 2nd RallyX of the year and happens to be a National Event also. Unlike last year, it is just a one day event and will take place on Sunday April 1st.
There will also be some festivities the day before. For more information on that, see the Rally X Discussion pages within the forums.

Hope to see everyone out soon!
--
Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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08  January 2007

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holidays!

Our awards banquet is scheduled for January 27th at Jack's BBQ at 7:00pm. The cost is 25.00 and you need to RSVP with Dan Chadwick by January 20th in order to reserve your spot. This is the same place the awards banquet was held last year and it was a great time with excellent food. For more information click here


Also our tentative 2007 AutoX schedule has been posted and you may view it here http://www.trscca.com/trscca/soloschedule.html

Also, our RallyX schedule should be up shortly for the 2007 year so if you haven't found yourself a beater yet, you need to start looking because RallyX is more fun than anyone could possibly imagine!

As a club, we are looking to do some other things also this year and we get things worked out, we will let you all know what they are. Hope to see everyone out this year!
--
Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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13  October 2006

Hello folks,

Octoberfest is a week away. This is our big two day AutoX event with door prizes, food, and a mini runoff at the end of each day. It's a great two days of racing and for more information follow this link: http://s91719888.onlinehome.us/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1107

Also, it takes 10 events to qualify for year end points. If you are a member of our region and haven't qualified yet, this would be the time to come on out and finish up the year in style.

Also, I would like to remind everyone that our November meeting will also be the time for elections for new officers for the upcoming year. This decides who will run the club for the next year. If there is a meeting you should come to, this would be the one with the December meeting being the second because this is when we elect the new officers. So please try to come out and support the club. We meet at Logan's on Elliston, downtown at 7:00pm. November 7th is the day to circle on your calendar. Funny, this is also the day you should be supporting the democratic way in our country, so get out and VOTE!

Hope to see everyone soon!
--
Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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22  August 2006

RallyCross News:

The Tennessee Region just hosted its first National Rally Cross and it was a excellent event. We had some unforeseen timing issues but overall it was a great event. Many thanks must be given to Randy Lee for his time to the RallyCross program and to the National event. Also, a thanks to the Chattanooga Region for their help with the National event.

We had a few of our own in trophy positions also. Brian Johns took the win in Stock Front wheel drive with Andrew Cowden placing 2nd. Jesse Schuster, Randy Lee, and myself also were in trophy positions.

Like I have said before, RallyCross is a lot of fun and you don't need anything expensive to run. Just find yourself a old beater and come out and play in the dust or mud depending on the weeks weather.

AutoCross News:

We have had pretty good attendance this year especially considering that most of our events have had the threat of rain. We are still in need of Event Chairs, so please step up and help out the club and chair an event.

--
Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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26 April 2006

Hello folks,

As our season is getting into full swing, I would like to thank eveyone who has came out this season and hope you enjoyed yourself. I would like to make a couple of points also, up in the left hand corner of this screen there is a Discussion Forum link with alot of useful informaion there so please visit it.
Second, we are using a barcode system this year that makes things alot easier. Until you see how much work goes into running this club and a event by just a few people,, you can not start to understand how helpful this system is. In order for this system to work though it requires (3) simple things from you. First, to keep up with them, you should or will receive (2) of them when you register(ed). Second, place one on your helmet on your left hand side. If you are currently using a loaner helmet then place it on plastic card of some type or your cars left hand side of the windshield and keep it with you at the events. Third, make sure it is with you when you come to the starting line. It would be much appreciated by those running the events.

AutoX News

As some of you may know the Walnut Ridge Solo National was earlier this month and I believe we had 11 members attend with Jerry Onks, Dan Chadwick, Brian Johns, Andrew Cowden, and Tara Johns all bringing home trophies. A excellent showing from our region.
Our next AutoX is May 7th and I believe we will be doing a Novice Buddy System. This was a idea presented by Jim Thompson and Brandon Vincent has stepped up to be the goto guy as the Novice Chief. What this all means is that if you are a Novice and you would like a experienced autocrosser to ride with you for the day and help you out then someone will be assigned as your buddy to help you out with all your questions for the day.

RallyX News

Our next RallyX is May 6th and if you do not have a car for this than you are missing out. This is ALOT of fun. If anything come out and watch just to see how much fun it is.

--
Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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21 FEB 2006

What's up?

Unfortunately it is still February and the weather is up and down but as you should be aware of our first AutoX of the season is coming up on March 5th and I look forward to seeing everyone out there.

There is currently a group buy on helmets going on so check out the website under General Discussion for more information if you would like to get in on the group buy.

There also has been a class change in regards to OS/OS2. It will be a indexed street tire class for the upcoming season. The reasons for this were many and I believe it will make it a better class for all that used to run in that class under the old rules. For more information, check out the thread under Solo 2 in the forum. You may also contact Brian Johns for a more complete understanding because he did all the homework on this. (He seems to be quite good at the homework thing.)

Rally Cross News

Things are looking great for our new RallyX program with Nashville being chosen to host a National Event on August 19th and 20th. I believe there are 5 events on the current schedule at this time. So find you a beater and get ready to come out and play in the dirt.

***NEW RULES***

As of this moment I have yet to see many people jumping at the chance to chair a event this year. Come on people, this isn't nearly as hard as you may think, it is actually quite fun setting up a course that you designed and watching to see how others do on it. With that said, the new rule is that we will form a search party and start hunting members down and coning them to death. 

--
Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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04 JAN 2006

Happy New Year!

Our annual awards banquet will more than likely be held at Jack's Bar-B-Q on January 28th. When everything is set for sure we will post all the information and RSVP information.

We will be once again asking members to step up and Chair events this year, so this will be your chance to design and set up a course to your liking and run the show for a day. If your not feeling quite up to the challenge to go it alone, ask someone to co-chair with you. You have got nearly two months to think about a event that you would like to Chair, so pump up your ______ and make a go of it!

The club has some exciting things that are going to be taking place this year along with our normal Solo2 events. We will be having at least 4 Rally Cross' and some HPDE events. From what I hear the Rally Cross is a real blast and sounds like something that is a must do. We are also making a serious effort to help the Novices out this season and will be adding a Novice class to help them get more comfortable with AutoX. When we have all the details worked out, we will post them on the web site. 

If you attended the January 3rd meeting you should have noticed it was held at Logans Steakhouse on Elliston. It seemed to be a real success and will more than likely be held there for the forseable future.

--

Steve Crotts
Regional Executive
TRSCCA 40

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09 NOV 2005

Nominations/Elections

Well, as most of you are aware, we had nominations for 2006 Club officers at the last meeting. They are as follows:

RE: Gerald Wadleigh, Steve Crotts
Asst RE: Jeff Mellow

Comp Director: Dan Chadwick, Dean Howlett
Asst Comp Dir: Dean Howlett, Kyle Morgan, Brian Johns, Randall Wilcox, Nick Amick

Treasurer: Jason Farley

Secretary: Tara Johns, Andrew Cowden, Mike Balek

Board Members: Brendan Thompson, Nick Amick, Jerry Onks, Dean Howlett, Tara Johns

The nominations will re-open at the December meeting (Dec. 6th) and then the elections will take place. I would encourage everyone who can make it to this meeting to do so. It is very important and will determine how our club is run for the next year, so please attend!

Year End Awards

Many have inquired about year end awards and points. The points appear to be up to date now, so please review yours and make sure that they are correct. If not, please email myself at re@trscca.com or Dan at webmaster@trscca.com.

As stated in our Operating Procedures, in order to qualify for year end awards, you must be a current member of the TRSCCA. If you are a member of another region, we ask that you also join our region, dues are $10.00. Also, you must have competed in at least 10 events in the same class. Several people have 8 or 9 events at this point and will be required to have 10 events to be considered for year end awards. I am uncertain of what the year end awards are going to be at this point, but we are exploring the possibilities of doing jackets for the class winners this year as opposed to trophies in the past. We will also give out 2nd and 3rd place awards (probably plaques) if the class size warrants as our operating procedures state. These awards will be distributed at the TRSCCA Banquet sometime in January. Look for details soon.

RallyCross

Don’t forget our regions first RallyCross is next Saturday, Nov. 19th at the Superspeedway. Randy Lee has done an excellent job at getting this program off the ground and has even secured a sponsor for the first event. Nokian Tyres will be donating a set of winter tires to be given away to one lucky entrant at the RallyCross. Come out and support this exciting new type of event for us. If you don’t have a car that you think is capable of running (low ground clearance, convertible, etc.) Then find someone who will let you co-drive with them, since 4 drivers per car is allowed.

Thanks.
_________________
Brian Johns
ES 97
'95 Miata R

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29 SEPT 2005

Octoberfest is coming soon!

We are in need of event chairs for the upcoming 2 day event we call Octoberfest. One person can take both days or 2 different people can take it. As most of you know that have run Octoberfest before (or August Heat as it was previously), there are some special awards each day and dinner will be served Saturday after the event. The chair who takes Saturday will also be responsible for ordering the food. We had Barbeque last year and it seemed to be a hit, or we could do something else.

For those of you wondering about the Octoberfest special awards, here is the scoop. The class winners and novice winners are all given one additional run at the end of the day each day and whoever is closest to their fastest time will get $50 cash! This has been a game of a few thousands of a second in past years, so consistency counts. Also the top PAX finisher each day will receive an embroidered TRSCCA Polo shirt for their accomplishments.

If you are interested in chairing for either day please let Richard or myself know soon so we can get everything rolling for this event. In addition, we still need event chairs for the remaining events for the year. I have taken the 10/23 event and Andrew has taken the 11/20 event, but all the others are still without chairs. Please step up and help out your club.

We have our monthly meeting coming up next Tuesday, October 4th at the Shoney's downtown beside the coliseum at 7:00 PM. This is your chance to discuss any club business. And speaking of club business, the November meeting will be when officers are nominated for next year. Please be thinking about who you want to be running the club. Many of this years officers have already stated they will not be running for office next year, so it is time for some new blood to step up. Elections for next year's officers will take place at the December.

Brian Johns
ES 97 '95 Miata R
TRSCCA RE

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24 JULY 2005

A lot of people are asking questions and I hope I have most of the answers now.

*First of all, you must be an SCCA member to run the event.
*You must pre-register online at MyAutoEvents.com here before Wednesday night.
*Event flyer with additional info is available here
*OS and OS2 will be available to run. Pre-register in any other class and we will move you at registration on site.
*There is no discount for running one day only, but it is allowed.
*Lunch will be provided both days and snacks/drinks at the welcome party on Friday night.
*Tech and registration will be at the Friday welcome party and Saturday morning before the event. Come Friday if possible, it will help things go faster Sat. morning.
*Cars may be left on site overnight, there is security at the track.
*There is no camping on site, but there is a campground next door (McCrary's)

I hope to see a good representation from the TRSCCA!


Brian Johns

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04 MAR 2005

Just wanted to let everyone know that the vote to raise the entry fee by $5 went through at Tuesdays meeting. I want to take this opportunity to explain to some of you why this had to take place. We had on average 67 cars per event last year, and our 18th event last year just happened to have that many cars, so I used it as a model. The costs for that event were:

Track Rental: $500
Insurance and Sanction fees: $402
Trophies: $70
Supplies: $50
Cones (pro-rated): $20
Total: $1042

Cost per car: $15.55 (This cost would go up with fewer cars)

What that means is if you paid $15 to race, which many do, we were taking a loss of $.55 per car. Under the new insurance and sanction fees, that figure goes up by $2. I hope everyone understands that is why the increase had to take place. So now the new fee structure is:

Entry Fee: $35
Member discount: $5
Student or active military discount: $5
Online registration discount: $5

So now, a student member who pre-registers pays $20

That brings me to my next point. If you are planning on racing this weekend, please pre-register and save yourself $5. If you have money to throw away, give me the $5 and I will pre-register you. You can find the registration link to our event on our website.

Hope to see everyone this weekend! I'm ready to go racing!


Brian Johns

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22 FEB 2005

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you guys and girls know that there is a very important vote at the next meeting. There was a motion made at the Feb. meeting to increase the entry fee for the autocrosses by $5.00 across the board. The reason for doing this is due to the increases in sanction and insurance fees required by the SCCA. Over the past several years these fees have nearly doubled and the club has absorbed this cost up to this point. I know many of you are saying “didn’t we just have a price increase last year?” Well, yes and no. We had a five dollar increase, but offered a discount of the same amount for registering online. So, in theory, no we really didn’t have an increase last year. In runs per dollar, the TRSCCA is still a bargain compared to most clubs. We rarely get less than 6 runs and sometimes get up to 8. Let your voice be heard on this matter at the upcoming meeting and cast your votes accordingly.

Thanks,

Brian Johns

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20 JAN 2005

Less than one week remains to RSVP for the 2004 Award Banquet on Jan. 29th. This year’s awards banquet will take place at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. Cocktails will be served at 6:30 and dinner will be at 7:00 with awards to follow. If you are planning on attending this event, please RSVP to re@trscca.com or 615-907-4860 before Jan 25th. The cost for the banquet is $25.00 per person and pre-payment is preferred. Payment can be sent to the TRSCCA P.O. box at: 

Tennessee Region Sports Car Club of America 
P.O. Box 1385 
Smyrna, TN 37167-1385 

Anyone who is a SCCA member and was on the final points sheet with the 10 race minimum will receive an award, yet many of you have not contacted me about the banquet and I don't want to have to tote a bunch of awards home with me, so get your names into me soon. If you state that you are going to attend and do not show up, you will be required to pay for your meal anyways, so please remember this when confirming your attendance.


Thanks.

Brian Johns

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11 JAN 2005

Only 2 weeks remain to RSVP for the 2004 Award Banquet on Jan. 29th. This year’s awards banquet will take place at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. If you are planning on attending this event, please RSVP to re@trscca.com or 615-907-4860 before Jan 25th. The cost for the banquet is $25.00 per person and pre-payment is preferred. Payment can be sent to the TRSCCA P.O. box at:

Tennessee Region Sports Car Club of America
P.O. Box 1385
Smyrna, TN 37167-1385

If you state that you are going to attend and do not show up, you will be required to pay for your meal anyways, so please remember this when confirming your attendance. Currently I only have 10 names on the list and I know more of you are coming so please get your names in soon. Confirming those already on the list:

Brian & Tara Johns
Randall Wilcox
Brendan Thompson & guest
Dean Howlett
Tim Connors
Andrew Cowden
Gerald Wadleigh & guest

Thanks.

Brian Johns

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08 DEC 2004

Hello everyone!

A big thanks to those of you who either came out to the meeting last night or e-mailed your votes to Tara for inclusion in the election. The new officers for 2005 are as follows:


RE: Brian Johns

Assistant RE: Jeff Mellow

Competition Director: Richard Darnell

Assistant Competition Director: Dean Howlett

Treasurer : Jason Farley

Secretary : Elizabeth Mariutto

Board of Directors: John Bartlebaugh, Dan Chadwick and Andrew Cowden.


If you were not at last night's meeting, than you don't know that Richard Darnell agreed to take the Competition Directors job only after no one else stepped up to volunteer for the position. Richard agreed to serve on one condition- that more people step up and help him with some of the items that he will have to do as Competition Director. One idea that we talked about last year was having "event chairs"- basically, Competition Director for a day. As the event chair, you get to design the track and be in charge at the event, which is actually a pretty cool idea. You can do it with another person or multiple people, thus helping to reduce the number of things that you will have to do. There is also a good size group of people who have been meeting all year on Saturday afternoons to set up the track, so you will not be alone in that endeavor. Also, Richard (or Brian for that matter) will be at the meeting and can help with the Driver's Meeting, Novice Walk-Through and some of the other things you may not be too excited about doing.

Bottom line: we need some help. This club is as great as it is because 15% of its members do 95% of the work. Even if the only change you make is staying later to help clean up, that would be terrific. If you want to help more but are unsure of how to do so, please e-mail me and I can help you out.

Thank you all for a great year. I enjoyed being your RE and am excited about another year of TRSCCA racing!

FYI- we will be having our annual awards banquet sometime in January (most likely on Saturday, January 29th, 2005). Stay tuned for further information once we get everything set in stone.

Brendan

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