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Tampa Racing sets another record: number of readers on Tampa Racing
at the SAME time: 3,302!
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There are currently 309 users online. 1 members and 308 guests
Most users ever online was 3,302, May 5 at 02:11 PM.

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So Tampa Racing reset the counter and mercy sakes! June 22 2016, Another record set for
number of readers on Tampa Racing at the same time: 2,041
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Currently Active Users

There are currently 222 users online. 2 members and 220 guests
Most users ever online was 2,041, 06-22-2016 at 06:36 PM.

Upcoming Events for the Next 14 Day(s)

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The previous record was 2,668 set on August 29 2015
far exceeding the 1,900+ from the "old days".....
and yes folks, as the primary poster accused of "ruining the site"
I accept full responsibility.....

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[h=1]2017 SCCA Crows Landing Championship Tour[/h] Following last weekend's SCCA ProSolo event at Crows Landing, 243 competitors attended the Championship Tour at the NASA airport. This facility was formerly an auxiliary landing facility for the Navy, and boasts arguably the best concrete in the country. The sheer size of the site and the ability to use multiple runways, makes for some long and fast courses.

Course designer Ben Martinez took the opportunity to give the competitors a challenging and fun course. With the start at the intersection of two runways and assorted taxiways, the course went back and forth through four fingers. Speeds for most exceeded 60 mph, with many going over 70 in the fastest sections, as most competitors shifted to 3rd gear three separate times per run. The higher speeds also seemed to spread the competitors more than normal in some cases, with time differentials in many cases being over a second instead of just tenths of a second.

As with the ProSolo, Mazda was again well represented, with three of the top ten people on index driving various Mazda models.

The weather was fantastic with sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s. Once Friday's wind died down, things were much more comfortable.

Heat one featured ES and STR, and the competition was stiff. ES, which is "stock class" first and second generation Miatas and third generation Toyota MR2 Spyders, fortunately had less drama than last week at the ProSolo and was just good, fair competition. After Tony Rodriguez took the top spot last week in an MR2, the Miata presence was strong with seven of the ten drivers in this car. Rodriguez had a wedding to attend, so he was absent this week. Heidepriem showed that his '94 Miata R was strong right out of the box, and never looked back. While he didn't have the fast time in class on Sunday, his lead from Saturday was enough to take the win by 0.331 over one of the MR2 drivers. Dennis Hubbard in his '99 Miata Sport was able to take the fourth and final trophy spot.

(Ron Bauer, pictured above.)

STR was down on attendance this week with "only" 14 drivers, but competition included three of the top four drivers from the 2016 Solo National Championships; competition was strong. As always, everyone would be trying to top James Yom in his 2008 Honda S2000 CR and Ron Bauer in his 2016 Mazda Miata. Ten of the fourteen drivers were in Hondas, with two drivers in NC Miatas and two sharing an ND. Ron Bauer has been developing the ND for Mazda Motorsports and came out strong this weekend, with a nearly 7/10ths lead after first runs. He'd continue to take off more time on subsequent runs while Yom would have to sit on his first run after coning his second and third runs. The day ended with Bauer leading by 1.2 seconds over Yom. Sunday dawned with Yom putting a quicker first run down than Bauer. With a clean run on the books, Bauer could then push harder. Always a fierce competitor, Yom shaved off 0.7 on his second run to pull within 0.064. Bauer answered with a 64.156 to move into the lead by 1.473. Yom's final run was half a second quicker, but had two cones. Bauer was also unable to improve, but would take home a huge win.

"The car was hooked up all weekend and I felt very good about my runs,” said Bauer. “It's huge to finally get the first win over Yom. I'm absolutely loving how we've got the car set up. Anyone interested in setting up their 2016 or newer Mazda MX-5 would be well-served to come to Mazda Motorsports and duplicate our setup."

Second heat action brought CS and DP. These two classes are classic hotbeds for Miatas. After last week's CS class being all 2016 Miatas, this week it was 11 of the 14 competitors. A 2013 MX-5 Club and a 1964 Jaguar XK-E Coupe completed the class. All of the trophies would go to the new Miata, however. ProSolo winner Brian Coulson would take the lead on first runs Saturday, with Jeff Bandes moving into the lead on second runs, and Maurice Velandia bumping Coulson to third. By the time Coulson went out for his final run, Joe Goeke had bumped him to 4th. Coulson wasn't going to stand for that, and put down a 67.1 to take a nearly 4/10ths lead into Sunday over Bandes. Positions would stay the same through second runs on Sunday, but Velandia put down a 66.2 on his final run to move up to second. With the win already in hand before his final run, Coulson tore through the course after an early mistake, improving by a full second. David Peterson would end up in the 5th and final trophy spot behind Goeke.

DP brought seven competitors in familiar cars. The Paula/Ron Baker Miata was present, along with the ex-Keith Brown Miata with new owner Sean Green and co-driver Bret Dodson in that. A 1973 Datson 1200 and 1982 Toyota Starlet completed the field. Ron took the early lead over Paula, with Green taking over 2nd by the end of run 2. Ron increased his lead to a little over 0.4 on his 3rd run with Dodson moving up to 2nd, but Paula as second driver laid it down on her final run to end the day in the top spot! Dodson would take over the top spot on his first run for a few moments with Green moving in front of him as the second driver. Second runs brought Ron back up into the top spot, with Dodson coning away the class lead and Paula improving to bump Dodson out of the trophies. As it turns out, although 3rd runs brought some improvements, the positions would stay the same with Ron Baker taking the win, as Dodson again coned away the win. "I've finally had some time to work on the car, and it showed," said Ron, with Paula exclaiming: "I think this is my first trophy in something like ten years!" We are proud of them.

In the third heat, both STX and BSP were represented in Mazdas. STX had the largest field of the weekend with 23 drivers. This class is mostly dominated by the Scion/Subaru "twins," but that didn't stop Steve O'Blenes from bringing his 2005 RX-8 to the battle. Fueling problems plagued his car on Saturday, with the car pinging most of the day, but he was still able to put down a 3rd run that would leave him in the third position at the end of the day. A replacement fuel pump seemed to cure the problem for Sunday, but the 68 mph 2nd gear rev limiter that had been a benefit on Saturday, wasn't quite high enough for Sunday. Nevertheless, O'Blenes was able to hold onto the 3rd of 7 trophies. O'Blenes is working on being able to re-tune the car and is hoping that will give him what he needs to move even further up the standings.

BSP only brought three drivers in two cars, but reigning National Champion Anthony Porta would tear through the course both days to not only take the win, but finish 5th overall on index for the weekend in his 2005 Mazdaspeed Miata. "These courses were pretty much perfect for the gearing in my car," said Porta. He and his wife, Lauren Kane Porta, also spend a lot of time on these weekends taking pictures, and have been very generous in providing a few of those for this and other articles. Watch for this class to grow next year as Ron Bauer moves here in one of the ND Miatas.

The final heat of the weekend brought the largest number of classes, as SCCA put all of the Ladies classes together in one heat to provide a camaraderie amongst this group in hopes of increasing the attendance in these classes. While everyone would be competing for class wins, the Ladies classes would also be competing on index to determine an overall winner for the weekend. STS and XP open classes would also finish the weekend off.

STS had two drivers competing for one spot. NA Miatas and 1989 era Honda products normally duke it out in this class. Craig Naylor brought his 1995 Miata this weekend and showed no mercy, leading from start to finish.

In XP, eight drivers competed for three trophies. Andy McKee and his wife Teresa Neidel-McKee were again back in their 1993 RX-7. These two drivers showed the rest of the class that they weren't to be messed with, as Andy screamed through the course both days to not only take the win, but second overall on index. Teresa was able to take the second trophy spot home with a nearly two second advantage over the third spot.

ESL brought four Miatas. Jenna Taylor, in a '00, took the lead into 2nd runs on Saturday, with Cat Rice, in her '94 R, jumping to the front in front of Pam Kannan, in her '03. 3rd runs again saw a lead change as Kannan would move to the top spot by 0.3 over Rice. Rice took the lead back on Sunday, and despite losing her oil cap and then DNFing on her final run, would hold on for the win. Kannan nearly caught her on the final run, but fell short by just 0.150, taking the second trophy.

(Catherine Tran, running Steve O'Blenes RX-8, pictured above.)

STXL had four drivers as well, with Catherine Tran running Steve O'Blenes' RX-8. Catherine led the class through the first two runs Saturday, but after a cone on her final run, handed the lead to Jessica Pao in a 2016 Subaru BRZ. Pao would hold onto the lead through second runs Sunday until Tran took off 1.6 seconds on her final run for the win!

(Deanna Kelley, on two wheels, pictured above.)

CSL brought back current National Champion Deanna Kelley in her 2016 MX-5 Miata against Jodi Fordahl in a 2006 MX-5. Deanna showed why she's the top driver in this class, leading start to finish. Her times would have placed her 5th in the Open class, and were also fast enough to earn her the overall win on the Ladies Index component.

The next event will be a ProSolo in Blytheville, AR the first weekend in May.

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Mark Weber: Balancing fun and work at the track

Thursday, 11 May 2017
Longtime racer and racing photographer jumps from his EP Miata to trackside with camera in hand

On any given weekend, Mark Weber may be the busiest guy at the racetrack. Not only is he racing his Miata in SCCA's E Production class, but he's shooting photographs of just about every other car on track, too – often skipping practice to photograph his own group. That's especially true at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, where he serves as one of SCCA's official photographers.

"They put out a story per day and then a story per race for three straight days," Weber says of SCCA's public relations effort at the Runoffs. "Starting a couple of years ago, they wanted us to start dropping off memory cards and then go out and shoot some more. Sometimes I have a film runner that will pick up memory cards from three photographers, run them to the press room, and bring us back empty cards."

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[h=2]Inside SportsCar magazine’s July 2017 issue[/h] Friday, 16 June 2017


By SportsCar staff

SportsCar magazine, the official member magazine of the Sports Car Club of America, has released its July 2017 issue, which dives deep into the world of SCCA RallyCross. This 11-page feature discusses all aspects of SCCA RallyCross, from history of the sport to bettering the driver to championship participation over the years, course design, and car selection. If you've ever wanted to race in the dirt, you don't want to miss this issue.

Another special feature in this issue entitled "The Can't Do That...Can They?" puts the focus on five SCCA racecars that were so revolutionary in their category that the cars changed the face of their classes – or the sanctioning body outright banned them. From the Chaparral 2E and 2J to the Audis of Trans Am to Stohrs in Sports Racing and the Swift DB1 in Formula F, these were the cars that turned racing on its head.
Also in this issue is a study on driver coaching. Rather than theoretically discuss what coaching can bring to the table, SportsCar took two SCCA club racers to the track and paired them with AiM data expert Roger Caddell and professional driver and coach Bryan Heitkotter to see what driver improvements could be made. Did they go faster? Was it worth the money? Find out in this issue.
Additional features in the issue include the advantages (and disadvantages) of building your own race motors, a continuation of SCCA's Camaro project car, and much more.
Members of the SCCA receive SportsCar magazine each month as a benefit of SCCA membership. The issue is available in both physical paper form and online through the member login at www.scca.com. Join the SCCA now and read the digital version of the July 2017 issue of SportsCar tonight.

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[h=2]SCCA June Sprints takes flight this weekend[/h] Friday, 16 June 2017


By SportsCar staff/ Image by Dennis Wood

This weekend, June 16-18, marks the 62nd WeatherTech Chicago Region SCCA June Sprints, a storied event that takes place at the challenging Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Road America opened its gates for the first time in September 1955, and the first race was hosted by SCCA. The summer of 1956 marked the first full season of racing at Road America and it included the Chicago Region June Sprints. Since that first event, the June Sprints has been held every year at Road America – and the Sprints is a truly iconic event, too, with past events seeing such racers as Carroll Shelby, Carl Haas, Augie Pabst, and Briggs Cunningham.
The Sprints always brings with it great road racing. And as a stop on the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour this year, the stakes are high, especially with some 350 competitors registered.
The 2017 June Sprints will see near record-setting fields in classes like Spec Miata, which sits at nearly 60 entries, and always produces close racing. As a preview of what's in store this weekend, check out this video from the 2016 Sprints as seen by Spec Miata competitor Danny Steyn:
Spec Racer Ford and Spec Racer Ford Gen3 drivers have combined for a field of 75 cars at this year's Sprints, making even a mid-pack finish an accomplishment. Want to know what that looks like? Check out Bobby Sak's move from 13th on the grid to a sixth-place finish at the 2016 June Sprints:
The action kicks off with practice on Friday, June 16, followed by qualifying on Friday afternoon and again on Saturday morning. Racing action gets underway on June 17.
For a complete schedule visit https://scca.com/downloads/21044-17-...schedule-final.
As with all stops on the Hoosier Super Tour series, SCCA offers live timing and scoring, along with stationary camera coverage, available at: http://www.scca.com/live.

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Spec Miata Feature:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxd10FJLDgg

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SCCA June Sprints:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmHncG3J2Xc



[h=2]Some "firsts" at SCCA June Sprints at Road America[/h] Saturday, 17 June 2017


SCCA / Image by Digital Automotive Depictions

Even though it's in its 62nd year, the WeatherTech Chicago Region June Sprints, part of the 11-round Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour series, saw a few "firsts" Saturday at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Formula Enterprises driver Dean Oppermann was first to the checkered flag in his class piloting the No. 27 SCCA Formula Enterprises Mazda. He took the lead early in the race, but was chased to the end by Elliot Finlayson who took both FE wins at the Mid-Ohio Hoosier Super Tour stop two weeks ago.
"It's my first June Sprints win, baby!" exclaimed Oppermann after the race. "But it was far from a cakewalk. I got a good start and was able to get into the lead going into turn one, but then got passed going into turn five by two people. I got back by them in turn six, and the others began to mix it up amongst themselves and allowed me to get a little bit of a gap. I then just kept my head down to lengthen that gap as much as I could."
A tremendous Formula F race Saturday ended up producing multiple firsts. Robert Megennis was strong and held the lead for most of the race, but was hounded the entire time by David Livingston Jr., Andrew Bujdoso and Robert Perona. The four duked it out the last few laps with various drivers claiming the top spot from one corner to the next. On the final lap, Megennis' car pulled to the side and Livingston stormed on to cross beneath the checkered flag first. However, Livingston was penalized one finishing position after the race, leaving Bujdoso as the winner in his No. 7 Mygale 1600 vessel. Thus, Bujdoso claimed his first FF win in his first Hoosier Super Tour start, which also happened to be his first ever race with the Sports Car Club of America.
Another amazing race with a surprise ending took place within the Prototype 1 class Saturday. Jason Miller leapt to the lead in his WynnFurst, but fell out of the race six laps later. David Locke inherited the lead, but couldn't hold on as the race neared its conclusion. Tim Day Jr. moved to the front with Jim Devenport's Norma M20FC right on his tail. But Day in his No. 81 TJR Motorsports Stohr WF-1 held on for the win.
"It was a tough race," Day said. "Locke was braking really early and I finally caught him coming into Canada Corner, and Devenport came through with me. But I was able to hold on from there. It was a great race."
The Spec Racer Ford Gen3 event was another race where the winner remained in doubt until the very last corner. A foursome consisting of Brian Schofield, Scott Rettich, John Black and Bobby Sak formed a lead pack at the front of the field and battled almost the whole race. From one lap to the next, one corner to another, the top spot was swapped between the four competitors. On the last lap, with Schofield leading, the pack encountered traffic. This allowed Black and Rettich to claim the first two positions with only a few corners remaining. The duo went side-by-side through the last turn, which actually slowed them up enough for Sak to get a solid launch onto the main straight in his No. 19 Elite Autosport/Revolution10 Breaks SRF3 and beat everyone to the finish line for the win.
"I was fourth starting the last lap and thought 'well, the win is probably not going to happen today,'" Sak said. "But then Schofield was leading when we caught a lapped car going into the Kink, the worst possible place. I had a massive run and was able to get by Schofield. Black and Rettich were side by side through the last two corners. I late apexed, darted down to the inside, and we went three-wide up the straight. Schofield was kind enough to push me to the win."
Sunday presents another Hoosier Super Tour competition day at the WeatherTech Chicago Region June Sprints from Road America with 13-lap morning and afternoon races, and a 15-lap event for Group 8's afternoon race. Follow all the action live at www.scca.com/live.

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SCCA Super Tour’s final battles this weekend at the Glen

Friday, 23 June 2017


By Philip Royle

This weekend marks the final round of SCCA's pinnacle nationwide amateur racing series, the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour. This year's showdown began Jan. 13-15 at Sebring International Raceway, worked its way west to the likes of Buttonwillow Raceway Park and Portland International Raceway, and now, with its 11th race weekend, the series concludes June 23-25 at Watkins Glen International.
Last weekend, the penultimate round of the SCCA Super Tour saw tremendous battles at Road America during the June Sprints, and every indication is that Watkins Glen will not disappoint during the final race for the overall SCCA Super Tour titles.
Case in point, last year's Touring 1 battle for the lead during the Watkins Glen SCCA U.S. Majors Tour race between Joseph Gaudette and Adrian Wlostowski was intense. The duo, both wheeling powerful Chevrolet Corvettes, swapped the lead multiple times while threading through lap traffic during the double-header weekend. That weekend, Gaudette claimed Saturday's win and Wlostowski took the checker on Sunday, albeit with a gap of less than two seconds over Gaudette.
As a preview of this coming SCCA Super Tour weekend's races at the Glen, check out in-car video from Wlostowski's Corvette during that 2016 Sunday race:
And follow along this weekend during the 2017 Hoosier SCCA Super Tour at the Glen. SCCA offers a live timing and scoring feed, along with static cameras placed around the course. Links for those can be found here: https://www.scca.com/events/1986444-...-international.

The video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwC89swIiEQ

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[h=2]SCCA Foundation announces Triple Play raffle[/h] Monday, 03 July 2017


By Jeff Jacobs / Images by Eric Schofhauser, Porsche, Nigel Kinrade/LAT

Building on the excitement generated by last year's SCCA Foundation raffle of an all-expenses-paid trip to the Formula 1 race in Austin, Texas, the Foundation has launched the 2017 Triple Play Raffle with tickets on sale until Aug. 16 of this year. As the charitable arm of the SCCA, the Foundation raises funds to support three core programs: the preservation of the history of American motorsports through the SCCA Archives, saving teen drivers' lives through the Tire Rack Street Survival program, and encouraging automotive engineering programs through Formula SAE competition. These raffles help fund that, and more.
Last year's SCCA Foundation raffle winner was SCCA Houston Region member and Spec Racer Ford driver Mike Littrell. Proceeds from that raffle have already been deployed to pay for the work by the archivists at the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen, N.Y., who are pouring through the SCCA collection with enthusiasm, and to support the growing teen driving program.
The "Triple Play" branding for this year's raffle reflects the fact that the Foundation will be awarding three prizes instead of the usual single prize, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the organizations that donated them. The prizes will be awarded in the order the tickets are drawn on Aug. 18.
Individual tickets are $20, but buying in bulk brings more bang for the buck as 20 tickets cost only $10 each. "SCCA members and Regions have been very generous in their support for the Foundation," says Foundation President John Zuccarelli, who urges members to buy tickets "early and often" since the raffle is the single biggest fundraiser of the year for the Foundation.

The first ticket drawn will be for two passes to a two-day, high-performance driving course at the Porsche Sport Driving School at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., plus $2,500 in cash for travel expenses. The holder of the second ticket drawn will win a NASCAR race weekend experience. This prize includes four tickets to the Bank of America 500 NASCAR race at Charlotte on Oct. 7, 2017, plus race day pit passes, a private behind-the-scenes tour of the Hendrick Motorsports campus and private car collection, four tickets to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and $4,000 in cash for travel expenses. The lucky third ticket will earn its owner a trip for two to a three-day rally driving course at the DirtFish Rally School in Snoqualmie, Wash., and $3,500 in cash for travel expenses.

There's no restriction on the transfer of the prizes, except that the driving courses may have minimum age or license requirements (for example, the minimum age is 21-years old for the Porsche program). Tickets are available for sale online at www.sccaraffle.org.


Find out more about the Sports Car Club of America at www.scca.com.

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[h=2]SCCA: Inside SportsCar magazine’s August issue[/h] Tuesday, 11 July 2017


By SportsCar Staff

Mailboxes of SCCA members will soon contain the August 2017 issue of SportsCar magazine, the official member magazine of the Sports Car Club of America. Gracing the cover this month is longtime SCCA road racer Brian Linn. Chasing a dream that began in 1979, Linn has battled racers, luck and himself in a multi-decade hunt for a win at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. The journey started humbly with Linn at his father's side, and continues to this day with his dad standing by his. A story of family, determination and perseverance, Brian Linn's motorsports journey is one every true racer will enjoy.
And there's more in the August issue, including an in-depth interview with Michael Cobb, SCCA's new President and CEO. Cobb's history with the SCCA began decades ago, with him returning to the "club" fold 10 years back. Now, Cobb combines his love of the SCCA with his keen business acumen, so SportsCar's editor dives in to uncover Cobb's past, present and future.
Also in this issue, readers will find a feature on trailers and trailer accessories, a history of automotive steel, the continuation of SCCA's tow vehicle torture test and a how-to for fulfilling your dream of wheel-to-wheel racing.
Members of the SCCA receive SportsCar magazine each month as a benefit of SCCA membership. The issue is available in both physical paper form and online through the member login at www.scca.com. Join the SCCA now and read the digital version of the August 2017 issue of SportsCar tonight.