Event #4 Report
By Phil Osborne

Event number 4, billed as our annual Speedway Children's Charity event, went off without a glitch on Sunday, June 19. The only downside was the limited number of entries, and I feel certain a large portion of that was due to the event being held on Father's Day. Only 114 of 124 registered drivers crossed the start/finish at the Texas Motor Speedway bus lot, a fine piece of asphalt meauring 1160 feet x 460 feet. This lot has been used by several clubs, including SCCA for several years, and has traditionally been a good place to autocross with two exceptions. First, logistically, it has been a problem getting cars from Grid in the remote parking lot which also houses Paddock. Drivers were required to drive more than 500 feet on a public road to the entrance of the bus lot, and return to the remote grid after each run, which created it's own unique problems. Second, this lot is normally re-sealed annually, however, it has been nearly two years since the last protective coating was applied. The upside of this, although traction is still somewhat limited when compared to Pennington Field or other concrete surfaces, or even the infield asphalt road course, it has most certainly improved over previous years. Another improvement for this event was coning off a grid section on the bus lot itself. This was accomplished without seriously affecting the design of the autocross course. Although there some early grid issues, those were quickly recognized and handled by the organizing staff, allowing the event to run smoothly, and quickly. The course design allowed three cars on course at a time, with 25 second interval spacing, thus allowing course workers time to reset penalty cones without red-flagging the next car, at least in most cases. The course had a mix of fast and slow turns, a couple of 65 foot, four cone slaloms, plus a couple of areas where power was king, and you could accellerate rather briskly. Average time on course was in the mid to high 60 second range. Some of the more technical areas required finesse and patience to go fast, and many of our best drivers figured that out on their first runs, as times began dropping quickly by the third run or so. A bonus to those who were able to attend and participate was the addition of an extra run, for a total of five. Several wins were based on the strength of that fifth run, including Tim Bergin in STU, driving Henry Lin's WRX STi to the win over Buzz Draper and his M 3.

Texas Region is pleased to announce the arrival of a few new, Nationally competitve Autocrossers to the fold. Each of these folks made their first Texas Region SCCA appearance at this event, showing the locals why they are well known and respected at National Tour/Pro Solo, and National Championship events. Brian Fitzpatrick, the current D Stock National Champion, recently moved to McKinney along with his lovely wife Kathy, and their very young daughter. Brian had shown his abilities to the locals at a previous Equipe Rapide event at Pennington Field, driving his D Stock yellow Integra Type R to top PAX. His first appearance in a Texas Region event would be more of the same, taking top PAX in D Stock, while Kathy claimed the second place D Stock trophy and captured fourth in the PAX index.

Mark Sipe is also well known in National competiton, and is a former member of the Solo Events Board, commonly known as the SEB, and current member of the Street Touring Advisory Committee, aka STAC. He is also the past Southeast Division Solo Steward. Most of Mark's past accomplishments came through BMW Z3 and Z4 competiton cars, with a SS Z0 6 in between. He is currently flogging an RX 8 Mazda in B Stock, and from all indications, he will have an outstanding year. Welcome to all three of these competitors. We are happy to have you among us.

While Brian was taking top PAX index time, eleven time National Champion Tommy Saunders was driving his B Mod car to top time of day, posting a crowd pleasing 54.374 in the process.

Please note our next event will be at Pennington Field, in Bedford, on July 17th. Hopefully, with Father's Day behind us, entry levels will be up to last year's average. Remember, Texas Region allows four attempts at our challenging courses, and our entry fees are competitive for both members and non members. Hope to see you there....