MEETING MINUTES FOR CNYR SCCA, WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:16 p.m. by R.E. Ed Leubner
R.E. REPORT: R.E. Ed Leubner welcomed all to the meeting, including Ed Tucker who recently
participated in the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
Ed asked for a motion to accept the June 10, 2015 meeting minutes as they appeared on our web-site.
Mark Mangicaro so moved, Karl Hughes seconded, motion carried.
Ed said he still had a few SCCA tee-shirts available in LG and XLG for SCCA and SCCA SOLO and to see him
at the end of the meeting if anyone was interested in purchasing one (or more).
He also said that the recent CNYR SCCA SOLO held at the New York State Fairgrounds was wet but fun.
John Speicher, an entrant, presented the region with a $50 check from Royal Chevy on Rte 281 in
Cortland which will be put toward SOLO sponsorship. Thank you to Royal Chevy for their donation.
Ed reported that the 2016 National Convention will be moved back to Las Vegas.
Ed also discussed a report from National on membership numbers for various regions.
For a region of our size they estimated we should have 151 members and as of May, 2015 we stand at
154 members so we’re right in the ball park. Our retention rate is 89%.
The approx. membership for SCCA as a whole is 48,000.
Track Night in America is proving very popular and is showing an approximate attendance of 40% non-
SCCA members, so the potential exists for new members through the program.
ASST.R.E. REPORT: Mark Bizzozero was absent but did tell Ed that he stopped by the NYSF SOLO to
observe for a while, but did not do any runs and that he enjoyed the recent non-SCCA Rally Cross event
held at Rolling Wheels Raceway in Elbridge.
TREASURER REPORT: Jay Cartini was absent but had sent a financial statement to the R.E. and Secretary.
As of June 30th we have a balance of $6,461.47, which does not include the NYSF event.
SECRETARY, F&C REPORT: Bob Holcomb had nothing new for a Secretary Report but in the absence of
F&C Chief Mick Levy he discussed the recent Tudor Series and SCCA MAJORS Tour held at Watkins Glen.
The weather for each, as has been the norm recently, was wet at Watkins Glen.
The entry for the Tudor series was down on Prototypes vs. some earlier events in the series.
The MAORS had some good racing, particularly in some of the lower open wheel classes and the as
expected Spec. Miata and SRF/SRF Gen 3 groups.
Next up is the Glen Region Sprints 18th and 19th which will be run on the short course as the SCCA
MAJORS was the last event of the shortened WGI season to use the boot. Repaving will start in the boot
and the hallowed turn 8 gravel trap will be extremely altered by next season. The RSI Fire crew held a
good bye ceremony to it on Sunday the 5th .
ACTIVITIES REPORT: Ted Barbuto reminded everyone of our annual picnic to be held at the Onondaga
Lake Yacht Club Wednesday, August 12, 2015 from 6pm to 8pm. The tariff is $10 per member and $5
for kids 12 and under.
Ted reminded those that will bring their “race cars” to put the numbers on them for the hundreds of
walkers on the parkway to see.
Bob Holcomb asked if SCCA membership applications could be available for any walkers that may be
interested? Ed Leubner said he believed we had application forms on hand.
SOLO REPORT: Scott Newton reported on the NYSF SOLO. He said with only 44 entrants we didn’t quite
meet quota but when averaged with our event there last year, we at least broke even.
Each entrant got in 8 runs under what Scott said were wet, but drying, conditions.
Karl Hughes said he set up the course for a wet run and it worked well.
There were no incidents to report on and special thanks to Mark Bizzozero’s mother-in-law for sewing
four new red flags for the SOLO program.
Ed Leubner said the average start interval was about 25 seconds which kept things moving smoothly.
Scott has SOLO paperwork for Jay Cartini and will wait to present it to Jay.
The next event will be in Fulton, NY with set up on July 24th and the event on July 25th.
The SOLO van is still at J&J but may be used for the event since it is prior to inspection dating.
Scott is still looking for a storage lot for the van and Rex Franklin said he thought he knew a location.
Scott said that so far only one “free” membership has been used at a SOLO event.
Leo Sawyer mentioned that the Corvette Club of Binghamton is having an event at Cherry Valley on July 19th
RALLY CROSS REPORT: Jim Quattro said the non-SCCA American Rally Cross, based on the European style
of Rally Cross, event at Rolling Wheels Raceway on July 1st was wet and muddy. Jim said the stands
were packed for the regular racing groups so they got a good look at what Rally Cross was all about,
which included a final lap crash causing one car to catch fire.
The “new dirt” mud from the wet surface smeared on windshields so it was an accident caused by lack
of visibility, no injuries were reported, unless you count to check books.
Some areas of the track were drained of water to make it dryer, then it rained again and Jim fought a
losing battle to keep some areas of the track dry so the track was slightly altered to avoid the wet.
The next SCCA Rally Cross will be at Rolling Wheels Raceway on Sunday, July 12th.
COMPETITION REPORT: In the absence of Mike Gagliardi, Jim Quattro said work at CNYRP is proceeding,
however at a slow pace. The dirt oval will be the first to be completed, followed by the road course.
Ed Leubner reported on the recent CHUMP CAR event at Calaboogie in Ontario, Canada.
Jon Coffin and Karl Hughes stayed home, but the team which included at least the following, Ed Leubner,
Ed Tucker, Wes Davis, Mike Donofrio, John Loughlin and Mark Leitenberger did quite well, finishing 5th
over-all on Saturday and first in class and 4th over-all on Sunday and first in class.
Ed Tucker reported on his recent trip to the Pikes Peak Hill Climb to run in the electric powered class.
Ed said their vehicle had approximately 180HP and was essentially a converted SRR (an early version of
the current SRF). Unfortunately they had to run against two pro-teams sporting all-wheel drive cars of
1350 HP & 1475 HP driven by pro-drivers.
Ed found out that practice days required early wake up calls often at 2 a.m. to get started for set ups by
3 a.m. then practice runs to start at first light. Practice runs were conducted on 3 consecutive days and
each day approx. 1/3 of the course was open for practice which closed at 9 a.m. and traffic was then
opened to the public.
Saturday was set-up day and the racing was held on Sunday.
Depending on the day of the week, it was either moderate or cold and with or without snow.
Jim Quattro said he will be leaving in a few days to be co-driver in a Group 5 entry for an upcoming
event held one day in Maine and one day in New Hampshire. Best wishes on a good event and a bottle
of Dramamine to Jim.
OLD BUSINESS: None.
NEW BUSINESS: Jon Coffin said he would be attending a Track Night in America event at Thompson
Speedway in CT this week. He will be a worker for two for the three sessions and get to run a third
session at a reduced rate due to working. He has his Rabbit all ready to go and is looking forward to the
event. It will be a standard driving experience, although with no instructors, no race prepped cars, and
is expected to have groups from novice to intermediate to advanced.
Gerritt Van Vranken said he has a canopy and monitors available for our upcoming display at The Street
Scene at Long Branch Park on August 22nd.
Mark Mangicaro asked if there was a way to give SOLO competitors a heads up at the end of their runs
including such information as “off course”, “hit cones”, “clean run”, etc.? He was disappointed that at a
recent event he wasn’t told that he had no times at the end of his runs.
It was mentioned that if an entrant was having too much trouble with a course they could be assigned
an instructor to ride along with them.
50-50: Won by Jon Coffin for $4 which will buy him a gallon and change of gas as he heads to CT.
ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn was made by Rex Franklin, seconded by Karl Hughes, motion
carried, meeting adjourned at 8:47 p.m.
Submitted by Bob Holcomb, Secretary, CNYR SCCA