WASHINGTON D.C. REGION
SPORTS CAR CLUB OF AMERICA
Flagging and Communication
Newsletter
August 2010

BRIDGE LIGHTS
The last two MARRS events we’ve experienced problems with the lights under the bridge, to the point that we were unable to use them at the last MARRS event. We returned the controller and the receiving unit to the manufacturer, who determined that there was a failure in the receiver. The problem has been fixed, and the lights should be fully functional at the next MARRS. Speaking of which……

MARRS 7
MARRS 7 is only a week away! Come join us at Summit Point on August 7th and 8th for another fun-filled round of the Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series. If you’re near a computer (which you must be, because you are reading this), go to the DLB website and register now! As usual, the DLB website can be accessed from the main page of the Region’s website, www.wdcr-scca.org.
MARRS 7 Schedule:
Saturday Flag Meeting: 7:30 am at the base of the tower
Registration Schedule: Friday – 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Saturday – open 7:00 am for workers
Sunday – open 7:45 am for workers

MARRS 8 at NJMP and the POCONO NATIONAL
The eighth round of the MARRS series will be held August 21-22 at New Jersey Motorsports Park on the Thunderbolt circuit. Come on out and support the MARRS drivers, as well as our New Jersey friends. You can register on the DLB website, the South Jersey Region website (http://www.sjr-scca.org/clubracing.html), or by e-mailing Dan Zane at zaner439@aol.com .
Also don’t forget the Tri-Region National at Pocono, held this year August 13-15. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Tri-Region, and to celebrate the weekend is jam-packed with special events, including a 3-hr Enduro on August 13, National qualifying and a 40 minute vintage race sponsored by Historic Racing Group on August 14, and National Races and a restricted regional for “Miatas and Friends” on August 15. And of course it’s Pocono, so it is practically guaranteed to be perfect weather….. You can register for this event at the NESCCA website (www.nescca.com).

LABOR DAY DOUBLE – RACING, CHARITY, AND A CHANCE TO BE HEARD
It is not too early to start planning for the annual Labor Day Double MARRS, to be held this year September 4 – 6. In addition to a fantastic three days of racing, this will be your chance to be heard, as the annual open competition meeting will be held outside of Chez Summit on Sunday, September 5. Everyone is encouraged to attend and share with the Club Racing Committee what they think is working and what they think might not be working. As for the latter, the BoD’s decision to eliminate the WDCR National race this year was probably the decision that caused the greatest amount of angst amongst the members. You will likely hear at the open competition meeting that the current BoD supports the return of National Racing to the region in 2011, and are actively working to that end.
As usual, the Labor Day Double is also our annual charity fundraising weekend. This year there are two main goals for the fundraising efforts: raise $20,000 for the Middleway Volunteer Fire Department which serves Summit Point Raceway, and donate 500 new books, toys and games to Jackson’s Toy Box which benefits Dr. Bear’s Closet at Children’s National Medical Center.

All fund raising activities will be held on Saturday, September 4, on the Washington Circuit at Summit Point Raceway. There will be transportation from the Summit paddock to the Washington Circuit and parking is also available. Plans are still be formalized but attendees can look forward to Kart Races, casino games and a kids carnival. The hospitality party and dinner will also take place near the Washington Circuit. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Wendy Collins at wcollins@hrconstruction.com. Keep an eye on the region website for additional details as they become available. All participants are encouraged to bring a new book, toy, or game to donate to Jackson’s Toy Box.

WORKER LUNCHES
The following race groups will be providing worker lunches the rest of the year.
Sunday, August 8 – ITB/ITC/ITS (with the Region)
Saturday, September 4 – SM/SSM
Saturday, October 9 – Small Bore/Big Bore
Sunday, October 10 – ITA/IT7/SRX7
Please make sure to thank the drivers of those groups for their hospitality!

BALTIMORE GRAND PRIX
I know that everyone is anxious for news on next year’s IRL race in Baltimore. Rest assured that our Regional Executive, Evanthe Salisbury has been on top of this project from the beginning. She has already had meetings with the organizers and promoters and will be working on a contract for the Region in the not too distant future. Look for updates from Evanthe on the Region’s website.

BoD NOMINEES
The Nominating Committee has approved the following WDCR members to be listed on the ballot for the Board of Directors elections, to be held beginning September 1, 2010 (note the names are in order of member number):

Jack Burrows #80303
Lin Toland #251753_1
Brian Burdette #259989
Eric Kriemelmeyer #276167
Kim Ratcliffe #287515
Marshall Lytle #299596
Gregg Ginsberg #300661
Chris Windsor #330405

Please remember to cast your vote when the voting window opens September 1. Vote early! Vote often! No, wait, forget that last one. But make sure your vote is heard! Candidate bios will be up on the region website soon.

THE STRAIGHTPIPE
Don’t forget that the Washington D.C. Region’s newsletter, The Straightpipe, is now an online-only publication, with its own website www.straightpipemagazine.com. If your inner Chris Economaki (you younger folks can google him) is just begging to be released, consider writing an article for The Straightpipe. The editors are always grateful for submitted articles and pictures, and F&C even has its own section!

F&C NEWSLETTER

In addition to the e-mailed copy and to help you keep in touch the newsletter is also posted on the WDCR web site each month and available through:

http://www.wdcr-scca.org/ClubRacing/FC/FCNewsletter/tabid/1575/Default.aspx

CONTACT INFO
There is a common e-mail address for the WDCR FM staff; FandC@wdcr-scca.org automatically sends a note to each of the WDC Flag Marshals.
If you would like to contact us individually (please note new e-mail addresses for Dale and Cheryl):
Greg McDermott: gjmcdermott@cox.net
Wayne Armbrust: sccaflag@visuallink.com
Dale Ferril: dale.ferril@gmail.com or 301 322 3240 (M~F 8am to 5pm)
Cheryl Hasychak: hasy1977@gmail.com

Please note: This e-mail message was sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming e-mail. Please do not reply to this message.

Please support WDCR’s sponsors!

Apple Ford (http://www.appleford.com)

Apple Ford Lincoln Mercury in Columbia, MD is one of the premier dealerships, and offers one of the most comprehensive parts and service department in the automotive industry. Their website is a convenient place to get all the information you’re looking for about them, and their extensive selection of vehicles.

OG Racing (http://www.ogracing.com/pages/Home)

OG Racing’s full line of Sparco racing suits to their custom built Porsche roll cages are “Making Racers Safer”.

Radial Tire (http://www.radialtire.com/)

Since 1976, Radial Tire Company has been providing the Washington D.C. Area with quality tires and the finest service. They have earned a reputation as the premier specialist in hard to find performance tire and wheel applications. They stock tires from all of the top manufacturers, for whatever you drive, from small economy cars, to SUVs and trucks. Their mission is to assist you in getting the most out of your tires and car.

Summit Point Kart (http://www.summitpointkart.com/)

Summit Point Kart is bringing “arrive and drive” karting to the region’s favorite race facility, Summit Point Motorsports Park.

Folks,
For those of you who have registered for the Marlboro Reunion during the Jefferson 500 this coming weekend, here is our Reunion schedule:

Thursday 9:00am to 5:00pm Registration/Pickup credentials

Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm Registration/Pickup credentials
10:00am Storytelling Sessions in Banquet Tent
2:00pm Storytelling Sessions in Banquet Tent
6:00pm Reunion gathering and Dinner (pre-registration required)

Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm Registration/Pickup Credentials
10:00am Storytelling Session in Banquet Tent
2:00pm Storytelling Session in Banquet Tent

Sunday 10:00am Storytelling Session in Banquet Tent (tentative)
2:00pm Storytelling Session in Banquet Tent
Steve Lloyd, Historian
Washington DC Region, SCCA

All,

If you haven’t heard, Kathy Zabriskie passed away yesterday morning. Kathy was a long-time member of the F&C corps, who moved into T&S a few years ago when a vision problem kept her off the corners. A service will be held Saturday, April 17 at 10:00 AM at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Oakland, MD. (Deer Park, but Oakland postal address – see below). Her brother Bill has been in WV for the past week or so, and understands that some of us may appear in SCCA garb. Please keep Kathy’s family in your thoughts at this difficult time. She will be missed.

St John’s Episcopal Church
www.episcopalchurchingarrettcounty.org
5234 Maryland Hwy
Deer Park, MD 21550-4807
(301) 334-1197

http://tinyurl.com/y6k7ds4

http://preview.tinyurl.com/y6k7ds4

Greg McDermott
Flag Chief
Washington D.C. Region SCCA
gjmcdermott@cox.net

Submitted by Jeff Janoska

http://groups.google.com/group/marrs_moms

A group for the non-racing co-partners of drivers in the Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series with small children. Fathers, mothers and significant others are welcome. Purpose of the group is to facilitate interaction at the track for those with small children.

The purpose is a bit open, but we seem to have a growing number of little people coming to the track now. Thought it might be a nice place for the non-racing parents to organize get togethers/ side-trips/etc when at Summit Point or the out of region races. For example, the beaches are pretty darn close to NJMP and I imagine a bunch of moms/dads would love to go to the beach as a group.

WASHINGTON D.C. REGION
SPORTS CAR CLUB OF AMERICA
Flagging and Communication
Newsletter
April 2010

MARCH IN REVIEW – TIME FOR SCHOOL!
Advanced Flag School
It certainly felt good to be back at the track after this long, snowy mid-Atlantic winter. We kicked off March with the annual Advanced Flag School, which this year included Crash and Burn training. Forty-eight dedicated folks pretty much filled the Summit Point registration building for the morning classroom session. The morning was spent covering a variety of decision-making scenarios that that we frequently encounter at Summit Point, with the goal of understanding what influences captains’ decision to leave a car or ask for a hot pull, and what factors effect whether a hot pull can be done under a local yellow or if additional action from the operating steward is needed. Following this exercise, SRF driver and health and safety professional Terry Carraway gave a very informative presentation on heat stress and heat-related illnesses. Terry has been kind enough to present at our Advanced Flag School for a number of years on a variety of health and safety related issues, and I personally want to thank him for all his great work. If anyone has a suggestion for a health and safety-related topic to be covered at next year’s AFS, let us know and Terry will be happy to talk about it. In the meantime, stop by the Hagerman paddock at any of the MARRS events, say hi to Terry, and thank him for his efforts to keep us safe on station.
While folks ate lunch, our own Toree Holmes gave a short presentation on responding to cars on fire, and proper use of a fire bottle. After lunch the group adjourned to the outside of Turn 10, where the EV folks were waiting with two cars – one for burning, and one for cutting. Wayne Armbrust proved that every part of a car can and will burn with proper application of diesel fuel. Special thanks to Craig Zane for donating a bunch of fire bottles for use. Those donated fire bottles really allow us to keep out costs down, as we do not have to discharge, then refill, the region’s bottles. Also thanks to Steve Huemmer and John McCauley for their efforts on behalf of EV, and for making sure the track fire truck was on scene, just in case.

SPRING DRIVER’S SCHOOL
Spring Driver’s School was held at the Summit Point circuit March 19-21. This year the region went to a three-day double school format, which was…..interesting. The Friday schedule-makers were a bit, shall we say, optimistic in what could be accomplished in one day, with the result that the final checkered for the day did not drop until 6:20 pm. At least Saturday and Sunday had more reasonable end-times. We were a bit light on flaggers, especially on Friday and Sunday, but in general the weekend went off without a hitch (other than the usual start-of-season rustiness in some of our radio call), and we trained somewhere around 68 new drivers.
There were two positive things that came out of the weekend. The first was the weather, which was absolutely GLORIOUS for a driver’s school. Hopefully we will not pay for that good fortune later in the season. The second, and most important positive aspect of the driver’s school, was that we had six excellent students in our novice flag school. After a morning classroom session with instructor James Noel, novice flaggers were assigned to trainers out on station for the rest of the weekend. Feedback on all the novices was very positive, and we certainly hope they will come back and join us for MARRS 1. Please join me in welcoming all of our new flaggers: Kim Ward, Kim Roberts, Joe Roberts, Larry Stroup, Michael Handelman, and Jim Pugh.

MARRS 1
Registration is open for MARRS 1 to be held April 24-25 at Summit Point. Please come out and support our MARRS drivers, and one of the best amateur road-racing series in the country. This year’s format is similar to last year’s, with two exceptions: 1) the number of race groups has been expanded to 9, providing SRFs with their own run-group; and 2) Sunday’s races are based on group car count: <20 cars = 16 lap race; 20-34 cars = 18 lap race; 35 or more cars = 20 lap race. As usual, register on the DLB website, which can be accessed from the main page of the Region’s website, www.wdcr-scca.org.
MARRS 1 Schedule:
Saturday Flag Meeting: 7:30 am at the base of the tower
Registration Schedule: Friday – 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Saturday – open 7:00 am for workers
Sunday – open 7:45 am for workers

VRG – JEFFERSON 500
Once again this year the D.C. Region is supporting the VRG Jefferson 500, a three-day event running from Friday April 30 through Sunday May 2. Currently there are approximately 150 cars registered for the event, which is slightly ahead of the registration pace of last year. We are looking for SCCA flaggers to provide the bulk of the flagging support for the event, and I can promise you now that if you flag the event you will receive the following perks:
• Lunch all three days
• Ticket to the Jefferson 500 Dinner Saturday evening, plus a discount on the Friday evening Marlboro dinner ticket
• A long-sleeve event shirt
• A pass to Summit Point Karts

Bryan Redman cannot make it this year, but Grand Marshal for the event will be Porsche and sportscar-racing legend Vic Elford, a 2-time class winner at LeMans, and overall winner at Sebring in 1971. I’m sure Vic will have some great stories about driving those awesome Porsche 917s.

Please plan to join us for the Jefferson 500 April 30, May 1 & 2. To register for the event, send an e-mail to James Noel (jamesnoel@verizon.net) and Steve Hyatt (Stephen@atspeed.org) and specify which days you plan to work. A copy of the schedule for the event can be found online at www.vrgonline.org/events_calendar/Jefferson/J10/j500_schedule_withlogos.pdf. Flag meetings will be 7:45 on Friday and Saturday, at the base of the tower. Please register now if you would like to attend the Friday and Saturday evening dinners. Dinner tickets cannot be guaranteed if you register after Friday April 16!

ALPHA CLUB NATIONAL TIME TRIALS – JUNE 24
We have been approached by the D.C.-area Alpha Romeo Club to provide flaggers for a time trial event being held in conjunction with their National Convention celebrating the 100th anniversary of Alpha. The time trials are at Summit Point on June 24, which is the Thursday before MARRS 5. The time trials will have 3 run groups, with morning practice and afternoon timed runs with each car getting a warm-up lap, 3 timed laps, and a cool down lap, with 3 cars on the track at a time. The Alpha Club will provide lunch and a commemorative shirt, and there may be an opportunity to see some historic old cars run at the end of the day. There is an Alpha concourse being held at the Stone Manor Inn on Saturday which includes many pre-war and very expensive cars, and those cars have been invited to do a demo run at the track at the end of the time trials. If you are interested, let Greg McDermott know at gjmcdermott@cox.net

THE STRAIGHTPIPE
The Washington D.C. Region’s newsletter, The Straightpipe, is now an online-only publication, with its own website www.straightpipemagazine.com. Please check it out – it is a very nice website, and articles are published on an “as-submitted” basis. The editors are always grateful for submitted articles and pictures, and F&C even has its own section!

F&C NEWSLETTER
In addition to the e-mailed copy and to help you keep in touch the newsletter is also posted on the WDCR web site each month and available through:

http://www.wdcr-scca.org/ClubRacing/FC/FCNewsletter/tabid/1575/Default.aspx

CONTACT INFO
There is a common e-mail address for the WDCR FM staff; FandC@wdcr-scca.org automatically sends a note to each of the WDC Flag Marshals.
If you would like to contact us individually:
Greg McDermott: gjmcdermott@cox.net
Wayne Armbrust: sccaflag@visuallink.com
Dale Ferril: Kearneyracing@yahoo.com or 301 322 3240 (M~F 8am to 5pm)
Cheryl Hasychak: hasy@netzero.net

Marlboro Veterans and Fans,

We need your help! If you’re thinking about joining us for the 2010 Marlboro Reunion at the Jefferson 500, PLEASE register now! We’re trying to make sure we’re prepared for the dinner, Friday, April 30th at 6:00pm. To make sure we can accommodate everyone we really need to hear from you now as opposed to later.

The fee is $50 per person. Make the check payable to “Steve Lloyd” and mail to:

Bob Houston

Workers at the VRG Jefferson 500 may attend the Friday night Marlboro Reunion dinner for $30 per person. Pre-registration by April 15th is necessary; it is NOT handled by VRG.

Thanks for getting your registration in early!

Steve

Written by CW Armbrust
Photographs available on the Flickr group

Advanced Flag School 2010

It has been a good morning. You have been turning some decent qualifying times, they have been right on the edge of your personal best. You set up to enter turn 3, your line is perfect then whump, thump, the whole world takes on an odd tilt and spins around you. There seems to be no controling of things. The next thing you know is all motion has stopped. Realization sets in you are sitting on the grass next to the tire wall pointed the wrong way. The car is sitting at a slightly odd angle and doesn’t seem to want to move.

Someone dressed in white appears next to you, leans in and asks; “Are you OK?” The person goes on to tell you; “You lost a wheel, let’s get you out and up on the bank.” As you are getting out you notice the white clad apparition is holding a fire extinguisher and carefully looking over your car.

How do these folks in white know what to do? It takes training and dedication. One of the things that happens sometime around the last week or two of winter before the start of the racing season each year is a day long Advanced Flag School. F&C folks, EV volunteers, and a few team members from other specialties join the class for updates, review, refresher, and briefing on plans for the upcoming year. In addition to the classroom work, every other year the class receives instruction on first responder car fire suppression. The first priority is to aid the driver in a safe exit from a potential burning car then to minimize potential fire damage. All this while keeping an eye on nearby high speed traffic and getting needed help to the scene.

The 2010 WDCR Advanced Flag School was no exception to effort to keep the group informed and up to speed. Greg McDermott (Flag Marshal for the WDC Region) moderated the class.

The classroom efforts included Terry Carraway (of SRF driving fame) presenting an excellent class on health and safety relating to the dangers of heat exposure and methods to deal with it.

Toree Holmes, our very own Professional Firefighter from DC, stepped up to walk the class through instruction on fire extinguishers and their use. Toree followed up the classroom portion of instruction with the out door open air carbque behind turn 10. Summit Point Motor Sports Park donated two cars to practice our rescue methods and burn for fire suppression practice. This was the chance for those attending to put what they learned in the classroom into practice, as well as a refresher for the experienced hands.

We are ready for the race season ahead. Let’s go to MARRS together.

The advanced Flag School being held this Saturday, March 6, will be in the Registration Building of the Summit Point main circuit.  The car-b-que to follow will be in the traditional location outside of Turn 10 provided the snow drifts are not too high. Also, Anne Callihan will be signing Annual Waiver forms for all who want to get the SCCA hard card with their registration renewal. Hope to see you all there!  Feel free to drop any of the flag chiefs a note if you have any questions.