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R-X Nationals: Hot, Fast & Dusty |
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Written by Keith L.
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Tuesday, 31 August 2010 20:50 |
For the second consecutive year, Colorado RallyCross drivers dominated the 2010 SCCA RallyCross National Championships, taking top honors in seven of eight classes. This year's event saw a record 78 competitors take to the dirt at the U.S. Truck Driving School in Fountain, Colorado. (There would have been 80 entrants but Dave & Cassie Kabal's VW Jetta suffered a third--and catastrophic--engine mount failure during Friday's test & tune session and they were forced to withdraw. We hear they are currently scanning the classifieds for a used Ford SVT Focus to replace the troublesome Jetta.) The August event provided temperatures that were 70 degrees warmer--and significantly dustier--than last year's November event. Other than nagging timing problems due to the heavy dust (Is it time to consider a pneumatic timing system?) and the Great Chinese E-Bay Aluminum Radiator Scandal (more on that later), this year's championship event was perhaps the best yet.
Saturday's competition featured two fast, flowing courses designed by Matt Dahn and Mike Eckert. Sunday's course added diabolical hairpin turns that tested every drivers' car control skills, patience, and e-brake. (Damn you, Ken Cashion!) All drivers agreed that the longer courses at this year's event were much preferred over the shorter courses used on Saturday at the 2009 event.
Stock Rear Wheel Drive saw two entries, with Greg McMahon overcoming last year's mechanical woes to win the class. With relatively low entries at most events throughout the season, this is a great class to buy a cheap Mazda RX-7, Miata or old school Mustang and have a shot at becoming a National Champion. And Greg and Anna would love the competition!
Don Hardy drove the Hardy Boys Ford Escort GT to a second National title in Stock Rear Wheel Drive. Don's son, Tim, was on assignment in Las Vegas and unable to defend his 2009 title.
Eleven competitors took the green flag in Stock All Wheel Drive. [Side-bar on The Great Chinese E-Bay Aluminum Radiator Scandal: Several vehicles in the class were protested due to non-stock parts prior the the start of competition. The protests were not initiated by competitors and there were mixed feelings about the propriety of filing the protests since the parts were not performance enhancing, but rules clearly specify that stock vehicles must use OEM parts unless specifically allowed. As our sport continues to grow, expect to see more scrutiny at the national and divisional levels to ensure that cars are compliant with their class preparation rules.] The class enjoyed close competition all weekend, with Warren Elliot jumping out to a quick lead only to succumb to mechanical problems in his borrowed car. Kubo graciously shared his Subaru Impreza with Pikes Peak Hill Climb Rookie of the Year and first-time rallycrosser Savannah Rickli. Ultimately, the championship came down to one cone, with Gary Marascola topping Jason Staats by 1.1 seconds.
In Prepared Two Wheel Drive, Ed Cunill, BMW 2002, held off 2009 champion Jerred Burnard, Toyota MR2, to take the championship by 9.5 seconds. A tip of the hat to Jerred for also serving as our Official Water Truck Driver throughout the weekend and for loaning his Nissan 200SX to Jon Olschewski.
Keith Lightfoot, Ford SVT Focus, drove a cone-free weekend to capture the Prepared Front Wheel Drive title. In an interesting side note, Nostradamus correctly predicted six of eight champions in last month's "Who Will Win" article. When asked about his prediction that Ryan Haenny would win Prepared Front, Nostradamus replied that he clearly thought Lightfoot would win but decided to pick Haenny because he wanted to "get inside Ryan's head and mess with his mojo." Um, sorry, Ryan.
With 18 competitors, Prepared All Wheel Drive was the second largest class of the weekend. Cody Hatfield, Subaru Impreza 2.5, and Matt Dahn, WRX, put up a good fight throughout the weekend, but in the end Ryan Gates, Subaru WRX Wagon, squeeked by with the closest margin of victory at the event--three-tenths of a second--thanks to one cone by Dahn.
Modified Two Wheel Drive, the biggest class of the event with 19 cars, provided a smorgasbord of the entries, from the Jasper's '76 Camaro to Jon Olschewski's truck stop Nissan Sentra. When the dust finally settled, Ken Cashion, in his nearly-stock Honda Civic Si, took the win by a five-second margin over co-driver Jonathan McGrew.
In Modified All Wheel Drive, Chris O'Driscoll pulled off a repeat of his 2009 National Championship title with a ten-second victory over the sweet-sounding six cylinder Impreza of Max Johnson. O'Driscoll's victory was all the more impressive given the fact that his Subaru WRX suffered a broken radiator at the end of competition on Saturday and he completed his four laps on Sunday in Ryan Gates' Prepared AWD car.
A tremendous "Thank You" to the many volunteers who helped make this year's event a success, including the Timing & Scoring twins, Arnie Coleman and Lindsay Wilson, Karl Sealander, Mark Walker, Jerry Doctor and the Steamboat boys, Jim Gill and Chad James. Also, a big knuckle bump to Ryan Haenny and the clean up crew who spent the following Saturday cleaning the dust-covered CDR equipment and trailer.
After a two-year stint in Colorado, the SCCA RallyCross National Championship will move to the midwest for 2011. Next year's championship event is tentatively scheduled to take place at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Nebraska. It is the civic duty of every Colorado RallyCrosser to attend next year's event to prove the we have the fastest drivers even when we aren't on our home turf. |
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Welcome to Colorado RallyCross! What is RallyCross? Think of it as autocross gone wild. Instead of a paved parking lot, we race on gravel or dirt under all types of conditions—dust, more dust, mud, rain, snow, ice, wind, and even darkness. If you’re new to RallyCross, check out our website for more information about the most exciting entry-level motorsport on the planet! If you’re a RallyCross veteran, be sure to mark this year’s events on your calendar. We hope to see you at the next event! 
Re: Whoops...Sorry Guys
Whoops...Sorry Guys
Re: a big thank you to everyone !!!
Re: a big thank you to everyone !!!