Lane's SCA - 2005 SPC Rally (13)

While the Rally is taking place, it's not often that attendees are allowed to get to sleep early or sleep in late the next morning. We're often on the track, on our feet, or in our cars, constantly doing something from 7 AM to 10 PM. It does take a toll, and it's common to see somebody trying to get a nap wherever they may be. How this is possible with the roar of a car on the dyno, or the constant drone of the cars flying by on the track only 50 feet away? It beats me, but it has become a Rally writeup tradition to give them some recognition for it.

When he announced the dates for the 8th annual Rally on the club's mailing list early in 2005, Kevin K chose to add his own personal touch. He offered $10 to any member in attendance that shaves his/her head (either prior to the week's activities, or during). In fact, he even brought an electric clippers to the Rally so he could accomodate any last-minute takers. There were people in attendance throughout the week's activities who showed they were in the right spirit.

Doug N and Kevin K.

Most people who participate in track events do a great job maintaining their vehicles. The cars may be pushed hard, but they're also taken care of very well. Despite this, mechanical difficulties can occur and we often see one or two occur during the Rally.

While I was in my car participating in the lapping event at Autobahn, there was an odd looking piece of debris on the edge of the track in one of the turns. It was a dark hunk of something, and not easily identified. We later found out that it was a piece that came off of Herb K's car - he had lost a wheelwell liner during one of his sessions. Since you normally have to remove a wheel to get the big plastic liner out, we looked at each other and asked ourselves, "How the hell do you lose a wheelwell liner??" It was no small achievement, and Herb received suitable recognition as well as a hearty congratulations from fellow members.

During the qualifying sessions at Autobahn in preparation for the SCCA race, Chris B pushed the club's ITA race car to the point where it was spitting out both oil and coolant. Luckily, it was not a major malfunction and was easily fixed with a valve cover gasket and a PCV valve. However, the breakage showed the stress the car was under due to the furious job that Chris was doing behind the wheel. Well done.