Brandywine Motorsport Club, Inc.
www.brandywinemotorsportclub.org
THE GASLINE
May 2013
BMC CLUB MEETING
Tuesday, May 7th, 2013
6:00 P.M. greet & eat / 7 P.M. Meeting
The Charcoal Pit at Price’s Corner, 714 Greenbank Road, Wilmington, DE
28.8 seconds, or 0.48 minutes – That was the
winning score(s) in the Spring Fun Rally.
After a 25+ year break, the team of
Alderman and Alderman again ran a rally
together. Heather and I decided that it was healthier for
our relationship (then dating) to not rally together. Hanna
and I have had some success together, but until last
weekend’s event we had not done this as husband and
wife. This time I navigated, and if we were early or late it
would be my fault for not keeping the driver on time. The
only problem was I haven't navigated for over a year. I
needed the first leg to get in the swing of things. Maybe
the Curta Calculator was more of a disadvantage. It was
also a little work to keep going at the correct speed.
Heather is not usually driving that slow. Fun was had by
all. Tell others about the nice easy rally and we can get
more to come out to our next rally. Many other reports in
this newsletter, so I'll stop so you can read them. See you
at the Pit for the May 7th monthly meeting.
Paul
Chair Chatter – Paul Alderman
Autocross Update – Duke Wilford
Check out Duke’s full autocross report with
the Autocross I results page in this Gasline.
Also, complete Autocross I results with times
shown for each run are available on the BMC
website. - ed.
The Checkpoint Line - Dave Teter
April 6th found the 16th annual Match Lamb
with 15 entries in the field. Six cars ran the
Course (trap) rally and the other nine the
easier Tour rally. All six entries in the Course
rally were SCCA national competitors and
five of the nine Tour rally entries had national
rally experience. The remaining two entries
took advantage of the SOP and Tech Class.
Chris Hope and Amy Grove of Lansdale PA prevailed
over Ed Trahan and Rick VanSant in SOP class. George
Alderman and Willis Weldin, running in Tech Class
(GPS), averaged 25 points per control to win unopposed.
Peter Chezik and Frank Bochanski dominated SCCA
class S (calculator allowed) with a total of 21 points,
which rivaled the 1st & 2nd scores (running equipped
computer) with 15 and 17 points respectively.
The winner of the March Lamb Course rally each
year is shared by the generally same field of competitors/
However, of note in the Tour rally is the 3-year winning
streak compiled by John Emmons and Lois van Vleet of
Galesville WI, with scores of 7 in 2011, 6 in 2012 and 15
in 2013. Great performances!!!!!
Dave
Upcoming Events Calendar
A full list of most local area sports car club events
for 2013 can be found on the BMC web site at:
www.brandywinemotorsportclub.org Click on the Events
heading and then Agenda under Month.
May 4
Lewes Car Show, Lewes, DE – BCCD
May 18 Carlisle Import Car Show, Carlisle, PA – AHS&T
May 19 Northern DE Tour – BCCD
May 24 3rd Annual Car Show, University& Whist Club,
Wilmington, DE – BCCD
June 22 Autocross II, Glasgow, DE – BMC&PCA
AHS&T – Austin Healey Sports & Touring Club
BMC – Brandywine Motorsport Club
BCCD – British Car Club of Delaware
PCA – Delaware Chapter, Porsche Club of America
SJR/SCCA – New Jersey Region/Sports Car Club of America
2
THE GASLINE • MA
Y 2013
April is over and so are the three rallies that were
run last month. Dave Teter's report on the March Lamb
as well as Scott Clabaugh's report on the Braille Rally
are in this Gasline.
There are currently no BMC rallies on the schedule,
but Jim Irons is working on one for later in the year. Maybe
a picnic rally would bring out a few more members.
Spring Fun Rally Report:
We had a great day for a rally with lots of sun and
warm weather. Those that came had a Fun time driving
around the course. With the exception of Paul and
Heather Alderman, the other entrants had little or no
rally experience. New members Tim & Chondra
Shelton and Bernard & Mary Ann O'Donnell were
running their first rallies so they were out into in one
class. The other three entrants had only run 2 or 3
rallies so they were also put in one class. While the
original novice class was up to 5 rallies, we figured
with the low car count why not give out more trophies?
Rally Chair - George Alderman
The checkpoint crews were Dave Dabell and
Wayne Elvin (1 and 3) and Jim Irons and Jim Martin
(#2). Liz Haines and I ran sweep car in her MGB.
The only big problem was a computer error that
delayed the results after dinner. After correcting the
error, the following scores are official. Ed Trahan and
Rick Van Sant tied with Heather and Paul Alderman for
lowest score with 48, but with the worst leg subtracted
the Mazda 3 beat the G35 coupe. The 2 first-time teams
tied on their best 2 legs. Scott and Judie Clabaugh
finished second in class ahead of lead-footed Duane
Klair and Wayne Culley who finished the rally first
despite being the third car to leave.
Thanks again for coming out and running and
working the event, maybe we need to figure out how to
talk more autocrossers into coming out and competing
in a rally. Ideas anyone?
George
Driver/
Car Error CP1 Error CP2 Error CP3
Total Best 2
Class
Navigator
Car No. Early (Late -) Early (Late -) Early (Late -) Score Legs only
2 to 3 Ed Trahan
Mazda-
Rallies Rick VanSant
Speed 3 1
0.01
-0.36
0.11
48
12
1st
Tim Sheldon
BMW
Rally
Chondra Sheldon
M5
2
0.86
-0.49
-5.00
635
135
2 to 3 Duane Klair
M-B
Rallies Wayne Culley
500SL 3
1.14
1.72
2.23
509
286
1st
Bernard O'Donnell Mazda
Rally Mary Ann O'Donnell Miata 4
-2.66
-0.72
0.63
401
135
2 to 3
Scott Clabaugh
Porsche
Rallies Judie Clabaugh Boxster 5
-0.13
-0.12
-0.27
52
25
Many Heather Alderman Infiniti
Rallies Paul Alderman
G35
6
-0.28
-0.09
0.11
48
20
3
Braille Rally 2013
....A Great Day to be Out DRIVING!!
Sunday, April 7th proved to be a lovely day for the
42nd Running of the Braille Rally, and this great Brandywine
Motorsport Club event has given bragging rights for the
year to two new winners! Again, working with our friends
at Porsche Club of America - Delaware Region, smiling
faces were quite abundant all afternoon as our clubs put on
a great afternoon of fun for the Delaware Association for
the Blind (DAB). After two cancellations in 2012, this day
made up for the missed attempts!
WHAT IS A BRAILLE RALLY? – The Braille Rally
combines a visually impaired navigator reading the driving
directions in Braille to the driver. It’s up to the driver to
follow those directions and stay on course AND on time!
OFF WE GO – We gathered at Brandywine Springs
Park at 1 PM where the navigators were paired up with
their drivers for the day. After a brief instructional meeting,
the first car departed to run the Rally course promptly at
2:01 and 14 more cars were off at one minute intervals.
BMC Rallymaster George Alderman dug deep into the
archives and pulled out the 1982 version of the Braille
Rally. The pass through checkpoints on the course made
things a little easier on the drivers this year, BUT some of
them stopped anyway! Your score for the legs were the
difference of when you passed by the checkpoint and when
you were calculated to pass that point. This is a simple
calculation of time, speed and distance. Just when you
thought it was ok to speed up and then stop and rest for a
while, you got zapped with a hidden check point!
BACK AT LANDIS LODGE – It took just under two
hours to cover the course and everyone made it safely back
to the Landis Lodge. While we were waiting for the pizza
to arrive, all participants had a great time socializing with
their navigators, talking about what went right (or wrong!)
and also with the other drivers. It was a great time for the
visually impaired to catch up with each other, too.
WHO WON? – First place went to the team of Kat
Bottner and PCA Driver Vince Crognale. Their total time
amounted to being just 177 point off of perfect course time.
Both Kat and Vince are seasoned Braille Rallyists so
CONGRATS to them!
Second place went to the team of Art Cohen and PCA
Driver Bill Cooper. Their total time amounted to just 226
short of a perfect course time score. Again, both are
experienced Rallyists!
Third place went to the team of Bev Weiland and her
Service Dog, Ira, and her driver-husband Bruce Chernesky!
Their total time amounted to just 405 points. Bev and
Bruce finished 14th in the last Braille rally, so what a great
improvement!
WHAT DID THEY WIN? – All drivers and
navigators received a Braille Rally T-Shirt and the all
navigators received participation trophies, which this year
was a Loving Cup on a marble base.
First, Second and Third Place navigators and drivers
received a larger trophy, with the navigators also receiving
a $100/$50/$25Visa Gift Card. And we can’t forget about
Last Place. Last place got an award, too! Named after our
Braille Rally founder, “The Renee O’Leary Best Chance of
Improvement for the next Braille Rally”, gets you a $25
Visa Gift Card, too. This award is named for Renee as she
started this rally back in the early 70’s while recovering
from throat cancer. The winners of the Last Place award
will remain nameless! Those of us that were there know
who they are!!
Porsche of Delaware generously supports this event
each year donating T-Shirts to all navigators, drivers
and course workers. They’ve been doing this since our
Region became involved in this event back in 2002 and we
thank them very much for their continued support.
DRIVERS and COURSE WORKERS – We had
two BMC drivers, one Mom, one Husband, and 10 PCA
members. Ohio PCA Member David Owen made the trek
back to Delaware again this year finishing 2 places better in
sixth this year. Come back any time, David! Zone 2 Rep
Tom Zafferano drove for the first time this year finishing
7th, a very respectable finish.
Thanks also go to PCA Member Dave Dabell and
BMC Members Pat Phalen, Willis Weldin, Don and
Charlotte Short, and especially, Rally Master George
Alderman! BMC members Liz Haines and Jim Martin
were also drivers! Other PCA members that participated
were Debbie Cooper, Jon Walton, Alex Witham, Mike Fox,
and Bill Boyd. Also thanks to PCA Member John Kassey
and new DAB Executive Director Janet Berry for running
the “sweep car” to pick up the lost sheep.
HAPPY NEWS – Happy News- We welcome Janet
Berry as the new Executive Director of the DAB! She rode
in the sweep car with John Kassey. While they were not
competing and just out following directions, their
"unofficial" time was only good enough to tie for 4th!
Hmmm..... Maybe next year, Janet can learn Braille!
PICTURES? – Sure! Check out www.delawarepca.net.
Look under the Gallery section and look for the Braille
Rally 2013.
A MILLION THANKS! – This Braille Rally is a
success because two car clubs work together - BMC
members providing their knowledge and expertise for the
course and the scoring, and PCA for providing the drivers,
trophies and food. Porsche of Delaware deserves a second
thank you for again providing the T Shirts for all!
Special thanks go to BMC Rallymaster George
Alderman for coordinating the route this year. Thanks also
go to Angela Crognale for helping at the Finish Line Picnic.
A loving thanks goes out to my wife, Judie, for baking
plenty of cupcakes for dessert. YUM!
Lastly, our clubs could not have done it without the
help of Janet Berry and her staff at the Delaware
Association for the Blind. It takes a lot of coordination on
their part to arrange for the 3 vans to get the navigators to
and from the event, some from downstate.
Catch you all again soon!
Scott Clabaugh
THE GASLINE • MA
Y 2013
Braille Rally 2013
2nd ofApril BMC Meeting Highlights
The April 2013 meeting was held at Charcoal Pit on
Kirkwood Highway and was attended by 15 members. It
was chaired by George Alderman.
Treasurer’s Report – Willis Weldin
• Balance – $7,814.49
• Membership – 54 members
Rally Report – George Alderman
• March Lamb XVI Rally – 4/6/13 – Flyer online.
• 42nd Braille Rally – 4/7/13 – Needs Drivers! Flyer
available online.
• March Lion Rally – 4/7/13 – Flyer online
• Spring Fun Rally – 4/27/27 – Flyer online. Only a few
people have signed up, we need more people.
Autocross Report – Duke Wilford
• Autocross I - 4/14/13 – Flyer online.
• Gunning Bedford School District said no to use of
school lot.
• Waiting to hear about use of Dover Civilian Air
Terminal - still moving forward.
• Please help in our search for bigger lots (contact Duke at
wil4ds@gmail.net).
Website – Jim Martin
Waiting on some help from Shawn Dewey. It was pointed
out that both of our sites should refer to each other (web site
and Face Book).
• Please visit the events section for coming events. Click
events, then go to month and click on Agenda.
• I have been posting all events that maybe of interest to
Club members.
Gasline – Jim Irons
Articles/pictures to Jim Irons by 4/30/13.
Secretary Jim Martin
z
5
The Hard Drive Garage – By Mark Schroy
THE GASLINE • MA
Y 2013
Happy May!
This month, folks, we delve into kit cars - or in better terms,
really bad kits for cars that really won’t benefit from add-on kits.
My reasoning behind that statement? The donor cars are bad
enough on their own!
The gateway for this disaster on wheels is the website
www.easyrods.com, located in Forked River, NJ, and they offer
body kits for two cars-1993 to 2002 Chevrolet Camaro, called the
Belaro on their site, and 1989 to 1997 Ford Thunderbird/Mercury
Cougar.
Now, a word of warning. These following pictures may
offend the elderly, small children, and anyone with their senses
intact:
Yup. Can’t say I didn’t warn you...
Now, the website says that their fiberglass kits are easy to do
and require minimal time. Here’s a direct quote from their site:
“EasyRods” is the Revolutionary Fiberglass Kit That Allows
YOU to build an INCREDIBLE Custom Street Rod in
HOURS...NOT YEARS!!!
Okay, at least the grammar is correct. The random
capitalization of letters is annoying-either capitalize
EVERYTHING or NOTHING. Seriously!
Clicking on the link for more info on the Belaro brings up
the supplied parts list and the cost-$5595. Holy fiberglass
Batman! One of the comments right off the top mentions that a
classic 57 Bel-Air “
can start at upwards of $50,000..”A quick
search on eBay Motors finds a number of restored 57 Chevys.
The most expensive one is currently at $169,900, the second
highest at $149,900, then there are a number of price drops to
$18,000.
Apparently, this kit “
uses quality fiberglass construction
that simply bolts, screws, and glues onto the donor car to
create a classic masterpiece in hours...not years.” The
paragraph also mentions that the kit comes with “basically”
everything you need-shouldn’t it come with EVERYTHING
for almost 6 grand?
Here’s an example parts list for the “Basic Kit”:
-Fiberglass Hood
-2 Front Fenders w/bumpers attached
-Center Front Bumper
-Hood & Front Fender Extensions
-2 Smooth Door Covers
-2 Complete 1/4 Panels w/Bumpers & Light Buckets
-Gas Cap Door
-Center ’57 Bumper
-Inner & Outer Trunk Lid
-Headlight Rings, Buckets, Pigtails & Tail lights
-Everything needed to assemble, except chrome
-Video & Instructions
-Free Delivery (plus shipping-mentioned on the page...)
So, there’s 2 front bumpers? I guess nothing is chromed when
you receive it? Wait-free delivery plus shipping?!? Isn’t that an
oxymoron?
From what their site says, anyone with hand tools can get
this kit done in 50 hours. The front bodywork from the firewall
forward all gets removed, and the rear bodywork gets glued
over the original Camaro body. The doors are the only original
sheetmetal left exposed by the time you’re all done. I’m not
sure, but I would think the sanding and priming in prep for
paint is included in their “50 man hours” estimate, but
obviously not included in the cost of the kit.
The funny thing is, this is just a dress-up kit. No engine or
exhaust upgrades, which obviously cost more money. Very
quickly, this whole disaster will add up.
So, for almost the same price of a nicely restored original
’57 Chevy Bel Air-adding up the body kit AND new paint and
chrome-you can take a mid to late 90’s Camaro and make it
worse. If you ask them nicely, they offer some type on
installation assistance at their New Jersey location.
Wow. Seems like a huge waste of time for something that
will never get you anything more than finger pointing and
comments of “What the #@&& is that thing? Wait-you did this
yourself? Did the floor jack slip and hit you in the head?”
The Thunderbird kit is just as bad, but cheaper-only $3595.
I’ll let your imagination run wild on that one.
Enjoy!
-M
Brandywine Motorsport Club & South Jersey Region SCCA
March Lamb XVI Rally Results – April 6, 2013
COURSE RALLY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Total
Class E
Chuck Larouere / Bob Morseburg*
1
1
1
0
1
0
2
1
2
0
9
Steve Gaddy / Chris Bean
1
2
1
3
2
2
0
2
4
2
19
J.Miner / S. Forehand
1
1
104
200
18
3
1
0
200
4
532
Mike Thompson / F. Rosevear
0
2
200
200
0
2
200
200
0
200
1004
Class L
Jim Crittenden / Bruce Gezon*
1
4
0
200
1
5
3
2
5
3
224
Class S
Jim Wakemen / Mark Haas*
4
0
12
200
9
15
4
79
200
103
626
*Trophy Awarded
TOUR RALLY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Total
Class E
Lois VanVleet / John Emmons*
1
2
1
1
1
2
1
2
1
3
15
J.Nemeth / John Sears
1
2
1
2
1
4
0
1
3
2
17
Dave Head / Ginny Bergey
1
2
1
1
2
4
3
2
2
166
184
Class L
D. Ninoshuili / D. Horoschak
0
5
2
0
200
200
200
200
58
1
866
Class S
Peter Chezik / Frank Bochanski*
2
3
2
1
2
1
2
0
5
3
21
Class SOP
C. Hope / A. Grove*
87
37
84
26
156
200
200
52
89
200
1131
T. Forsthoffer / J. McCarty
200
200
200
71
200
200
88
200
200
200
1759
E. Trahan / R. VanSant
200
158
200
200
200
200
200
200
200
200
1958
Class Novice
No entries
*Trophy Awarded
The usual and enormous thanks to all workers and participants. We ALL know that without both ingredients, we
don't go far in our sport. An expanded write-up appears in the BMC GASLINE newsletter. Members of BMC will
receive the newsletter and others may access it at our website: www.brandywinemotorsportsclub.org.
WORKERS - Jim Irons: Registrar; Marie Irons: Registration; Wayne Elvin: Course Development & Prechecker; Pat
Phalan: Official Safety Precheck; Dave Laffitte: Lead Car & Checkpoint#10; Holly Fleming, Matt Reyne, Rich
Stephani, Grant Banning: Checkpoints #2 & #7; Jim & Marie Irons, Drew Teter, Pat Phalan Checkpoints #5 & #9.
CONTESTANTS - A huge thanks for your support. Class E had seasoned SCCA competitors.as the scores show. The
first car arrived at the finish about 5 o'clock and scores audited and scoring done and we awarded trophies a little after
6:30 PM. I think all who were able to stay had a nice time telling their stories of the day's adventure. It took the
SCCA national entry group as well as the more local group of Class SOP & Novice entries to make this event a
success.
Rallymaster Dave Teter
SS 68 Paul Alderman Caterham Super 7 *46.562
SS 81 Carmen DeVito Porsche Carrera S 47.667
SS 17 Hovik Latavitz Porsche 911
48.052
SS 32 George Alderman Caterham Super 7 49.240
SS 22 Mark Loch
Porsche Cayman S 51.621
SS 6 Tim Sheldon
Porsche 911
51.786
SS 45 Steve Konizer Porsche 911 4S
52.063
AS 13 Scott Clapper
Corvette
53.847
AS 91 Scott Wooten
Porsche 911
54.146
BS 8 Larry Waltemire Porsche Boxster
52.858
BS 43 John Allard
Mini Cooper S
53.415
BS 1 T Lad Webb
BMW M Roadster 54.663
BS 2 Dave Redmond Porsche Boxster S 56.150
CS 4 Stephen Zack
Mazda MX-5
51.549
CS 23 Jim Irons
Mazda Miata
53.295
CS 11 Oscar Rivera
Scion FRS
53.585
CS 14 Craig Ross
Subaru BRZ
56.628
DS 57 Ed Trahan
MazdaSpeed3
60.027
FS 5 David Ameon
Ford Mustang GT 52.915
GS 16 Elizabeth Wilford Subaru 2.5TS
54.666
GS 24 Nick Gattone
Saturn ION Redline 54.961
GS 108 Bill King
Nissan 240SX
57.183
HS 33 Phil Worrell
Honda CRX HF
55.262
HS 12 Jeremy Pochwat VW GTI
57.743
HS 10 Daniel Ritter
Ford Focus
59.453
HS 112 Drew Hitchcock VW GTI
64.214
ESP 3 Geoff Germon Ford Mustang
53.225
SSM 65 Duke Wilford
Mazda MX-5
48.919
SSM 89 Dave Dabell
Porsche Boxster SPB 50.254
SSM 165 Ed Trahan
Mazda MX-5
55.473
ST 7 Matt Collins
VW Rabbit
54.313
STX 100 Rick Bernard
Subaru WRX
52.152
STX 25 Grant Banning VW GTI 1.8T
55.254
STX 15 Nick Gadzinski Ford Mustang
58.150
BMC - PCA AUTOCROSS I RESULTS
Keene School Site – APRIL 14, 2013
Class # Name
Car
Time
*
Fastest Time of the Day
Our season opener event, Autocross I, is in the can! The
weather cooperated, the volunteers worked hard, and 33 drivers
turned out for a day among the cones. A couple days’ worth of
heavy rains left the Keene lot mercifully free of goose droppings,
though wet in many areas. The course did dry out as the after-
noon progressed, but grip was still a struggle to find in places.
Many regulars returned, some in different or borrowed cars,
as well as a number of new faces. Entries ran the gamut from
very new, very shiny, and very fast Porsches to well-worn and
not-so-shiny-or-fast VWs. The Aldermans debuted their new
Caterham Super 7, in traditional Lotus BRG/yellow livery. Dave
Dabell was on a shakedown cruise in his Spec Boxster racecar.
Ed Trahan gave FWD a try in his red MS3, then switched to
his trusty silver MX-5 for the afternoon. Ed kindly let me drive
his MX-5 after also putting in many hours trying to ready my
car for state inspection. Phil Worrell brought out a minty-fresh
1989 Honda CRX, which looked as if it had never been driven.
We also hosted a number of novices, all of who seemed to
get the hang of it pretty quickly. Steve Zack in his blue NC,
Nick Gattone in his red ION, and Daniel Ritter in his red Focus
(among others) were all cone-dodging for the first time. Times
fell dramatically throughout the day for most of our new guys,
except one run from “Most Enthusiastic New Member” award-
winner Tim Sheldon. Tim was having extra fun and just about
to go for his fifth lap around the course when he remembered to
stop, back up, and head for the exit. With the lap count firmly in
mind, Tim clicked off a couple of very respectable runs after that.
We also signed up several new club members - welcome aboard!
Five cars broke into the sub-50-second zone. Ed Trahan’s
MX-5 (yours truly at the wheel) jumped to an early lead with a
high 48, which lasted exactly as long as the first run group.
George Alderman brought the new Caterham into the low 49s.
Dave Dabell brought the Spec Boxster to a mid 49 that unfortunately
was plagued by a cone, bumping the official time back up to
51. Hovik Latavitz and his blue 911 steadily improved, making
it down to a very low 48. But the hot contest of the day was
between Carmen DeVito in the Code Red 911 and Paul Alderman
in the BRG Caterham, both of whom put in several clean 47s.
Paul pulled out all the stops on his last run, laying down a smoking
46.562, winning FTOD and a t-shirt from
Grassroots Motorsports.
Many thanks to all who came out and pitched in, especially
the volunteers like Jim Martin and Martha & Willis Weldin,
who showed up to help and didn’t even get to drive. Hopefully
we will see you all in June!
-Duke “Wish my car was a 1994” Wilford
Autocross Chair
Class # Name
Car
Time
BMC - PCA AUTOCROSS I APRIL 14, 2013
