By John Lieberman
Well,
gang, are you ready to have some fun in your car in 2001? I certainly hope so,
because we’ve sure got a fun year planned for you. And there may even be more
in the works!
Everything
starts on Sunday, Feb 18th, when we hold our first Rally in Lord
knows how many years. That’s right. You didn’t mis-read. I said RALLY. (Thanks
for hanging in there with us, Lester!) It’s just going to be a simple gimmick
rally. No check points. No stop watches. No calculators. Just a couple of hours
of driving around on city streets, following your navigator’s instructions, and
trying to answer some questions as you go along. Then we’ll all get together afterwards and chow down.
The
local autocross season begins on Sunday, March 11th, at Caddo Parish
Stadium. Two weeks later, on March 25th, we head up to Red River
Raceway. If you can’t wait until March, The Meridian National Tour is February
24/25. We’re also hosting the first TLAC (Trans-Louisiana Autocross Challenge)
event on this year’s schedule. It will be at Red River Raceway on April 22nd.
We’re still waiting for the rest of the TLAC schedule to be set.
The
road racers have a full schedule, too. It actually started with a
School/Regional at Texas World Speedway back in January. There’s a double
National at TWS the same weekend as our gimmick rally. And much more to follow.
You
can find a full schedule of Red River Region events on our website and
elsewhere in this newsletter.
As
for who’s already been behind the wheel, Barry & Connie made the road
racing school at TWS and Jonny made the long trek to Florida for his second
GrassRoots Motorsports ($2001) challenge. All of them have plenty of stories to
tell about their adventures. Just ask them.
Finally,
a couple of safety/tech points for your pre-season planning. First, there’s a
new helmet requirement for this season. For autocrossers, all helmets must be
at least Snell SA-90 or M-90. For road racers, all helmets must be at least
Snell SA-95. Please pull back the lining of your helmet and look inside. If it
doesn’t have a Snell sticker bearing one of the above designations or later,
it’s not legal for use in 2001. Tech inspectors, please be sure to check for
legal helmets. Second, once you’ve got the proper helmet, make sure that it
doesn’t stick up above your roll bar/cage if you’re driving an “open” Prepared
or Modified car. And, make sure that your roll bar/cage (if you have one) meets
the specifications spelled out in the rulebook, no matter which class you’re
driving in. We’re going to be watching that VERY closely this year.
Elsewhere
in this newsletter, you’ll find articles about proposed autocross and road
racing points rules changes. Please read them carefully and let me know what
you think.
Until
I next see or talk to you, do something FUN (but legal) in your car!
John