SCCA – KCRSCCA Solo Event 8 Photos

We’re three quarters of the way through the SCCA Kansas City Region’s Solo season. Event 8 was held last Sunday at the usual venue, the Metropolitan Community College Precision Driving Center in Independence, MO. It was a fast, but technically challenging course which proved too much for this photog turned driver. At the end of the day, I remembered Alain Prost’s famous quote, “When I look fast, I’m not smooth and I am going slowly. And when I look slow, I am smooth and going fast.” If only I’d remembered…

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SCCA – KCRSCCA Solo Event #2 Wrap-Up

Sunday’s Solo Event #2 for the Kansas City Region of the Sports Car Club of America was a tale of two heats with weather affecting Heat 2 significantly more than Heat 1. Normally, there are three heats per event with total entries often topping 100 among all classes. Sunday’s forecast of thunderstorms, however, kept many of the less dedicated racers away. With fewer contenders, the event officials reduced the normal three-heat format to two heats so that each heat would have enough course workers to keep things running smoothly. The…

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SCCA – KCRSCCA Solo Event #1 in Photos

Well the Solo season is underway in the Kansas City Region of the SCCA, and it’s time for me to start the defense of my Street Touring FWD class championship. Some maintenance on Friday to replace the passenger side drive shaft on the Focus SVT didn’t go as planned thanks to a rounded-off nut. …and we were two nuts away from having the damned thing out, too. Oh, well, screw it. Popped the top on another beer, bolted it all together, and went to the pre-season testing session on Saturday…

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SCCA – BFGoodrich Tires Super Tour at NOLA Wrap-Up

The SCCA Mid-States Conference Majors Tour had their second event and Rounds 3 and 4 of racing this past weekend at the relatively new NOLA Motorsports Park just outside of New Orleans, LA. The new facility opened for business late in 2011 and is already starting to attract attention from many of US racing leagues including INDYCAR. The opening rounds of the Mazda Road to Indy Winterfest are coming up next weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park. The venue is a perfect place for club racing, and the warm climate makes…

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SCCA – The KCRSCCA Halloweenie Event in Photos

Well, the 2013 Solo Season for the Kansas City Region of the Sports Car Club of America is finally at an end. The club closed out their autocross adventures this past Sunday in grand fashion combining a solo race with a Halloween party, a charity fundraiser, and a giant picnic. Many of the members came in costume, and several even crafted costumes for their cars. The Event Chair, James Cahill, wrote up a nice summary of the event over at the Kansas City Region’s newly refurbished website. It’s been wonderful…

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Episode 203 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadShaun, Mike W, Kevin, and Doug talk about the Singapore-ish shenanigans in NASCAR (yes, we talk a bit about NASCAR), the punishment of Scott Dixon in IndyCar, more chatter about the IMS road course, and we look at potential changes in the 2014 schedule, Doug recaps the USF2000 races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and congratulates the MidWest Division SCCA drivers who brought home hardware from the SCCA Solo Nationals. In Formula 1, Massa is out and Kimi is in, tires are still up…

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SCCA – RallyCross Event 2: The Dust Up in Paola

On a pretty crowded weekend for the SCCA’s Midwest Division, the second rallycross event of the year for the Kansas City Region still had a good turnout with representation from many of the neighboring regions. The weather early in the morning was brilliant, and we were optimistic for a gorgeous and comfortable day. Those hopes were dashed, however, as the Sun continued to climb. Temperatures soon reached the 90’s while the humidity between 50 and 60%, and the wind struggled to be much more than a slight stirring. It was…

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SCCA – The Kansas City Region Car Show

Ok, this was really a more of a meet-n-greet than anything, but it was still cool. The Kansas City Region of the SCCA meets monthly at the American Legion in Overland Park, KS, and many at the Legion have been asking to see the cars that we race. Joe Tasler, Regional Executive for the region, arranged for several of the members to bring out their cars fully decked out in numbers, class letters, and sponsor/supporter decals. My little SVTF was out there sandwiched between a couple of beasts, but it…

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Episode 192 – OpenPaddock.net

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFearless Leader Shaun Pechin returns to the show and brings a new level of sketch to the joint! Shaun lets loose with six months worth of saved up rants and diatribes about …well… everything! Neely, Whitesell, Shaw, and Patterson try to get in word in edgewise as we talk about the IndyCar infomercial from Texas and Team Penske’s penalty, we preview the Mazda Road to Indy action this weekend in Milwaukee, and review the Kansas City Region SCCA Solo Event #6. Whitesell leads us…

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SCCA – Double-Header at Heartland Park Topeka

IndyCar wasn’t the only racing series doing a double-header last weekend, the Kansas City Region and the Kansas Region of the Sports Car Club of America held a joint double-header event at Heartland Park Topeka. While the Kaw Valley Race Group played on the road course, we held a Solo event on Saturday and Sunday on the south lot, a nice wide-open swath of asphalt that was a nice departure from the confining orthogonal grid layout at our usual site. This joint event was also our Military Appreciation Weekend where…

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