Da Groj

The season continues. Hopefully, "winter" is done. Registration is filling up quickly for this one, don't forget to register!

Registration & Event Info

Basic event details:

• This is a FAST Open autocross, that means that it is open to all licensed drivers.
• Novices and first-timers are encouraged to enter!
• Pre-registration is REQUIRED for all Drivers AND Guests. We can't let you in the gate if you're not registered.
• Driver entry fee is $40, guest entry fee is $9.
• This will be a split-format event. You can enter the Early session 8am-12pm or the Late Session 12:30pm-5pm, or both.
• Snacks and cold beverages will be provided for all registered drivers and guests.

Currently 8 slots in the Early Session and 12 in the Late Session. And some key people like Drew and Steve and Philip aren't registered yet. What's up with that?

In.
Took an early slot.

Well this is interesting. S1 currently has 5 ringers (2) with 2019 MX5's and (2) with an FTD BMW + (1) Cliff in anything he brings - so the current battle is for 6th place in the "normal people competition". Damn. The only way to make up 2-4.7 seconds is simply to let one of them drive my car with me in it as an observer I'm starting to wish I hadn't given some of my old winner t shirts to the homeless shelter now. Hey, they looked cold. So there's more than one of me out there now.

twistedwankel wrote:Well this is interesting. S1 currently has 5 ringers (2) with 2019 MX5's and (2) with an FTD BMW + (1) Cliff in anything he brings - so the current battle is for 6th place in the "normal people competition". Damn. The only way to make up 2-4.7 seconds is simply to let one of them drive my car with me in it as an observer I'm starting to wish I hadn't given some of my old winner t shirts to the homeless shelter now. Hey, they looked cold. So there's more than one of me out there now.

And your RX8 is never going to get bumped down to S2 b/c it just got rejected again to move to DS via the latest fast track

aw614 wrote:And your RX8 is never going to get bumped down to S2 b/c it just got rejected again to move to DS via the latest fast track

I would be better off running RX8 in S0 and finishing 5th or 6th every time DFL on current all season rain tires. No love for Rotaries that's for sure in SCCA. Too bad since they are really a bargain now. BOGO.

I like the design of the course, could use more Slaloms.

I see what you did there.

We had the course drawn for this one, but then they dropped airplanes on the grid. So, we're going to have to revise it.

Loren wrote:I see what you did there.

We had the course drawn for this one, but then they dropped airplanes on the grid. So, we're going to have to revise it.

I think we need to start implementing planes as obstacles on the course. . But really, is it just move the course further down now or they plan on moving the planes somewhere else?

They aren't moving the planes. We hope to know more soon. There's plenty of space... for now.

CaptainSquirts wrote: But really, is it just move the course further down now or they plan on moving the planes somewhere else?

Moving the course farther down the runway makes going off much more expensive, there is a big drop off, 8-12 inches, and a long pile of concrete ruble, both of which are hidden by the grass.

That's why we have to rework the course. We treat those areas a lot like we do the green box. We try to not put you off into them.

But what if someone DID drive off the 12-inch pavement drop? Could you imagine what would happen to their battery?!! Good bye battery!!! Unless it was secured with a never before used Summit Racing battery relocation kit that was purchased three years ago for a Z but never installed because it was too big to fit behind the seat or underneath the dash. Oh man, I wonder where someone would get one of those...

Probably from Summit Racing, I recon.

Does the airport really benefit more financially from storing all those defunct planes? Who pays to store a decrepit plane? Once they are parted out do they just continue to pay to keep them there? They must pay a premium if the airport is willing to jeopardize all the autox clubs that pay to use the space. Maybe I need to get into the trash plane storage business.

JasonS wrote:Maybe I need to get into the trash plane storage business.

Mmhmm. Rumor has it, it's totally worth it for the part-out money.

Channel 644 on Spectrum Cable. Most Hernando Commission meetings are on Tuesday for hours. You can listen to 5 Commissioners grapple with their campaign donors. NOT. It only takes 3 votes to pass anything in Hernando government. The existing airport company people have 3 votes for the next 2 years. Doesn't matter what the other 2 Commissioners say. So much for Democracy. The airport manager has limited influence it seems as an employee. Answers also to the 67 yr old County Administrator/who is also the head of County Growth- meaning airport growth. Hernando is $11.4M short for 2019 budget. Parks and Libraries are on the table along with a lot of jobs that they authorized a 6% raise to and they promised no new taxes. They budgeted $3M to repave the existing runway in 2019. They don't have it. They want to extend the runway 1000ft to accommodate even larger planes. That's a grant application now.

It may be snowing up North but racing isn't getting any traction in Hernando either. There are only 3 clubs currently using the airport on weekends + Sheriff's Dept for training.

JasonS wrote: They must pay a premium if the airport is willing to jeopardize all the autox clubs that pay to use the space.

Call it a political contribution.

JasonS wrote:if the airport is willing to jeopardize all the autox clubs that pay to use the space

I really wish they cared as much about us as you think they do.

JasonS wrote:Does the airport really benefit more financially from storing all those defunct planes?

Absolutely, yes. I've no doubt they're getting much per month for each of those planes than they get from all the sports car clubs autocrossing there. And it's an aviation activity, which the FAA (who administers the Airport and Airway Trust Fund) smiles upon. You don't think autocross paid for that tower they installed, did you?

Who pays to store a decrepit plane? Once they are parted out do they just continue to pay to keep them there?

There's a company over on the far side of the airport that dismantles the planes. It's a big business. Each of those engines was about $10 million new...the fan disks alone are worth about $2 million used. The landing gear is worth about a quarter million. Cable harnesses...six figures. Control surfaces -- rudders, ailerons, elevators, flaps -- are each worth more than your car was new. And when it's all gone, the scrap value of the carcass is around $50,000. So yes, they cheerfully pay for storage until they've sold off every last piece.

Maybe I need to get into the trash plane storage business.

All you need is a runway capable of handling a 100 ton airliner, and lots of empty, well-drained space to park them. Out in Southwest, there are storage facilities that are simply hundreds of aircraft parked in the desert. See if you can spare a little room for an autocross site, while you're at it.

I was a little surprised to see the 767s...the longest runway there is only 7000 ft, and rated for 235,000 lbs. The empty weight of a 767 is 195,000 lbs -- add even a little fuel, and they had to be pushing that limit. But they've proven it can be done, so expect they'll bring in more.