[Spridgets] Sprite Midget Race Series End of Season Results and 10th Anniversary

[Erick Zanner]

Nice!
Cost?

On Thu, Aug 26, 2021 at 11:37 AM Rick Fisk <refisk at chartermi.net> wrote:

> Allows for easy camber adjustment and eliminates the stupid threaded lower
> fulcrum pin.
>
>
>
> On Aug 26, 2021, at 10:54 AM, Erick Zanner <ezanner at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> 
>
> What is the “Clancey Schmidt adjustable a-arm” for Spridgets? Any pictures?
> EZ
>
> On Thu, Aug 26, 2021 at 8:15 AM <stanbmason at aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Spridgetites,
>>
>> Below is our end of season report.  Attached are the end of series
>> results and a great shot of awards presented with a back drop of a Austin
>> Healey Sprite Prototype Lucas Fuel Injection.
>>
>> Enjoy
>> Stan
>>
>>
>> *2021 Sprite Midget Race Series End of Season Report & Overview of 60th
>> Spridget Reunion (revised August 25, 2021)*
>>
>>
>>    1. *Overall* - It is hard to believe that we have been doing this
>>    great fun on and off the track for 10 years as the Sprite Midget Race
>>    Series.  Before the SMRS we would be excited if we had 5 Spridgets racing
>>    for the weekend.  This year we experienced 21 to 28 Spridget to play with
>>    at each race. The 10th Anniversary was planned to be special and it
>>    lived up to that expectations.  Record turnout for all of our races and
>>    finished with traditional Grattan Finale.  The end of season awards were
>>    exceptional and would have never been possible without Dave Kessinger and
>>    his vision.  We enjoyed having new Spridget racers from Pennsylvania,
>>    Virginia, Kansas & Texas join us and share our passion on and off the
>>    track.  It was so exciting to have the 2 World Class Restored Sprite
>>    Prototypes all the way from Texas join us.  We exceeded our high water mark
>>    of having more Spridgets than Formula Vees at several races this season.
>>    2. *Grattan – *We were told that we would have less area in the
>>    overall paddock.  This discourage some from coming and actually resulted in
>>    smaller numbers than what was originally anticipated.  We were able to hold
>>    on to our traditional Spridget Paddock location, but with the additional
>>    Spridget Racers coming in we needed to have other locations to place
>>    everyone.  I appreciate everyone’s patience in trying to organize this
>>    special event.  Friday was a humid hot day ending with the Cape of Good
>>    Hope Pub Toasting followed by our Texas friends Steve and Mike Coleman’s
>>    presentation and display of 2 Historic circa 1967-68 Sprite Prototypes made
>>    at the Geoff and Donald Healey’s Cape Works in Warwick England.  The
>>    research and details the Coleman’s have put into these cars makes me very
>>    appreciative of their passion to show these great restored cars to us in
>>    the MidWest.  I consider them true Ambassadors of the Austin Healey Marque
>>    and more specifically Sprites.  Hearing these cars on the track as I was
>>    passed will always be one of my favorite memories.  Saturday was the
>>    busiest of the weekend with the Spridget Race moved to Saturday from our
>>    traditional Sunday morning race.  Brat Lunch was well supported with Carl
>>    and Bob at Chef Helm both days.  A parade lap at 2:30 for Street
>>    Spridgets.  The Sprite / Midget Street and Race Car Show was held during
>>    the day with Rob Brackett taking the lead.  Awards were presented that
>>    evening for Sprite Street - Rob Brackett, Race Sprite - Gary Perser, Race
>>    Midget - Mark Maehling and Best Of Show - Rob Brackett.  1st place
>>    per class Spridget Race position were announced.  Sunday we enjoyed our
>>    Brat Lunch followed by our annual awards listed below and attached.
>>     Compiling end of season results from the weekend is always an added
>>    frustration and even thought I try to double check before the presentation,
>>    there always seems to be some oversight that occurs.  Our special 10 year
>>    celebration at Grattan had some first time racers joining in the fun.  I
>>    felt it would not be fair for those that were going for season points to be
>>    penalized from those that just entered this race, so I only gave position
>>    points to those that had at least entered 1 series race prior to Grattan.
>>    This means that you may see double entries for those that only attended
>>    Grattan. I overlooked announcing Ellie Lynch’s 3rd place in Bug Eye
>>    2M2.  This is especially embarrassing knowing the praise I gave her after
>>    she came off the track on Sunday with a 1:38 ET in her first time racing at
>>    Grattan.  I announced Jeff Carloss’s 1st place in Bug Eye 2E, after
>>    looking more closely to points awarded from the 3 sessions I realized that
>>    there was actually a tie for 1st with Rick Fisk.  Rick deserves
>>    special mention since he started the first race at Gingerman with a 1275 in
>>    Bug Eye 2M2 and then bought a 948 from me and did well enough at Black Hawk
>>    and Grattan to manage a 1st place in 2E (maybe I should have kept
>>    that engine!).   Please see attached results in this email.
>>    3. *Sponsors* - We are very fortunate this year to have several
>>    sponsors:
>>       1. *Dave Kessinger –* providing T-Shirts, Spridget Signs and the
>>       Fantastic Iceberg Awards.
>>       2. *Clancy Schmidt –* free entrance to next race drawing (if you
>>       have his A-Arm sticker on the side of you race Spridget) along with
>>       monetary donations and Spridget paddock signs.
>>       3. *Winners Circle –* Jeff Porada for his donation
>>       4. *Jeff Carloss –* for his continued support of providing his
>>       artistic work and providing free SMRS posters
>>       5. *Colin’s Classics –* Cana and Colin Comer 2021 sticker
>>       contribution
>>    4. *Driver Incidents Spridgets and Group 2* – As the VSCDA Group 2
>>    representative I can say in recent history we have had some of the least
>>    Driver Incidents involving the Driver Committee.  I am concerned that this
>>    is no longer true and in fact we now have the most incidents.  I am working
>>    to understand this better with data provided by Gary Kropf.  I am compiling
>>    these results and will share by the end of the year in hopes of
>>    understanding where we are going wrong.  We have 2 more races with VSCDA
>>    the ELVF at Road America and Blacktober at Black Hawk.  The early data I
>>    have seen seems to indicate that passing safely is our biggest challenge.
>>    We need to return to our Vintage Values and if you are uncertain of a
>>    pass wait until you are confident you can make a clean pass.  When in
>>    traffic especially around unknown drivers, having a defensive posture is
>>    always the right approach to keep your car and others from being damaged.
>>    The Jim Donato Most Respected Driver Criteria below should always be our
>>    guide.  There is no better feeling when racing to trust the person you are
>>    going wheel to wheel with and giving room by both drivers.  I believe we
>>    all (including myself) need to have a reset button with Vintage Values of
>>    having fun over Red Mist!
>>    5. *Race Attendance* – As you can see from the chart below we
>>    exceeded the most racing Spridgets in the history of SMRS attendance at all
>>    3 tracks.  Gingerman had it’s largest with a real abundance of Driver
>>    School Spridgets.  Black Hawk almost doubled it’s largest attendance.
>>    Grattan was also a big number exceeding our previous record of 23 in 2015
>>    where Grattan was the MG Focus when we picked up quite a few Midgets.  We
>>    continue to have the largest numbers in Spridget Vintage Racing and
>>    probably SCCA based on my viewing of Vintage Magazines and club race
>>    lists.  The Yellow highlighted areas are SMRS Tracks where we determine our
>>    end of season results with the total for the season in the last row.
>>
>>
>> *Race Track*
>> *2012*
>> *2013*
>> *2014*
>> *2015*
>> *2016*
>> *2017*
>> *2018*
>> *2019*
>> *2020*
>> *2021*
>> *Gingerman*
>> 14
>> 14
>> 12
>> 16
>> 9
>> 12
>> 18
>> 17
>> 0
>> 21
>> *Blackhawk*
>> 13
>> 11
>> 11
>> 14
>> 12
>> 12
>> 12
>> 14
>> 9
>> 26
>> *Grattan*
>> 17
>> 14
>> 20
>> 23
>> 15
>> 14
>> 16
>> 18
>> 12
>> 28
>> *ELVF 60th*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 47
>>
>>
>>
>> *Blacktober*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 15
>>
>> *SMRS Total*
>> 44
>> 39
>> 43
>> 53
>> 36
>> 38
>> 46
>> 49
>> 21
>> 75
>>
>> 6.       *Season Overall Winners*  (requires having a perfect score of
>> 48 points from at least 2 of the 3 race weekends)
>> 2013
>> Cana Comer
>> 2014
>> Greg Cory and Nathan Burress
>> 2015
>> Colin Comer and Randy Byboth
>> 2016
>> None qualified
>> 2017
>> Ashley Burress, Nathan Buress and Jim Donato
>> 2018
>> Ashley Burress and Ron Soave
>> 2019
>> Doug Bruce and Jim Donato
>> 2020
>> John Salisbury
>> 2021
>> John Salisbury, Doug Bruce & Nathan Burress
>>
>> 7*.*       *Special Spirit and Driver Awards*:
>> *Gary Kropf Spirit Award* (started in 2015 in honor of Gary’s attitude
>> that we all admire). This Huge piston award was donated by Paul
>> Fitzsimmons and polished up with name tags by Charlie Hall’s vision of this
>> spirit award.
>> a.       Previous Winners: 2015 Salisbury, 2016 Donato, Salisbury, 2017
>> Soave, Kelly, Mason, 2018 Kropf, Salisbury, Hall, 2019 Bruce, 2020
>> cancelled.
>> b.      Criteria:  Promotes the Vintage Spirit, Assists others within
>> the paddock, with repairs, parts, advice and encourages racer in making
>> next session.  Quick to organize group activities with race and banquet.
>> Volunteers with other VSCDA activities and committees.
>> *c.       *This year’s winner was Charlie Hall
>>
>> *Jim Donato Most Respected Driver *(started in 2016 in honor of Jim’s
>> contribution and example of a great respected driver)
>> Criteria: A driver that exemplifies the meaning of a Vintage Sports Car
>> Most Respected   Driver includes:
>> *Predictable* (Stays on racing line and points racers by when being
>> passed or when passing.  Makes sure that over taking driver knows they are
>> about to be passed and allows room and good judgement),
>> *Confident & Observant* (Uses mirrors and is aware of others racing
>> nearby)
>> *Respectful* (Confirms that their race car is mechanically sound and
>> will not cause others to be injured from improper maintenance.  Can sit
>> down with other competitors and enjoy their company after any session)
>> *Objective* (open to other’s comments) Drives Defensively (adjusts for
>> conditions safely regardless of other driver’s interaction).
>> *Previous Winners:* 2016 Namesake Jim Donato, 2017 Mal Fay, 2018 Ashley
>> Burress, 2019 Buzz Merchlewitz.
>> This year’s winner was John Salisbury
>>
>> 8.       *Spridget Contributors to VSCDA* (we appreciate our group’s
>> unselfish contribution to VSCDA and the Sprite Midget Race Series making us
>> one of the best groups within VSCDA for volunteering their time and making
>> this club continue to thrive for our enjoyment (I was at Gingerman and
>> Grattan and apologize if I missed any names):
>> a.       Ron Soave and Jeff Porasik for both Blackhawk Events as Event
>> Chairmen.  Don Kelly and Doug Bruce as Event Chairman for Grattan.
>> b.      Dave Young, Paul Fitzsimmons and Gerry Brasil, Brad Carloss,
>> Carl Goodwin   for their contributions to Scrutineering / Tech Barn
>> c.       Stacey Donato for her overall running of VSCDA registration and
>> all that she does along with her family from her Mom and Dad on down to her
>> daughter.  Registration assistance from Jan and Jeff Freers, Cheryl Carloss
>> & Janet Carloss.
>> d.      Charlie Hall, Gary Kropf, Roger Heil & Jim Donato for Drivers
>> Committee.  Gary Kropf initiated the Driver’s Committee Summary of actions,
>> which is greatly appreciated and time consuming.  I think measuring
>> something as important as safety is the key to reducing incidents and
>> allowing us to improve.
>> e.  Doug Bruce for Homologations and Corner / Paddock Worker Sprite Door
>> Annual Award selected for the best Grattan worker selected by their peers.
>> f. Tom Wilcox for taking the lead at Blackhawk and taking care of sale of
>> regalia, organizing Spridget Paddock and Brat Lunch
>> g. Jim Donato as VSCDA Vice President
>> h. Bob Danielson continuing to support the Donato Most Respected Driver
>> Award that he crafted and provide updated driver plaque.
>> i. Charlie Hall continuing support of the Kropf Piston Spirit Award that
>> he initiated and continues to provide updated plaques for.
>> j. Stan Mason as VSCDA Group 2 Representative and SMRS lead.
>> *9. End Of Season Awards* -Every driver that met the 2 race weekend or
>> more requirements received awards if they attended Grattan finale. Results
>> are attached to this email.
>> *10*. *Classifications* - I would like to revise our SMRS
>> classifications for the 2022 season and I have several thoughts of how we
>> can improve.  If you have some thoughts of how we can group Spridgets for
>> fair competition I would like to hear from you.  Our criteria up to this
>> time has been to follow VSCDA requirements, which include conformance to
>> SCCA 1972 GCR/PCS guidelines and exceptions as spelled out by VSCDA.  Even
>> under these conditions there is varying shades of gray that we need to
>> clarify for fair classifications.
>>       *11. SMRS Past / Future* - Like all organizations including SMRS
>> we will only be successful if we have new people stepping up to fill
>> positions.  I have been at the helm for the past 10 years and will step
>> down on or before 2026.  It would be nice to have someone that is retired
>> or will retire in the future to pick up this baton before my departure.
>> Maybe even mirror me and assist before 2026.  I have started a job
>> description / overview of what I currently do.  I know there are others out
>> there that can take SMRS to a higher level learning from our past and
>> improving the future.  If you have an interest now or in the future please
>> let me know.
>>
>> *12.  VSCDA Upcoming 2021 events*:
>> 1.      Elkhart Lake Vintage Festival Road America September17-19
>> 2.      Blackhawk Farms Octoberfest, October 16-17
>>
>>   Thanks for a Great 10th Season and Enjoy a Spridgetly Life of Relative
>> Speed!
>> Stan Mason
>>
>
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