[Spridgets] Sprite Midget Race Series End of Season Results and 10th Anniversary
Erick Zanner
ezanner at gmail.com
Thu Aug 26 13:06:25 MDT 2021
I thought they we’re free to race Spridgets????
On Thu, Aug 26, 2021 at 2:57 PM Don Kelly <devildogracing9 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Erick you can get directly from Clancy or Winners Circle. I don't know the
> price.
> Don Kelly
>
> On Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 8:21 AM Erick Zanner <ezanner at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Well said!
>> Agreed!
>> EZ
>>
>> On Thu, Aug 26, 2021 at 8:19 AM Charles Hall III <
>> charlie at charles-hall.com> wrote:
>>
>>> A special thanks to Stan Mason, for whom without his tireless dedication
>>> none of this would occur.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank you Stanley
>>>
>>
>>>
>>> *From:* stanbmason at aol.com <stanbmason at aol.com>
>>> *Sent:* Thursday, August 26, 2021 8:15 AM
>>> *To:* allmedsys at bwig.net; andrew.more.fsae at gmail.com;
>>> attlastt at frontier.net; bmwwxman at gmail.com; bravenrace at yahoo.com;
>>> buckleyproperties at gmail.com; bugeyedave at aol.com; buks62500 at yahoo.com;
>>> cana.comer at gmail.com; ccstickleback at yahoo.com; Charles Hall III <
>>> charlie at charles-hall.com>; chia219 at comcast.net;
>>> christopher.beukema at gmail.com; cjracr at hotmail.com; clancy at sunflower.com;
>>> colin at colinsclassicauto.com; cseifert at tombrowninc.com;
>>> d.walters at lackstrim.com; dbkessinger at comcast.net; dbrown07 at aol.com;
>>> dbruce at taborbruce.com; deikis at gmail.com; derekchima at hotmail.com;
>>> devildogracing9 at gmail.com; dick at mgcarclub.com; dlee1967 at sbcglobal.net;
>>> dsweet3193 at aol.com; dwoerpel at wi.net; dynamic881961 at yahoo.com;
>>> edwardhinsa at gmail.com; edwforrest at gmail.com; ellie at stagecraftplayers.com;
>>> ezanner at gmail.com; fishnet at essex1.com; gary.perser at gmail.com;
>>> happykozfam at comcast.net; hcgracing at aol.com; jbtruck at dwave.net;
>>> jdonato at donatoandsonsmotors.com; jeff.bakker at yahoo.com; jeff at mozer.com;
>>> k_hund59 at yahoo.com; kekjacobsen at yahoo.com; kered_2004 at yahoo.com;
>>> kirkkos at yahoo.com; larsmg at aol.com; maxspeedwell773 at gmail.com;
>>> mccormackr at hss.edu; mg72racer at juno.com; mgvadick at aol.com;
>>> mmaehling at comcast.net; mowogbill at yahoo.com; nadadawgracing at yahoo.com;
>>> pauljharris914 at yahoo.com; ptgbhtl at aol.com; racingred69midget at rogers.com;
>>> refisk at chartermi.net; rfheil at aol.com; rickdmichalek at gmail.com;
>>> rob.futcher at yahoo.com; ron.bartell at comcast.net; saeppli at aol.com;
>>> salisje at comcast.net; sarl45 at hotmail.com; scthsc47 at gmail.com;
>>> skip.meyer at ymail.com; slugthemtrhd at suddenlink.net; soavero at yahoo.com;
>>> spridget72 at yahoo.com; spridget at aol.com; spridgetech at ameritech.net;
>>> spridgets at autox.team.net; steve.bisson at yahoo.com; steve at onecoleman.com;
>>> steve at skunkriverresto.com; stevebest3131 at gmail.com;
>>> stevewright9928 at gmail.com; stine.jason at gmail.com; swindrace at aol.com;
>>> swope66 at aol.com; ta.wilcox57 at gmail.com; tcspeedwell at gmail.com;
>>> ted at hoyes.com; terry at toyshop-resto.com; thadevans at windstream.net;
>>> thershey at frontiernet.net; tim at mcginleyinc.com; tlcnam at aol.com;
>>> tmoran at moranconstruction.com; tom.daly at westsidevw.com;
>>> viggen at bellsouth.net; w1979mgb at comcast.net; walt at freckmannart.com;
>>> wc at spridget.com; wrtr at aol.com; wsthompson at thicko.com
>>> *Subject:* Sprite Midget Race Series End of Season Results and 10th
>>> Anniversary
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 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
>>>
>>>
>>> 1. *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!
>>> 2. *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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