>From the desk of the Boondoggle Bitc-, er, I mean Boss:
January 27th, 2002-- Oxymoron this may be, but this was by far the best darned
Boondoggle we've ever had. Almost 300 entrants, and everything flowed
smoothly. I need to thank some people, because all I did was stand around and
shoot off my mouth.
Although Round 1 of the SFR Championship Series, this Boondoggle was what it
was thanks to some special guest appearances from representatives of both the
American Autocross Series and NASA.
Frank Stagnaro designed the course, with help from Barbara Ogg and Jesus
Villareal as consultant. What probably most of you don't know, and should, is
that these three people came down just to design this really fun course for
us, which is truly a special treat. I don't think any of them entered the
event. Please, if you ever see them, thank them for doing this for us! Also,
if you liked the course, as I think most all of us did, you can see more of
the same at the next American Autocross Series event at Cal Expo in
Sacramento. These folks have been autocrossing for nearly as long as I've been
alive, and their events, with a relaxed atmosphere, plus more runs, mean tons
of fun. Frank also designed the south course at the SCCA Solo II Nationals in
'00, so now you can tell your friends you autocrossed on a national quality
course.
Thanks to Dennis and Peggy Hale from NASA who came after all, and added their
many years of autocross expertise and down home charm to the Boondoggle.
Dennis worked the start for a run group, and later on the grid, and later on
many novices commented on how helpful all of his tips were. Not so many people
get starters who add such a personal touch. Again, you can see more of the
same at your next NASA event where Dennis and Peggy typically run the whole
show. I'm pretty sure you'll get more runs a day, as well, on a nice slab of
concrete.
I also have to thank people like Dennis Armstrong, Jim Ochi, Solo II Chief
Bryan Nemy (who brought the motor home!), and everyone who's name escapes me
at the moment for hanging around all day to pitch in when we needed it the
most. And let us not forget Durk Edwards and his preliminary efforts to create
a Tech Crew, not unlike our fantastic Registration Crew, so we can continue to
get cars teched in a speedy yet thorough manner before cars are admitted into
grid. This is a relatively new concept compared to the last couple of years,
but it's actually how we ran tech for twenty years if not more.
And what about MJ Dunlap and his entertaining and informative talks about
safety? I don't think anyone will ever place more value on a cone over a human
life again.
I must also thank Cameron Kahangi, who approached me shortly before the end of
the seventh group, dejected that the kart he was sharing with Jake Mottaz
wouldn't start. With his big brown eyes peaking through his helmet, he said,
"Katie, since I can't autocross, is there any way I can help? I mean, like, do
you have any jobs for little people?"
And of course, there are the tireless efforts of my equally nuts co-chair
Vernon Head, who also sacrificed his runs to make this event work. We tried
counting how many years we've chaired this event, and we think this was
actually the fifth year, the fourth year of the Boondoggle. We can't really
remember specific years, probably because the brain has a powerful mechanism
that represses horrific memories. Either way, five years, give or take a
couple, that's a really long time. I keep thinking maybe it's time to pass on
the torch, but I think we are finally, finally figuring it out.
Katie Kelly
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