we gotta change the Name of that Rotary engined thing you call the USS
Wankle... Chuck....
For those of you who don't know Chuck.... he has this little 510 with a
Rotary and for lack of a better word...(and because it's the right one ) he
HOT LAPS the damn thing at Maxton.... between the sounds of the McMeekin
boys at 8500rpm and Chuck they account for 95% of the Noise pollution...
but they also take home 95% of the fun....
Chuck and I came up with the Idea for this List and again like Wendy
yesterday I thank him and John Beckett for being here in the early going
when discussions on Fuel and clutches were no where to be found... Great
week here.... I have learned a ton.. MY what a shock... and Dave this was
my first year racing the Whole season with the ECTA and my first trip to
the Salt...
If your not hooked and don't have any time on your hands... DON'T go to
Maxton..... This place is addicting.... oh and so is the Speed.... Tom
really said it best when he talked about working up to it.... here are the
speeds we ran with the intention of doing as Tom recommended building up...
first meet.... 138mph... 2nd 147mph...... 3rd 166mph .... 4th.... 172mph
..
5th 180mph....... Bonneville 190 timed and 198mph out the back... last
weekend with the back up motor chilling our heels... we went 161mph
oh yeah almost forgot the run in Paul Chism's Jag.... I drove to 200.758mph
Keith Turk.....
----------
> From: Chuck Rothfuss <crothfuss@coastalnet.com>
> To: land-speed@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: The most basic question of all...
> Date: Friday, November 05, 1999 4:28 PM
>
> Dale,
>
> Great to see some interest coming from the autocross community, since
> that's how I got into this game. I attended my first North Carolina
> autocross at Maxton in 1987, and have autocrossed there up through this
> year, but now I'd much rather go to Maxton with the ECTA. A nicer bunch
of
> folks would be hard to find anywhere.
>
> I first heard about the ECTA at the Beech Mountain Hillclimb about 4
years
> ago, and since my primary transportation back then was an E-Mod Datsun
510,
> it sounded interesting. Especially since the safety requirements were
the
> same or safer than those required for SOLO I (That's one car at a time
going
> fast around corners for the non SCCA members out there.) it was also
another
> way to justify car preparation expenses for future Beech Mountain
hillclimb
> events. (1.3 miles up the side of a mountain with 13 curves in the
course.)
>
> I attended the last ECTA meet of the season in 1997 and was instantly
> hooked. After spending all winter getting the car ready I drove it to my
> first ECTA event, had a fantastic time and drove home. Between land
speed
> events and 8-10 autocross events a year I eventually got tired of
changing
> tires all the time and bought a trailer. However, there's no reason you
> couldn't drive your Neon to the event and participate, if you don't
already
> trailer it. You'll get a chance to stretch it's legs a lot further than
> during any autocross.
>
> Just like autocrossing, this is a sport that is much more fun to be a
> participant in than to simply be a spectator. Although the sights,
smells,
> and sounds are glorious! It's a sport the whole family can participate
in.
> Much of the gear list for the weekend will be the same as for an
autocross
> event. (Helmet, sunscreen, non-alcoholic drinks, etc.) There's also none
of
> the pressure to perform that many novice autocrossers feel when
confronted
> with a sea of orange cones for the first time. You won't get lost
anywhere
> on the Maxton Mile. Definitely a good place to "test the waters" of land
> speed racing. Most folks get caught in the current and catch "salt
fever"
> at their first event.
>
> If you have any other questions about what you'll need to make the
> transition from autocross to land-speed you can be sure the folks on this
> list will have answers for you. I only wish I'd had this kind of tech
> support back when I was putting my car together. That was one loooonng
> winter, and if it hadn't been for Jim Bodenheimer and John Beckett, who I
> called regularly with questions, my car would never have gotten finished.
>
> Chuck Rothfuss
> "USS Wankel" #510
> East Coast Timing Association
> Tarheel Sports Car Club
> Cape Fear Chapter SCCA
>
>
>
> At 11:33 AM 11/5/1999 -0500, you wrote:
> >I've been lurking the list for about a year now and have enjoyed the
topics,
> >including all of the old engine stuff, a lot more than I would have
> >expected. The latest fuel thread was quickly over my head, but later
posts
> >did a really good job of making it understandable to a person like
myself.
> >
> >One thread I haven't seen yet regards new participants getting into the
> >sport. I joined SCTA about the same time I found the mailing list, and
have
> >since found the ECTA website and many of your own personal websites.
> >
> >I haven't quite figured out where Maxton is yet, but I'm sure it's
closer to
> >the Northeastern states than the Saltflats are. I have a simple car, a
> >Dodge Neon, by no means a record car, but it's a place to start. If you
> >lived in the Northeast, how would you go about getting involved in a
meet?
> >Where would you go and when?
> >
> >It's funny, I answer questions like this for people who are interested
in
> >autocrossing all the time. I used to think I was answering an obvious
> >question, but I've learned from trying to figure out Land Speed Racing
that
> >it's not as obvious as it seems sometimes.
> >
> >I'm not against going to the Salt at all, I'd just like an opportunity
'test
> >the waters' before jumping in with both feet....
> >
> >Thanks for your patience,
> >Dale
> >
> >
>
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