Director’s Message

The end of my time as the Motorsports Director at Summit Point is just a few short weeks

away on November 15. As I look back on my time here at Summit Point, I can’t believe I got

to where I am now, and that it’s all coming to an end. At least this chapter anyway.

I came through the gates for the first time in April 1998 for an SCCA MARRS race. My

bother-in-law and I had come to see the track before our first Friday at the Track in May.

Back then there were so many racers signed up that you needed a pass to drive into the

paddock. A little old man would stand at the bridge and turn you away if you didn’t have

the pass on your windshield. “Sorry buddy, you can’t drive into the paddock” he would tell

you. You guessed it, that was Donny Owens.

The next month, we took part in that FATT and I had a blast! At the time I was driving a

1998 Mustang GT. In typical Mustang fashion, I struggled with the brakes overheating all

day. I did well in my first FATT. I came back at least once a year for the next two years. I

eventually bought a Miata and started doing more track days at Summit Point and even

went to VIR with the Mazda club. Eventually I became a volunteer for FATT in late 2004. I

had taken the next step on my progress and thought it couldn’t get any better. Free track

time? Heck yeah. I soon learned there was no such thing as free track time. The more time

I spent at the track, the more I spent on the car!

The next step happened in 2008 when I became a part-time instructor for BSR. Now we

were talking. I could now earn a little cash to offset that “free” track time. I soon discovered that I was liking instructing more

than the driving. And by 2010, I was instructing more and more for BSR on various programs. I was doing it enough that I was

able to leave my regular boring job and only work here at Summit Point. Surely it wasn’t going to get any better than this! I

knew immediately that I would never be able to do anything as boring as a “normal” job.

In mid-2013, I was promoted yet again to Motorsports Director. I spent that first season getting to know everyone and the

groups. I listened to them all and tried to pick and prioritize the projects I knew had to be done. I poured through old Summit

Point Raceway magazines and read every article Bill Scott had written in each one. I called other tracks, visited several of them,

and started making changes.

By 2017, I had run out of excuses to not dip into actual racing and got my SCCA license. I surprised myself with how well I did

in a very tough and competitive SSM class. Over the next few seasons I would try ITA, SRF3, and finally SM. I even bought a

motorcycle in 2015 and began riding on track, albeit not very much, but I wanted to see the track from the eyes of a rider.

UPCOMING EVENTS

PCA Metro NY Nov 1 & 2

Friday at the Track Nov 3

Driver’s Club Nov 4 & 5

Seat Time Nov 8

NASA Fall Finish Line Nov 9-10

SCCA Helmets Off to Heroes

Nov 10

23rd Annual Turkey Bowl Nov 22-24

November 2019 Summit Point Motorsports Park

2019-20

Refrigerator Bowl

1-2

Nov 17, 2019

The popular winter autocross series returns to

Summit Point for the 5th season!

Each date will be two half-day higher speed auto-

crosses without cones on different courses for two

heats each.

Don’t miss your chance!

Spaces fill up early!!!

Click HERE to register!

rd Place

Do you have

a food truck?

Summit Point Motorsports Park is looking for

food trucks to support our 2020 Season.

We have events between March and November

with 100—150 people per event.

Contact Amanda Wallace at

Amanda.wallace@xatorcorp.com if you’re

interested in joining us for the 2020 season!

Director’s Message continued...

The changes weren’t just on track, we also added to our Motorsports Staff. Perhaps the most critical change was adding

Kathleen Lazorchack. She has done an amazing job and I am very proud of her. She has shaped our flagging crew into a first-

class group of men and women that do an outstanding job. Amanda Wallace was added this year and her creativity and im-

agination have helped us to ease processes and make some cool designs on advertising brochures and signs.

All of our weekend staff have improved over the years and I am very proud of each of them. Drew, Bill, and Jim have stepped

up and done us proud with their hard work and efforts. Jim retired last weekend after many years with us and will be

missed. The gate staff are cheerful and helpful, welcoming our guests with a smile. And yes, Donny is still there. He will

probably be the one I miss the most. He has been a constant in the 21 years. Always cheerful and always smiling.

My last event here at Summit Point will be a FATT. It’s only fitting that it ends where it began. I don’t expect though that I won’t be back, I do have a competition license, so I’ll be back to compete from time to time. When I do I know I’ll be greeted by a little old man at the gate.

Transition C.W. Armbrust

We are adrift in the midst of changing seasons. Darkness is creeping up earlier on the close of each day. With the changing light, a noticeable chill fills the gaps through darkening evening hours. Some mornings are already leaving a hint of frost coating car windows.

Trees are changing their clothing, slipping into bright colors this year. Yellows, oranges, and flame red mixed with leftover greens of Summer past. Driving country roads now is a strikingly beautiful experience. A little cau-tion is advised to brake early and turn gently, leaves cover many corners and the deer love to play the close call game.

End of the racing season? Not so much, it is more a transition of seasons. Best way to describe this part of the year is the twilight of transition from racing to recovery and repair, shifting to new parts acquisition and race prep.

Considering the time of year, pending holidays, trips, to do lists for home and castle that have now waited through the third race season to get done, visits to, with, and from families and relatives, there is exactly four and a half days left to get ready for the next track day.

In the meantime, rebuild of engines, transmissions, ordering rose special tires, is high on the “need to get done” list, prioritized over the “to do list.” Oh, almost forgot, it is also time to get rid of that duct tape patch job and finish the bodywork from two seasons ago.

Quietness settles over the track, home away from home for so many of us. This is where so many hours of my life have been spent in pursuit of a passion. Time that has simply passed by in a flash at the speed of memory.

Our friend at the track are undertaking subtle changes that has been carefully planned through the year. As we turn our focus towards home, families, jobs, and the year to come, work continues on maintenance and improve-ments to the tracks and facilities. Their work is constant and continues with attention to safety, improvements in facility access and use, and the ultimate goal of preserving a solid future for Motorsports.

Meanwhile, hopes are high that your holidays will be happy, Christmas will be merry and filled with friends good wishes, and the New Year ahead is something to behold.

We’ll see you at the track again before you know it, just a few days to go before the racing season kicks into high gear again.

I need to get busy, I have a little body work to finish and some new tires to order and mount.

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Bash Bars and You by Yoshi Jeffrey, Drift Nirvana Instructor As usual, this article is written from my point of view and is limited to my current level of knowledge.

MAIN PURPOSE The main purpose of a “Bash Bar” is to provide a replaceable, bolt on crush area for the inevitability of front/rear contact between cars. The aim of this is to absorb the impact on a part that can be quickly replaced, instead of tweaking the actual body of the car. In the event of an impact, a new bash bar can simply be bolted on or the old one can be repaired if needed.

SECONDARY PURPOSES Alternatively, bash bars have several other benefits. Increased air flow (theoretically), added jack points to the car, lowered weight, custom mounting brackets for body panels/lights, and added space in/around the bumper area.

HOBBYIST VS PRO BASH BAR Most general drifters replace the front bumper with a bash bar that mounts to the stock bumper. Many pro-am drivers and all pro drivers adhere to their rule books to cut off as much of the frame rail as pos-sible to add a larger crash area. This gives more engine bay space and more area to crumple without transferring the impact to the main chassis. Many pro teams run 2 separate crash supports. One for the bumper, and one to replace the cut off frame rails. Doing this allows easier replacement and more crush area.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS Most basic bash bars are a single bar that goes in place of the OEM bumper. The design above has the potential to puncture the tire in the event of an impact. A remedy to this would be to curve in the end piece so that the tire would hit a rounded edge of the bar instead of the cor-ner. Frequently, drift cars run a dual bar system. Dual bar systems are use-ful for oil pan and frame rail protection and a rigid mounting point for bumpers. The major down side is the added weight and complexity.

ALTERNATE THOUGHTS Years ago, when it was allowed, JR ran an aluminum bash bar on the front with a secondary steel frame behind it. While aluminum is more expensive, the weight savings was likely worth the effort. Formula Drift has since changed the rules so now all bash bars must be magnetic. http://www.speedhunters.com/2011/02/car_builder_gt_gt_hanging_out_at_hot_line/ Another outlawed tactic was to use coilovers with weak springs to absorb the impact but spring back out to preserve the physical chassis body. While it added weight, it lowered the amount of body work and

repair needed.

THE ABSURD? http://www.speedhunters.com/2008/11/sema_part1/ Samuel Hubinette for 2009 attempted to roll out a rollerblade wheel design to glide along walls. It did-n’t make it into practice and Formula Drift may have outlawed this before its debut.

VRG Annual Turkey Bowl November 22—24, 2019

Summit Point Circuit NOTE!!!!! New dates!

The weekend before Thanksgiving

Vintage racing with VRG at Summit Point Motorsports Park. Come join us for three days of competitive and friendly racing at this wonderful track. Groups 1 ,2, 3: (Vintage) open to all vintage race cars with a valid and up to date club log book and a valid club race license. Group 4: (Modern Sports/GT & Baby Grand) open to all cars with a valid and up to date logbook from BMWCCA / EMRA / NASA / PCA / SCCA and a valid club race license. Group 5: (Legends) open to all legends race cars Entry Fees: $400 members and non-members Second car, different group, same driver (all situations)--$200 Dinner at Piccadilly's Public House $50 for adults $25 for children 12 and under. Dinner tickets will

not be available for sale after 11/15.

Register HERE!!!