June 15 & 16, 2007 -- SCCA PDX(Performance Driving Experience)
Performance! A word that brings butterflies to the stomach and adrenaline pumping through the body. Combine that with Pocono Raceway and you have excitement. Add YOU, and the result is exhilaration and understanding of the synergy between car and driver at speeds exceeding normal highway rates.

On June 15 & 16, Performance + Pocono Raceway + YOU = Performance Driving Experience, an event being put by the Tri-Region Race Group (Sports Car Club of America) for “regular” people (not race car drivers) and their street cars of all makes/models. The full 2 ½ mile road racing course will be used, including part of the infield course, the bus stop chicane, NASCAR turn 1 and the front straight to give a variety of handling techniques. You can participate for one day ($275) or two days ($475). Each participant will have approximately two hours of track time per day.

Through classroom sessions and one-on-one instructor to pupil on-track driving, each participant will have the opportunity to learn about the dynamics of car handling and to test their driving skills. The event is run no matter what the weather. Learning to handle your car in the rain is a life skill everyone should have. Tri-Region Race Group is the organization that coordinates three SCCA Regions to put on Sports Car races at Pocono Raceway, but on June 15 and 16 they will be helping others to enjoy the automotive equipment that they own. For more information and to receive the Supplemental Regulations and Entry Form, contact the Registrar, Judy Bloeser at indy33@aol.com, 610-965-0585 (home), or 610-360-0740. www.triregionracing.org

August 17, 18, 19, 2007 -- SCCA DOUBLE NATIONAL GRAND PRIX
Come and watch the Drivers and Crews of the top amateur sports car racing in the East compete in 7 races on Saturday and 7 races on Sunday.

Come for the clash of the Corvettes and Vipers.
Check out the Spec Racer Fords’ noses before and after their races.
Watch as Neons, Porsches and Miatas challenge the road course, banking, and chicane.

$15 for one day, $25 for the weekend
Friday admission free with a ticket
(tickets will be available at the "NASCAR Turn2" tunnel to enter the track)

***Coupon and advertisement download available by clicking HERE

(Please contact George or Judy Bloeser for more information at 610-965-0585 or indy33@aol.com) www.triregionracing.org

You Can Be a Club Racing Worker, up close to the action and making it happen!
Your passion for motorsports may present itself in a number of ways. Maybe, for whatever reason, being a competitor is not for you. Motorsports is more than just driving. There are ways to get involved and be close to the action without being in the driver’s seat. Running an SCCA Club Racing event requires the talents of a wide variety of dedicated individuals, serving in several types of exciting positions known as “worker specialties.”

The following is a summarized description of the worker specialties available in SCCA Club Racing:

Race Chairman - The “Host” of the race, the Race Chairman performs organizational duties before, during, and after the event. That includes making sure the proper emergency equipment is on hand to making sure the trophies are ready and the results are mailed. It is often helpful for the Race Chairman to have a working knowledge of each specialty, since he or she must make sure that they are all working together and are adequately staffed.

Registrars - At any event, the first people that the drivers, workers, vendors, media, and guests meet are the Registrars. Before the race the Chief Registrar receives and catalogs the entry forms. The timing slips and medical forms are separated and sorted for distribution at the event. Waivers, drivers’ packets, and entry lists are prepared. Note: the harder the Registrar works before the event, the smoother Registration will go once the doors open. When it’s 6a.m. and 250 drivers and crew members are already in line, you’d better be ready. Once Registration is open, the registrars check the identity of all participants and issue them the appropriate credentials.
Registrars are frequently problem solvers. It’s especially satisfying when you can help someone get their issues taken care of quickly and efficiently and get them out on the track. A good experience at Registration sets the tone for the rest of the weekend for the driver.
Registration is usually not open all day, so registrars usually have plenty of time to watch racing, crew for someone, or even to relax or go off site if they want. After Registration closes on the last day of the event, the Registrar must account for all the payments that were received and give a complete accounting of who came, who did not, and who is due a refund.

Paddock Marshals – These workers have the difficult job of making sure everyone fits into the allotted space. That could mean moving a trailer to an outside parking area or squeezing in another race car and eliminating some street car parking. The job can be fun, because you get to see everyone, or it can be difficult since it involves enforcing the rules. But it’s definitely satisfying when everyone is settled and the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle is in its place.

Scrutineers – People with a passion for cars can deal with the latest technology of formula cars or the basic mechanics of classic production cars if they become Scrutineers (Tech Inspectors). Every car that is raced must undergo an annual technical inspection, which gives the Scrutineer an opportunity to talk with the owner or crew and really look the car over. The driver’s safety gear is also checked at the same time. At each event, the Scrutineer must verify that the annual tech has been done and issue an event tech sticker, allowing the driver to go on the track.
After an on-track incident, the Tech crew must examine any damage. After each on-track session, the cars may be impounded and spot-checked to ensure compliance with the car specs or event rules.

Grid Marshals – Being a Grid Marshal gives a person a special opportunity to talk to the drivers while they are on the Grid waiting their turn to go out on the track. It’s another role where the right attitude can make for a better experience for both the official and the driver or crew. Before the five-minute warning, the relaxed atmosphere leads to friendly banter, but once the drivers begin to get ready, it’s all business. The Grid Workers make sure everyone is using all the required personal safety equipment, sometimes even offering a helping hand as the drivers get ready to go.

Pit Marshals – Since many SCCA races include practice and qualifying sessions before the races, many drivers spend time in the Pits making adjustments to the cars. The Pits can become a busy place with cars and people on the move. Pit Marshals direct traffic, ensure the safety of the driver and crew, and check that the car is ready to return to the track before it leaves the Pit Lane. Sometimes Pit Marshals put out small fires, make sure that no one crawls under a car without a jack stand, and check on a reported oil or coolant leak. Pit Marshals are also responsible for directing cars into the paddock and back onto the track in a safe manner.

Starters – All eyes are on the Starter holding the flag at the beginning and the end of the race, but waving the green and the checker flags is just a small part of what Starters do. They maintain the lap count and elapsed time for the session, follow the race order by charting the race, and, as if that were not enough, they act as a flag station, performing many of the same tasks of that specialty.

Flagging & Communication – F&C is probably the most visible specialty, partially because it is also usually the largest in size and also because the F&C staff is much more out in the open than the other specialties. Stationed strategically around the course, the white-clad flaggers communicate with the drivers through the use of brightly colored flags and hand signals. They also communicate with the Operating Stewards via radio.
Without a doubt, Flaggers have the best overall view of the race and are located in areas where, if things do go wrong, they can respond quickly to provide a push or assist a driver to move to a safer position.

Sound Control – This can be a solitary specialty because a single person can handle it by him/herself. In addition to logging sound readings on every car, Sound Control measures and records the changing atmospheric conditions during the event since sound readings can change along with the barometric pressure and humidity. Personnel are always stationed alongside the track in a relatively safe location. When an incident occurs, they are not expected to respond. In other words, Sound Control is an excellent place to sit and watch racing.

Course Marshals – These marshals fill in wherever needed, sometimes providing flat tows or assisting with track cleanup. They also often handle equipment delivery to the corners and pick up at the end of the day, in addition to keeping the workers refreshed with drinks and snacks.

Emergency Services – This specialty encompasses medical safety, fire control, and emergency vehicles, including flat tows, wreckers, and extrication equipment. With the variety of tasks this group is responsible for, many of which require special training (doctors and emergency medical technicians), the job is often turned over to paid professionals, augmented by volunteers.

Timing and Scoring – T&S workers are the people who are responsible for all of the statistical information about the event. They time the cars, create the grid line-ups, record every car on every lap to establish the running order, develop lap charts that visually chart the positions of the cars throughout the race, and produce the results sheets for all sessions. This specialty has a computer based component, but all computer generated results must be checked against the data compiled by humans. T&S typically has the most comfortable work area of any of the specialties. Because of the need to protect the computers and printers, they are almost always in the shade and often in a climate-controlled environment. This specialty is known for its “team” atmosphere.

Stewards – While many of the previously mentioned specialties are comprised of people who either have no desire to race themselves, or plan to do so in the future, most Stewards are current or former drivers. Others have extensive experiences in other specialties. Wherever they come from, all Stewards have accepted the responsibility for conducting road racing events.
The Chief Steward and his/her assistants take on the operational roles: managing the timeline, supporting the other specialties, ensuring the drivers’ safety and dealing with on-track infractions. The Chief Steward is also the head rules enforcer, charged with making sure the general conduct of the event is in accordance with the General Competition Rules. This official is also charged with maintaining order, which can be accomplished as simply as meeting with the people involved in a problem situation, by fines, or exclusion from the event of any person who is guilty of misbehavior.
The Stewards of the Meet and their Chairman are the judicial side of the race administration. They hear protests, deal with Request For Action (RFA) from the Chief Steward and decide penalties when rules have been broken.

Getting involved – to become a part of the racing scene without being in the driver’s seat is as easy as going to a local event and volunteering to help in a specialty. Workers are issued a license just like the competition drivers and can work their way up through the levels of licenses by participating at different events and gaining the knowledge and experience to hold a National specialty license. SCCA licensed workers help staff most of the professional road course motorsports events in the United States in one capacity or another. To some day work the 24-hours of Daytona or the 12-hours of Sebring, the first step is working a local SCCA race.

If you would like more information on volunteering at a club racing event to try a race worker specialty, contact me at 610-965-0585 or indy33@aol.com.
George Bloeser, Chairman
Tri-Region Race Group (www.triregionracing.org)

(Note: some of the material used in the above descriptions was based on a piece written by Laurie Sheppard & used with permission)