Texas StangBang Recap

[tacovini]

Saturday's StangBang event hosted by www.fordpower.net and co-sponsored by NASA was a huge success from many perspectives.

 

+ This high speed autocross/road course was held on an abandoned blimp base over a 1.1 mile section of road.

+ Estimated 300 people and approx. 100 competing cars (primarily

street/auto-x Mustangs)

+ Covini & Varner CMC cars present...Bell and Pedersen AI cars present...many, many future potential AI/CMC racers there!

+ NASA booth & scale area visited frequently and approx. 30 cars weighed. (Thankyou Len Zazzarino & Mrs. Varner for all your help!!!)

+ Covini & Bell had the opportunity to find electrical problems well

before the August AI/CMC races.

+ Varner was able to assure himself that the "Project CMC Build Car"

would hold together and that he didn't leave any loose tools anywhere

under the hood!

+ Pedersen was able to weigh his car, get some stickers and meet/greet

some of the other NASA competitors.

+ Mike Bell's AI car took fastest time in the Race Class, in his only run

of the day!

+ Covini & Varner showed CMC parity by posting times .3 seconds apart.

+ Prior to presenting 3ea. $100 gift certs for future NASA events, Covini

announced that NASA's AI & CMC series were not just on the West/East Coast anymore!!! NASA AI & CMC racing series' are now in Texas. 300 NASA flyers presented to all gate entrants.

+ One of the 3 NASA gift cert. winners is the Texas A&M sports car club

president...and stout 1967FB (AI convert?) & 1990 Mustang owner (Prime CMC car). We expect to see him and a large following from their club at one of our future events. I would have to assume that the other 2 NASA gift cert. winners were also Mustang owners and will come check out the action!

+ Eric Varner found that his rear Hoosiers had too many heat cycles and

provided absolutely no track grip, whether mounted in front or back.

+ Eric Varner properly disposed of said Hoosiers by entering them into

the "Burnout Contest" where he smoked them until they both snapped,

crackled and popped. The crowd loved it...and he raised the bar for the

other 5 contestents! (Unfortunately winners were voted by crowd cheers

and the TAMU contingent (read spring-breakers) were far too rowdy for

their own Mustang driver...however, no doubt, everyone's favorite was

Eric's CMC Mustang!

+ A 2000 Cobra R showed up late in the day but claimed it was his first

track experiance. (I knew it wasn't Joe or Andy after I heard that.)

+ The autocrossers complained the course was too much like roadracing and the roadracers complained the course was too much like autocrossing...for what it was worth ($20 including food, drink, door prizes)....it was fun.

 

+IRON MIKE AWARD- Must go to Mike Bell who donated the use of his scales to many , hosted us all in his motorhome (making us all truly feel "at home")...while at the same time fighting off racecar battery problems and heat exhaustion!! Thanks again, Mike and glad you're OK.

 

FWIW....On Sunday, I visited with NASA TX Directors Jay & Shannon Matus (and their NASA staff) at TWS. (They were campaigning a Panoz in SCCA's GT1 division.) During that time, I took the opportunity to further discuss AI & CMC needs and plans for the future with them, the NASA TX Chief Steward and NASA TX Race Director.

 

Get ready for August boys & girls, if this weekend was a preview, it's going to be HOT IN AUGUST on the Motorsport Ranch the 2nd & 3rd!!!

 

I'll send some event pics to Tony and Nick for the gallery...

[bsim]

Congratulations for what sounds like a great event!

 

Thanks for getting CMC and AI running in the Republic of Texas!