Seneca Bunker Rally: The
Close of the 2008 Season
Well, we started at the Seneca Army Depot in 2008
and we ended it there, as well. The 2008 Solo season is now officially closed.
One for the books as they say, whoever “they” are, and what a season closer it
was. The capstone event had 90 drivers showing up on Sunday, October 19 in some
of the best weather we have seen for one last chance to punish the pylons
before putting up the helmet and shoes until next year. They came from all over
the state and even from out of state for this opportunity, so many, in fact,
that the paddock was completely filled and parking was at a premium. We would
have thought we were at a divisional run-off, if we didn’t know better.
As for the actual layout, the course started with a
“Skip-Start,” a relatively gentle beginning, then turned right passing through
Pearly Gate #1 and into a quasi-slalom before turning sharply left through
Pearly Gate #2 for a clockwise romp at the far northern end of the course. At
this point the course re-entered Pearly Gate #2 veering right to enter another
quasi-slalom and a left arc through Pearly Gate #1. At this point and with the
right finesse, the driver arced sharply leftward through gates exiting the main
runway and onto a C-shaped taxiway giving a road course feel to it all. Exiting
the main runway was not as easy as it might have appeared to many, as a small
bump between concrete and asphalt at the juncture unsettled many cars and
caused more than a few to collect cones or become members of the “180 Club” in the
process. Just ask Mark Lockhart. The taxiway, itself, contained some offset
gates taking the cars from one side of the course to the other before
reentering the main runway with a high-speed arc left and an optional-slalom
down the left/east side of the runway. The slalom dumped into a sharp,
clockwise turn at the far south end of the strip, a couple more staggered gates
functioning as chicanes before the timing lights were reached.
As for classes, with 90 drivers it’s hard to know
where to begin. Street Modified had nine drivers and was the largest class du jour, but there were seven drivers
each in A-Stock, G-Stock, H-Stock, Street Touring S, Street Modified 2, and
F125 Shifter Kart. Additionally, E-Stock, Street Touring X, and Formula SAE had
five entrants apiece, and F Modified had six drivers. If anything, it was rare
to see single driver classes. The best part is that the classes were not only
large on quantity, but quality, as well. For example, Rich Hutchinson (’05
Subaru WRX STi) of the Finger Lakes Region found the course early and
consistently to take the Street Modified trophy over 8 other competitors.
Julius Carozza (BMW 318) had to settle for second place, as a result, ahead of
third place Street Modified trophy winner, Bryan Larison (’00 Subaru Impreza)
but only by 25/100 of a second. That’s close driving, folks! In A-Stock, Chris
Morton (’06 Subaru WRX STi) came all the way from FLR to seize the class trophy
from Mark Seelbinder (’03 Honda S2000) and Dave Potocki (’08 Honda S2000 CSR).
In G-Stock, the Glen Region members did much better as Cody Chambers (Subaru
Impreza 2.5RS) edged out Brett Bourdette
(Nissan 240SX) and Brian Balliet (’03 Nissan Altima) for valedictorian
position. John Szozda (’99 Mitsubishi Eclipse) waited until his final run in
H-Stock to take the class trophy from Rich Ayers (‘02 Honda Civic Si) and third
place finisher, Michael LaRose in his ’98 Volvo wagon. Street Modified 2 also
had seven entries and its overall winner was Nick Babin (’88 Mazda RX-7) of the
Finger Lakes Region just ahead of second place David Savage (Nissan 350Z) and
third place finisher, Larry Rhode (’94 Ford Mustang).
In F125 Shifter Kart it was a great day as
breakdowns were absent and seven signed up for the challenge. Rob Craig (1991
Techno Kart) repeated his performance in the season opener by taking first
place from second place finisher,
Meanwhile and over in hotly contested E-Stock, it
was Nile Heermans’ (Toyota MR2) turn to win and he did it by 82/100 of a second
over second place finisher, Tom Deneka (Toyota MR2). Greg Cuda (’90 Mazda
Miata) had to settle for third place. In Street Touring X it was another win by
a Finger Lakes Region driver, Stefan Colegrove (’91 Nissan 240), as he held off
There were several other classes at the event, many
containing multiple drivers, but too many to report in one article, so do
yourself a favor. Check out all of the official results online at http://www.glen-scca.org/solo/schedule.asp. While there you might want
to check out the seasonal class and PAX standings. It’s all there for your
reading pleasure.
2008 was a great season for Solo and there are many
folks who deserve our thanks for making it happen. For starters,
The next Glen Region event is the General Membership meeting scheduled for 6:30 PM Saturday, November 22 at the IMRRC in Watkins Glen. I encourage everyone to attend. Also, the annual Glen Region Awards Banquet is scheduled for Friday, December 5 at El Monte’s in Fisherville behind Kent Brown Toyota and Lowe’s. More information is available on the Glen Region website at http://www.glen-scca.org and as always, we'll keep the timing lights on for you.