Guys,
Although our tires have barely cooled from the 2011 season, it’s not too early to start planning for a great 2012. It looks like our car counts are going to be up again, with several new car builds progressing, and someold friends returning to the series. We anticipate double digit fields at many events and increasedcompetition throughout the pack.
First order of business -- Please Welcome Neal Agran as our new Midwest 944 Spec Series Director!
Neal joined the series in 2009 and led our very popular and well received coaching efforts in 2011. As the series continues to grow nationally and in the Midwest, we need more administrative and creative horsepower. Eric will
be focusing on National Director duties in 2012 while Neal heads up the Midwest region. Both Neal and Eric are available to collect feedback and answer questions on any topic (car builds, cars for sale, car setup, parts sourcing, navigating NASA, driving, racecraft, towing, general problem solving, strategies to placate a significant other, etc.). Neal will be handling communications like this one, regional development, and race weekend administration going forward.You can reach him at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or 312-330-2323.
Early Plans for 2012
The most significant change in the works for 2012 is trackside support. For the past several seasons we’vearranged for a professional shop to provide tire changing, mechanical, and catering services to all interested racers a fixed fee per weekend. As the series continues to expand, we are outgrowing certain aspects of this model –the logistics and staff count required to provide high touch, high quality, and timely trackside service between run
groups for our growing car counts are becoming impractical.
We have spent the last few weeks soliciting input on what racers value in the current model and thinkingabout how we can continue the best of what we’ve been doing for the past several years. The feedback to date is that paddocking together, food and drink, and availability of critical spare parts so that no one loses a weekend for lack of an easy fix are the things we want to keep. And of course, value matters.
To this end, snacks, drinks, and world class grilling by Angel Blazquez and Linda Kuhns for all interested racers will continue to be provided in 2012… at a no profit price. We’ll also continue to arrange for a shared paddock area at all events to keep the party rolling. We are building a cache of the basic spares that can save a weekend (ignition parts, axles, tranny, control arms, tie rods, alternator, DME, head gasket, head, etc.). Thanks to a great parts stash find by Ken Frey, we’ve already got most of it covered for peanuts. Of course, don’t let this stop you from bringing along spares!! We would be carrying this stuff anyway for our own piece of mind, but we’re happy to provide it trackside on a lend or no profit sale basis. We just want to make sure to provide a last line of defenseagainst disappointment. Jim Hartman and other folks with the requisite skills should be on hand for installation
help at the track in 2012 if required.
One of the features of Midwest 944 Spec that we plan to expand and continue is our driver coaching anddevelopment program. We saw amazing progress and development throughout the field in 2012, with lots of guys picking up time and several graduating from mid-pack to the pointy end of the field. Eric couldn’t have been more proud to fall from 1st to nearly 5th while racing hard in the middle of our September ACC race (watch it here:
vimeo.com/29710983). Seeing Dan Pina finally clean our clocks in the rain race the next day was a highlight of the season. This is the way it’s supposed to be!
Neal and I are happy to ride shotgun in HPDE4 on test & tune Fridays, share car setup info, and compare Traqmatedata at the track. We’re going to work on doing more of this and encourage anyone and everyone to get a seat and Traqmate system. It’s the best money that you’ll spend – ’88 pistons, an LSD, or Tarett sway bars are nice, but they’ll only get you tenths of a second. Effective coaching can get you on the podium! Spread the word - if the art of racing, and learning to go faster appeals to you , this is the class to be in!
Winter Get Together(s)
We’re planning to repeat the winter go kart get together at Chicago Indoor Racing this winter, likely in February. year we had about 30 participants from a huge variety of NASA classes join us to hang out, bench race, and compete in a runoff competition. It was a greattime and an excellent way to meet new people with our shared sickness. We put two 944 Spec racers on the podium last year and I’m sure we’ll again defend Stuttgart’s honor in
2012.
We can also arrange a build party or two or a tech session. Drop Neal a line if you’re planning a major project this winter and would like a hand. We can usually get two or three people who really know what they’re doing to knock out a tremendous amount of work in only a few hours while the rest of us drink beer. We got a fresh motor into Ken’s very sharp #3 car in a single evening last winter.
Car and Driver Prep Ideas for Next Year
As you start thinking about car preparation over the winter, feel free to reach out to Eric or Neal for ideas or to make connections with people who can help. Thinking about buying a car? We usually know what’s for sale and what’s not being advertised but could be for sale. Getting people into the series and competitive is what we’re about – let us make it easy for you!
Thinking about upgrades? Data and video are the best investments you can make. We like Traqmate because it’s widely used in 944 Spec and Spec Miata and makes data comparison and coaching easy. Neal knows the insand outs of Traqmate and video and can make it simple. If you’re on the lookout for a used system, let us knowand we’ll keep our eyes out. Also don’t forget that
www.apexperformance.net will sell 944 Spec racers a new Traqmate for 12% off if you enter the discount code “44SPEC” at checkout. If you can swing your Christmas present early, Traqmate is having a sale next week for the first time, that brings the cost down even more! Look here:
news.traqmate.com/huge-traqmate-sale-nov...nnouncement-10-2011/
Need a good core motor for a rebuild? We got a great tip for finding them from David Dirks this weekend. Need heads, setup ideas, etc.? You get the idea. Don’t bang your head against a wall trying to come up with a solution –
we can help!
We hope everyone is having a great Fall and look forward to next year!!
Eric Kuhns and Neal Agran
