In this issue:  Celebrate a 30-year member!  •  Call for Safety Stewards  •  2016 Rules & Changes  •  Proving SCCA Membership at Registration  •  Pick Your Own Numbers  •  Rule & Supplemental Links  •  Sponsor Spotlight: SSC Tint & Graphics  •  Member Spotlight: Lisa Leathery  •  The EPA & Race Cars  •  Regional & E-board Meeting Minutes  •  2016 Event Schedule

2016 Rules & Changes

There have been a few changes to the Susquehanna Region Autocross Supplementals for 2016. The two most impactful are discussed in more detail below, but make sure you review the full text of the supplementals to get up to speed. You'll find links to all of the rules available for the 2016 season at the end of this story. 

Proving SCCA Membership at Registration

In years past, the Susquehanna Region has been a bit lax in requiring proof of membership at events. Starting this year, all entrants will be required to prove SCCA membership at the registration table. This mean's you'll need to bring your SCCA membership card with you, along with your license, to the registration table when you arrive. If you forget your card, you'll need to pay for a weekend membership in order to participate. This has been a rule in SCCA for quite some time, but it will be newly enforced in Susquehanna Region for the 2016 season. 

Pick Your Own Numbers

Over the past few years, some entrants have expressed that they'd like the opportunity to use or choose their own numbers as opposed to using the paper numbers provided by the region. Starting this year, you will be permitted to use permanent or magnetic numbers and class identification on your car, provided they adhere to Section 3.7 of the SCCA® rule book. Watch for a change on the MyAutoEvents.com registration page where you'll enter your number. 

Don't have your own? Don't worry! The region will still provide paper numbers for you to use as we have in the past.  

Below are the guidelines for size and placement, should you choose to use your own. If you're looking to purchase magnetic or permanent numbers, remember that our sponsor SSC Tint & Graphics offers discounts to SCCA members and has great packages available starting at just $25.  

Regardless of what numbers you use, make sure to have your numbers in place before going through tech! 

Sponsor Spotlight

Speak Out & Speak Up!

The EPA & Race Cars

by Alan Lesher  
If you have not heard by now, the Environment Protection Agency slipped a death threat into proposed light and medium truck regulations. 

Here it is: “EPA is proposing…to clarify that the Clean Air Act does not allow any person to disable, remove, or render inoperative (i.e., tamper with) emission controls on a certified motor vehicle for purposes of competition.” 

This was found on page 403 of  a 629-page EPA document titled “Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles—Phase 2.”  

It looks like a blanket statement aimed at, well, US. The Clean Air Act was never aimed at racing cars, so this sure looks like another example of government bureaucrats run a-muck.  There is a petition on the We The People web site that goes directly  to the White House staff.  While it has already exceeded the 100,000 signatures to be sent on for review, more signatures can't hurt. Speak out and speak up!

February Regional Meeting

Tuesday, Feb. 23 • 7:30 p.m.
Our next meeting will be held in the private dining room at Gilligan's Bar and Grill, 987 Eisenhower Boulevard, Harrisburg, PA 17111.  

The meeting agenda will be provided to members via email this weekend, prior to the meeting. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend. Come early for dinner (and a drink) with other members. 

Regional Meeting Minutes

January 26, 2016
   January 26th 2016 Susquehanna Region meeting
   Meeting called to order at 7:30 by Steve and he noticed some new people at the meeting. Minutes were approved as published.
   Alan talked about the banquet and gave the expenses and income for the month.
   Kristen gave the assistant RE report and said that the hits for the e-mail newsletter remain consistent.
   Henry had no report on the membership but membership is maintaining at the current level.
   Geoff had no report on the autocross series but mentioned that Henry had obtained the dates for events at Hershey Park with the first one being on March 26-27 and the last October 29-30.
   There was discussion between the members about the dates for events and it was noted that the region does put on more events than most of the other regions in the NE. There is a meeting scheduled for autocross planning on February 9.
   Geoff commented that he was very happy with the banquet and that Doug did a great job with organizing the event and Kristen produced a great program for the banquet. It was noted that there is a younger age group coming into the events put on by the region and that the older group that used to last into the evening appears to be packing it in early. So the old guys/gals need to keep up the tradition of hanging out till later.
   There was discussion about the online registration and how it is going for all of the events.
   John reported that there is really not a lot happening on the rallycross front but they are trying to find additional lots to hold events at. John thanked Kristen for the story on how to get started in rallycross that was in the newsletter.
   Markus is working on the website and there was discussion about who does what with the website.
   Steve mentioned that he had a pile of magazines from the antique auto club that were for the taking.
   Under old business Doug brought up the issue with safety steward training since Dennis Cipriany is no longer with us and we need to find a way to get someone who can provide the necessary training to the stewards. Kristen asked about the trailer the region is considering but there was no new information pertaining to that.
   Dave moved to adjourn and Kristen seconded.

Respectfully submitted — Ed Womer, Secretary

E-board Meeting Minutes

February 9, 2016 
   Meeting called to order and a roll call by Kristen.
   Henry talked about dates for events and there is a full schedule of 13 events and events can be added as needed. It was decided to drop the May 29th autocross weekend. There was discussion about event times and clean up after an event.
   John was working on the rallycross schedule during the meeting and Alan asked about introducing a rallycross for a divisional event as well as the region series.
   There was discussion about the revised auto cross and rally cross supplemental as well as the issues with the numbers placed on the car for events and possible changes but whatever is decided the numbers need to be legible for the course works to easily read them.
    Alan talked about instructors and passengers at events and would like to designate an instructor for each heat if possible. It was decided to remove the novice class designation from events.
    There was discussion about the online registration and the need to check for SCCA membership at the event since it is required to compete and to also do the same for any walk up competitors, so it will be required to provide membership verification at the event. Also if a passenger does a ride along they are also required to be a SCCA member as well.
   Mark did talk about the equipment used at the events and Alan made a motion to buy a new timing display and if the purchase price exceeds $2K the purchase will need to be brought back to the board for approval.
    Kristen mentioned that the PA system the club has does not provide enough volume for everyone to hear announcements and there was discussion on how to improve the system.
 Henry reported that the club truck is at Sprinkle’s garage for repairs for the upcoming season.
   There was talk about providing more accurate maps so competitors can easily find the location of the events.
   There was a limit of 150 cars for an each event decided upon.
   There was discussion about safety stewards for the event and there would be a need of having at least two if one of the stewards was planning on competing at the event. There appears to be up to 5 members possibly going to safety steward training so there will be more stewards available.
    There was discussion about the website and possible changes. Henry pointed out that four individuals are currently working on the web site: Mark Rosson, Markus Houser, Doug Austin and Kristen Poole. Henry reported that Kristen has agreed to take over the coordination of the work on the site and to arrange to have the site redesigned using the latest technology. There was no objection to Kristen assuming that role.
   Also there were some comments regarding the novice program as well as the number of runs to provide for competitors at events.
   There was a motion for adjournment by Alan and the meeting was over.

Respectfully submitted — Ed Womer, Secretary

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