Off the Line

            The Official Semi-occasional Publication of

            Team Harco Motorsports              Fall 1997

 

A Triple Championship Season?

At the time this goes to print Team Harco is in the running for three, possibly four, season-long championships.  The autocross class championships have come uncontested.  The E-Prepared class has, thus far, seen no competition for the “killer” Colt.  Conversely, the possible road rally championships have been gained against some of the strongest competition the region has to offer.

 

The Team Harco Colt kicking up a little dust in Atlanta, MI

 

Big  Win  at  Lockwood  Lake PRO Rally

The Team Harco/Dragon Lady Rally Colt was piloted to the U2 class win at the Lockwood Lake PRO Rally in June.  Scott Jr and Al Zifilippo took an impressive third overall in the (coefficient 2) divisional PRO Rally held on Father’s Day.  Beating the dust, and a lot of other tough cars, the Team Harco Colt proved to be the strongest U2 car that day.

 

Another  FTD!

The Team Harco/Autometric/Dragon Lady Autocross Colt claimed another Fastest Time of Day win.  This one came at the AROC autocross held on July 27th.  A number of 3rd, 4th and 5th fastest results (overall) were also recorded in 1997.

 

 

Off the Line

 

The Official Semi-occasional Publication of            Team Harco Motorsports                                 Issue #6 -- Fall 1997

 

            Contents

Another Banner Year ............................................  1

1997 Hot Moon Tulip Rally ...................................  2     

1997 Lockwood Lake PRO Rally ..............…........  2  

More Good Times at Waterford Hills ........…........  4  

How The Other Side Does It - Road Rally ............  4

Two Airport Autocrosses .......................................  5

Rally Rounds .........................................................  6

Looking Ahead  .....................................................  7 

Thank You  ............................................................  7

The Team Harco Calendar  ...................................  8  

 

 

On the Cover: the Team Harco/ Dragon Lady Colt kicking up a little dust at the Lockwood Lake PRO Rally.  June 15th, 1997. 

 

Off the Line is edited and published, time permitting, by Scott D. Harvey, Jr.

 

The name Off the Line, (aside from its many connotations) is used here, without being registered and is used without any ones permission.  Any resemblance between this newsletter and other published columns, of the same name, is not intended to detract from their readership in any way.

 

Comments, Questions, Back Issues, etc.

 

            Team Harco Motorsports

            221 Ormsby

            Waterford, MI 48327-1750

            Central Headquarters (248) 683-0207

            E-mail: TeamHarco@Juno.com  

            (Work hours) (248) 340-8146

            (fax)  (248) 340-4410

 

 

 

 

 

Another  Banner  Year

 

Team Harco is rapidly approaching the end of its finest year, “in the modern era”.  Scott Jr has, all but, wrapped-up the class championships in both the Detroit Region SCCA and DCSCC autocross championship series.

The only competition thus far, in class, has come from out of state competitors (at the CenDiv event in Oscoda).  Gary Fulkerson has not been sighted this year; with his “Fastiva”.  The other EP competitors have not made a show this year, either.

With little to no competition within class, the next targets are the competitors in the “higher” classes.  The little Colt has been the fastest overall(!) and has been 3rd, 4th and 5th overall at certain autocross events in 1997; embarrassing many “faster cars” (and their drivers) along the way. 

Along with the FTD in July, at an AROC event, Team Harco is quite proud of their 5th overall at the CCM event in August.  More good runs were turned in at the CCM and SCCA events at Waterford Hills in July as well.

On the rally front, this has been the most active, and successful season for Scott Jr.  Competing in most of the Detroit Region road rallies and most of the CenDiv events; at least one PRO Rally, plus the POR; it is clearly a very full rally schedule.

Jim Mickle has teamed with Scott Jr to contest the road rallies on the CenDiv and Detroit Region calendar (in the Equipped class) in the Team Harco/ Dragon Lady Talon.

The team is currently in very good shape to take the CenDiv championship title.  With a maximum possible 40 points scored in the first four events, Harvey/Mickle have become a force to be reckoned with in the central division. 

A little bad luck has worked against the team in the Detroit region road rally championship, but after a convincing win at “August Madness”, the possibility of winning that championship remains open too. 

The rally Colt has gotten more use this year than the past couple of years.  Al Zifilippo and Scott teamed-up for a good run at the Lockwood Lake PRO Rally in June and Bryan Murphy will navigate again this year at the famous Press On Regardless Rally. 

It is hoped that a cold winter will hit the Detroit area so that “Super Colt” will get lots of action on Loon Lake when the ice racing season gets started.

 

1997 Hot Moon Tulip Rally

                                               

May 10-11, 1997; Xenia, Ohio. 

 

The Hot Moon Tulip Rally was the fourth rally of the year on the CenDiv schedule.  This rally would be a little different from the other CenDiv events to date, the entire rally route would be on paved roads.  Run entirely at night in the rural areas of west central Ohio, the rally was advertised as a brisk TSD rally.  The rally certainly lived-up to its advance billing.  The speeds were quite brisk indeed.  In the opinion of the driver of the Team Harco/ Dragon Lady Talon, the throttle was wide open 50% of the rally.  The brakes got quite a work-out too.

 

Being the first car on the road, as were Harvey/Mickle, did help them stay ahead of the sheriff.  It seems that some of the locals didn’t particularly care for these speedy little cars, with the big lights, using their roads.  Mid way through the rally, a rumor began to circulate that many of the later cars in the field had been detained by a local constable before he finally let them go.  Fortunately, the teams were able to use their time-allowance requests and get back in the rally.

 

As rallymaster Dan Coughnour reported, the rally had “perfect weather and a perfect night”.  And after 160 hard driven miles and 14 scored controls, the team of Harvey/ Mickle had emerged with an outstanding score of 13.  Hardly believing that their score of 14 was not good enough for the win; the team of Dick Foster and Bill Secrest had to settle with 2nd place.  Only three points back were Gene Henderson and Rob Moran with 16.

 

 

 

1997 Lockwood Lake PRO Rally

 

June 14-15, 1997;  Atlanta, MI

PRO Rally has returned to lower Michigan.  In a reprise of the Sno*Drift in February, a summer PRO Rally was run on the private ranch of Henry Joy in Atlanta, Michigan.  This event would not draw the national level competitors as the winter rally did, but instead was directed at the divisional competitors.  Held in conjunction with a rally school on Saturday, the coefficient 2 divisional PRO Rally was run on Sunday (Father’s Day).

 

About 8:30 Sunday morning, the Team Harco crew (Scott in the rally Colt and Al Zifilippo in the service vehicle)

 

 

 

headed out to the ranch.  Along the way an interesting thing occurred.  Just ahead of the Colt, a big bear ran across the highway.  “We’re not sure what kind of bear it was.  But we’re pretty sure it was one of those friendly, Yogi Bear, types”; Scott was later heard to say.

 

The only thing is, this bear was about half the size of the Colt (about 1000 lbs?) and would surely have ruined the day had he decided to cross the road one second later.  As Albert put it; “sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you”.  And this is in Michigan’s Elk country!

 

The Team Harco Colt drew 4th on the road of the 13 cars entered.  Ahead were, Hurst/Harty in Mike's immaculate 911, the Czyzios in Chris's Eclipse and Mark Utecht's GLH Turbo.

 

The roads were a mixed bag of fast, wide, hard-packed gravel; deep sand and rough two-track forest roads.  The only thing these roads shared (except the rough two-tracks - only because there was enough green stuff to hold the dust down) was the incessant dust.

 

After two stages the cars rolled (oops, bad choice of words for a rally story) through the service area; although no service was permitted.  The Porsche of Hurst and Harty was being readied for the trailer.  It seemed the fuel injection had come-up lame and was forcing the engine to run a bit lean.  That's not a good thing.

 

The Team Harco Colt was experiencing fuel problems too.  On the way to the start, an attempt was made to see how fast the old Colt would go.  (Not on public roads of course).  The "calibrated" Alfa (rally odometer), indicated top speed at 87 mph.  This would not do.  It was obvious something was wrong.

 

After arriving at the service area, prior to the start of the rally, a check was made of the jets in the old Mikunis.  A  rich condition has existed for some time, but the mechanic was not prepared for what he found.  The main jet on the #4 cylinder had fallen out!  (This is a new condition - the 165 that had been there was a bit too big, but this was too ridiculous).  Unable to fish-out the lost jet, it was decided to put another one in and hope that the whole assembly could be screwed in and not interfere with the one that had come loose.  Mike Hurst gave the team some jets which he no  longer needed, and they were almost used.  Not sure what size they were, as he said, they were “drilled out 150s”, it was decided that a known 155 would be used.

Running for so long at full throttle, to determine terminal velocity, had no doubt, taken a  toll on the amount of fuel left in the tank.  This would come back to haunt the team at the start of stage 5.  The end of stage four had been particularly rough and bouncy.  The fuel pick-up, no doubt, had collected some air and the fuel pump needed to be burped.  A short service was permitted and about 3 gallons of petrol was dumped in.

 

 

Upon starting the engine to go on to the start of stage 5, the fuel pump was heard straining to get fuel (that hollow clacking sound).  Approaching the start line, the engine stumbled and stuttered.  The engine would not respond to throttle input!  Al said; "Let's go", "We're due", etc.  Scott said; "I trying, we’re not getting fuel".

 

The ignition was switched off and Scott jumped out and ran to the service vehicle for some tools.  When rushing to get back to the car, he twisted his ankle in a rut and crashed to the ground in pain.  After rolling around in the dirt for a minute or two, it was decided it might be time to go to work on the car. 

 

The hammer had no effect.  So a screwdriver was used to loosen the feed line from the pump.  After a few seconds the fuel began to flow and before getting totally soaked, Scott suggested, to Al, that maybe he should switch the key off.  In the meantime, the proper out-time had come and gone.  But the good news is the engine would run now.

 

Happy to be back in the rally, the team was forced to start stage 5 as the last car in the field; knowing that, should they finish, they would most likely be last.  So they raced on and hoped to do just that - finish.  Luckily, after stage 6, the field was re-seeded based on stage times from the first two stages.  This put the Team Harco Colt 3rd on the road.  Still, there was little hope of a good finish, due to the delay caused by the fuel problem.  But the team didn't let that get in the way of the fun as they charged on - mainly just to finish.

 

Turns out it was a good strategy.  Attrition began to rear its ugly head.  Cars which were in the same class had off-road excursions or other mechanical woes; which conspired to move the Team Harco Colt up the ranks.  At one point, the Team Harco crew congratulated their friends Scott Radabaugh and Marlena Baerkircher for their (seemingly) obvious class (U2) win in their Colt.  All the other U2 competitors had had misfortune come their way, and the two Colts were the only cars left in the class.

 

After stage 8 (of 9) the organizers polled the competitors on whether to continue at a two minute gap, between cars (due to dust) and/or throw the last stage (due to the deep ruts which the cars were creating).  All competitors seemed to be in favor of stopping after 8 stages.  Thus the rally was called, a few miles short of the advertised distance.

Scores were posted; and as the crew scanned, from the bottom up, to find #17, they were amazed to find it listed in 3rd place.  Knowing that their stage times would have placed them about third or fourth, the team was sure the “road points” would kill them.

 

Somehow they did not.  Albert and Scott were happy, and proud, to claim 3rd overall and first in U2 at the Lockwood

 

 

Lake "Summer" Rally.  Of the two remaining cars seeded ahead of them -- they claimed the O4 and O2 classes in

convincing manner.  Attrition and a lot of luck helped the Team Harco crew place as well as they did.

 

By the way, the car did over 100 (not on public roads, of course) on the way back from the rally, in a relatively short length of time.  Amazing what a difference a single (carb) jet makes.

 

Results of  the Lockwood Lake PRO Rally (coefficient 2 divisional) June 15th, 1997

OA/Class          Driver/Navigator                          Car            Number                    Hometown/Hometown                 Score

1/ 1st O4            Czyzio/Czyzio                           Eclipse              #7                    Flushing, MI                              52:14

2/ 1st O2            Utecht/Schwerin                        GLH-T   #83                   St. Paul/Coon Rapids, MN          55:06

3/ 1st U2            Harvey Jr/Zifilippo                       Colt GT #17                   Waterford/Mt Clemens, MI          58:45

4/ 2nd O2           Grzelak/Gildersleeve                  RX-7    #16                    Clinton Twp/Channing, MI           59:11

5/ 3rd O2            Dillon/Burke                               Sunbird  #53                  Evansville, IN/Quincy, MI            1:01:11

6/ 2nd U2            Radabaugh/Baerkircher              Colt    #12                     Milford, MI/Perrysburg, OH          1:02:00

7/ 3rd O2            McCleery/Secor                         XR4Ti    #10                   Zeeland/Hudsonville, MI              1:03:37

DNF

O2                    Hurst/Harty                                911     #13                     Pendleton/Garrett, IN                  Fuel

U2                    Lummen/Atsma                         GLH     #14                   Grand Rapids, MI                       Suspen.

U2                    Burmeister/Buskirk                    GTI     #37                     Sterling/Kentwood, MI                Engine

O2                    Belian/Young                             RX-7      #25                  Detroit/Westland, MI                  Suspen.

U2                    Martin/Embree                           Civic     #50                   Dublin, OH                                Crash

 

 

 

More  Good  Times  at Waterford  Hills

 

Two big speed events were held on consecutive weekends at Waterford Hills racetrack in July.  The traditional 4th of July event presented by CCM and the “new traditional” SCCA (Waterford Hills) weekend.

Gary Griffith Sr. Memorial Event,
Waterford Hills Road Course; July 4

At the CCM event the speedy little Team Harco/ Autometric/ Dragon Lady Colt took the class win again; for the fourth year in succession.  The best time, an 85.609, was even quicker than last years best run.  Also it was good enough to beat most of the “faster” cars that came out that day.  Including most all of the Corvettes!

“How The Other Side Does It”, Detroit Region SCCA Solo, Waterford Hills Road Course; July 12-13

The Detroit region Waterford Hills weekend; again used a two day format for the solo event.  The total of the best time from each of the two days was used to determine the competitor’s final score.  The little Colt was again very strong and was able to duplicate its third overall run from last year.  Some of the (more exotic) fast cars that the little Colt beat included a Viper roadster and a Pantera.

In addition to the two Solo II events held at the track, the weekend included two days of road racing and a road rally.  This special event provides an opportunity to compete and/or work in other areas of either race, rally or solo.  The whole idea behind this special weekend is to experience how the others do it.  Even the kids get involved with games and activities.  Overall the weekend is great fun, and should only grow in popularity.

 

Aerial view of Waterford Hills racetrack (photo by: Jim Day)

 

How The Other Side Does It - Road Rally

Waterford, MI; July 11

The rally portion of the Waterford Hills weekend was devised to be a very simple and straightforward example of a typical Detroit region road rally.  The major differences being that it would be run on all paved roads, mileages would be provided at each instruction and the overall distance would be much shorter.

 

Only six teams pre-registered for the rally, but they were rewarded with advance copies of the general instructions.  Four more teams arrived Friday night and registered on the spot.  Thus ten teams left the start from the range house, and headed out to some of the nicer roads in the area of the track.

 

A number of ham radio operators, enlisted by chairman Jim Mickle, volunteered to serve as control (checkpoint)

crews.  Through the support of these fine people, and our own rally enthusiasts, Jim Fekete, Rob Moran and the Paddens, the controls were well staffed.

 

The entrants came from only the Stock and Novice classes, with a ratio of 4 to 6.  Two very interesting vehicles were a part of the mix.  The Royce’s brought a Viper GTS, driven by Michael; and a Prowler, driven by Kevin.  (Good thing the roads were all paved!)  A lot of husband/wife (and kids!), girlfriend/boyfriend, or otherwise mixed crews made-up the field.  The Schwartz family carried the clan around in their mini-van and the Murphy’s brought their little girl (Charlotte) and infant son (Patrick) along for the ride.

 

The roads and conditions were absolutely perfect for the rally.  So at 7:31 PM the vehicles began leaving the track in one minute intervals.  A nice drive in the country was in store for the teams as they went in search of checkpoints. 

 

The rallymaster (fancy name for the guy who lays-out the course) followed the rally as the last car (sweep).  Thinking

that the imminently experienced navigator, Aaron Conner, was playing games with the “bought time” feature of the rally, the RM went on ahead of car 10 on the course.  Not aware that Aaron was the last car, and wanting to stay behind the less experienced competitors, the RM made a serious mistake.  With the RM arriving ahead of car 10 at the first checkpoint, no “in time” was recorded for that car.  Allowances were made for the error, and all scoring was, otherwise, perfect.

It seems that some of the cars in the middle of the field had somehow driven right past a couple of checkpoints.  This is how rallies are scored.  If a rally team misses a checkpoint, it doesn’t do good things for their score.  But as the night went on, the newer teams seemed to get

 

 

better and better with each checkpoint.  It takes awhile to get the idea of rallying, let alone get good at it.

 

The competitors were treated to a lovely sunset on the way to the finish.  The last checkpoint was at a restaurant near the track.  Once there, the teams turned in their scorecards and relaxed over delicious meals and stories of their adventure.  All teams made it to the finish, and from all accounts enjoyed the rally. 

 

Intended to be short, simple and easy to follow, the rally could be taken seriously too.  This is not to say that the novices weren’t taking it seriously; but the rally could have been taken as a scenic tour.  A team, which made up a fair portion of the tech/grid workers, chose to take this approach.  Ed Maklenberg and Barb Steenken could not leave at their assigned start time, so they ran the rally just for fun; knowing that most checkpoints would be closed by the time they arrived.  They still were able to zero the last leg and finished with 1200 points.

 

Tom Young and Jared Kraemer fell just behind Ed and Barb in tenth (6th in N), but they did improve their scores toward the end; finishing with 1290.  5th in N were Evan and Ron Moen in the family Neon (soloed on Sat and Sun) with 912.  4th in N were Steffanie and Frank Schwartz and their children with 863.  Frank also competed in the solo (on Sat with a car that was dirty enough to be a rally car!) and the races (with his Fiesta).  The family was still together, and apparently even speaking to one another; although the rally seemed to be a bit of a test.

 

Splitting the Royce family, and taking 2nd in Novice, were Michelle Veaitroba and Ron Rygiel (647).  They seemed to enjoy the rally, and at last word were still going ahead with plans to wed.  3rd in N were Michael Royce and Barb Whiton in the Viper (764).  Winning novice, in the Prowler, were Kevin Royce and Michelle Grimm (635).  Michelle really began to get the hang of navigating and was calculating arrival times for the Prowler team.

 

The more experienced rallyists, running in the stock class, took the top three places.  Mike Burke and Cetta Brown took third in S with 380 points.  2nd in S were Joan Cuttitta and Aaron Conner with 128.  Bryan and Capricia Murphy, along with two novice “back seat navigators”, took the overall win with a score of 107.  Bryan and Cappy are regulars on the Detroit region rally scene, but for this event they traded seats.

 

A great number of people worked hard to make the Waterford weekend a success.  The organizers and planners should be commended for their efforts. More specific to the rally; the control crews, registrars, radio operators and the other workers are to be congratulated on a job well done.

 

 

 

The rally went as well as could be expected and the competitors seemed to enjoy the event.  It is hoped that this format will entice other region members to give it a try.  This particular event is short enough, as straightforward as possible, and run entirely on paved roads; so many of the typical complaints about road rallying have been left out.  Even if this is the only rally that you run all year, it can provide a fair amount of insight into the little nuances and challenges of rallying.  A family can pack the kids in the back of the mini-van and go for an enjoyable ride in the country and still try to be as competitive as they desire.  If you didn’t run this year - try it next year.  If you did run this year - tell everyone you know how much you enjoyed it (if you didn’t have fun - don’t say anything).

 

Two Airport Autocrosses

Firecracker Solo, Selfridge ANG Base, Mt. Clemens; July 17

The Detroit SCCA Firecracker Solo was held at the Selfridge ANG Base this year.  The last couple of years it was held at the Grosse Ile airport.  The change was not a great one.  The vast expanses of concrete which make-up an airport runway tend to lend themselves nicely to auto racing.  Throw out a few cones, and some timing equipment, and you’ve got a race.

The Team Harco/ Autometric/ Dragon Lady Colt made some good runs early in the day but saved the best run for last.  When the scores were posted, the little Colt had defeated all other P class cars and most everything else as well.  Among the cars embarrassed by the little Colt, were a CP Camaro, a BP Corvette and a DP Sprite (all theoretically faster than the little EP Colt).

The Team Harco/ Autometric/ Dragon Lady Colt at Oscoda

 

 

 

 

 

SCCA BFG CenDiv Solo II, Corvette Challenge, Wurtsmith AFB, Oscoda, MI; August 16-17

The first CenDiv (Solo) event ever run by Team Harco was at the “Corvette Challenge” in Oscoda, Michigan.  CenDiv events tend to draw some very serious competition from the surrounding states (and even Ontario).  This would prove to be a chance for Team Harco to see how far they need to go to be competitive at such a level.

Not too far as it turns out.  Some very strong competition in the EP class came from Ohio and Indiana.  The class winning Datsun 2000 roadster of Todd Green (Indiana) and the HART (Honda America Race Team) Civic from Ohio proved to be about two seconds a lap faster than the little Colt.  The known areas of (vehicle) improvement are expected to close this gap.

The event itself, was a two day marathon, with the sum of the best run from each day counting for the driver’s score.  The course was run in a, more or less, clockwise direction on Saturday.  But for Sunday, the direction was reversed.  The overall length of the course was at or near one full mile!  The Team Harco Colt was able to complete the course in just over 60 seconds - for an average speed approaching 60 mph!  This is extremely fast for an autocross.  

At the end of day one, Scott was getting the handle on the course and on his last two runs got the car up on two wheels; just before the finish!  On the second day, Scott found even more speed and determined that he could take the whole course in third gear!  High engine revs in third gear does yield some brisk speeds.

When all runs had been completed the Team Harco Colt had moved up the ranks to take 3rd place in the E-Prepared class.  This was a strong showing, for the first time out, at such a level.  Look for the little Colt to make things interesting for the big shooters in the next couple of years.

 

Rally Rounds

“CAST In Stone” Road Rally, Lansing, MI; July 26

The crew of the Team Harco/ Dragon Lady Talon have been making inroads toward two rally championships this year.  The CenDiv and Detroit Region championships are there for the taking.  The “CAST In Stone” rally would count toward both.

The team of Scott Harvey and Jim Mickle were well prepared and ready to take-on the toughest competitors in the area at this event.  But a funny thing happened on the way to the first checkpoint.  The wrong time-of-day was entered into the rally computer.  So when the team arrived at the first checkpoint they were one minute off, and thus effectively eliminated from contention, right from the start.

 

 

The crew pressed-on with their 100 point self-imposed penalty and ended the rally with a score of 124.  The winners finished the rally with a score of 22.  Were it not for the timing error, the Team Harco crew would have scored a second place finish (with 24 points).  As it turned out, their score was only good enough for 5th in class and prevented them from wrapping-up the championship early.

Not to worry though, there are plenty of events left on the schedule. The remaining CenDiv rallies will be run out of Ohio (Johnny Appleseed, 10/4), Marshall, Michigan (Crossing The Line, 10/11) and Wisconsin (11/29).

 

“August Madness” Tulip Rally, Whitmore Lake, MI; August 24

“August Madness” would count toward the Detroit Region Road Rally championship.  The Team Harco crew came prepared to avenge their gaff from the previous rally.

Harvey/Mickle stunned the competitors with a nearly perfect score of 2, at the half-way point of the rally!  After the full 160 miles of dirt roads and 18 scored controls, the Team Harco crew came home with a total of 6 penalty points.  An incredible average score of 1/3 of a point per control - all on dirt, no less!

To look at it another way, 6/100 of a minute is less than 4 seconds.  Less than 4 seconds of error after 160 miles of rallying is quite an accomplishment.

With this convincing win, Harvey/Mickle have greatly increased their chances of taking the two rally championships in which they have contested this year.

The Team Harco/ Dragon Lady Eagle takes flight

 

 

 

Looking Ahead

The biggest rally of the year, the fabled Press On Regardless (POR), is next on the Team Harco calendar.  Again, Bryan Murphy will be cranking the Curta for Scott in the ”Vintage” Colt.  Two full nights of rallying and 600 plus miles of dirt, sand and mud lay ahead for the stalwart crews who press on regardlessly each year.  This years POR will be run entirely at night and the crew’s endurance and stamina will surely be put to the test. 

Coming off a great run at the Lockwood Lake PRO Rally, the Team Harco/ Dragon Lady Colt needed only minor repairs and adjustments for the POR.  One important adjustment was the precision application of a fire breathing dragon to the Colt’s engine cover.  Very similar to the dragon on the autocross Colt, the dragon on the rally Colt is in tribute to the great generosity which has been extended to the efforts of Team Harco.  Sue Vartanian, the ”Dragon Lady”, has provided invaluable financial support of the rally and autocross programs.

(Look for complete coverage of this years POR in the next issue of Off the Line).

The Team Harco/ Dragon Lady Colt will not rest over the winter.  The ice racing season is expected to make a frosty return to the Detroit area, this winter.  When fitted with studded tires, the old rally Colt is one outstanding ice racer.  May your winter be a cold one, too.

The remainder of the road rally season is still to be completed, as are the remaining autocrosses.  Look for as many as four championship trophies to grace the Team Harco mantle this winter.  The DCSCC and Detroit SCCA autocross championships have, all but, been locked up.  The CenDiv and Detroit SCCA road rally championships are somewhat more in doubt (but not much).

The driving skill level and car development levels have increased at a very progressive rate over the past few years for Team Harco.  1998 could be a pivotal year in the direction the team goes.  Strong showings, at the divisional level, in a variety of forms is an encouraging situation. 

Should a more focused program be targeted at a specific, higher level, championship?  Or should the team again plan a diverse, regional, schedule which encompasses many varied and different disciplines of motorsport? 

At this point, expenses are outreaching the more ambitious plans of the team.  Strong support has been vital to the success of Team Harco.  Through continued support from such wonderful sponsors as Sue Vartanian and Larry Smith (Autometric Body Shops), the successes should continue for many years to come.

 

Thank You

A regular feature is the section where we thank the supporters and friends who help with the activities of Team Harco Motorsports.

Through the continued financial support of Sue Vartanian, the “Dragon Lady”, Team Harco has been able to compete on a higher level, this year.  The divisional PRO Rally and the other CenDiv events, which Team Harco were able to compete in this year, have all been a direct result of support from the Dragon Lady.  Last year, the engine rebuild prior to the POR was made possible by the Dragon Lady.  This year, the rally Colt will sport a fire breathing dragon in time for the running of the POR.

Onboard for the third year, as a primary sponsor, Larry Smith and Autometric Body Shops have been loyal supporters of the Team Harco autocross program.  The radiant red paint which makes the autocross Colt look so good was provided by Autometric.  Mr. Smith has also provided considerable financial support of the Team Harco autocross program.

Allen Hewitt has gone a step further in the support of Team Harco’s tire mounting needs.  Allen has loaned his tire mounting machine and balancer to the cause.  The machine has found a nice cozy spot in the Team Harco garage, and gets a significant amount of use.

Lee Kesh and Todd Cameron at the Lawrence Tech fabrication lab have been very supportive.  When new parts need to be created or old ones repaired, the fabrication lab facilities have been graciously offered.

Al Zifilippo, Jim Mickle and Bryan Murphy.  Three of the best navigators in the area.  Without your teamwork and dedication, the Team Harco rally cars would be at the back of the pack.

Doug Harvey, Arick Rushing, Jeff Kaiser, Aaron Conner, Rod Natho, Tom Woodside and Pete Gladyz have all supported the team in one way or another over the past few years.  The many and varied ways in which these people have helped Team Harco cannot go unnoticed.

To all of you, we say “Thank you!”.  For without your support, we would not be doing nearly as well as we are.  The many victories and successes speak volumes of the support and efforts put forward by you.

A small token of our appreciation is the production of this newsletter.  It is our way of keeping you informed and updated on the activities of Team Harco.

            Thank you teammates,