Meeting 7-9pm-ish on March 13th, 2024, with the monthly meeting always happening at Laurel Auto Clinic, aka “Carl’s Shop” Laurel, MT. The large turnout included Carl, Matt, Jared, Micah, Darrin, Luke, Briant, Lane, David, Estephan, Caleb, Chris and Kindra. That is one more than ever before, and Carl had to go dig up another chair. Literally. It was dirty, ancient, and kind of leaned to the side. 

—-*Carl Jones (El Jefe), Matt (El Jefito), Lane Baumann (Treasurer), and Kindra Munda (Secretary) graced us with their presence this evening*—-

TREASURERS REPORT – Lane reports that the club’s finances include: $17,736.95, which does not include a $77 payment that needs sent out for Tech Stickers and an outstanding check to CW for $1250. (This is up from $750 due to more use of his property and plans are to take CW payment out of RDO sponsorship). Also not included is an outstanding payment from MSR, no payments deposited for Rally thus far, and a fair amount of cash to deposit. Word in the shop is that Rally is breaking even this year, and that the treasurer’s report prior to this season of Rally was in the 16-27k range.

Rally – As we wrap up another fun season of the emotional trauma we call Rally, our event March 10^th at Big Sky Speedway was a hit. Lots of cars, lots of spectators, and lots of dust. It was a beautiful day too. Spring is right around the corner! There was even a certain Beetle making some lame Knock-Knock jokes. I guess they were more along the lines of Tap-Tap jokes, and they were pretty sad actually. Getting into the course was at the last minute, the gate code was not quite relayed to our guys for early set up. But they worked hard (or was it hardly working…) 😊 and did a fantastic job. It was a long and fast course!

There is nothing new for the next Rally, and Build Wars is in the works at YDS. Come join us at YDS for the last Rally of 2023-2024 season, April 14. This is the last event to clinch that 1^st place title and hopefully it is another beautiful day. Sure to be fun, exciting, and high adrenaline to see who will take home the title of Rally Champ! Word of caution, be sure to keep all of your adrenaline in your custom embroidered Do-Rag or thong. This is the most logical place to store it. Lane can hook you up with those if you are interested.

Screen/Live Timing – The monitor/TV on the outside of the trailer was exceptionally awesome at BSS this past event. The screen was able to display the record of times (some faster, some slower….), the last 20-25 people in order of runs (Darrin was trying to jump the line in front of Matt), the last lap with cone penalties (some without penalties, some with many penalties). Chris bought and donated a TV mount for the screen, as this past weekend it was ratchet strapped to the wheel fender on the trailer. This TV mount might be able to allow the monitor to be at the nose of the trailer and in higher view for more people to see. If the TV mount doesn’t work, we will take it back and give it to Kindra’s mom. She needs one too but doesn’t know the wonderful benefits of a mounted TV just yet. She is old.

Axware – was having a complete meltdown at BSS and needed some fruit snax and a nap during the March Rally event. Apparently, there was an update, and some new uploads were done recently as is done every year. It seems to be a communication issue between the software and the hardware (Axware vs. FarmTec). I guess there is some sort of update that can be done without the uploads and Lane will work on rolling back (down grading) the software to fix this issue. Uploads include new PAX time measurements, and those can be entered manually just as easily and without the software throwing its fruit snax on the floor and then and demanding more fruit snax. Hopefully Lane can get Axware to cooperate before the next Rally. Upgrading the hardware was discussed, but Pronto is very expensive and costs hundreds every weekend, whereas Axware costs a couple hundred a year. At this time, we don’t have a rich benefactor in a top hat to give us this new system, or pay for it for us, so we will keep Axware as is and try to get it to settle down before the next event. The threat of time out are ongoing.

Blah Blah Blah…. Bridger runway light debt is still outstanding, blah blah blah. Many attempts…. *Yawn*. Something about the light and fixing it. Will attempt again. (Yes, copy and paste here). The discussion this evening was to bake a rather large pie of unknown flavor and cook the payment right into it so YR can be free from the weight of debt.  Bridger is not quite final, but there is no stress here. Things fall into place relatively well. Matt and Carl will go to the Bridger City council meeting April 2 to finalize.

The AutoX schedule is done. Metra dates are solidified, Carl just needs a price from them. As for the Helena events, Matt is on it, and the rules and regulations will be the same as last year. We will pay after the event. Remember, if there isn’t a load of pre-registration for the co-op with Bozeman September 7-8, Loren won’t be able to use the full lot. Please make sure to come, even if it is the only event you drive out of town for. Loren is excited for us to make this event, and we all know how fun it is when Loren attends our events. YR will bring timing stuff just in case. Be sure to give Bozeman all the props for this event. They are gonna get smashed and they don’t even know it yet. Thank you, Matt, for doing your volun-told assigned duties. (I am leaving this in for repetition. I want everyone to come because I want to use the full lot. It sounds like it will be a blast!) Please make sure to set aside vacation time from work, schmooze up to the GF or BF, Wife or Hubby, get your chores done up early, order those racing parts and slap on a new-to-you set of rubber so we can get as many drivers out to this event as possible!!

Trailer cleanup. Can’t have fun without doing some crap jobs. The trailer will need to be cleaned and the cones polished for this summer. We want those bright and shiny cones blinding our competition early so they know first thing that they’re gonna get clapped this year. We agreed that the trailer cleanup day will be after the last Rally April 14, (last day for Rally camouflage) but before Tech Day (May 4^th). Date is set on April 28 and will happen at Lane’s house. Yes, there will be more cone cookies….. Maybe this time these cone cookies will be *shiny and NOT black or dirrrrty*

Merch. Discussion was held about the number and colors and style of remaining merchandise held by YR 108. It was put to vote and decided that 50 ball caps in each color blue and driftwood will be ordered, 50 beanies in the color and style of the seller’s choice. We are leaving fate (Dynamic Designs) to decide this important decision, so it doesn’t matter even if they’re ugly, we expect every member to buy one. No exceptions.

Shirts and sweatshirts will be ordered in the amounts of 66 sweatshirts, 100 t-shirts and will include the new logo with the majority of sizes being L and XL. No one wanted white, years past they were used for rags after they failed to sell. It was voted and decided to have a nice darker grey and a brighter blue that is nice and attractive. (Baby blue and B5 Blue were NOT chosen as they are awful colors.)

Archie Cochrane – Lane was able to reach Jason and discussion was had about the sponsorship. Jason approved Tech Day at the dealership, in the Front Lot, no less! Also, he wants to do a radio ad and pay for entry fees and a Metra Event. It was decided that 6k would cover one day at the Metra, porta pots, and 100 registrations for one day. When Micah has the new logo finalized, we will send it to Jason for advertising. We will put our new logo on the shirts that Jason will make, and we are hoping for some cheaper t-shirts this year, as the last ones were hella-sweaty and thicccccc, Matt reports. It was discussed and planned that we would have Jason sponsor the August 3 event, radio ads, limited registrations, and trophies for a set number of overall umbrella classes. Talks included capping the free registrations at 100, as concern was expressed about not giving away so many free registrations that we overrun our ability to conduct a safe event, while still allowing as many as possible to ‘drive up’ the interest in SCCA. August was chosen because there was still time for those that are new to get another event or two under the belts of new drivers before the end of AutoX season. This could allow them to continue finding interest in SCCA before the snow flies. Some rules about the radio ad include: NO “RACING, COMPETING” words, no minors, (18+ and this will be strictly enforced), and must pass tech inspection Also discussed was how to allow MSR to get the registrations to be free, without them taking $2 out of a no charged registration. It was discussed that we could charge $5, and then MSR could take their $2, and the drivers would get their $5 back at the end of the day so we could do Buck Runs. More to come with this developing awesomeness. Any ideas should be brought to the meetings…. (hint, hint)

RDO – We will have a sponsorship from RDO again, and we will continue putting their logo on the clothing merch as it is ordered to help support and recognize this steadfast and repeating donor.

Safety Stewards – Briant is waiting for volunteers for safety stewards. He has the coursework together. If you are interested in helping out with this, let him know. The registration is online, and interested persons must log in to their SCCA account to initiate the process. Steps are so simple, even a race car driver can do it!

1. Ask Divisional for permission to become a Safety Steward (Easy!)

2. Fill out the online application (So simple!)

3. Shadow 2 events (Rally Safety Steward is not the same as AutoX Safety Steward, it is a different form and NOT interchangeable) (have fun AND learn?!? WOW!!)

4. Finally, there is application verification (Make sure you did the right steps in the right order and learned all the right things. Also easy!!)

Remember, without our Safety Stewards, we couldn’t have the fun times we do. Please consider signing up for this important position! As always, a big thank you to all our Safety Stewards for everything you do to keep us up and running safely!

**IMPORTANT DATES**

April 14 – Last Rally at YDS ☹

April 21 – Fix the dirt out at the Rally course, and if the 21 is a crappy weather day, will do the 28^th.

April 28 – Trailer cleanout at Lane’s house (message him for address)

May 4 – Tech Day at Archie Cochrane’s front Lot

May 18-19 – Bridger Season Opener 😊

As always, monthly club meetings are fun and exciting. Many ideas, fun discussions, and fun people. Discussion post-adjourning involved the upcoming Hooptie and what the challenge this year might be. Many ideas were presented, but I believe a winning idea involves, well, I guess you just should have been there.

Meeting 7-9pm-ish on February 8th, 2024, with the monthly meeting always happening at Laurel Auto Clinic, aka “Carl’s Shop” Laurel, MT. The large-ish turnout included Carl, Matt, Angie, Kindra, Chris, Lane, Darrin, Steven, Luke, Briant, Jessica and Dave. The parking lot was full up with a decent smattering of vehicles that could rival some of the premium shit-boxes that are brought in for repair on the daily.

—-*Carl Jones (El Jefe), Matt (El Jefito), Lane Baumann (Treasurer), and Kindra Munda (Secretary) graced us with their presence this evening*—-

TREASURERS REPORT:

Lane reports that the club’s finances include: $17,702.26, which does not include an outstanding check to CW for $750, a payment from MSR, and cash to deposit. Lane reports he is eager to get the balance up past $23k and beat our old high score.

*Blah Blah Blah…. Bridger runway light debt is still outstanding, blah blah blah. Many attempts…. *Yawn*. Something about the light and fixing it. Will attempt again. Bridger is not quite final, but Kristen will be contacted, and we will set that date with her sometime in April. The Laurel Airport was suggested to be used, but it was mentioned that since it is in Billings airspace or region or control or something, it can’t be used, and they told our representative to kick rocks.

*The AutoX schedule is done. *Yay!* The posters are printed. *Tight!* They do look cool in fact! We were not able to proofread them, but it should be fine. Unsure of RDO sponsorship at this time, so unfortunately the RDO logo is not on there. Kindra did in fact take 5. One for work and other ideas. Don’t judge. We were able to sign the Charter with SCCA and finalize the contract with Helena. Remember, if there isn’t a load of pre-registration for the co-op with Bozeman September 7-8, Loren won’t be able to use the full lot. Please make sure to come, even if it is the only event. Loren is excited for us to make this event, and we all know how fun it is when Loren attends our events. YR will bring timing stuff just in case and no cones. Bozeman will sanction and pay all fees, we may get some of the proceeds, but unsure at this time if or how much. Be sure to give Bozeman all the props for this event. They are gonna get smashed and they don’t even know it yet. Thank you, Matt, for doing your volun-told assigned duties.

*Rally and trailer cleanup. Can’t have fun without doing some crap jobs. The trailer will need to be cleaned and the cones polished for this summer. We agreed that the trailer cleanup day will be after the last Rally (last day for mudding up our beautiful cones) but before Tech Day. Can’t be having any embarrassing dirty trailer moments during Tech Day and scare any potential sucke—I mean future club members. The trailer clean-up will be at Lane’s, but the exact date is weather dependent. So, for now, the date is TBD. Keep your ears open for that news. Many hands make light work and there may even be more cone cookies…..

*Corvette Club – Lane reports that the Corvette Club is willing to co-op an event with us sometime, or maybe with Great Falls. Our schedule is set relatively early this year (Thanks, Carl!) So we can’t tie down to a specific date with them. Details are a bit fuzzy, but we discussed using our timing, and they pay for the event. We think they may have suggested September 2^nd, which is Labor Day. We did talk about inviting them to Helena. Kindra wants to see the whooping they are gonna get, especially by Tyler, which will be quite embarrassing. More to come.

*Merch. Tonight, we had at least 8 good ideas for a new logo. Most were centered around cones and the words “Yellowstone”. One design included the rims, and some club members didn’t prefer that one too much. Darrin was caught and later admitted to sniffing the whiteboard markers. He seemed rather confused this evening. The logo challenge gave many ideas tonight, and Carl suggested the logos should be sent to the officers and the voting will happen by them. Everyone in attendance agreed that this was the most feasible option to vote. A ████ ███████ was drawn, and discussion circled around ███████. Kindra had no clue what that was but seemed to know quite a bit about the Montana shut down and circumventing those regulations. We are certain there will be a lot of WiFi turned off tonight to check the validity of this news. We decided to continue selling merch at cost. Matt will count and put together the number of remaining items in the trailer. It was voted to order 50 hats in blue and grey, and even though he says blue is his favorite, Matt voted against the blue hats. How rude. Steven was concerned about how 20% was really not all too different in the grand scheme of things, so it was decided to order 50 hats vs 40 hats. The majority voted to allow Stitch Design to choose the best-selling beanies for our logo. Stickers were brought up again, and it became clear that most everyone in our club has a sticker fetish. Lane volunteered to secure cone stickers, not too tall and still vinyl, to give away at select events. Kindra suggested maybe to give them out at the season opener, and another select event. It was suggested that maybe the last event too, the Metra Meltdown. Darrin thinks they could be made, but there wasn’t much discussion surrounding this idea, and the idea died like the dry erase markers in Darrin’s hands.

*Archie Cochrane – Lane is still working on contacting Jason and hashing out the details for the sponsorship. We hope he can be just as charming with Jason and Archie Cochrane as he is on the course. Ball rolling on this.

*Safety Stewards – Briant is still working on and waiting for volunteers and the training program for the safety stewards. He is working on getting the coursework together. If you are interested in helping out with this, let him know. Remember, without our Safety Stewards, we couldn’t have the fun times we do. Please consider signing up for this important position! As always, thank you Safety Stewards for everything you do!

*National Convention – Micah fed his short notes from a short power point into AI and came up with even shorter bullet points from the National Convention. If you ask, he could probably provide you with a copy. Some notable points are E Street. It seems the SCCA is trying to keep ES a more affordable class for first time drivers. It was also mentioned that there may be “Licensed Course Designers” by 2025. We read between the lines on this point and many members tonight felt that might be like the online style that a Safety Steward class would be like. In the packet, there was a whole page on tips for presenting the Driver’s Meeting. Some key topics include setting the tone for the day, mentioning sponsors, being clear and simple with the presentation, and making sure to have an inviting atmosphere. Rally is gaining traction with Nationals (no pun intended), and the subject of side by sides (SxS) was introduced. There are very strict rules with SxS, and YR discussed whether to allow SxS in Rally and try to follow, or at least try to implement these very important safety rules. Discussion involved everything from style and design to exclusion and personality types. In the end, the majority voted no.

*Rally and the Points – Rally from January 21^st included many new drivers and some great weather as well. I believe we ended the day with a record-breaking 21 entries! An item of discussion was brought up concerning the 999.9 time given to a driver when switching a car. This switch may be from a vehicle breakdown, or any other reason. Much discussion was centered around if Rally is for the prize, for the glory, or for the fun and excitement. Lane points out: if a person runs a different car any time during the Rally event, what happens to the time? Briant states that in the SCCA rule book a car can be changed any time prior to the heat in which it is scheduled or registered. May questions were raised, does class matter in Rally? Is participation more important than points? How do we measure or change points moving forward? Rally is a work in motion, a style still in its infancy. Many present tonight questioned the goal for Rally: endurance (driving the car responsibly to still have a car to take home), skill (driving the car with enough skill to be competitive, while also knowing the car’s limits), or balls (to drive the car like it doesn’t matter the cost of repair)? Eventually (after about an hour or so of deliberations…) there were 2 options formulated:

1 – Following the conclusion of the safety meeting, the “registered vehicle” is the one you drive for the remainder of the event. If switched for ANY reason, 999.9 time will be given for any remaining runs.
2 – Car “used” (not specifically “registered”) will be car used for the remainder of event and this decision becomes final when the group the car is registered with (1 or 2) starts their turn.

The majority voted for option 1. This and other rules still need to be further defined. Carl motioned that Matt was to be the designer and keeper of the new and very important Rally Rulebook. The majority voted for Matt being the one for this momentous task, with one voting no. Matt.

Finally, it was discussed that the trailer needed a hammer for pounding in the cone frames. Kindra suggested a 10lb hammer. Matt said no because he is a baby. Chris volunteered to go and buy one and it is currently sitting in the free bucket that was given with any purchase from Harbor Freight. Kindra will take it out to Rally at the next event, February 18^th at 8am. (Not the bucket tho, hands off) Come and enjoy our very warm winter weather and be part of the mud-flinging, trash-talking, glizzy-eating group that comprises the usual crowd. It really is fun, and we would love to see you there. It is always exciting. Drivers Meeting is at 9am or so don’t be late.

Monthly club meetings are fun and exciting. As always, look to the YR Facebook page and the provided email for times and dates. Many ideas, fun discussions, and fun people. Try to make at least one meeting. Part of being a club member is more than just reading the newsletter! Heck, if you got to the bottom of this extensive list of topics, you may as well come to the meetings! Unless you’re reading this in your underwear, then we kindly ask you to be dressed during meeting attendance. How you drive to and from the meeting is up to you. I don’t judge.

Meeting 7-9pm-ish on January 10^th, 2024, with the monthly meeting going down at Laurel Auto Clinic, aka “Carl’s Shop” Laurel, MT. While the temperature and a light dusting of snow softly fell, only the bestest, fastest, and smartest club members were in attendance tonight: Carl, Kindra, Chris, Lane, Micah, Darrin (last one to show, just like at his new job…) Luke, Christine, Bryant and David, along with two fellas representing Archie Cochrane Ford; Estephan and Trevor.

—-*Carl Jones (El Jefe), Lane Baumann (Treasurer), and Kindra Munda (Secretary) graced us with their presence this evening*—-

TREASURERS REPORT:

Lane reports that the club’s finances include “all the money”. Current balance accrued to the penny this month is:
$17,886.60

Unfortunately, Lane couldn’t just stand up and whip it out, but we all believe how big the balance is. Bridger runway light debt is still outstanding, and many attempts have been made to rectify outstanding balance. This debt is now pushing 3 years, and suggestions have been made to just drop off the payment on the doorstep. We have been scolded after trying to push the payment on the airport people. Suggestions include going to the airport, Googling the fixture description, and just buying one and dropping it off. Another attempt will be made soon.

*First item for discussion was AxWare. It is time to renew our club subscription on the timing software. One year is $189, with 3 years being $510… a savings of $56. The majority voting for renewal was for the 3-year block, with one person voting no. (Since Kindra was sitting in Matt’s seat, it was her duty to follow in the footsteps of Matt and vote opposite…. Regardless of the sound logic that each idea may have presented.) Live timing was also discussed, with it having a one-time fee of $245. Live timing would include YR providing the server and we would run it ourselves. Positive aspects would include taking pressure off the board person by putting the timing on an app and being web based. ORM (Online Race Management) was another option that included AxWare taking care of everything, but the cost was $100/year with $35 in fees for each event. Concerns include having racers looking at their phones for times rather than having attention on the event, causing potential safety issues. The majority voted against using ORM, with one member in opposition, and she was ashamed that she had to vote this way. Another aspect of AxWare that has been brought to our attention is “Announcer’s Window”. This feature would allow a running list of times, staging queue, and constant updates of 5 or so very fast, athletic, good-looking racers brought up and displayed on a monitor. The constant updates and delayed time display for most recent past runs would also take some pressure off the board person. This monitor would sit outside the trailer and allow for display of everyone’s fast and graceful times as they are recorded. Bryant mentioned he has plenty of monitors that could work in this application. More to come.

*The next order of business was …. (wait for it….) This year’s ***AutoX SCHEDULE*** (yay!) Jason Davis with Archie Cochrane is still down to party. Estephan and Trevor will talk with Jason about how to possibly pick up the tab for the Metra, and/or possibly sponsor fees up to a certain amount for the Metra events. Another idea discussed tonight was to move Tech Day to Archie Cochrane Dealership to help promote Archie Cochrane Ford AND spread the word about Yellowstone Region 108 SCCA. Lane was chosen to be the designated voice of YR 108 and speak with Jason personally about how things will line up. The majority voted to allow (mostly) free reign over what those details will be. Only 2 hard++ rules were decided:
1. No one under the age of 18 will be allowed to register. This rule will be checked at the registration table the day of the event. Drivers must show a valid ID at sign up.
2. Make sure all sponsored entries understand their cars will need to be passed for safety (pass tech inspection)
As opposed to hard rules, there were no soft rules. YR 108 is just very excited to have a sponsor.

*Co-op with Bozeman was discussed. Loren has details, and everyone is encouraged to go and show their support. Loren has been an outstanding supporter of YR events. Dates will be on the final printed schedule, but in case anyone forgot, the date is September 7 and 8. So then the topic was, “Who will be the Lone Ranger to go on this epic adventure to help coordinate with Loren”? Matt was volun-voted to be this Lone Ranger, and since he wasn’t here tonight to give another option, most all voted in majority. One person opposed even though she does not wish to be chosen herself for this task… (She probably drives a CoRoLLa….) Loren mentioned that if more people registered and showed, it would be more likely that the full course could be used. This idea is very intoxicating to many club members. Personally, I think this is a smashing idea and am very much looking forward to going. So please. Tell your friends and let’s get as many cars as possible up there so we can help support the other guys. An idea we thought about was loaning cones if necessary, and YR for sure bringing up our timing stuff. Matt will hash out the details, but details might be for proceeds to be divvied up like 80/20 or let them have all proceeds because we will be using their sanctioning. Either way. Come. Drive. Have fun. It will be fabulous. Maybe we could all go out to dinner or something.

*Posters. Dan McArthy with Downtown NAPA is the sponsor for our posters. Carl mentioned that historically, there have been many, many, many leftover posters at the end of the season. Even after we throw away from getting taped to the event tables. Suggestions included reducing the order to 100 this season. Chris mentioned that Kindra will more than likely take a few more than usual due to her car being voted as one of this year’s representative cars. She confirmed that she WILL in fact take a few more than a normal person would. We voted to keep the layout the same, and they will be printed here shortly. Kindra volunteered to pass out posters to merchants. She says she will have a good number of posters put up around our fair city to help promote the fun, exciting and rather expensive and addicting hobby we all love and enjoy.

*Merch. Matt reported to Carl that the merch supply is very low, and it is nearing the time to order. Suggestions were made to order new colors of shirts, but after Carl explained the ordering logic and how each color in each size would equal about 1.3 billion boxes, it was decided to keep the colors the same, with the exclusion of black. The black was hot in the summer and not very feasible. Micah had an idea for a new logo and showed it to everyone. David said after viewing this masterpiece that he feels like we would be skiing. It was a mountain background with a cone slalom coming forward with YR SCCA underneath. Several people thought we should ditch the mountains. Since no one else had any new logo ideas to present, ordering will be put on hold until we can decide to keep the same design, or someone can come up with a logo we all like. So far, only one had dared to take on that task. If you think you can do better, show up to the meeting and show us your idea. I dare you.

*Build Wars. Matt remotely moves to have the Build War sticker removed from the trailer. It was mentioned by Kindra (who drives a *GR* cOroLLa…. Thank you) that rather than just take the sticker off, we replace it with a “SPONSORED BY:” area where it is now and let those who sponsor us each year vie for that spot. Should the sponsor change next year, then they would have the option to put on something to advertise their business. For example, this year Archie Cochrane could take this large and rather very important surface on the trailer. Estephan and Trevor seemed to think Jason would really enjoy this idea. It will be discussed and there will be a decision soon.

*Lewistown Raceway. Not sure what this is about, there is only the title note but no *ACTUAL* notes. The Secretary probably zoned out a bit, dreaming of warmer weather and driving fast. *sigh* But, on reading past minutes from October, it was noted that a club member would try to make contact with the owner to see if we could use the venue for AutoX. This is why we read every month’s minutes AND go to every meeting. So, the word on Lewistown Raceway is: No response yet. And I say ‘yet’ because even though contact has been attempted multiple times, and no response has been received, we can still hope to have this as a future venue.

* Memorial Day Weekend. Chris announced that the Riverton Autocross, a club from Riverton, WY, is planning their annual season opener in Cody, Wyoming Memorial Day weekend. They aren’t part of SCCA, but they have a few people who have come to the Metra events and think it could be fun to have us come down. This should also be the same weekend as the Mustang Rally in Cody, and there usually is a decent number of cars there and fun activities to do. Street dance, music, and hillbilly action. Probably a burnout event to go see. If you think you’d like to see what Wyoming AutoX is all about, come join us. The Mustang event brings in a few non-local guys and it is rather amusing to watch. Last year there was a Mustang guy from Texas that had a very, VERY nice touring setup who came to race with us after the rally. His car was impressive, but sadly, his times were not. So, check out our Riverton Autocross on Facebook. Lee Rohn is the guy, and he is working really, really hard to organize a great schedule of events. If you can make it to Wyoming, there is fun to have there too.

*RallyX Safety Steward. If anyone is interested in becoming a Safety Steward for Rally, come talk to Carl or Bryant. It involves an online class and a video, as well as an application and shadowing at a few events. It takes about a month total. Bryant will put it up on Facebook if anyone would like to start on this grand adventure. So far, the Rally season has been as exciting and as fun as I was promised it would be. Surely there is one (or two) among us that would like to step up and commit to this noble cause? Remember, without a Safety Steward, we couldn’t have any of this fun. Darrin and Luke have mentioned that they would like to do this. Thank you.

*Next Rally. The Next Rally event will be January 21, 2024 at Yellowstone Drag Strip in Acton. Please dress warm; frostbite and windburn are nothing to joke about. Work before the 21^st involves taking the trailer out and plugging it in to allow the batteries every chance to survive. It was announced that BMP (Billings Motor Park) is not a good venue for February, and that the remaining season of Rally will likely take place in Acton. 

*Meetings. If you have an opinion about any of these topics, or SCCA and YR 108 in general, please come to the meetings. We have chairs. It’s warm, it’s fun. There is laughter, roasting, snacks (sometimes), and as always, an opportunity to enhance your club member experience. Also, there can be great feats of strength. Tonight, Carl lifted his project Mustang. With only two hands. And laid it straight on its side. I was not the only person who was extremely impressed. Darrin was so excited, he stood up INSIDE the cab as it was sideways. He was immediately inspired to start work on the dash assembly, even though there wasn’t even a motor in it. Yet. 😊 Should you want to see how this was done; I encourage you to make time to attend. Adjourned at 8:08 PM.

OFFICER MEETING OF SPECIAL IMPORTANCE

Tonight’s meeting took place at the Same Bat Time and same Bat Place, Carl’s Shop (Laurel Auto Clinic) in Laurel, Montana at 7pm. Officers in attendance included:

El Jefe (Carl-President), El Jefito (Matt-Vice President), Treasurer (Lane), and Secretary (Kindra).

Club members in attendance were Bill, Christy, Bryant, Darrin, Jerrod, Micah, Luke, and Jessica. Trinity arrived just in time to help end the meeting by passing out very soft, chocolatey, delicious Brownie Cookies. Bill helped bring the meeting to order with the soothing sounds of a 10mm ratcheting box-end wrench softly ‘tink-tink-tinking’ on a random rotor found lying on a work bench. Silence quickly fell to its gentle, calming rhythm.

Treasurer’s Report:

Bank – $18,000 ish

Bag – $700 ish

Discussion about paying CW for use of YDS will bring us current on our bills for the year. Lane will get a check out to finish squaring that up. Amount unknown, but waaaay more affordable than other venues.

1st Order of Business: Officer Discount. Officer discount was discussed to help determine how much of a discount to give officers. The discount is an incentive to have officers, and to reward them for their strenuous efforts for the club. The previous discount included any participating officer paying $20 per event, regardless of 1 or 2 days of petrol fueled fun. Voting tonight has raised that amount. Every officer in Yellowstone Region 108 can now expect to pay $25 for any event they attend. Flat Rate. The extra $5 will be used to hedge the Yellowstone Region 108 checking account and help fund and sanction future events. One member opposed the fee increase. 

2nd Order of Business: Officer Nomination, Voting, and Duty Description. There was a discussion about splitting up the officer duties, but it was decided that most officers were very good at their job duties, and logically it makes sense that the duties are grouped as they are. Regional Executive, Assistant to the Regional Executive, and Treasurer persons will stay the same for another year. The only splitting of title and duties was taking away the Secretarial title and duties from Lane. Kindra threw her name in the hat for Secretary and was voted in by majority. One member opposed this change. What a jerk.

Next Order of Business: Fire Extinguishers. After much storytelling and reminiscing back to RallyCross on Sunday, December 3, and the event that led to 3 fire extinguishers being let loose on Matt’s FAF (Fast AF) Fiero, the FAF Fiero was determined to be the cause of depletion for 3 Flame Smothering Units. Discussion tonight included bigger vs smaller units and price. Would the buckets benefit from a larger unit? Can someone safely run a marathon with a larger unit? If a unit is being properly used and aimed at the important things, do we even need a larger unit? Discussion also circled the topic of ‘was extinguishing the grass before extinguishing the FAF Fiero pertinent? Matt reports he can use his employee discount to get us some new units to replace those used. Bill spoke up about his fears of possibly pausing events due to not having enough extinguishers to go around. It was decided that the fun can continue with a few less units until replacements arrive. It shouldn’t take too long to get those. Fully stocked numbers are 6+1+1. (Buckets, trailer, backup)

Most Important Order Of Business: Summer Schedule. Carl has started planning 3 months ahead of his usual time frame (per Carl himself), so we can expect AutoCross to include numerous fast, exciting, and great events. Carl reports that Jamie at the Metra is no longer there, and the replacement has been contacted. It will be followed up on in the next couple of weeks/months. YDS *almost* has their schedule out, so YR108 can begin planning with CW about when to use the Drag Strip Location for events. Jessica mentioned she hopes Carl can find a date for Rally in 2024 that is nearer to Thanksgiving this next fall. It has been determined that the Bridger (Season Opener) date is set for May 18-19, so the topic of Tech Day was discussed. Banter back and forth weighed which day would be best to help us get the most cars teched in: Star Wars Day or Revenge of the Sith. It was voted on and decided for Saturday, May 4th. Majority took favor for Saturday. One member opposed, even though this member said Saturday was best because people are out on Saturday whereas Sunday was the least likely day to have people out because people want to be home vegetating on Sunday. It may be believed that “Opposition Voting” is a trend here…. Carl will also get new Tech stickers ordered… Color was not discussed, but the author believes hot pink would be cool as well as yellow. She also believes that if they were the color “Burnt Up Black” they might blend in too much on the FAF Fiero.

Club Dates Set as of December 3rd, 2023:

Build Wars – January 21st at 8400 Story Road/More Offraod Racing

Tech Day – May 4th at RDO

Bridger – May 18-19

Helena – June 29-30

Helena – September 7-8 (This event will be a pairing with Bozeman club. Pairing like cheeze and whine. We will bring the Cheeze, they have all the Whine. We will contact them for further details, but it might include leaving our trailer behind, with the exception of timing equipment. More details to come)

Dates set for other Clubs:*

Top Gun (Great Falls) – August 24-25

ConeHeads (Helena) September 21-22

*Even though these events are not put on by YR, please try to make it. It is fun and let’s be honest….. no one ever said “I don’t want to have fun this weekend….. and I don’t want to play”

Next Order Of Business: Sponsorship. Jason Davis of Archie Cochrane Ford will sponsor 2 events. (YAY!!) Fine details are still being discussed, ideas include having them pay for the venue while we rake in the entry fees. In the works still.

Next Important Order Of Business: Poster Photo. It was discussed that the poster photo last year left a few members discouraged. Discussion included and topic was decided on having any member submit ONE (1) photo of an Autocross vehicle and ONE (1) of a Rallycross vehicle. Submissions will be accepted for ONE (1) week. Then of those photos submitted, voting will happen on social media and be open for ONE (1) week. We will see how it goes. Bryant is doing this via Facebook so please keep an eye out for the post, especially if this topic is of special importance to you. Please keep submissions related to autocross or rallycross, preferably at one of our events.  Action shots are encouraged, the more cones or dirt the better. No matter, but only one submission per member.

Next Order Of Business: Apparel. It appears that there are less shirts, hats and hoodies than last year at this time. Good for the club, and tonight we talked about reordering and possibly changing the logo. Matt talked about keeping the logo the same for brand recognition. Bill brought up the topic of multiple colors associated with increased cost of production. Carl mentioned that certain designs are not reproduceable on hats when embroidered. Design ideas can be brought to the club, but the artist should keep these suggestions in mind or risk not having your idea chosen. Any idea should be brought to Bill. Pepe is included on this, so keep him in mind. He is a good boy.

Another Order Of Business: Square, hidden fees, and Bluetooth card readers. Accepting cards for late signups can help bring in extra money from participants who don’t register online beforehand. Paying at the table the day-of is somewhat cumbersome and Jessica says that manually entering a card number has increased fees associated with it. It was brought to the group for voting to purchase a new card reader and open a Venmo account for the club. Majority voted to spend the $60-70 and acquire a new card reader that can do all the things. Lane The Treasurer was charged with the task of building a Venmo account. It was also brought to the club members’ attention during this discussion that Carl must file with the State of Montana and the IRS, and that we are a non-profit entity. Majority voted on this topic, with, you guessed it, 1 member in opposition. (We’re pretty sure this guy is just being obstinate and probably drives a cAmARo)

Rally and Build Wars: Lane reports that we are good to go, and that this event is no charge to the club. We have set the date for January 21, 2024. Discussion about using their sanctions and paying a % to them for events in the future came up. We will see where that goes. Cost for their sanctions was slipped and Darrin was beside himself because he pays more for car insurance than they do for sanctions over the course of one year. Bill pointed out that it was because they have not had/reported any accidents. Darrin should look into GEICO and see if he can save.

Matt will be out at YDS this weekend at some point (December 9-10) to move some dirt that needs moving. He hopes to have some skid steers out there as well to help level out the track before it dumps that white, cold AF, wet stuff on us for the next 4 months.

Last Item for Discussion: Denver. It was discussed to try and get more club members down south to Denver for a YR 108 Club inspired Track Day. The general consensus is that it would be ideal to have enough interested drivers to rent the entire track to ourselves for the whole day. There may or may not have been some chubbies hiding during the discussion of not sharing the track. Only one “member” let slip the possibility of his condition… We will wait to see the finalized AutoCross schedule and then check the Denver schedule to see if we can accommodate a large portion of members for a Track Day. Matt will take into consideration everyone’s work schedule to make it as possible for as many people as he can. Much discussion on ideas for Track Day involved making sure to bring a car that will make it back home after a day of pounding or trailering it. Suggestions also involve bringing multiple pairs of brake pads to avoid trying to find replacements in a metropolis, and upgrading the brake fluid in whichever vehicle is making the passes. (I have not gone, but I am assuming experience is making these wise suggestions). Punch Cards are a thing at the Denver Track, so discounts would be in multiples. Should a member take their sweet time deciding whether or not to go play in Denver and himhaw around too much, just realize that it could be a bit more spendy. Planning is cheap, folks.

Again, please come to the meetings. They’re pretty fun. Lots of stories and trash talking, sometimes some really good snacks. There were also 4 extra Junior Frosties up for grabs as well. Can’t be upset at the governing body if you don’t come and discuss your ideas and concerns.

“Do or do not. There is no try.” -Yoda

Written by Kindra Munda

November 14^th, 2023 Meeting

In attendance: Carl “El Jefe”, Matt “El Jefito”, Micah, Kindra, Darrin, Bryant, Bill… (also sitting in that order)

Treasury Report: $17,835 Big American Boffos

Octane Sunday 10-8-2023

47 drivers total

12 weekend memberships

Motorsports registration – $1641.64

Cash – $250

Square – $397.62

Total – $2289.26

Venue – $1040

Sanction – $728.50

Weekend Members – $180

Cotters – “Port-A-Pot” – $140

Total Cost – $2088.50

Profit – $200.76 (YAY!)

Inside the coolness of Carl’s Shop, a wonderful assortment of SCCA Yellowstone Region members waited patiently for Bill to arrive. Meeting started roughly 7:45 pm. Items up for discussion first this month was The One, The Only… AutoCross Schedule!! (Settle down people, the fun will continue…)

After exciting banter about dates and how often to meet, as well as having events through out the summer and fall, it was decided that our exceptionally talented SCCA YR 108 will have:

1 Bridger weekend

2 YDS weekends

3 single Saturday’s at the Metra

1 Helena weekend

1 *POSSIBLE* Helena Co-Op event

Members discussed and voted to set the AutoCross schedule as it has been done before us, by our forebears; we will wait for the YDS schedule. Schedule with YDS will be first, and scheduling will happen for the events as best we can around that while taking into consideration the Metra’s schedule and other SCCA clubs. More to come, stay tuned. The possible Co-Op event in Helena with the Bozeman club will come to its fruition with the help of Loren Katzenberger. Detail will be announced as soon as a plan is put together.

Another item of business involves a sponsorship offered from Archie Cochrane Ford Dealership. We discussed the possibility of them “Sponsoring” SCCA YR 108 by paying for or helping to pay the venue cost(s) with possibilities of advertising potential for both parties. Another idea for raising funds short term but increasing interest in SCCA was to allow the dealership to print and give out vouchers that they would later reimburse the club if used. Kind of like a “Thank You for Your Business” gift or something like that. Further discussion with Jason Davis to firm up a plan will be needed. The overall goal is to save the club costs, help increase interest and long-term membership to the club, and get the dealership incentive to sell fun vehicles.

The club received a check from RDO for a 2023 sponsorship in the amount of $3000. This total had the total owed for the Rally circle track deducted, totaling $2250 to the club.

Finishing out our evening was light, yet lengthy discussion on the future of our venues and the long term plan of events. Discussion went from finding other venues (Church on Shiloh was a bust) to possibly buying land as a club and looking into what it would take to pave something usable (not in a swampy area), and/or a donation of some large sum to YDS to have more paving done in the parking lot (how much does asphalt REALLY cost?!?). Another idea was to look a bit more widespread (possibly into Wyoming) and other municipal airports. Bill suggested joining/teaming up together with the Porche (?) or Corvette (?) or Motorcycle(?) clubs to buy/build/develop something usable by all at a fraction of the cost. Talk happened about contacting the Drift club near Roundup to see if we could use their space. Further discussion is needed, and anyone with any ideas should come to future meeting to share and enlighten us all.