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July 2017 Sports Car Club of America – Yellowstone Region 108
This was the scene at the MetraPark Carnival lot on the morning of the Region’s recent event. Various phone calls and text messages with MetraPark personnel resulted in moving the event to the “upper lot.”  Meeting Minutes July 2017 Meeting There was no monthly membership meeting of the Yellowstone Region SCCA for July. The meeting was scheduled to take place at the worker’s breakfast prior to the MetraPark event on June 25th, but news that the carnival lot was being occupied by pickups and stock trailers occupied most of the conversation. MetraPark Upper Lot By the Roving Regional Reporter Member Steve Gruver texted me on Saturday evening that approximately 30 pickups with stock trailers were parked in the MetraPark Carnival Lot. I texted a representative from MetraPark and hoped that the rigs would be cleared out by morning. They weren’t–and their numbers had increased. Long story short, MetraPark asked if we could use the “upper lot” for our event. I responded that “we would try to make it work.”
The last-minute move was not without its drawbacks–no permanent rest rooms, light poles, and no electricity, but the “elbow room” made up for that. Fast time of the day went to David Greenfield in his ASP Evo. Second and third place want to Bozeman brothers Will and James Papallo in an XP Mazda Miata and an STS Honda Civic Si, respectively, Bill Blaquiere in his Z06 and Dane Jorgenson in a new GT350R took 4th and 5th. Richard Olson in a GS VW GTI edged out Kaitlin Staebler in the $300 Civic for 6th and 7th. Olson, James Papallo, and Blaquiere were 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in PAX scoring. Complete results and more photos are available here. 32 drivers took a total of 274 runs on the long, fast course. The fastest times were 73 seconds, and the average run was about 80 seconds. Even with the $10 surcharge on entry fees, drivers got a lot of bang for the buck!
Preston Moffett’s AS 2016 Ford Mustang 5.0 tied Dane Jorgenson’s SS 2017 Ford Mustang GT350R in the “sweet-sounding small-block Ford” contest!
Will Papallo from Bozeman placed second overall at MetraPark in his XP 1994 Mazda Miata.  MyT13B’s Corner From the Regional Executive After reviewing receipts and costs for MetraPark, it was decided to go back to $30 and $40 entry fees for the remainder of the 2017 season. However, the handwriting is on the wall for 2018. Unless something unforeseen occurs, the Region will likely increase entry fees to $35 and $45. As indicated previously, such fees would still be on the low side vis-a-vis other Regions in the state. The Region’s timing software has a networking function that (theoretically) allows up to five additional computers (clients) to be connected to the (main) timing computer. Two of those clients can be “registration clients,” two can be “audit clients,” and one can be an “announcer client.” The Region’s goal was to utilize a second computer as a registration client. That way, new entrants could be added and driver information could be modified without disrupting the timing functions. The computers were connected “peer-to-peer” with a “crossover” Cat5 cable. To say that we struggled to get the networking to work is an understatement. Things would start out like they were supposed to, but before long the two computers were not synchronized and things went from bad to worse. In a last-ditch attempt to rectify the situation, J. set up the entire timing system in his office and walked through the networking procedure with the software developer from Texas. Shortly into the meeting, the software developer indicated that he had stopped using crossover cables quite a few years ago, and recommended that we connect the computers through a router. An old router was located and the timing computer was quickly connected to the registration computer, Problem(s) solved! The new setup was used at MetraPark and worked without a hitch! D.W.J.
David Greenfield in his 2015 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution took top honors at MetraPark by edging Will Papallo by 0.122 seconds.  Race Notes From the Competition Chair (Our Competition Chair is on vacation this month–or he is ignoring my texts and voicemails–so we will need to make due with just a picture of his Corvette at MetraPark where he finished 4th overall.)
 The Finish Line From the Webmaster This issue of Fast Times is the 5th to the last before my retirement (but who’s counting?). Members have been eagerly calling “dibs” on my Region duties, so make your selection(s) fast before the best ones are taken. The following positions remain to be filled:
There is plenty of time for training between now and the end of the year, so don’t be bashful about raising your hand!
The “VSS Malfunction” issue on the $300 Civic has been resolved by Region Member Carl Jones (owner of Mel’s Auto Clinic in Laurel, MT). Come to find out, what was thought to be a 2003 Civic Si transmission turned out to be a 2006, In 02-04 transmissions, the signal from the speed sensor is at low frequency. The speed sensor is at the rear of the transmission and is run by the final drive at a low frequency. In the 06-07 transmissions, the speed sensor is at the front of the transmission and the signal is at a high frequency from the teeth on 3rd gear. Next Monthly Meeting July 30, 2017 (At workers’ breakfast prior to July 30th event at YDS) Location to be announced. Like us on Facebook!
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