Meeting 7-9pm-ish on January 9th, 2025, with the monthly meeting *always* happening at Laurel Auto Clinic, aka “Carl’s Shop” Laurel, MT. Attendees were Carl, Brad and Dawn Sherseth, Dean, Sawyer Fender, Briant, Codi (showed up an hour late…), Darrin, Jessica, Luke, Jared, Micah, Matt, Chris, and Kindra. We had some new attendees this evening. Be sure to say hello at the next event. Dean was so kind to bring some cookies tonight, even a gluten free variety for Jess. Thanks Dean! Darrin was a little perturbed that his work life and personal life are starting to overlap…. I told him welcome to the medical field. Didn’t see your name? Than’s ‘cuz you weren’t there. Try a little harder to make it next time. We would love to find more chairs….
—-*Carl Jones (El Jefe), Matt Boggio (El Jefito), and Kindra Munda (Secretary) graced us with their presence this evening*—- Please excuse the treasurer, he did not attend this evening, but we did get a valid report through the Regional Executive, Carl for the Treasurer’s Report.
TREASURERS REPORT:
The club’s finances include: $18,688.34. We were paid by Bozeman for the Co-op from last summer, a grand total of $106. Thank you, Bozeman Region 52. The only debt we have thus far in the Rally season is the upkeep and cleaning on the Porta-Johns. We will catch up on that at the end of the season. We also owe CW for use of the drag strip, $750. The runway light at the Bridger Airport has had an update…. We still need to pay for it. But a development has taken place! Excited? Read on! Apparently, the County mowed down another 3 lights (2 in a row we are told) and has forced the hand of the powers that be to purchase a few more. So, what are we to make of this information? We may now actually have a current price should they accept our money to close this debt. Fingers crossed we can find closure as this was old news when I started as Secretary over a year ago. I am told this has been ongoing for 4 years now…
*LET’S GET READY TO RALLY!!! – We continue RallyX 2024/2025. RallyX is one of the best things to come out of a dirty, overgrown field. One of the many pleasures that can come from winter besides the corporate Christmas Party. A continuation of the fun we call motorsports. The course will be set by Matt and Luke with RallyX events 4 and 5 set in Bridger. The last events will be at Big Sky Speedway so stay tuned. The next two events are at Bridger, so come and shake off the dust and get ready to add some mud and snow to that busted up piece of sh–…. Matt reports that the landowners took a tractor and a ripper up and down the track so that means extra fun! As of right now it is level and smooth with the corrugation running in line with the track, but who knows that the snowfall will bring along with the freeze/thaw cycle these next couple of days. Wanna be one of the first on a virgin track? Wanna say you were the first to find and conquer all that the new track has to offer? Come out and see it all! Next event is January 19 at:
99 N Silvertip Rd
Bridger, MT 59014
It was discussed that the club may try to bring out a drone to the new venue, after the course has been packed. We will see, stay tuned.
*Timing Issues – Nothing worthwhile is ever without some difficulty, and YR108 been experiencing some timing issues.
1. AxWare does not register in, and Pronto does not register out. So, issues with the program and timing talking to each other. The Antenna was mentioned, and Briant says its omnidirectional meaning it has to point up. This allows the radio waves to travel in the shape of a donut, all directions perpendicular to an axis. Thanks, Wiki, for a crash course on radio waves. Lane, Dave, and Micah (?) looked at it during the December meeting so we will give it the ol’ Test Run at the next event in Bridger.
2. Attendance. Participation and attendance are a bit low, with 10 people at these events most of the time. After asking some questions to other SCCA regions, their numbers are down a bit from last year as well. We will continue to promote RallyX and look forward to finishing out the season strong.
*AutoX 2025 – There is a lot gonna happen this season and we are hoping to have some good solid dates for the schedule Summer 2025. So, get those engines fixed, get those tires ordered and make sure to have good brakes and wheel bearings!
Schedule was discussed and a tentative sheet outlining these dates was distributed. Didn’t get your tentative schedule? Boo hoo. Come to a meeting guys!! Sheesh. Discussions included Helena, ACF, Metra, Cody Wyoming, Bridger.
-> Helena – Events were listed, as well as the regions associated with those dates.
-> Metra – We questioned the Metra date in October, and discussed having a single day, or a weekend. It was discussed to have a weekend, and Carl will get those finalized. Metra events cost the club $2280 for a weekend, as they do not offer a multiple-day or weekend discount.
-> ACF – We are hoping to have Archie Cochrane allow us to use their lot for Tech Day again at the beginning of May, it has worked very well in the past. We are also hoping they will sponsor us for the early Metra weekend. Discussion and concerns for the club include a late date vs. early date for ACF. If the date is too late, the season has ended before anyone can experience the amazing sport called AutoX. They come and watch on Saturday, return and participate on Sunday and if the ACF event is too late in the season, then anyone new that could be excited about AutoX is left high and dry until the next season. If the date is early, then we can get them hooked and have a customer for life.
-> Cody – Carl has called south many times, and there has been no contact from anyone in Cody, Wyoming. Matt and Angie are the closest to that town so Matt will do a bit of footwork and go knock on their doors to strong arm some dates out of them. We will try for August or September.
-> Early season racing – It was brought up that sometimes, early season racing can be as unpredictable as a Montana Winter. Briant advises that participants should anticipate any kind of weather and surface conditions by bringing all 4 types of tires, maybe even putting one type on each corner of the car. It was also mentioned that if a pothole is filled with ice and snow, do we need to avoid it? Chris says that one must always “drive for conditions.” All members must understand that safety is our number one concern….
*Safety Stewards – WE NEED SOME MORE!! Wanna learn how we keep our events safe? Ever thought of yourself as someone with attention to detail (almost to a fault)? Think you have what it takes to build a bomb-ass course? If you answered yes to these questions, you would make a great Safety Steward! RallyX needs some, and AutoX needs some too! If you’re interested, email SCCA Region Services first, then they will open the Portal of Awesomeness for you to enter and become certified. This is a go at your own pace set up, and they will guide you through, as a Safety Steward may have once done for you on your first run in AutoX. After you request courses on becoming the very valuable and completely necessary Safety Steward, the link will present itself to you. Please direct any questions to Briant.
EMAIL: regionservices@scca.com
*Sponsorship – Thoughts on a sponsorship structure for the club. We discussed logos on helmets and vinyl on the trailer to showcase those who support us, with logo size possibly being a direct representation of how large the donation was. It was thrown around that a structured (bronze, silver, gold…etc) package type of deal could allow for greater options for donors. Others thought this idea was geared more towards selling advertising, which we are in a way. It seems that a hat-tip to the donor at the safety meeting was a good idea overall. There is more to be decided on this topic. Until then, mention the club and see if anyone is interested in giving us some money. Talk to Lane or Carl if you have some ideas. You could also come to a meeting. Just sayin’.
*New Venues – It was discussed to continue our ongoing search for new venues. If you have an idea, bring it to the meeting or email Carl. There is a packet of paperwork, and a letter explaining our super fun sport. It was brought up to maybe look into Wyoming. Powell Airport, Cody Fairgrounds, Fremont Motors in Cody, and Greybull Airport were suggested.
*Business Cards – In the works. Micah has a mockup and will get it sent to Carl for printing. It will have the *new* YR108 logo on it too!!
*Trailer Pictogram – Carl will get more pics for the Trailer Setup Pictogram for timing. We need to take pictures at the next RallyX event to help finalize this spreadsheet. It will be used to help those who are setting up the equipment so everything goes as smoothly as it can. We don’t want to have any hiccups with the timing this season. If you’re laughing, it’s ok.
*Posters – Get those great pics sent in for consideration! That one pic that really just showcases the spirit of AutoX. The one that has only 3 wheels on the ground. The one that makes your car look fast and tough. The YR108 Annual Facebook Poster Child contest is up and running! Briant has set up a Facebook post so you can submit your favorite photo of your car for the Season 2025 Club AutoX poster. We decided there will be two posters this season, one to highlight AutoX and one to highlight RallyX. So far, we only want AutoX pics. Rally Voting will come in due time, and if you want your car pic for the RallyX poster, you need to get your butt out there and drive, foo! Can’t get in the poster if you don’t participate in an event! There will be one week to send in a pic. So be fast! Then, once all pics are submitted, the voting will commence! Photos will be up for voting for one week only! Whoever has the most votes will be the new Poster Child for YR108!
*Overall Standings – Jared was perusing the old, and he means OLD (we’re talking 1990s) newsletters from YR108. He was looking at the Treasurer’s Reports and how they had a whopping $1400 in the club account. Can’t be more proud of our club and how far we have come in the last 30 years. Overall standings of AutoX are what caught his eye. This system is done in Bozeman and in Idaho as well. It was discussed that maybe we could look into that again this upcoming season. It would take some math effort (not by Kindra) and we could give crappy trophies at the end of the year that came from Goodwill. Standings could allow someone bragging rights for the season, could include PAX and Raw times… Very exciting to see what this will bring. Jared will get some examples and see what we can do.
*First Responder Cup – Discussed for a First Responder Cup was initiated. We are looking into maybe having the Sheriff’s Office, the Police, maybe the Fire Department involved to see if any AutoX driver is faster than the law. Do YOU have what it takes? Discussion was for the Metra, I believe it was for publicity and room for spectators. Codi will try and market this idea around Billings to see if we have any stations that want to participate. Chris mentioned that in the old GTA, an ambulance was the fastest car you could steal. We will see!
*Course Design – It was discussed to have some pointer/learning videos put up on the website informing members about course design earlier this fall. Houston SCCA has some great videos. They will be posted soon hopefully, as Lane will get the link up for viewing. Briant says that is ok. Thanks, Briant. The rubber at the Metra is pretty much burned into the asphalt, as GoogleMaps satellite view shows. It is really kind of cool, also the satellite view of RMESTC has some neat markings. However, this is a good reminder that past event course designs have been so similar. Having multiple different people design the course can offer exciting new changes as well as offer a shared responsibility among club members. It was discussed and voted that there will be 2 lead designers and 1 grunt. Design could be swapped on Sat/Sun if it is a two-day event. If there is a discrepancy among design ideas, the last vote will go to the grunt for majority. It was also decided that the Safety Steward of the event and the course designers will walk the course TOGETHER to discuss safety issues and ensure flow of the course. These people will be decided at a meeting prior to the event, so if you want an input, or don’t want to be volun-told, come to a meeting. You can have an opinion, so come share with us!
** IMPORTANT DATES**
January 19 – Bridger RallyX
February 23 – RallyX
March 16 – RallyX
April 13 – RallyX
Meeting was adjourned in record time tonight. Not sure the exact topic, but Luke mentioned that “stuff can’t stick to your pistons if they’re glowing” and I thought that was hilarious. The Mustang Shell has an engine in it now. Some pics from the October meeting and all our cones that YR108 was able to bring home and a beautiful Corvette (Bill Blaquiere) in Helena. Hopefully the pics here transfer in. There are 7 total.
