The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 14

8-C 1988 SHRF.vi.PdRT-nossif The Times i i Sports car club is competition crazy By KELLY GRIFFITH The Times itting hairpin curves at 50 miles per hour, complete with screaming and smoking tires, is some SCCA information available locally The Sports Car Club of America is a national organization that allows anyone to participate in amateur car racing at the local, regional and national level. Those interested in joining or participating may contact Sherry Corbin at 686-6395 or write SCCA, 9041 Sara Lane, Shreveport, La. 71118 for more information. Times PhotoTOM STANFORD Bob Talley looses control gn the homestretch of a recent Sports Car Club of America event at Caddo Stadium parking lot. people's idea of a good time, For the folks who belong to the Red River region branch of the Sports Car Club of America, it is more than just a good time.

It is a passion. "Why do we do this? For that little plaque they give you when it's tfver," said James Cox, a businessman who races a Formula ear, strictly with the club. "Actuary, we just do it for fun. That's all. Je don't make any money, we just have a lot of fun." i The club holds races almost every weekend either at the Fair Grounds parking lot or Caddo Stadium park- ing lot.

Orange cones designate the track, while cars of all types take off. I "We really want people to know that we aren't a bunch of kids out here," said Sandra Gilreath, event chairman of the latest race. "This is I a lot of fun that practically anyone can participate in." The wide array of cars filling the parking lot shows that. A Honda Civ-: ic takes off through the maze of con-! es; next, a Corvette; after that, a 1975 Formula which looks like a mini-Indy racer. Of course the various cars com-! pete in different classes to make the competition fair.

For instance, a Ford Escort would compete in Stock eral minutes, with driver and being tossed from side to sideL It is almost a case for Dramamine; From Tim's gleeful expression, he probably doesn't feel that way. i Tim hits about 60 mph on the final stretch across the finish line, and the ride is over. "There was only one time I thought we were going to lose it," he, said. Just think, this is some people's idea of fun. ize themselves with it." It's a good thing.

Even Tim went the wrong way on one slalom section. Between the curves, which feel as if the car will flip any second but Tim insists it won't are the straightaways. On these short spurts of a straight course, Tim floors the accelerator, only to mash the brakes a few seconds later on a turn. This madness continues for sev- Class while a Ferrari or Porsche would race in Stock Class A. There is even a class for mom's "grocery getter." Individual times are kept by a light beam timer, and the course is heavily monitored by officials with walkie-talkies.

With all SCCA-sanctioned events, the course must be approved 50 days before the event by the national headquarters. Strict guidelines are followed, not only on the course but by the cars, too. There are club rules on roll bars what type, how they are mounted, and what size. The speed on the course shall not exceed 70 mph, although some of the cars have the capability of doing 160 mph. "We have to think of the spectators," Gilreath said.

"The course must be designed so that people watching are not in any danger. The cars have to control their speed, just in case one looses control. He needs to be going slow enough that he can band, likes to drive fast which is what he must do if he wants to win. And apparently, he doesn't care who rides with him to do it. "He might be the fastest driver out here.

Or maybe I should say the craziest," Sandra said. Those aren't comforting words for a first-timer. With seat belts buckled and helmets strapped tight, Tim took off. It's a wonder that every cone in the place wasn't mowed down. From the view in the car, the course becomes a blur between orange.

"I can see how it would be confusing for someone, but I made this course, so I know which way it goes," Tim said. "Also, the other drivers have time before the competition to test drive it and familiar stop." While the club goes to extremes insuring safety, for a first-time rider, the experience may be frightful. While watching the cars whiz around the track, they appear to be cruising along a fairly slow pace. After all, most of us are used to see-, ing stock car racing or drag racing where the cars reach high speeds. But get on the track inside one of the cars and suddenly speed gets a little respect.

The '76 grey Camero with tattered seats didn't seem like a scary car. It didn't have huge tires, like most homemade hot rods. It didn't even hurt your ears when the motor revved. It was just an average car. It was the driver that was un-av-erage.

Tim Gilreath, Sandra's hus Elliott hopes to hold things together Racing clips The Associated Press CONCORD, N.C. There are no "psyche jobs" going. Bill Elliott is POWER CUSTOM ALL SEASON BLEMS OR REJECTS I just trying to win his fjrst Winston Cup by continuing to do the things that have put him in the point lead with five races to reer victory and first on a super-speedway. Moroso, who started near the back of the 44-car field because he missed the mandatory drivers' meeting Saturday morning, ran at or near the front through the race and came away with a $54,650 payoff. Bodine, a veteran of the Grand National and Winston Cup circuits, had dominated the second half of the 300-mile event, leading from lap 108 until he pitted for a splash of gas with 18 laps remaining, giving up first place to Bobby Hillin Jr.

But Bodine's strategy failed when the last two of seven caution flags in the race came out after his quick gas stop. Meanwhile, Moroso grabbed the lead from Hillin on lap 189 and stayed in front the rest of the way. Moroso, who also won a short track race at Myrtle Beach, S.C., on July 2, was able to hold off Bodine over the final five laps, beating him to the finish line by 0.39 seconds. The winner averaged 123.683 mph. Hillin finished third, followed by Ken Schrader and Dale Jarrett.

Moroso became the first Grand National regular to win this race since Sam Ard in October 1983. All the intervening events were won by Winston Cup drivers. "We wrecked the car yesterday (Friday, in practice) and I can only thank my crew for working so hard and getting us ready to run in this race," Moroso said. At the end, with Bodine in hot pursuit, Moroso said, "I was watching my mirror and just hoping and praying." There were several crashes in the race, including a nine-car wreck on the third lap and another on lap 116 in which Dave Simpson suffered a concussion. Simpson was taken to a nearby hospital for examination, then released.

No other injuries were reported. The race was run in two sections, with a 15-minute pit stop after the first 102 laps. At the break, Schrader was leading, with Bodine and Moroso right behind. The race was run as a preliminary to Sunday's Oakwood Homes 500 NASCAR stock car event on the 1.5-mile oval. Ben Hess of Wooster, Ohio, won the All Pro Auto Parts Challenge, a last-chance race to earn a starting spot in the All Pro 300 Busch Grand National event later Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Hess, driving a Pontiac, easily held off Ken Bouchard in the 40-lap race on the lVi-mile oval. The top two, along with third- and fourth-place finishers Joe Henry Thurman and Tom Pack, earned starting spots in the 44-car Grand National race. Davey Allison, a NASCAR stock car star, lost a lap because of a deflating tire and was unable to make his way back to the top four. liott, but the driver from Dawson-ville, has turned it around in the last 11 races. He went from third place, 264 points behind Wallace, to first.

During that stretch, Elliott won four times, finished second or third four times and was no worse than eighth. Alan Kulwicki's Thunderbird will start from the pole today, with Elliott's Thunderbird beside him on the front row of the 42-car field. Wallace, in a Pontiac, will start third, with Mark Martin's Ford on the outside of the second row, followed by Geoff Bodine in a Chevrolet and Mike Alexander in a Buick. Rounding out the top 10 will be Ken Schrader and Harry Gant in Chevrolets, Sterling Marlin in an Oldsmobile and Waltrip in a Chevy, with Earnhardt's Monte Carlo starting 11th. Moroso beats Bodine CONCORD, N.C.

Rob Moroso, who turned 20 less than two weeks ago, outdueled Geoff Bodine to win Saturday's All Pro 300 Busch Grand National stock car race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Moroso, from Madison, took the lead 11 laps from the end of the 200-lap race, during a caution period. He held on for his second ca 24.9B Lilt Elliott heads into 1 today's Oakwood Bill Elliott Homes 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a 124-point lead over Rusty Wallace and 140 points over two-time defending NASCAR stock car champion Dale 'Earnhardt. "That seems like a big lead, but it could all go away in one race if things fall just the wrong way," El-, liottsaid. "That's why I want to just keep doing the things that got us to where we are," said the defending race champion and two-time winner on Charlotte Motor Speedway's lVz-mile oval.

"The car is running good and I'm going to keep it running good and let the points take care of themselves. "I just hope things don't fall apart." Elliott has finished as high as sec- ond twice and no worse than third in the season standings since 1983. But he has yet to win the season title. This season started slowly for El- P15580R13 $24. P18580R13 $27.

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