My son Matt got his first class win yesterday at Thunderhill in the SF Bay Region's SCCA "Hall of Fame Regional". There were about 25 cars in the Formula race; from Formula Atlantic cars to Formula Mazda (four cars in his class); six classes all together and Matt placed sixth overall! His best lap time was around 1:50; the best lap for the winning Formula Atlantic was around 1:45. Matt had a minor incident with some barrels in the qualifying round on Saturday and we had to work off our butts to swap out the left radiator and castor rod, reset the F/R ride height and some minor body taping work - over 15 hours at the track that day. Luckily for us we were able to "cannibalize" parts from a donor car that had un-fixable tranny issues. Very hot and smoky in Willows! Two more Formula Mazda Challenge racing weekends coming up at Infineon in late August and November with possibly another non-Mazda Challenge SCCA event in there somewhere.
Later,
PS Note my hat - "showing the colors"!
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Congrats, You look like a Proud Dad.

Smitty

How old is that spoiled little SOB!?!
Just kidding. It's my issue and I'll work on it. Great job, kid! And way to be an involve parent, Carrera!
Mark D.

Hey Tom,

Congrats to Matt! You seemed really optimistic about the car and setup when I saw you at Canepa Design.

Now get the 914 back and running!

Jim

I know you're just kidding, but the "little SOB" is 27 and we went in to the deal 50/50, for the car and trailer etc. so its not ALL my $$ (thank God) and in the process I'm finding it a great way to bond even better with the "kid".
PS Anyone want to be a sponsor?

Congratulations to both of you....

-- Rob

Congrats to Matt.

Tom - as we all know a driver is nothing without his crew chief.

Congrats to Tom.

That is absolutely awesome! Congratulations to you both. Looks like fun.

Thanks Jim - should have the Teener back within the next few weeks!
Later,

Wow... "The kid" sure doesn't look 27. Great job steppin' up for him. I know first hand how hard it is just to field an AX car without any support! Wheel to wheel road racing is a whole other level. And I'm not even just talking about the money.
I put in about 25 hours of VERY frustrating and painful work on the teener this weekend trying to get it ready for an autocross in three weeks. Late last night I was winding down that particular project, but I was so exhausted that it felt like the last few little things would never get done. Right about then, my bro came out and asked if I needed any help with the final tidbits. That helped my morale SO much and we were able to finish the job and take her for a test drive. There's still a lot to be done before then next race, but I'm going to run in it come hell or high water, and my brother will be driving too!
My point is, I know how discouraging it can be by the track or in the garage all alone for hours on end, but I also know how much more rewarding the small victories are when shared with someone special! Didn't mean to get all sentimental. It's just cool to see someone step up to such a large undertaking on behalf of someone else.
Mark D.

Mark,
Yep, it takes a lot of work so I know what you're going thru also. But I must say I (and I'm sure you) get a lot of satisfaction seeing it pay off. Matt does look young - the best part of that is it makes me look younger in the process?!
The attached pic maybe reflects his age better - his racing buds call him "Seabass".
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Careful. If he starts winning a lot that might turn into "See ass"!... sorry.. stupid joke.
Mark D.

How's that car going to sound in the Founder's Parade?

Congrats to Matt and his mentor...

Hi Felix:
Yep - he should be in the Parade as we submitted our application more than a month ago. Should be fun setting off a few car alarms as he drives by!
Later,
Tom

Isn't great when things come together? Great work, both of ya!