RCFFS News
This is really important to the future of our series. We are just about 3 weeks away from the final event of the 2017 Right Coast Formula F Series presented by American Pen Company. This event will take place at Road Atlanta as a part of the American Road Race of Champions on November 3, 4, & 5. This event was originally scheduled to be one of our “flash mob” type events, but the very kind folks of the Atlanta Region have agreed to let us have a 50 mile FF/CF only race on Sunday as part of this race program.
The ARRC is a great event and this one is extra special as it has implications for those of us in the Formula F/Club Formula F community well beyond 2017. If we can generate a strong entry of 20 or more cars; there is an excellent chance that we will be able to schedule a longer Right Coast event at the 2018 ARRC. And as we have already announced, thanks to the efforts of 40th co-organizer Mike Rand, the Atlanta Region has agreed to partner with Right Coast to stage a 50th Anniversary of Formula F in the US event in 2019 as part of the ARRC. But, for all of this to fall in place it is essential that we have a strong entry for this event. So, please come and join us at Road Atlanta. You will be able to race in both the ARRC championship race as well as the stand alone FF/CF race on Sunday. We welcome all Formula F cars; Ford and Honda powered; Formula F/Club Formula F/Historic Formula Ford; slick or treaded tires. We will keep track of the participants within each sub-group and will award our series kill stickers and trophies to the podium finishers in each class after Sunday’s race. As this is being written we have fifteen entrants. I know of at least five who will be completing their entries in the next couple of days. Can we get another six and hit a total of 25? Whenever we announce our schedule or survey our drivers; we always get a question regarding scheduling an event at Road Atlanta. Well; we now have one and it is actually going to be a bit more than we had hoped for. And, a strong entry gets us another invitation. Just in case there is still any doubt, the celebratory 50th Anniversary of Formula F in the US East is not a rumor; it has been confirmed by the Atlanta Region. It is going to happen and while we do not have a definite date from the Atlanta Region; the annual American Road Race of Champions (ARRC) event traditionally falls on the first full weekend of November which would make our date November 1, 2, & 3, 2019. Road Atlanta is definitely a destination track on many bucket lists. Make this the year that you check that one off and join us in three weeks for the Prelude to the Prelude to the 50th Anniversary of Formula F in the United States. Registration with schedule and supps is open at www.motorsportreg.com and can also be found on the Right Coast website at www.rcffs.org on the schedule page. Thanks, Joe Marcinski The third race of the 2017 Right Coast Formula F Series presented by American Pen Company will take place at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, PA on July 28, 29 & 30. We will be racing in support of the Formula Race Promotions Pro F1600/F2000/FAtlantic series that weekend. We are hoping that this PIRC event will be able to duplicate or surpass last year’s event when we had our largest field to date when we had 26 entrants.
During the off season, the older portion of the full 2.8-mile circuit has been repaved and this incredibly interesting race track will be even more fun as it is now smoother and faster. Unanimously hailed as a spectacular facility with a track layout rivaling such icons as Road America and Watkins Glen; PIRC [or Pitt Race or whatever you want to refer to it as…] is challenging to drivers of all experience levels as well as a great racing track featuring three or four excellent passing opportunities each lap. Entry details and links along with a weekend schedule can be found on the “Schedule” page of the Right Coast website at www.rcffs.org. This will be another all formula car race weekend. You will get to see the pro F1600, F2000 and Formula Atlantic series and the Formula Vee drivers of the Challenge Cup Series. The Right Coast Series drivers will be on track twice each day. On Friday we have two practice sessions. On Saturday morning we will qualify and race the first of three races on Saturday afternoon. The second and third races of the weekend take place on Sunday. So please enter early and come join us at this great race track for another great weekend of Formula F and Club Formula F only racing. Thanks, Joe Marcinski Registration for the first event of the 2017 Right Coast Formula F Series presented by American Pen Company is on the Lightning Circuit at New Jersey Motorsports Park on June 3 & 4, 2017 on MotorsportReg.com. We would like to thank the South Jersey Region of the SCCA, particularly JD King & Terry Hanushek, for inviting Right Coast back again this season.
This race weekend is an SCCA Regional race and is a New Jersey Road Racing Series and Mid Atlantic Road Racing Series event as well as our season opener. You will be able to race four times this weekend if you so choose. Race Group 3 is the regional race group (FF, F500,FV, FST & CF) that we will be qualifying in. This qualifying session sets the grid for the NJRRS/MARRS races AND the grid for the first Right Coast Race. The grid for the second Right Coast race will be set by the fastest lap achieved from either the qualifying session or the first RCFFS race. You can enter the Regional only, the Right Coast race only or enter both events and get a qualifying session, a 15 lap regional qualifying race, a 20 lap regional race and two 20 lap Right Coast Formula F Series races. That would be 15 minutes of qualifying and 65 laps of racing for $550. There is a test day on Friday which is an additional cost for those who want some extra time on the Lightning circuit. Registration is now open on www.MotorsportReg.com. Those who previously entered on the DLB site have had their entries transferred over and no further action is required. Look for Lightning Challenge on June 1-4. You can register for the test days and the races in one fell swoop. Please let me know if you should have any questions. So, please enter as quickly as you can or let us know if you are coming so we can get a headcount for this event. It would be great if we could begin the season with 25 drivers racing, so please let us know. One new feature that we are instituting this season is that at the evening social at the end of the first day of each race weekend we will vote on which of the two races on the final day will be the “feature” race with the podium finishers being awarded our unique trophies. This would allow those who have towed long distances and would like to get on the road early to have an opportunity to have a chance to race for a trophy. We are not trying to hustle people out of the track; but we do recognize that we sometimes do not have a great deal of control over the schedule. So we would like to give our drivers this choice. So, please come and join us at NJMP in June 3 & 4. Thanks, Joe Marcinski As you probably know already, FRP and by definition Right Coast will be racing under a United States Auto Club (USAC) sanction for the coming season for the three Right Coast events to be held in conjunction with FRP USAC weekends. This is different than previous years when SCCA was the sanctioning body.
What this Means for RCFFS Drivers and Crew For Right Coast drivers, your SCCA License will be accepted at face value, allowing for the issue of a USAC membership, required to run the three Right Coast events to be held in conjunction with FRP USAC weekends. USAC’s Participant Accident coverage is comparable to SCCA’s, which we have all enjoyed having access to for many decades now. Getting a USAC Card You will need to sign-up for your USAC Driver or Crew hard card. This requirement has to do with the driver and crew being included under USAC’s Participant Accident Insurance, which is only available to USAC Members. You will need to get a USAC license which may take well over a few minutes to fill out online when you go to the license portal; ‘RCFFS’ is one of the options. To complete the form you will need a head shot, just as your SCCA license and photo ID do, just use the same SCCA photo, or take a “selfie” and upload it. There is no cost for apply for the FRP USAC Driver or Crew hard card. When you enter your first FRP/RCFFS/USAC race, the membership fee is invisibly included. We recommend that you not wait to register for the hard card until the week of your first FRP/RCFFS/USAC race, simply to assist in expediting the process. Register early and hard cards will be mailed directly to the participant, otherwise they can be picked up at the track. Go to http://www.frplicense.com to get started! Registering for Events Registering for FRP RCFFS events is also easy. FRP provides a 2017 Race Registration page where you can register for one or more of the RCFFS events. Once on the registration page, fill in the fields at the top and select RCFFS as the Race Class; the list of RCFFS races will automatically be shown. Go to http://www.frpentry.com/ to get started. Problems or Issues? Problems or issues or concerns please contact Robert Wright at robertw@formularacepromotions.com or 855-722-3377 ext. 701 Michael Rand, Right Coast Yoda Right Coast Full Races
Right Coast’s 2017 schedule of four race weekends has been announced but bears repeating here.
With our Flash Mob events for 2017, we trying to increase FF/CF participation in two classic events at these aspirational circuits with the hope that this will lead to RCFFS stand alone FF/CF races at these venues.
The FRP race events will be operated under United States Auto Club (USAC) sanction. USAC membership is required in order to be covered by USAC Participant Accident Insurance and SCCA licenses will be accepted. More information regarding getting your USAC photo ID and getting your car registered will be sent to all shortly. It’s easy by the way! Vintage Racer Group (VRG), the Royale Formula Ford Challenge Series and the Right Coast Formula F Series are delighted to announce their first collaborative effort to create a very appealing weekend of Formula Ford, Club Ford and Historic Ford racing at Watkins Glen on October 7, 8 & 9. This unique event will see all vintages of Formula F cars on the historic WGI circuit all at the same time in a multi-race format. We believe that this is the first time since the monumental 40th Anniversary of Formula Ford that slick & treaded tire shod, Ford and Honda powered FF, CF & HF cars will be on track in the same sessions. All Right Coast and other non-member Formula F drivers and crew are also invited to our usual Royale Series barbecue on Friday night to get to know one another and will be welcome to join us at the VRG cocktail party (free apps & cash bar) and dinner on Saturday night following the Annual General Meeting (dinner to cost $40 a head).
This three-day weekend will see all cars on track three times on Friday, twice Saturday and twice on Sunday. There is an additional feature race on Saturday for all cars that meet the Royale Formula Ford Challenge Series rules, (Ford engines and treaded tires, including pre-aero, post-club cars). A copy of the rules can be found at http://vrgonline.org/ff_challenge/rules.html. SCCA competition licenses are accepted by VRG and VRG membership is not mandatory for this event. The entry fee schedule for this weekend will be as follows: Early bird entry for VRG members is $395, for non-members $450. Entry thereafter is $450 for members and $500 for non-members. Non-VRG members who are willing to pay an additional $30 get an annual VRG membership good through 2017 included in the entry. Online entry will be on MotorsportReg.com and will open the week commencing August 29. Sign in and credentials will be available at the registration buildings at the upper entrance to the facility. The Right Coast Formula F Series drivers will be signing in with VRG and will be subject to VRG code of conduct and will be required to attend a driver orientation meeting on Friday morning. The location of the meeting will be announced in the official entry packet. VRG does require a full safety tech inspection of the race car and drivers gear. The location of tech inspection will be announced in the official entry packet. The starting grid for the first race of the weekend will be determined by fastest lap from qualifying; thereafter, each driver’s fastest lap of the weekend will form the subsequent race grids. It has been determined split starts will be utilized with the Right Coast cars in the first group followed by the cars competing in the Royale Formula Ford Challenge Series. 2hours 15mins of track time at the newly resurfaced Glen Long circuit from as little as $395 (almost 2.75 hrs if you qualify for the Royale Formula Ford Challenge Series race. VRG, Royal Challenge and Right Coast hope that all FF, CF and HF drivers will choose to join us at Watkins Glen for a really unique event that we hope will be the first of many of its kind. Lightning Challenge at NJMP with South Jersey Region of SCCA First I want to pass along my sincere thanks to all the drivers and crew who chose to spend the weekend racing for $7 horse’s hindquarter trophies and 33 cent kill stickers. I also want to thank the kind folks of the South Jersey Region who treated us like royalty and made us feel genuinely welcome. Special thanks to The SJR Men in Black Tech crew and Meg Meyer in Timing & Scoring who were so accommodating and wonderful to work with.
The drivers of the 2016 Right Coast Series kicked the season off to a spectacular start at NJMP this past weekend with 20 drivers showing up to race with us and putting on a show that had everyone turning toward the track when they were racing. Thanks to the efforts of JD King, the race chairman, this was a combined weekend of SJR regional/divisional racing as well as the single class Right Coast series. Each of the drivers entered in both the regional and the Right Coast portion of the program were able run a 20 minute qualifying session and 75 laps of racing. The 15 lap regional qualifying race and Sunday morning 20 lap regional race featured the same kind of competition described below. The first Right Coast race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon was classic Formula F with most of the race being contested in two packs of cars changing positions several times a lap. The lead pack consisted of polesitter Ross Devoe, Wayne Nicolette, Max King, Dave Petzko all nose to tail for more than half the 20 lap race distance. The left hander at Turn 7 just beyond the overpass was the scene of numerous "piece of paper between the sets of wheels" passes. It was only a couple of laps before Mike Rand had moved up from his 10th place starting position to join the train. From that point on positions changed with incredibly tight racing and passing, but no contact, for the remainder of the race. The second pack of Bill Atherholt, Sam Youngman, Chuck VanNostrand, Dave Gernert and Derek Holmes engaged in the same tight, but clean racing. Max King has posted a video on ApexSpeed that does a far better job of showing how many times the lead was exchanged before Reilly got in front of Max with just a hundred yards or so to go. Really, really fun to watch and it made me very angry with myself for not having my own car ready to race yet. The “whoas” and “wows” of the spectators standing with us in the Turn 7 grandstand could be heard almost continuously from start to finish. Reilly Harris in his Gemini Club Ford set was to be the fastest lap of the weekend and capture the American Pen Company Fastest Lap of the Weekend award at a 1:10.295 with Max registering a 1:10.532 and Ross clocking at 1:10.470. The Formula F podium was Ross Devoe in his VanDieman, Dave Petzko in an 84F Reynard and Bill Atherholt in his Swift DB-1. The Club Ford podium was of course Reilly, Max King is the King family Zink Z-10 and that sneaky old guy, Mike Rand in his trusty Crossle’ 30F. The real measure of a race can often be found after it is over and I wish you all could have seen the grinning drivers in the impound area! The regional qualifying race was just as exciting from beginning to end with Ross Devoe prevailing over Reilly Harris and Max King after another real exhibition of close, clean racing mixed in with F500’s and Formula Vees. On Sunday, the 20 lap regional race was again superbly entertaining. Max King took the overall victory over Reilly Harris and Ross Devoe. There was a really high chance for rain, but JD somehow bribed Mother Nature and the rain held off until about 30 minutes after the second and last race of the weekend for the Right Coast field was completed and the podium ceremony was finished. The second race was not as closely contested throughout the field, but for the first portion of the race; again, Reilly, Max and Ross were back and forth for the overall lead. Ross eventually began to fade to an eventual 2nd in FF finish due to a bent valve. Reilly drove his Gemini to a 20 car length lead, but about 6 laps from the end Max began to close and took the lead. Those two traded the overall lead several times before Reilly put his stamp on 1st and finished about 8 -10 car lengths in front of Max. The Formula F podium had Dave Petzko in the Reynard taking the American Pen Company Formula F winner award over Ross Devoe’s wounded VanDieman and a fast closing Ed Callo in his Bowman coming from 11th on the grid to 6th overall and third in FF. The Club Ford Podium was Reilly Harris in the Gemini taking the American Pen Company Club Ford winner award, Max King in the Zink and another podium finish for Mike Rand in the Crossle. The Stonebridge Cryogenics Hard Charger of the Race award went to Chuck VanNostrand who drove from 13 on the grid to a 7th place overall and 4th in Club Ford finish. Thanks to our great corporate partners, we had some really nice additional awards to present during the weekend. I sincerely hope that our partners do not take offense to criteria that we (well really me) decided to use. Anytime something is left to my discretion; there is good reason to cringe or roll your eyes as I have trouble spelling discretion, let only applying it………………. That said, many times contingency awards wind up going to the faster competitors and while they are certainly deserving; we thought that perhaps we would try to direct some of the awards to those competitors who might be in the most need of those credits, discounts and services. So, in addition to the awards that were mentioned above; we presented the following awards to the drivers listed for the reasons/excuses that are also listed. We added some sub-titles to the awards to provide some context to our decisions. Please bear in mind that one of the tenets of the Right Coast is not to take one’s self too seriously and to have some fun racing. So, with tongue firmly planted in cheek; this is all in good fun: ANZE Suspension Award or Car Most in Need of New Dampers or Damper Service - Shayne Frebert for his multiple spins during the weekend. CCE Composites Award or Car Most in Need of New Bodywork - ding, ding Shayne Frebert for the misfortune of another spin causing his nose to look as though someone forgot to latch the hood. Primus Racing Parts Award or I had a Really Rough Mechanical Weekend – Steve Roux whose very cool self-built Wyvern sat forlornly on jack stands all weekend because he had the misfortune to break a stub axle on Friday and did not have a spare. Steve subsequently rented an FA and raced in the regional to a win on Sunday. Quicksilver Race Engines Award or Car Most in Need of Engine Service – Rookie Tom Venturino who did a fine job in his first race weekend, but seems like he could use a little more snot down the straights. Williams Racing Developments Hard Fader Award. There is no sub-title needed here. Lee Williams specifically requested that we give his discount certificate to the driver losing the most positions from his grid position. We genuinely appreciate that Lee truly understands the stuff that DUFFUS/Right Coast is made of! - Wayne Nicolette who unfortunately did not finish the final race after a mysterious ignition shutdown. And, the final award of the weekend; since we had no Historic Ford competitors racing with us, we found ourselves with a very fine pen to award. Sometimes you just get lucky and when you can’t find an answer, the answer finds you. American Pen Company or Spirit of DUFFUS Award/Because We Thought You Deserve It – Ed Callo for persevering on to the finish of Saturday’s Right Coast race. Ed was feeling poorly, but started the race anyhow and when his vision was partially obscured by some type of gastric fluid; he still kept going and finished the race explaining “that the Rain X on the inside of the shield keeps the puke from sticking”. Now if that is not enough evidence that you can have fun racing with the Right Coast Formula F Series…………………………………………………… Joe Marcinski DUFFUS Prime Registration is open for Race 2 of the 2016 Right Coast Formula F Series at Mid-Ohio on the July 4th weekend. Please go to www.DLBRacing.com and look for the Formula Race Promotions event on Thursday, June 30 through Sunday, July 3.
This is going to be a really special weekend with the Pro F1600, F2000 and Formula Atlantic series; the debut of the Formula 4 series in the US as well as Formula Vee and Right Coast Formula F Series. For those of you who are contemplating going to the SCCA Runoffs which are being held at Mid-Ohio, this is an excellent opportunity for more track time on the course that will be used for the Runoffs. The race schedule has been arranged so that if you want to run both F1600 and Right Coast; there will be enough time between sessions to refuel, change tires, etc. When you log into DLB you will be asked to select an Entry Fee; on the drop down list select RCFFS. Then go ahead and complete the entry steps as you would with any other DLB administered event. Just remember that while you will not need an SCCA Pro license to race with Right Coast; you will need the Pro license for F1600. If you do want to race with both FRP F1600 and Right Coast Formula F Series; you will need to do two separate entries. We are now 20 some days from load in and we have 8 Right Coast entrants so far. It would be great if we could get to or exceed 25 cars for this event. This is a great opportunity to be part of perhaps the only purpose built, open wheel race weekend in the SCCA this season. We are in contact with Hoosier Tire and will follow up this announcement with details related to getting tires for the weekend if you need them. We will follow up on the Right Coast website www.rcffs.org as well. Stay tuned.............. Please join us for a great weekend of open wheel single class racing at Mid Ohio. We are very pleased to announce that registration is open for the SCCA South Jersey Region Lightning Challenge on June 3, 4 & 5, 2016. You can register at www.dlbracing.com or you can go to our schedule page on Right Coast website at www.rcffs.org/schedule and click the link there to get to the same registration along with links to track maps and the sups.
This event is a North East Division (NEDIV) championship race as well as a New Jersey Road Racing Series/Mid Atlantic Road Racing Series (NJRRS/MARRS) regional race. Those of you who are entering both the Lightning Challenge NJRRS/MARRS Regional and the Right Coast Formula F Series races this weekend will be on track 5 times. Two of those on track sessions are Right Coast FF/CF only races; a 20 lap race on Saturday and another 20 lapper on Sunday. The Saturday morning qualifying session is Group 3 which is a FF/CF/FV/FST/F500 race group. Later on Saturday morning, there will be a 15 lap regional qualifying race with that same race grouping. No sooner than 1 hour later is the first Right Coast Formula F Series 20 lap race which will be FF/CF only. The grid for that race will be determined by the fastest lap done in either the qualifying session or the regional qualifying race. If a driver chooses to only enter the Right Coast series portion of the event; then that driver will be required to start from the rear for the first Right Coast race. The grids for the Right Coast races will be determined by the driver’s fastest lap from any previous on track session. We want to caution Formula F Drivers who are trying to get to the Runoffs via the Divisional Championship route. The Right Coast Formula F Series does not have a tire rule for Formula F and you are free to run whatever tire you choose. However, if you want your race results in the NEDIV/NJRRS/MARRS regional portion of the program to count towards a Runoffs invitation; then you must be on the Hoosier Radial Formula F spec tire. Drivers who enter the entire Saturday/Sunday race program will get approximately 12 laps of qualifying and 75 laps of racing for a total of around 87 laps around Lightning at this event. We hope you all see this as a good value for your $550 entry fee. There is also a separate Friday portion of the program that is a test day administered by the South Jersey Region. The cost for Friday is $200 which will get you four [4] sessions of open wheel/sport racers of 18-20 minutes each for a total of between 75 and 80 minutes of track time. For those drivers who want to pull Ironman/Ultra Marathon duty; Thursday, June 2, is a Member day at NJMP which is open to non-member competition licensed drivers and features a separate open wheel and spec racer run group. This day will also include a track walk -- see the NJMP web site, www.njmp.com, for additional details and cost. So, please join us for Right Coast Formula F Series race number 1 of 2016! If you should have any questions, please use the Contact page on the Right Coast website and we will get back to you right away. Thanks, Joe Marcinski 1977 Royale RP24 Club Formula F |