Check out the IN-CAR Race Video from Summit Point!

Our first car was a 1985 BMW 318i, and was prepared for SCCA racing, running in the ITB class. It was purchased from a friend in Baltimore, and was driven back to Virginia under its own power.

We proceeded to strip and clean the interior. Carpets and front seats were removed, as was the rear seat. Brett Anderson drove the car to New York, and completely rebuilt the engine. The goal was to make the engine as reliable as possible, while making some of the minor tweaks allowed by IT rules.

The car was completed for the October 1998 SCCA drivers school, and carried me to a 4th overall, 2nd in class in the novice race. Here's an email I wrote to friends which described the entire school weekend.

The car then ran in the Legends Mid-Atlantic Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving weekend. It was a good outing, and we got to see Brett Anderson, along with Bruce Robertson, remove, dissasemble, and repair a 318i transmission. It was a beautiful thing. Here's some more highlights.

Over the winter, among other things, the car was painted. I created a number of designs, but chose to go with the simple design shown above, based on the time we had before attending the March 1999 school. Actually, we ended up changing the design (much to the annoyance of Rich Beebe). In the end, i leaned the stripes the other way, into the wind, rather than with it. Honestly, I think it looks better.

Here's some shots of the car in the paddock compliments of Rich Beebe, and some track shots thanks to Mike Fennell.

At the March school, I ran pretty well, and finished 3rd overall, 2nd in class in the final event, but this is unrealistic. I was racing against other novices, and the real competition wouldn't come to MARRS I in April.

Well, we had a little problem with that car. I rolled it. During a test day in early April, I managed to roll the car in Turn 8 at Summit Point. We managed to get the car back on the track for the afternoon, but I succeeded in rolling it AGAIN, this time the gravel trap outside of Turn 10. At this point, the car was well and truly trashed. I probably shouldn't have gone back out there in the afternoon.

We had less than three weeks before MARRS I, and we didn't have a race car. Luckily, the weekend prior to the roll, we had purchased a parts car for a few hundred bucks, a 1984 318i, and it was sitting in the garage. Over the next few weeks, we put in quite a few late nights to build a race car using the race parts from the wreck and the body shell of the parts car. Brett Anderson ran this show and was invaluable in making the thing happen. I'll have some video as soon as I can get it uploaded. The car didn't look spectacular, with a few rust spots and a mismatched fender, but I was there.

We actually made it to MARRS I!

At MARRS I, the competition had raised the bar, and I was stuck at the back of the pack. In the end, I picked up a few spots and ran a 1:36.9. I didn't do great, but I didn't feel awful about it, and the car actually felt a lot better, more solid, than the old car ever had.

Watkins Glen

The second race of the season was at Watkins Glen. As late as a week before the event, I had thought I wouldn't go, but circumstances arranged themselves to allow it. In addition to running a new track 8 hours away, I have a new tow vehicle, a motorhome. It's a 1977 Argosy 28, made by Airstream on a Chevrolet chassis. It's got a 454, four wheel discs, and seems to tow pretty well. Depending how hard it's driven, it'll get between 7 and 9 mpg when towing the trailer. Not bad for a vehicle with a bedroom, shower, television, and toilet!

Here's an email I wrote which recaps the entire 1999 season, including detailed descriptions of the last three races, MARRS VI, VII & VIII.

1999 Event Results

• MARRS I - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV
  
• MARRS II (June Sprints) - Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, NY
  
• MARRS III - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV
  
• MARRS IV (August Sprints) - Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, NY
  
• MARRS V - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV
  
• MARRS VI - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV
  
• MARRS VII - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV
  
• MARRS VIII - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV
  

2000 Event Results

• MARRS I - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV
  
• MARRS IV - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV
  
• MARRS V - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV 4th! (Rich Beebe)
  
• MARRS VI - Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV 2nd!