Hello from Rob: Thanks to you!
Thanks for coming to Event #8 of the Glen Region SCCA Autocross Championship at Watkins Glen International to finish out the season while listening to the World Racing League endurance race 100 ft away.. Wish I was racing with them again. We had a great time at the Seneca Lodge to bench race afterward and honor Tim Meddaugh at his corner of the bar! See the photos from the event and prior in the season on the website. It was a blast to honor Tim! Thanks to Matt L. for chairing the event!
Thanks to our INCREDIBLE volunteers this year!
Pat has shown up at every event since COVID and not run once. He has done Safety Steward, Van delivery, course design, and given lots of valuable, friendly wisdom to help you all run easier events. He is a Glen Region SCCA legend. Lots of F1 photos, and track days in a Ferrari, Toyota Celica, and ran karts… so thank Pat for all he has done for the club for you to run this year!
Thanks to Allan for all the help in so many ways to with new PC, display, timing, course setup……
Thanks to all the event chairs who also did course setup: Josh T, Don G (Captain Chaos! :-)),Matt L, Mark L, Mark M. along with Bob for the Green Grand Prix and our friends at both SNY, Darryl, John, Stephen, Brian, and Michelle, CNY and FLR. They all did a great a job!
Thanks to our sites this year!
We had great support from the Arnot Mall, SUNY Corning Community College, Chemung Speedrome, and Watkins Glen and the Seneca Lodge. All have been great to the Glen Region.
Next year make a plan to give it back:
· Spend money at the Arnot Mall – they have hosted us for decades, been great to us, and could really use the support.
· Go see the Digital Dome indoor 360 experience, the Eileen Collins Planetarium (yes, she’s a legendary Astronaut! And a local! Like Mario Andretti in space!) and hike Spencer Crest at SUNY Corning Community College – it is gorgeous. SUNY CCC has been great to us for decades.
· Attend Chemung Speedrome and have fun time watching NASCAR Modifieds and other classes. Fun and cheap family night out -<$30 with ticket, food, and beer!. There will be an SCCA night next year and they want us there. Chemung Speedrome has been great to the SCCA this year. Come join us and our friends with the Southern NY SCCA group for great night out.
· Go to Watkins Glen and see the SCCA Majors, IMSA WeatherTech Series 6 hours, NASCAR Cup Series, and SVRA Vintage races. No brainer – one of the world’s greatest tracks, great racing, great history - the Glen Region is tied to back to the Formula 1 days. WGI has been great to us this season and I’ll be at all of them next year. Buy a shirt. Get a sticker. Show a flag. Drive the track for $30. Give ‘em some love. I got my Watkins Glen license plate frames on my vehicles… My second home
· Go to the Seneca Lodge and toast Timmy and enjoy the history of the bar from the Formula 1 winner’s parties and racing since. The Brubaker family has been great to the Glen Region and was very fun recently! Get a Seneca Lodge Racing Team sticker for your tool box or a T-shirt.
· Volunteer for the Grand Prix Festival.. It is an incredibly fun part of the fall in Watkins Glen with great people. No experience is needed, just show up at get the shirt, go to the volunteer party and meet the famous racer who is honorary starter like we had before – Hurley Haywood, Al Unser, Jr, David Hobbs…..The once a year Italian Sausage at Jerlando’s is worth it alone…
Season Results & Points from Glen Region SCCA Autocross Event #8 Sunday October 20th are posted: Tim Meddaugh Memorial Championship Finale at Watkins Glen International Media Lot
Final season results, PAX results, and points are updated from the #8 Tim Meddaugh Memorial Championship Finale are posted on the Glen Region SCCA website: https://www.glen-scca.org/solo/schedule.asp
Who was Tim Meddaugh? Tim was a long time Glen Region SCCA member who passed away this year. Timmy was an SCCA member who pretty much did all aspects of the club (participating, officiating, board, etc.) and you may have seen him flagging the Formula 1 races at Circuit of the Americas, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve-Montreal recently and at the Glen for many years. Tim was a fun person who has been very generous with the Glen Region SCCA to allow all of us to have an easier time to enjoy motorsports. Tim loved to hang out at the corner of the famous winner circle bar at the Seneca Lodge to bench race with the patrons with the one or two Genesee Beers and a hot dog. He was well loved by the regular patrons of the Seneca Lodge and if you mention him today at the Lodge, you may make a new friend.
Tim’s Pontiac Fiero was donated and restored by SUNY Corning Community College (one of our valued sites and friends) Auto Tech program in Big Flats. Jason K, Program Manager, ran the car after restoration in the Watkins Glen event with Tim’s lifetime SCCA Membership hanging from the dash around the course. Hats off to the SUNY Corning Community College Auto Tech team for doing such a great job to get this car running and honor Tim. The car looks great!!! I met a bunch of students who worked on Tim’s car and were proud of getting it back on track.
Annual Glen Region Membership meeting at the International Motor Racing Research Center (IMMRC) in Watkins Glen, Saturday, November 16th at 7 PM – all are welcome even if you are not an SCCA member
We will present the state of the sport at this membership meeting – financial status of Autocross, Road Racing, and the overall club and list the results of the ballot for the 2025 Glen Region Board. Open forum to discuss for all, along with the ability find where you can get into volunteering for autocross and officiating, flagging, racing at Watkins Glen. Come on, you always wanted to do this! Now is your chance, and there are plenty of people who can help you get up the learning curve. We all started somewhere. Get off the sidelines and get in the action! Let’s go racing!
Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks will be included.
Southern NY SCCA is fielding an iRacing league in November – Go Racing online!
Stephen L SNYR-SCCA Region Member is working on putting together an iRacing League that is open to anyone within our local(ish) Upstate NY SCCA regions (and/or/also previous region members and friends/family of those). This league comes at no cost and is intended to let us get together for some super fun competition in the Autocross offseason!
The plan for the league is to have 10 races taking place between November 2024 and the end of March 2025, ending in time for the start of the actual autocross season. We will take points from the top 7 for everyone so if a few are missed or you have a couple really awful nights, it's not a problem!
Race times and dates may vary, but I will likely select one evening from 8:00PM-10:00PM every few weeks, avoiding holidays, for races. I will try to do a mix of short and long races, timed races, and maybe even some multi-race formats. How points will be awarded hasn't been determined yet fully, but we may have some fun additions like bonuses for clean racing, fast laps, most consistent, etc.
This league will not be for a single racing series or car type, but it will be a mix of short and long tracks, road courses and ovals, dirt and asphalt. It's intended to be a little something for everyone, to get us all out of our comfort zone, and to make it super entertaining! We may even have a few WTF races in there (Dirt super trucks at a road course? ETC). Depending on the number of participants we may backfill for a nice field with AI cars as well for added drama and fun.
I intend to use only starter tracks and cars, on fixed setups, so no-one needs to buy any content for this. Again this is intended to be completely for fun with no prizes, just a fun way to connect and race! I anticipate MANY different skill levels, so if you're a seriously competitive sim racer that might get upset by a few rookie incidents, this might not be for you.
Please email: StephenR...@Gmail.com if you're interested and I will add you to my mailing list for updates on schedule, when we're getting started, and joining our discord channel.
Please feel free to send this onto other friends and members that might not see this, thank you everyone!
Glen Region banquet Sunday, January 12, 2025 2024 Awards Banquet, 12:00 PM The Y at Watson Woods in Campbell, NY just west of Corning-Painted Post
We will celebrate Glen Region SCCA Autocross Championship class winners that night, along Glen Region Road Racing awards, and service awards for volunteers for the region, along with a buffet lunch at Watson Woods, a beautiful place in the countryside founded by Thomas Watson, founder of IBM in Painted Post. Please come out and bench race with Autocross, Road Racers, flaggers, and racing officials and celebrate the season. Get to meet some people that could get involved at Glen Region Road Races flagging, officiating, or even racing!
You do not need to be a Glen Region or even an SCCA member. Just show up and bench race!
Banquet will begin at noon with a cash bar and lunch will be at 12:30PM with awards to follow Location: Address is: 9620 Dry Run Rd, off Meads Creek RD from I-86/NY-17 exit 42 about 3 miles from Cooper Plains exit, just west of the Corning-Painted Post area.
From Watkins Glen International, take County Route 16 in Schuyler County south until it turns into Steuben County Route 26 about 17 miles in Campbell. Turn Left onto Dry Run Road.
Hope to see you there. Details will posted on the Glen Region website and emailed on the list that you are getting now for cost and registration.
Please post on the email list Mark – Thanks Rob
Winter may be off the offseason, but racing still lives in the SCCA: Finger Lakes Region is hosting the Ithaca Rally
Run your in a timed fun event this weekend in the Ithaca area with a road car and have some fun, probably will involve racers, food, and beverages afterwards.
This is really fun and beats sitting at home (unless you are doing iRacing!), but it is pretty challenging.
Get out there and run! (and maybe eat some Chicken Wings)
Long time beloved Glen Region Member, Pasquale “Pat” Scopelliti passed away Saturday, January 11th
Pat passed away Saturday night with his cat, Ashes in his lap, at home after a battle with cancer. He was 75.
We are planning on having an informal celebration for Pat. We hope to be able to announce the details in the near future. In the meantime, we salute all the positive things the Glen Region SCCA was and became thanks to Pat.
Pat was very much loved by the Glen Region for all he did.
For many who are younger, he was the very friendly safety steward, but may have not known his background with racing and the club.
Pat grew up in NYC in Brooklyn and later nearby in Long Island and went to undergraduate school in Manhattan at Manhattan College. He then went to St. Bonaventure University in Western NY for Graduate School, exposing this baseball and football loving fan to Formula 1, sports car racing, and hockey. After Grad School, he got a job with Corning Incorporated in Bradford, PA not far from St. Bonaventure. Pat moved to the Elmira-Corning area in the early 80s to Corning Incorporated’s headquarters as an Information Technology person, when IT really wasn't defined yet. Later in life he married Carolyn and they travelled to many exotic places. He was incredibly smart and quite a problem solver - the guy they counted on to solve the big problems.
Gear head interests started with 3 Chevrolet Vegas (yes, three of those &%^ cars – two from insurance) that he was able to tune them into some mini-sports cars. That took talent.
Pat’s love for auto racing at Watkins Glen started his involvement with the Glen Region SCCA. He ran autocross/solo and track days with his Toyota Celica, eventually bought a Ferrari 308 and did more track days. His Ferrari track exploits were quite entertaining, seeing him run at Watkins Glen and having no problem keeping up with some very expensive, much faster 12 cylinder Ferraris, much to the chagrin of their drivers. In autocross, he moved from the Celica to a Nissan 240SX, a Formula Vee with a 25% bigger engine and wider tires for autocross, and some Hondas, finally settling into one of the fastest classes: racing karts and winning his class. In between various cars, Pat shared the Formula Vee, a VW GTI ice racer, and karts with Rob to create Scuderia Gemelli Idioti (in a Ferrari font– lucky he didn’t get sued). Twin Idiots Racing in Italian.
Pat was an essential figure in the Glen Region. He did many things in the Glen Region: Autocross/solo program. He attended and helped with road racing at Watkins Glen. Pat was a board member, webmaster, safety steward, and always had general words of wisdom and calm, common sense for helping run things a little better in the club, and calmly solving problems together. Most of all, he welcomed many new people to the sport, got to know them, showed them how it works, and that they belonged.
Pat will be sorely missed.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GlenSccaSolo" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to glensccasolo...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/glensccasolo/CAEyMjV40vT-3vAGhycgYStEOaMXF0SqYPDFJcXDj4LO9iN%3DyaQ%40mail.gmail.com.
--
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/glensccasolo/CAJaCa1335kwt6Yv8BHtt_0WMcO6R-aPAoyeOWLSxYA9%3DTjh9Mg%40mail.gmail.com.
I had the privilege of working with Pat at Corning while he was on the network team and I was on the "tools" [Level 3 Enterprise Support] team. I only knew him from a professional standpoint while I was Corning; his intelligence and thought process when solving infrastructure problems was admirable. I had heard that he was involved with AutoX while I was at Corning, but I didn't get to ask him about it due to differences in schedules, etc.
Fast forward to 2017, no longer at Corning, and now becoming more involved with the car community at large. I looked into the Glen Region more due to researching AutoX [thanks for MotorTrend and Roadkill] and watching an event at the Ithaca Mall [thanks to friends from Ithaca who were with SNY] and quickly identified former co-workers [Pat and Alan] who I had connections to. While it took them both a bit to remember who I was, they quickly made me feel welcome and that I belonged in the club. During this time, Pat was still racing his kart, so it was fun watching him rip around the course [and spin-out when he went too fast].
Stepping to the present day, the last two years have really opened my eyes as to why this region is as good as it is. Friendly competition, like-minded individuals who like to race but don't take it so seriously, and are always willing to lend a hand [or car] if you need it. I have learned so much from Pat in terms of course design, how the stations work, how critical it is to communicate with each other, keeping the courses fun but safe, to never turn your back on a car, and never carry a red stick. Pat gave me so much confidence to step in to event chair roles, and to continue to learn and pursue responsibilities with the region. His warning of "that's how you get on the board" is not a threat... it's his endorsement and encouragement to keep moving forward, continue doing good things for yourself and the region, but most of all... to have fun.
Pat will be fondly remembered and surely missed.. especially this season, and going forward. A wheelman, a leader, a competitor, a co-worker, a car guy, and so much more describe Pat in the best way.
Just wanted to add some personal touches to all of these tributes.
To Pat!
--Josh
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/glensccasolo/CAJaCa1335kwt6Yv8BHtt_0WMcO6R-aPAoyeOWLSxYA9%3DTjh9Mg%40mail.gmail.com.
Reminder that services for longtime Glen Region member Pat Scopelliti are this Saturday, February 1st at the Big Flats Community Center in Big Flats, NY
Big Flats Community Center is located in the Town of Big Flats Municipal campus (Town Hall, Court, Voting, etc.) behind Minier’s Supermarket and across from the US Post Office and NY State Police barracks.
Services will be as follows:
10-12 Visitation/Calling hours
12:15 PM: Celebration of Life
We will hosting a planning meeting for the 2025 Glen Region SCCA Autocross Championship Tuesday, February 4th at Beefeater’s Tavern (aka Beef’s) in Horseheads at 6 PM
First planning event for preliminary schedule discussion for both Glen Region and our friends at the SNY Region 2025 schedules. Beef’s has food and beverages. Located just off of Hanover Square in Horseheads at the corner of Franklin Street and Grand Central Avenue.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GlenSccaSolo" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to glensccasolo...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/glensccasolo/CAEyMjV6aFEchyFONSbOvZ8AvvX9Zf8jM0xXJVSW1ZphSpBrNDQ%40mail.gmail.com.
We will hosting the 2nd planning meeting for the 2025 Glen Region SCCA Autocross Championship Tuesday, March 6th at Beefeater’s Tavern (aka Beef’s) in Horseheads at 6 PM
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GlenSccaSolo" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to glensccasolo...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/glensccasolo/CAEyMjV74Ku68xsdcyLbrzj-tqMOH5Sky%2BsS405-evahkAfKwFQ%40mail.gmail.com.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GlenSccaSolo" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to glensccasolo...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/glensccasolo/CAEyMjV74Ku68xsdcyLbrzj-tqMOH5Sky%2BsS405-evahkAfKwFQ%40mail.gmail.com.
2025 Glen Region SCCA Championship schedule is attached
We have a schedule confirmed along with the tentative schedules for SNY, CNY, and FLR regions attached. The Glen Region website is in the process of being updated after Pat’s passing and should have the schedule posted there as well by the end of the weekend. Hearty thanks to Dave C. (road racer) and Josh T. (autocross) for their help with the website.
Thanks to Glen Region folks and our friends in SNY and CNY to create a holistic schedule that benefits the whole club.
Please note that event chairs have been assigned. If you were not at the planning meeting and were assigned an event and the date does not work, please contact me for changes.
When FLR posts its confirmed schedule I will add their Test n’ Tune Saturdays at Seneca Army Depot school course to the schedule. I highly recommend using FLR’s school course that has the 3 elements of autocross courses. They have some excellent instructors who are very willing to riding to help you learn to how to learn to go faster and smoother. The course is the same every time, so like a race track, you build up knowledge. They do a great job and it is pretty reasonable cost.
Officials for 2025:
Due to SCCA regulations that are largely driven by insurance we will need to start having course designers take online training with it being required by 2027. I will get a link to that as soon as it available.
With Pat’s passing we are down a safety steward that was also not competing. Please sign up for the online training to get your Safety Steward license, so we can have backups and people covering while another SS is running their car. Thanks:
Possible Safety Stewards
• Don G.
• Larry B.
• Josh B.
• Matt L.
• Tim P. (SNY)