2011 Solo Class Champions Announced
at Dixie Annual Awards Banquet

January 2012 - Class Champions for the 2011 Dixie Solo season were announced at the January 7th awards banquet.  Top honor of 2011 Driver of the Year goes to Colin Atteberry (pictured below left) for winning the most points during the 2011 season in the FJB Class.

The Member of the Year was awarded to Tracy Lewis (pictured above right) for her dedication and tremendous volunteer work for the club including the registration and timing and scoring steward. 

The Worker of the Year went to Mike Lollar (pictured at right with Chris Yearwood, RE) for his extraordinary contributions to Dixie Region.

There were plenty of now infamous gag awards handed out as well.  Many thanks to Steve Seymore for coordinating the annual banquet, and to his wife, Deborah, for the room arrangements.

History is Upheld Again!
Allies Victorious at the
24th Annual Allies vs. Axis Solo

December 2011 - December 4, 2011 - Dixie Region SCCA held the 24th Annual Allies vs. Axis Solo Autocross at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel, Georgia. Allies vs. Axis commemorates Pearl Harbor Day with a Solo event on the Sunday closest to the anniversary of the December 7, 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, the event that led to American participation in WWII. This event is a team autocross, with American and British ("Allies") vehicles competing against Japanese and German ("Axis") cars. No French cars ever seem to show up, sort of like in real life, and the Italian cars are Axis before lunch and Allies in the afternoon.

In the chill of the early morning, the Axis team made their ceremonial first run around the course at precisely 7:53 AM, the time the first bombs fell on Pearl Harbor. The Axis team quartet included Chris "Cheerio" Casey, Marko "Bubi" Horn, Jim "Pirate Ship" Bledsoe, and Stephen "Ugly Mazda" Tillman. The Axis team, with Japanese and German flags flying took out some cones. In the process Bubi damaged his bumper cover and wheel well liner but he wasn't fazed and soldiered on toward the finish. This year another long-standing tradition was upheld as awaiting them at the finish was none other than "Wing Commander Nigel Shiftright (RAF)" and Timmi "Pride of Ireland" Atteberry with a pair of full moon salutes to the four Axis hooligans. Well, Timmi's full moon was a bit smaller than Nigel's, but he gave it all he had.

The odds were stacked against the Allies with 50 Axis entries versus only 32 in the Allied camp for this 24th running of the event. The Axis powers held an edge right out of the box with 11 uncontested classes, but the Allies had spread themselves into a "Thin Red Line" by bumping cars into higher classes to level the playing field against the numerically superior Axis team. A 24th straight win was at stake for the Allies, and sacrifices had to be made.

When the dust and tire smoke settled the Axis finished the day with 14 class wins:

The Allied team proceeded to shock and awe the Axis by coming from behind and then they "dropped the big one" by way of a very small package named Ryan and took 23 class wins overall. Allied class winners were:

Repeating the story of WWII, against all odds the Allies came through victorious again. For the 24th year in a row, history has been upheld; the Allies prevailed and took 23 class wins against the Axis 14. 

As is often the case in war-time, there were unlikely heroes that helped turn the tide for the forces of Goodness and Light.  One unsung hero of the Allied win was a car, not a person.  A Ford Mustang, not a GT, not a ground-shaking V8 Shelby or a supercharged Roush special, but a bottom-of-the-line V6/automatic Mustang, a “secretary’s car” of a Mustang came through in time of peril and presented the Allies with three wins in three different classes.  Another hero was Dixie Region’s own Alyssa Lewis, who won H Stock in a Ford Focus, after recently moving up from the Jr. Kart program. Alyssa recently turned 15 years old, earned her learners driving permit, and thus had to have a co-pilot on all her time runs.  Later in the event, Alyssa took a few fun runs in the V6 Mustang, and her smile illuminated the field.  That was a great moment particularly when she stated, “That thing REALLY goes!”.

In addition to class win trophies, the "Crappiest Run Golden Toilet Seat” award is given to the driver who, well, has the crappiest run. This is a "people's choice" award, with all entrants asked to vote early and often for their favorite crappy driver. This year the ballots were stuffed for an overwhelming win for driver Robert “Fireball” Lewis. Surprisingly, the win was not so much for the crappiest run but due to a clever conspiracy by Axis-sympathizer Sara Hosig.  Sara, a woman scorned, received a crème pie in the face, part of a fake birthday surprise during dinner the night before.  Sara got her revenge on Robert by enlisting friends to stuff over 70 ballots for Robert, a legal maneuver in this highly esteemed and yet totally corrupt Allies vs. Axis award.

Two new awards were added this year for best decorated Allied and Axis cars.  The Axis win went to a German decorated 2004 BMW Z4 owned by Ray Brake.  His Iron Cross and German flag motif out-shone Wilson Richardson’s  “Blue Painters Tape Iron Cross Done at the Last Moment” design.  The Allied award went to the P-51 1990 Mustang of Rob Ippolito, edging out Sandy Heath’s P40 Warhawk and Chris Moore’s TR6. (The TR6 wasn’t decorated, but it sure SOUNDS like a fighter plane!).  Both winners received $15 gift certificates to Auto Zone.  An honorable mention has to go to the Japanese battle flag headbands from the Tally Imports gang and the CJ Jeep of the Murphy/McMahan team.  The Jeep wasn’t decorated in WWII fashion, but it was a Jeep, for gosh-sakes!

And as always part of Allies vs. Axis, Dixie Region collects toilet paper and cash donations for the Leon County Shelter for the homeless. Like previous years, this part of the event was a great success, with plenty of donations for the Shelter given by the entrants.  We want to thank all that contributed, and this is a part of the Allies vs. Axis event that both sides can take pride in.

The biggest (and smallest) hero of the day was a young man named Ryan Rackley.  Ryan, at age 6, was the youngest driver on the field and was reported to be the youngest driver in SCCA Solo at the time of the event.  Ryan drove his first ever autocross and won Jr. Kart C.  It went in the record books as a win for the Allies, but it was a win for Ryan and his family (Dad Darren won FP), and for our extended (if somewhat dysfunctional) Dixie Region family as a whole.   It was one of the best moments in a day full of great moments.

(Author: Rob Ippolito, Bad Jokes: JD Kemp)

2011 SCCA National Championship

September 2011 - Four local drivers brought home trophies from the Sports Car Club of America Tire Rack Solo National Championships, held in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Diane Austin won a national championship in D Modified Ladies, in a 1960 Austin Mini. Also a national champion in 2009, she won by a total of 11.95 seconds over two days, a huge margin in solo racing. Driving the same car, her husband, Tom Austin, finished fifth in the open division of D Modified.

In C Prepared, Robert Lewis earned a third-place trophy in his 1965 Ford Mustang, only 1.11 seconds out of first place, while his wife, Tracy, finished second in C Prepared Ladies.

The solo championships involve cars in different classes, with drivers competing against the clock. All four drive in the Dixie Region of the SCCA.

See the 2011 News Archives

See the 2010 News Archives

See the 2009 News Archives

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