Former Dixie Leader Carl Bennett Passes Away

July 2010 - Carl O. Bennett, former Dixie Regional Executive throughout most of the 1990s, passed away Sunday, July 18th, unexpectedly of a heart attack. Carl was the club's leader for so many years at one time was dubbed the Dixie R.E. for life. When Carl wasn't running his All Day and Night Plumbing business in Tallahassee, Florida for the past 30+ years, back in the day he was tinkering with his Mazda Rotary pickup truck or his second gen RX-7 Solo and Time Trial race car. Lately he rode his bike daily on the St. Marks Trail. He had a huge presence and an even bigger heart. He was one of the kindest, most decent people you'd ever have the pleasure to know.

Carl was a true southern boy through and through. He always had a memorable way of telling a story or an announcement. For instance, when Carl became Safety Steward, he made a tradition of making the same announcement at driver meetings with his unmistakable southern accent, "If the throttle sticks, turn off the key, take away the fire, and it will eventually come to a stop!" It was so memorable to this day someone makes the same announcement as best they can in Carl's voice during event driver meetings. One time Carl shortened a 12 step recovery program by declaring during an awards presentation while shaking his head, "I don't need no 3 step program, I'm addicted -- to racing!" During many of the now infamous Allies vs. Axis events Carl often donned a Samurai warrior outfit to lead the Axis team in the Solo event. He was a good friend with everyone.

Carl is survived by his wife Gail and his two grown children Jason and Jennifer. More photos and personal stories are posted on the Dixie Forum.

Evolution Performance Driving School -

August 13 & 14, 2010

August 2010 - Dixie SCCA is hosting two Evolution Performance Driving Schools, Phase 1 on August 13th and Phase 2 on August 14th, 2010 on the concrete at Spence Field in Moultrie, Georgia. Are you ready to learn what it takes to achieve your next level of driving, then the Evolution Autocross School has a day of fun just waiting for you. Instructors include some of the best Solo Champions in the country such as Mike "Junior" Johnson and Robert Carpenter. For details and registration visit the Dixie Forum.

Farewell Novice DUDE! Welcome Novice DUDES!

July 2010 - As is the case with many associations, clubs and even sometimes work, it's not surprising to find 10 percent of the people doing 90 percent of the work. Observe any Solo event and you can pick them out. Dixie member Marko Horn is one of those 10 percenters. Until last month, Marko served as the club's Novice Chief welcoming newcomers to every Solo event, giving them valuable Solo tips, his wisdom, experience, and early familiarization walks through Solo courses. He was always promoting Dixie events to other SCCA regions and friends. In many ways Marko acted more like a Dixie Ambassador than just the Novice Chief. To many of us he was fondly known and welcomed as "Dude!". Unfortunately for us, Marko recently finished his Ph.D. study at FSU and has moved his family west to teach in Jackson, Mississippi. This left huge Novice Chief shoes to fill. Dixie will miss our Dude, though he promises to return again playing WWII German Ace Bubi Hartmann at the Allies vs. Axis event this December. Despite Marko's departure, fortunately a group of four Dudes, two seasoned and two young(er) but experienced, stepped up. JD Kemp, Chris Yearwood, Stephen Tillman, and Wilson Richardson are the official new Novice Chiefs. Although there won't be another like Marko, the new Novice Dudes are enthusiastic and available to all newcomers. They already created a Newbie and Novice Corner board on the Dixie forum, so if you have a newbie question visit with them there. You'll likely see one or all of them at a Solo event running the Novice walk through. Don't be surprised when they are all together at the same time someone yells out "Dudes!".

SCCA at Sears 1st Annual Car Show

June 26, 2010 - Dixie members manned a booth and displayed their cars in the 1st Annual Sears Car Show at Governor's Square Mall in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday June 26th. Despite the scorching afternoon heat, about 100 cars entered the free show. Sears had something for everyone, with classes from antiques, sports cars, muscle cars, trucks, street machines and many more. Show participants and visitors stopped by our booth for info about the club and SCCA activities. Several members from Tally Imports entered the show and joined us under our tarp for shelter from the afternoon sun. We picked up lots of swag from Sears and the many vendors at the show including free food and drinks from Advanced Auto Parts. When the show winners were anounced, JK Jackson won best sports car having entered his wife Chris' gorgeous 1972 Triumph TR-6. We made a few new friends from the show and hope to see them at a Dixie event in the future.

For more pictures of the show visit the Dixie Forum

16 Enter June 19th Novice Drivers School

June 19-20, 2010 - Dixie hosted a Solo Novice Drivers School on Saturday June 19th at Spence Field in Moultrie, GA. Sixteen entrants picked up valuable Solo tips from the local pros such as determining the fastest line, where to appex a corner, proper slalom technics, threashold braking, and more. The weather was hot but it was worth it. On Sunday the students put their skills to the test at Solo Event # 4. Marko Horn designed the course and ran the event as a "mini tour" where the morning runs ran in one direction while the the afternoon runs ran in reverse. Drivers sum of their best time from the morning and afternoon determined their total time for the day.

Remainder of 2010 Solo Schedule Confirmed

April 12, 2010 - Mark your calendar - Solo event dates for the remainder of 2010 are confirmed.

June 19th - Novice Driver School - Spence Field

June 20th - Fathers Day Solo - Spence Field

July 25th - Solo - Spence Field

August 15th - Solo - Spence Field

Oct 3rd - Solo - Spence Field

December 5th - 23rd Annual Allies vs. Axis Solo (location TBA)

Equipment Theft Fundraising Effort a Huge Success

April 2010 - As most have heard by now, the Dixie Region equipment trailer was stolen last December (see "Dixie Equipment Trailer Stolen!" story below). Our uninsured trailer and nearly all of our solo equipment was lost. A horrible way to end the 2009 season and a huge challenge to start 2010. We announced the loss and set up a replacement Equipment Fund to accept donations. Word spread quickly and what happened next was as nearly as shocking as the theft. The donations started to arrive, large and small, from SCCA members and friends near and far. South Carolina Region donated their old timers and $1000 in cash. Other Regions donated cash. Anonymous donations arrived. Houston Region donated radios. Then Texas Region donated their old trailer. As a result, in less than four months since the loss, Dixie is back to where we were before the theft. The generousity received has been overwhelming. And we are also happy to report we are in the process of obtaining the paperwork necessary to register and insure our new trailer and equipment in the event this should happen again. All the best to everyone who saw us through this challenge.

Record Attendance at

2010 Dixie National Tour

March 13-15, 2010  - Howard Duncan, SCCA Vice President of Rally, Solo and Special Programs, announced during the drivers meeting that the 299 in attendance at the 2010 Dixie National Tour set a new record for the largest Solo event in the Southeast.  And we may have had the longest course as well - a .71 mile track at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Cecil, GA was designed by Event Steward Robert Lewis. Despite the rain on Friday and the chilly and windy weather throughout the weekend, drivers came from as far away as Washington, California, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania to compete.  17 Dixie Region members competed in the Tour and picked up 8 trophies.  Dixie trophy winners include: David Marcus, 3rd place in C Stock; Carol Cone, 2nd place in Street Touring Sport Ladies; Robert Lewis, 2nd place in C Prepared; Russ Clark, 3rd place in C Prepared; Bryan Batchelor, 1st place in E Prepared; Marko Horn, 3rd place in E Prepared; Tom Austin, 1st place in D Modified; and Alyssa Lewis, 2nd place in Formula Junior A.  A big thanks to Tom Shuman from Atlanta Region for cooking up the huge barbeque Friday night and all the volunteers and workers that made the event possible.  Complete results can be found at the SCCA website. Plenty of terrific photo album links are posted on the Dixie Forum.

Web Site Recognized at SCCA Convention

January 2010  - During the SCCA National Convention in Las Vegas last January it was announced the Dixie Region website earned an honorable mention for a Region Communication Award for web and newsletter excellence.  The Dixie website was redesigned in early 2009 by Chris Yearwood, Rob and Tracy Ippolito.  The design was such that the home page could serve as our club newsletter with monthly stories and announcement updates.  Chris and Rob worked with Tracy, a professional web designer, to create the site. Rob and Chris maintain the site while Tracy provides consulting when needed.

February 28th RallyCross Results

February 2010 - Thirteen entrants participated in the first Dixie RallyCross held at the Steeda Autosports campus in Valdosta, GA on Sunday, February 28th. As the event began a racing line developed quickly on the soft soil that created ruts in some areas of the course, proving challenging for the RallyCrossers. Many of the cars were dedicated RallyCross machines while a few street cars entered as well including a Honda Civic driven by Ron Foley who won the Stock Front Wheel Drive class. Allison Hirsch entered her clean BMW 328i to win the Stock Rear Wheel Drive class. Charles Wright won Prepared Rear Wheel Drive in his RallyCross prepared 1981 Mazda RX-7. Sam Risberg placed first in his Prepared All Wheel Drive 1997 Mitsubishi. Carlos Sanchez took Stock All Wheel Drive in his 1996 Subaru.Modified 4 Wheel Drive was taken by a 1995 Subaru Impreza driven by Tom Boyett. And Modified 2 Wheel Drive was the largest class with 4 entrants and won by John Schellenberg in his 1992 Nissan Sentra SER. A shout out to our good friends at Steeda Autosports for allowing the use of their facility and grounds. Photos are posted on the Dixie Forum along with the full results.

Let's Roll - Dixie Donates Toilet Paper to The Shelter for the Homeless

January 2010 - Dixie raised a significant amount of toilet paper and cash at the Allies vs.Axis event last December 2009 for our annual charity, The Shelter for the homeless. The toilet paper was stored in the equipment trailer and unfortunately lost when the trailer was stolen the following week. Thanks to a corporate donation from GTO, an addional $200 from the Marko Horn with the cash raised from the event enabled Dixie to purchase nearly a month's supply of industial rolls to the The Shelter.

2009 Solo Class Champions Announced
at Dixie Annual Awards Banquet

January 2010 - Class Champions for the 2009 Dixie Solo season were announced at the January 16th awards banquet.  Top honor of 2009 Driver of the Year goes to Chris Yearwood for winning the most points during the 2009 season in his E Stock Mazda Miata (pictured at right). 

Other class winners include Andrew Millett in A Stock, David Upchurch in A-Street Prepared, Tracy Lewis in C Prepared, Toni Pinon in C Stock, Robert Mayfield in C Street Prepared, Edward Raiford in D Street Prepared, Byan Batchelor in E Prepared, Mark Hohmeister in E Street Prepared, Shane May in Formula Junior B, David Mathews in F Stock, Peter St. Pierre in G Stock, Steve Seymore in H Stock, Robert Lewis in Pro, and Rob Ippolito in Street Modified.

The Member of the Year was awarded to Bryan Batchelor (pictured at left) for his dedication and tremendous volunteer work for the club including the Solo Chair and director on the board. 

The Worker of the Year went to Rob Ippolito (pictured below with Mike Lollar, RE) for his efforts with media relations, the website and as a director on the board.

There were plenty of now infamous gag awards handed out as well including Cone King to Bryan Batchelor for hitting a record 45 cones during the 2009 season. 

Photos of the banquet posted on the Dixie Forum.

Dixie Equipment Trailer Stolen !

December 12, 2009 - The December Allies vs. Axis Solo event was a great success but unfortunately a week after the Dixie equipment trailer was stolen the weekend of Dec 12th despite being locked and stored in a secure location. The trailer and the entire contents was taken – over $15,000 worth of cones, Race America timers, blower, generator, loaner helmets and other Solo event equipment including over 480 rolls of toilet paper to be donated to The Shelter for the homeless in Tallahassee. The Dixie Region was unable to obtain insurance on the trailer so the theft is a total loss. All of the equipment will need to be replaced. Despite the loss the Dixie Board intends to be ready with enough replacement equipment in time to host our next Solo event on January 24, 2010 at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

If you would like to help the Dixie Region get back up and running, donations are gratefully accepted. Checks can be made out to “Dixie Region SCCA” and sent to Dixie Region SCCA - Equipment Fund, P.O. Box 38561, Tallahassee, FL 32315-8561.

TRAILER AND EQUIPMENT UPDATES:

12-19-09 - South Carolina SCCA Region announced a generous donation to the Dixie Region Equipment Fund of $1000, their old RaceAmerica base timers and proceeds from their January Solo event fun runs. A big thank you to South Carolina Regional Executive Nick Hallman, thier board and region posted on the SC Region Forum.

12-24-09 - The Dixie Board authorized today the acquisition of replacement essential solo equipment that includes 350 cones, fire extinguishers, timers, a timing printer and miscellaneous items (arm bands, first aid kit, trash bags, etc.). Fortunately our timing laptop and 6 new loaner helmets where not included in the theft. Our delightful registrar/timing chief Tracy Lewis has offered to make replacement worker flags, as she has done before. This acquisition was made possible in part from the generous donation from the S.C. region, along with smaller anonymous donations, and some savings on hand by the club. We will need to raise more money to replace additional equipment and eventually a vehicle of some sort to store and transport the equipment. The Board is also working on a fundraising campaign for 2010 to get us there. In the mean time we will have enough equipment to start the 2010 season without delay! We may have been knocked down but are certainly not out.

1-6-10 - The Dixie Membership voted to hold $2 fun runs after Solo events to raise money for the equipment fund.

1-24-10 - A little over one month after the theft of the Solo equipment and trailer, we held our first 2010 Solo event. We could not have done it without the hard work of the Dixie Board, the club members, and the many generous donations from members and friends. We're back!

2-27-10 - A big thankyou to the Texas Region SCCA who donated and delivered their old 7 X 14 trailer to Dixie Region. Robert Lewis and Russ Clark drove 6.5 hours to Mississippi to meet the Texas Region RE to pick up the trailer.

History Made at the 22nd Annual Allies vs. Axis

December 6, 2009: On a cold crisp December morning frost dusted the windshields of awaiting participants while the sun peered above the horizon painting the sky burnt orange. This set the stage for the Dixie Region 22nd Annual Allies vs. Axis Solo event. Dixie Region commemorates Pearl Harbor Day with a Solo event where American and British vehicles compete against Japanese and German. Italian vehicles spend the first half of the event with the Axis and the latter half with the Allies. French run with the Axis or the Free French Allies. Swedish vehicles were neutral, of course. Participants decorated their cars in WWII fighter plane insignia, voted for “The Crappiest Run of the Day” and competed for special Allies vs. Axis trophy plaques, awards and prizes.

At precisely 7:53 AM, the same time the Japanese dropped the first bomb on Dec. 7, 1941, the first Solo run wave of attack at the Allies vs. Axis event was under way. Led by a dastardly duo – Mike Lollar (aka Japanese pilot leader Mitsuo Fuchida) and Marko Horn (aka German Ace pilot Erich Alfred "Bubi" Hartmann) – The Axis team made their first run in a sneak attack, flying historic Japanese and German flags from their cars. All the Allies could gather as an initial response was a rather large foam butt-cheek display by J.D. Kemp (aka Allies Commander Nigel Shiftright) toward the duo as they exited the course and reentered the staging area. Much like the start of WWII, the Allies struggled to start their crafts and were unfortunately off to a slow start.

Entrants participated in their respective classes but also for their Allies or Axis team. A running total of Allies vs. Axis class wins are tallied to determine the overall winner of the event. After the first two of three run groups the Axis were ahead 11 class wins to 9. After the first wave of attacks the Allies had fallen into a hole that appeared insurmountable. The Axis maintained their lead until the third and final assault run group. Leading the way with class wins for the Axis was Marko Horn (aka Erich Alfred "Bubi" Hartmann) in EP, Peter St. Pierre in GS, Stephanie Lollar in DP, Steve Tillman in Novice, Andrew Millet in AS, Fast Phil Currin in CS, Larry Ferrell in ES, Lucas Grote in BSP, Tom Shuman in CSP, Brian Ratte in ESP, Natasha Horn in FJB, Brian Bell in ST, Sean Carey in STS, Rick Therrien in STU, and Matt Glagola in STR.

Allied team member Russ Clark (aka Enola Gay pilot commanding officer Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr.) driving in the Lewis and Clark Sledgehammer EM Mustang sealed the deal for the Allies overall win along with class wins by Tracy Lewis in XP, Steve Chryssochoos in CP, JK Jackson in FP, Brian Watts in GP, JR Prescott in AM, Per Schroeder in BM, Dan McMahan in CM, Tom Austin in DM, Jim Murphy in FM, Robert Lewis in ProPAX, Alyssa Lewis in FJA, Brian Meyers in FS, Joe Austin in HS, Chris Moore in FSP, Thomas Simon in SSM, and Rob Ippolito in SM.

The Allies won during the final wave providing an overall win of 17 Allies classes to 15 Axis. Crappiest Run was awarded to an untold cone count and popular vote to Axis team member and EP driver Rob Heiser. Dixie Region also collected toilet paper and cash donations for the Leon County Shelter for the homeless. Plenty of event photo coverage posted on the Dixie Forum.

See the 2010 News Archives

See the 2009 News Archives

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