Performance Driving Experience

October 8th, Team ELBRacing was back on track. This time at Summit Point Motorsports Park for an SCCA Performance Driving Experience event. The team used this as a test and tune day for the upcoming VRG Turkey Bowl @ Summit Point. Some event footage from the day:

Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix @ PIRC 2012

ELBRacing brought two cars to the newly renamed Pittsburgh International Race Complex to contend the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Historic Races. Unfortunately, only one ran the event, as the 1972 ELBRacing Pinto of Jim Karamanis suffered from a broken external oil pump on the Friday test day.

Jerry Boyer did run his 1976 ELBRacing Pinto throughout the race weekend and graduated from rookie to full race privileges. Congratulations, Jerry! Following is video from Jerry's PVGP racing experience:

2012 VRG Jefferson 500

ELBRacing has officially kicked off the 2012 racing season! The team was out in full force at the VRG Jefferson 500, May 17 – 20 @ Summit Point Motorsports Park. Jim Karamanis participated as an instructor during the two day VRG drivers school. New ELB Racers Jerry Boyer & Ralph Pagington both attended the school in their vintage racers. This was Ralph Pagington's first event since restoring his 1979 Mercury Bobcat. All three participated in the vintage races throughout the weekend, including Brian Walsh's feature race for IMSA RS / SCCA 2.5 Challenge Reunion race cars. The event grand marshal was Peter Brock who paced the Reunion Race field in a 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe, a car of his own design.

See a slide show of pictures taken by ELB Photographers Kermit Burroughs & Steve Manley here:


And a selection of race videos taken by Jerry's daughter, Charlotte, here:





Also, event results have been posted to mylaps.com here:
http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=779745

And finally, official event photos by Bill Stoler here:
http://billstoler.com/site/#/gallery/jefferson-500-2012-summit-point/j500-9086/

IMSA RS / SCCA 2.5 Challenge Reunion Race:

VRG Turkey Bowl

This year marked the 15th running of the Turkey Bowl at Summit Point Raceway. ELBRacing was once again in attendance, this time with Jerry Boyer debuting his 1976 Ford Pinto to the vintage racing world. This was Jerry's first vintage event. He reports that he and the car survived and are both looking forward to a great year in 2012. Jerry teamed up with Bruce Shelton of Automotive Enterprises who brought his 1980 SCCA Ford Pinto out to play with the vintage cars, as well as Steve Moulton of Hayseed Racing Services who ran his 1971 Trans-Am Pinto. A few photos from the paddock and of Jerry's ELBRacing pinto:

A Visit to MARRS

September 3rd marked the first part of the annual WDCR SCCA Labor Day Double races at Summit Point Raceway, WV. Jim Karamanis had his 1972 ELBRacing Pinto on track for MARRS VII. Jim qualified his Pinto on pole for his class (SPU), ran comfortably in the lead for 7 laps, and had a terrific battle with class GTP Pinto points leader (and multiple time MARRS champion) Bruce Shelton until Jim's Pinto decided it had enough.

Following are a few photos from the day, qualifying video and race video. Pay attention to the 11:00 minute mark of the race video when pieces of Jim's spark plug & flames fly out of the hood. A picture of what remains of the spark plug is also posted. The head will need to come off of the engine for some minor machine work, but Jim will have his Pinto back in action for the Vintage Racer Group Turkey Bowl in November.



Race:


Qualifying:

SCCA Take 2

This weekend saw Jim Karamanis take his ELBRacing 1972 B-Sedan Vintage Racer Pinto back in time. For the first time in 15 years, the car was run in an SCCA Regional Event. The last time that the car appeared at an SCCA Regional Race was at Summit Point Raceway in October of 1996 during a Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series weekend put on by the Washington DC Region (WDCR). The car was run in the GT-3 class at that event. This time, it was back to Summit Point at another MARRS WDCR event, but running in the class SPU.

SPU (Super Production Under) is for cars that don't meet the criteria for specific current SCCA classes, are under 2.5 liters, and meet the safety requirements of the SCCA General Competition Rules. Some extremely fast cars normally compete in this class (baby grand cup cars). On this particular race weekend, no other cars appeared in this class, so Jim was one of one throughout the weekend. The race group however is mostly composed of Production Cars and the majority of them were vintage eligible. It was very much like competing in a vintage race. In fact, even the mentality was very much like vintage, with racers giving each other lots of racing room. Jim and his vintage Pinto held it's own, despite racing on vintage spec treaded race tires instead of the competition slicks run by the other competitors.

For the weekend, ELBRacing teamed up in the Paddock with Shelton Racing. Bruce Shelton had two GT Pinto race cars on the grid. One for himself and the other for long time SCCA Racer Matti Vilkkila. Bruce went on to win his class with Matti taking second. 

Some photos and video of the two races:



Saturday Race:



Sunday Race:

The Ford Pinto Turns 40

This year the Ford Pinto turns 40. Given the fact that ELBRacing now has three Pintos in our stable we thought it would be fitting for us to join the Stampede! The Pinto Stampede was organized by a group of enthusiasts from the Pinto Car Club of America. These Pinto fans caravaned 1000 miles from Denver to the Carlisle All-Ford Nationals in order to celebrate the Pinto 40^th anniversary as well as raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project. The Pinto Stampede featured nearly 70 Pintos! This is surely one of the largest gatherings of these ponies since the assembly line.

The ELBRacing 1972 Ford Pinto owned by Jim Karamanis was on special indoor display along side the famous Racer Walsh 1971 Trans-Am race Pinto owned by Jerry 'Racer' Walsh's son Brian Walsh. Jerry was kind enough to sign the dash of Jim Karamani's Pinto, something that he will always cherish. 

On the final day of the event, the two road race Pintos, along with an SCCA road race Pinto owned by Barry Young, were asked to do a demonstration run on the Carlisle autocross course, an event run by the Cumberland Valley Corvette Club.

Some photos from the weekend event: