PA Hillclimbs
Aug 4, 2011, 09:01 AM
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PA Hillclimbs
I figured i'd post this for anyone that is interested in trying out hillclimbing or for those that are expereinced racers.
http://pahillclimb.net/
We have a race coming up this weekend in Cumberland Maryland, Polish Mtn hillclimb brought to you by Steelcity Region SCCA, National Road Autosports. Its a great hill that will challange the best drivers and cars. Its very smooth so its perfect for track cars or even formula cars. Please come on out and have a great weekend of racing.
Requirements for this are SCCA level 4 Time trial rules. That is a roll bar (full cage not required). Driver suit, nomex socks, gloves, etc. Either a window net or arm restraints, 5 point belts and a fire ext. Thats about it!
There is also one of the top 5 hillclimbs in the US coming up in 3 weeks. Duryea hillclimb, Reading PA. (also part of the pa hillclimb series)http://pahillclimb.net/about/the-courses/duryea-pagoda/
Dont' miss this one! We are also going to have a fun grudge drag race on friday night before the event at Maple grove raceway. The PHA racers are some of the best folks around to race with. A truly great bunch of folks.
Hope to see someone else there! I beleive the Dent Sport Garage guys are coming down with the Pleasure EVO and Bills wicked 240. http://www.dentsport.com/
http://pahillclimb.net/
We have a race coming up this weekend in Cumberland Maryland, Polish Mtn hillclimb brought to you by Steelcity Region SCCA, National Road Autosports. Its a great hill that will challange the best drivers and cars. Its very smooth so its perfect for track cars or even formula cars. Please come on out and have a great weekend of racing.
Requirements for this are SCCA level 4 Time trial rules. That is a roll bar (full cage not required). Driver suit, nomex socks, gloves, etc. Either a window net or arm restraints, 5 point belts and a fire ext. Thats about it!
There is also one of the top 5 hillclimbs in the US coming up in 3 weeks. Duryea hillclimb, Reading PA. (also part of the pa hillclimb series)http://pahillclimb.net/about/the-courses/duryea-pagoda/
Dont' miss this one! We are also going to have a fun grudge drag race on friday night before the event at Maple grove raceway. The PHA racers are some of the best folks around to race with. A truly great bunch of folks.
Hope to see someone else there! I beleive the Dent Sport Garage guys are coming down with the Pleasure EVO and Bills wicked 240. http://www.dentsport.com/
Aug 4, 2011, 09:34 AM
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There is the Weatherly hillclimb at the end of september. Its on the schedule page. That one is really a nice event with the whole town getting involved. Alot of the local youth groups come out and set up food stands and you get a nice crowd.
Its fairly short tho at only 1 miles. It does have a turn called the wall that is just as the name suggest. And a nice jump that is very tricky to get right.
Most of the PA hillclimbs actually get a good crowd.
Its fairly short tho at only 1 miles. It does have a turn called the wall that is just as the name suggest. And a nice jump that is very tricky to get right.
Most of the PA hillclimbs actually get a good crowd.
Aug 4, 2011, 09:58 AM
#5
There is the Weatherly hillclimb at the end of september. Its on the schedule page. That one is really a nice event with the whole town getting involved. Alot of the local youth groups come out and set up food stands and you get a nice crowd.
Its fairly short tho at only 1 miles. It does have a turn called the wall that is just as the name suggest. And a nice jump that is very tricky to get right.
Most of the PA hillclimbs actually get a good crowd.
Its fairly short tho at only 1 miles. It does have a turn called the wall that is just as the name suggest. And a nice jump that is very tricky to get right.
Most of the PA hillclimbs actually get a good crowd.
Last edited by Robevo RS; Aug 4, 2011 at 10:02 AM.
Aug 8, 2011, 03:57 PM
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Polish Mtn results
I figured i give you guys a recap of my weekend. I was overall fastest time of the weekend till about 2pm on sunday. Thats when the road starting drying out and the formula cars put an all out assault on me. (they dont like a door slammer beating 700-1000lb race cars up the hill.) I knew it was only a matter of time before they were going to start walking away from me on this hill. I stayed in the battle for a few more runs to keep a 4th overall only 1.5 sec back from the leader. This hill is a hill that i really have no chance of staying with those cars. They were about 2 sec slower then last year so i might have had a chance but i wasnt about to risk what that wouldv'e taken.
I did win my class and beat the class record in the rain. I did lower that but it was .3 sec slower then my fastest on that hill.
Results.(overall at the end) Check out my competition. LOL
http://pahillclimb.net/wp-content/up...mb-Results.pdf
For those that dont' want to click. There is a C sports racer, D sports racer, Hyabusa powered Jedi (google it), George Bowland BBR shark, a Hyabusa pwered Radical.
I did win my class and beat the class record in the rain. I did lower that but it was .3 sec slower then my fastest on that hill.
Results.(overall at the end) Check out my competition. LOL
http://pahillclimb.net/wp-content/up...mb-Results.pdf
For those that dont' want to click. There is a C sports racer, D sports racer, Hyabusa powered Jedi (google it), George Bowland BBR shark, a Hyabusa pwered Radical.
Last edited by jerdeitzel; Aug 8, 2011 at 07:44 PM.
Aug 12, 2011, 06:54 AM
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Duryea update
The entry cap of 100 entries has been met and there is now a wait list. There is still a good chance if you want to race that someone will cancel or that someone drops out over the weekend.
There is also a car show going on over the weekend if anyone from the area is interested.
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=325255
EDIT. For anyone that is a facebook person. http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set...5511799&type=1
This shows the past Kings of the hill over 6o years. Its really amazing, the history of hillclimbing in the US as one of the first forms of motorsports in this country. Some of the legends of racing have run these hills.
There is also a car show going on over the weekend if anyone from the area is interested.
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=325255
EDIT. For anyone that is a facebook person. http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set...5511799&type=1
This shows the past Kings of the hill over 6o years. Its really amazing, the history of hillclimbing in the US as one of the first forms of motorsports in this country. Some of the legends of racing have run these hills.
Last edited by jerdeitzel; Aug 12, 2011 at 07:46 AM.
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Aug 23, 2011, 09:18 AM
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Duryea results
Well it was a great weekend of racing with some really amazing drivers and cars. We had 106 timed entries and 9 class records broken. We also had alot or carnage which made things interesting.
The weekend started out with myself having fastest time of the day till the last run. That is when Merlin Miller in a GT1 Sunbeam tiger pulled out all the stops and bested my time by .2 sec. I knew i had a little bit more in me so i thought i still had a chance at the overall victory. We woke up sunday and i just didn't have the competetive mood going. I went out and put down a good first run but scared myself alittle coming thru the high speed valley. (and its a serious pucker point). I then watched as Merlin put down a time within ..3 of his fastest time and i knew that he had more in him. I then watched as he took another 1 sec of his time and that put me in descision mode. Either go for it or let it go. This is hillclimbing and the cost of going to far can = serious bad stuff. I decided that i was not willing to risk what it was going to take to win this year. (You have to sometimes kno when to say enough is enough, and live to fight another day)
But, that was for overall victory. And there are still classes. So,
I took the ITE class win and set a new course record for ITE. I beat my personal best by about 1 sec and ended up 2nd overall. I will take that anyday!
http://pahillclimb.net/wp-content/up...mb-Results.pdf
Pic of me taking the green flag to start the weekend of racing as the defending champion. This is the mayor of Reading, PA senting me off. We also had the local State senator there to award the organizers with recognition for 60 years of racing this event and the history that follows it.
The weekend started out with myself having fastest time of the day till the last run. That is when Merlin Miller in a GT1 Sunbeam tiger pulled out all the stops and bested my time by .2 sec. I knew i had a little bit more in me so i thought i still had a chance at the overall victory. We woke up sunday and i just didn't have the competetive mood going. I went out and put down a good first run but scared myself alittle coming thru the high speed valley. (and its a serious pucker point). I then watched as Merlin put down a time within ..3 of his fastest time and i knew that he had more in him. I then watched as he took another 1 sec of his time and that put me in descision mode. Either go for it or let it go. This is hillclimbing and the cost of going to far can = serious bad stuff. I decided that i was not willing to risk what it was going to take to win this year. (You have to sometimes kno when to say enough is enough, and live to fight another day)
But, that was for overall victory. And there are still classes. So,
I took the ITE class win and set a new course record for ITE. I beat my personal best by about 1 sec and ended up 2nd overall. I will take that anyday!
http://pahillclimb.net/wp-content/up...mb-Results.pdf
Pic of me taking the green flag to start the weekend of racing as the defending champion. This is the mayor of Reading, PA senting me off. We also had the local State senator there to award the organizers with recognition for 60 years of racing this event and the history that follows it.
Aug 24, 2011, 12:53 PM
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Thanks Guys, here is a nice write-up by Bob who drives a historic formula 500 with a huge v8. (car has alot of racing history with original formula 1)
Good vs. Evo: This year's Duryea was all about one man's iron willed determination vs. all the electronic wizardry the Japanese and German auto engineers could bring to the party with their 4WD wondercars. There is also an ongoing debate between the doorslammer brigade and the open wheel types as to when they'll start beating the purpose built race cars (this was their weekend to shine as 6 of the top 7 had doors, or were supposed to have doors).
This hill is as close to a Vermont hill as a PA. park can come. It is 2.3 miles long with blind turns and great elevation change. Like Burke it has a hundred (or so it seems) hairpins and a couple of fast places where you get very close to your higher power and far away from your senses. It taxes just about every phase of car/driver performance, exposing any weaknesses. Anything under two minutes (120 sec) is considered to be excellent driving. George Bowland's record is 105.7 seconds.
112 cars entered -- only 100 could run. Thanks to Duryea's constant attrition everyone got to eventually compete. This had to be one of the most wreck infested hill climbs I've ever attended. Fortunately most walked away unscathed. I think one driver made a visit to a hospital but he's okay despite going into the stonewalls at finish where his speed had to be well over the century mark. His was an interesting story -- a novice in a high HP Cobra replica who could obviously drive well, but had to have had the evilest handlest car this side of a well greased pogo stick. I watched him exit turn 9 and go up the straight everyway but straight, with smoke pouring off both rear tires -- and at that time feared bad things for the snake (the only reason I got see anyone exit turn 9 is I spun out just beyond it and got free parking courtesy the corner workers who got me a cold drink and a chaise-lounge -- had I known this service was available I'd have stopped in much earlier in the day!
).
We got a taste of what was to come when on the novice run, following the pace car a VW went in hard at turn 7 requiring an hour to clean up. I only made 5 runs all weekend, as did most of the higher powered cars. Some made 6 but had to contend with oil on the upper part of the course. The wrecker and race control got in several dozen runs. Meanwhile we sat in long lines awaiting the start while the wrecker and Rich Rock's truck wore themselves out. I could feel cylinders going away due to the excessive idling and would leave the start line shrouded in black smoke -- not the usual tire smoke.
The event was well staged and run -- we drivers were just too exhuberant for the mortal limitations of gravity, centrifugal force, etc.
Jeremy Dietzel's first run in his 4WD Evo put everyone into shock -- a 113.7 something, just a tenth or two off his last year's winning time. 2WD stalwarts Kurt Eikenberg and Madman Merlin Miller did their best but could not get close to the thundering all wheel drive Evo from Pittsburg. The announcer tried to make it exciting but finally predicted no one would catch Jeremy in this lifetime.
Our own Alex Grabau was not heeding Jeremy's press notices and proceeded to whittle out a 117.094 -- his first real fast run ever on the hill. Surely Alex would give the Evo a fight. Kurt also unleashed a 117 in his 2WD DSP but discovered his faltering clutch would not allow him to really challenge Jeremy. Bill Miller's Audi S4 defended Teutonic honor hanging in the top 5 as did Dan Reed's incredible Mustang.
Saturday night the announcer already had declared Jeremy King of the Hill based on his fantastic 111.965 time, thinking Sunday was just a formality to go through before handing out the silver plated stuff. Sunday morning he kept talking about how extraordinary it was for a door slammer to run in the 111's, completely ignoring Merlin Miller's 111.7 which was 2/10's faster than Jeremy's time. I watched Merlin from my turn 9 vantage point and it was a delight to watch a 700 HP GT-2 Tiger three wheel through the Pagoda hairpin and rocket sideways up the long straight to the blind jump. I know dirt tracking is not the fast way up the hill but who's going to tell Merlin that? He did not lift for the jump -- that takes cajones the size of the Hindenberg -- and only relented on the gas pedal going around the model plane field turn which is a mere alleyway between two converging stonewalls.
Merlin finally turned a 110.737 -- this is probably the second fastest car ever at Duryea and the madman did it without wings or 4WD. I call him madman because he treats every hill as a Jungle Jim Lieberman burnout -- and takes whatever time that produces. Merlin also got a special award and recognition for his many years of supporting and racing Duryea. He's also a regional SCCA Exec.
Jeremy drove his heart out but had to graciously settle for 2nd with what otherwise would have been an incredible 111.965. That's just a tick behind Dan Rutan's 2005 winning time at Duryea. Jeremy drove his car to the hill, and drove it back home to Pittsburg. Bill Miller's Audi was 3rd and Dan Reed's Mustang was 4th. Alex was 5th despite lunching his engine on his 2nd run and never really getting a chance to show his stuff. Wait till next year!
Me? I didn't even make the top ten. Every time I thought about what Merlin was doing made me slow down and reconsider my legacy. I was as fast as last year but this year that put me behind Adrienne Vrable's C4 Corvette (automatic).
George Bowland and Darryl Danko did not compete, taking two of the heavy hitting 2WD competitors out of the fracas. Thus 4 WD cars took 3 of the top 5 places -- but oh what a show those 2 WD cars put on.
Butch showed up a with a new NASCAR style truck. He and friend Brian thrashed on the truck for 2 days getting it together (Butch bought it on Sunday, raced it the following Saturday). Butch was not getting full throttle, which was a good thing as on his second run the drive shaft went farther up the hill than Butch did. Apparently the fellow who built the truck had not got around to tack welding the rear axle housing into the 'truck radius rods' and it spun around tossing the driveshaft up the hill like a Scottish Caber.
If Butch stays with the new truck he will be 800 lbs lighter than usual and with the new super-trick motor Butch is building, Kevin might have some competition. I know the rest of us will.
Brgds,
Bob D'Amore
.
Good vs. Evo: This year's Duryea was all about one man's iron willed determination vs. all the electronic wizardry the Japanese and German auto engineers could bring to the party with their 4WD wondercars. There is also an ongoing debate between the doorslammer brigade and the open wheel types as to when they'll start beating the purpose built race cars (this was their weekend to shine as 6 of the top 7 had doors, or were supposed to have doors).
This hill is as close to a Vermont hill as a PA. park can come. It is 2.3 miles long with blind turns and great elevation change. Like Burke it has a hundred (or so it seems) hairpins and a couple of fast places where you get very close to your higher power and far away from your senses. It taxes just about every phase of car/driver performance, exposing any weaknesses. Anything under two minutes (120 sec) is considered to be excellent driving. George Bowland's record is 105.7 seconds.
112 cars entered -- only 100 could run. Thanks to Duryea's constant attrition everyone got to eventually compete. This had to be one of the most wreck infested hill climbs I've ever attended. Fortunately most walked away unscathed. I think one driver made a visit to a hospital but he's okay despite going into the stonewalls at finish where his speed had to be well over the century mark. His was an interesting story -- a novice in a high HP Cobra replica who could obviously drive well, but had to have had the evilest handlest car this side of a well greased pogo stick. I watched him exit turn 9 and go up the straight everyway but straight, with smoke pouring off both rear tires -- and at that time feared bad things for the snake (the only reason I got see anyone exit turn 9 is I spun out just beyond it and got free parking courtesy the corner workers who got me a cold drink and a chaise-lounge -- had I known this service was available I'd have stopped in much earlier in the day!
).
We got a taste of what was to come when on the novice run, following the pace car a VW went in hard at turn 7 requiring an hour to clean up. I only made 5 runs all weekend, as did most of the higher powered cars. Some made 6 but had to contend with oil on the upper part of the course. The wrecker and race control got in several dozen runs. Meanwhile we sat in long lines awaiting the start while the wrecker and Rich Rock's truck wore themselves out. I could feel cylinders going away due to the excessive idling and would leave the start line shrouded in black smoke -- not the usual tire smoke.
The event was well staged and run -- we drivers were just too exhuberant for the mortal limitations of gravity, centrifugal force, etc.
Jeremy Dietzel's first run in his 4WD Evo put everyone into shock -- a 113.7 something, just a tenth or two off his last year's winning time. 2WD stalwarts Kurt Eikenberg and Madman Merlin Miller did their best but could not get close to the thundering all wheel drive Evo from Pittsburg. The announcer tried to make it exciting but finally predicted no one would catch Jeremy in this lifetime.
Our own Alex Grabau was not heeding Jeremy's press notices and proceeded to whittle out a 117.094 -- his first real fast run ever on the hill. Surely Alex would give the Evo a fight. Kurt also unleashed a 117 in his 2WD DSP but discovered his faltering clutch would not allow him to really challenge Jeremy. Bill Miller's Audi S4 defended Teutonic honor hanging in the top 5 as did Dan Reed's incredible Mustang.
Saturday night the announcer already had declared Jeremy King of the Hill based on his fantastic 111.965 time, thinking Sunday was just a formality to go through before handing out the silver plated stuff. Sunday morning he kept talking about how extraordinary it was for a door slammer to run in the 111's, completely ignoring Merlin Miller's 111.7 which was 2/10's faster than Jeremy's time. I watched Merlin from my turn 9 vantage point and it was a delight to watch a 700 HP GT-2 Tiger three wheel through the Pagoda hairpin and rocket sideways up the long straight to the blind jump. I know dirt tracking is not the fast way up the hill but who's going to tell Merlin that? He did not lift for the jump -- that takes cajones the size of the Hindenberg -- and only relented on the gas pedal going around the model plane field turn which is a mere alleyway between two converging stonewalls.
Merlin finally turned a 110.737 -- this is probably the second fastest car ever at Duryea and the madman did it without wings or 4WD. I call him madman because he treats every hill as a Jungle Jim Lieberman burnout -- and takes whatever time that produces. Merlin also got a special award and recognition for his many years of supporting and racing Duryea. He's also a regional SCCA Exec.
Jeremy drove his heart out but had to graciously settle for 2nd with what otherwise would have been an incredible 111.965. That's just a tick behind Dan Rutan's 2005 winning time at Duryea. Jeremy drove his car to the hill, and drove it back home to Pittsburg. Bill Miller's Audi was 3rd and Dan Reed's Mustang was 4th. Alex was 5th despite lunching his engine on his 2nd run and never really getting a chance to show his stuff. Wait till next year!
Me? I didn't even make the top ten. Every time I thought about what Merlin was doing made me slow down and reconsider my legacy. I was as fast as last year but this year that put me behind Adrienne Vrable's C4 Corvette (automatic).
George Bowland and Darryl Danko did not compete, taking two of the heavy hitting 2WD competitors out of the fracas. Thus 4 WD cars took 3 of the top 5 places -- but oh what a show those 2 WD cars put on.
Butch showed up a with a new NASCAR style truck. He and friend Brian thrashed on the truck for 2 days getting it together (Butch bought it on Sunday, raced it the following Saturday). Butch was not getting full throttle, which was a good thing as on his second run the drive shaft went farther up the hill than Butch did. Apparently the fellow who built the truck had not got around to tack welding the rear axle housing into the 'truck radius rods' and it spun around tossing the driveshaft up the hill like a Scottish Caber.
If Butch stays with the new truck he will be 800 lbs lighter than usual and with the new super-trick motor Butch is building, Kevin might have some competition. I know the rest of us will.
Brgds,
Bob D'Amore
.
