The Past
I have been involved with racing for probably going on 30 years now. I spent many years working as a crew member for many SCCA Amateur road racing efforts. When my father was showroom stock racing in the late 70's I eventually took over the role of Crew Chief. I spent most of 1979-1981 working for both my father on his SSC Pinto, then Rabbit and a local EP MGB owned and driven by Paul Brand III. Additionally, a former crew chief for my dad, Chuck Neuman, became a driver and I became his crew chief as well. Chuck and my dad ran in the same class, generally in the same type of car so that helped. Lots of people needed help. At times I was crewing for as many as 4 or 5 different cars on any given weekend.
My father qualified for the National championships many times and finished as high as 7th one year. Paul was always near the top of EP, in his former Group 44 MGB and in 1980 he captured the EP National Championship with myself as Crew Chief. Paul's car number was 22, which happens to be the day my son was born as well, so that is the number I run on my car now.
In 1980 and 1981 I was also introduced to Solo racing in the SCCA. I took my father's SSC Pinto, and began to run it in H-Stock. I won the Land O' Lakes regional championship in both 1980 and 1981.
Due to my crewing efforts for my father, Paul, and others, I was selected as the Land O' Lakes Region Mechanic of the Year in 1982.
As I was in college now and would soon have to join the working world, my involvement was cut back with anything other than my father's racing. He did not have anyone else and would not be able to race without me. Additionally, the Pinto was destroyed in a street accident and I was out of a car to run for myself.
Through out his career, my father ran a Pinto, a Rabbit, a Datsun/Nissan 240SX, and a Toyota Corolla FX16. We competed in the SSC class for 13 years and were respectable with many trips to the National championships at Road Atlanta.
I am going to scan in some pictures of these early days and add them here. Suffice it to say, I have been around this business for a long time and have seen and done a lot of things... more than I could ever relate here...
Modifications 2004_season 2005_season 2006_season 2007_season Accomplishments Pictures Links