For more than a decade, our chapter has had the unique distinction of offering an Adaptive Motorsports Racing Program to interested chapter members. Over the many years of our involvement in motorsports, we have competed in Off-Road Racing, Road Course Racing, Autocross Racing, and now… DRAG RACING!
For the last several years we have been participating as well as taking home several Championship wins in our Adaptive-Controlled C6 Corvette and Nissan 240SX in the SCCA Autocross Racing Series that was held on a monthly basis at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Well, over this last year the stadium has disappeared entirely and the land will now be redeveloped… unfortunately not as a racetrack.
In our search for greener pastures, as well as trying to inject some new excitement into our racing program, a decision was made to enter our next chapter at a 1/8th Mile Drag Strip located a short distance away at the Barona Casino in Lakeside, California. This drag strip is home to the NHRA Summit Racing Series that has contests across North America, forming the world's largest motorsports program in terms of racer participation. The bracket racing format allows drivers in many types of vehicles, including dragsters, roadsters, sedans, and coupes, to compete on an equal basis against each other. In addition to three categories of competition for cars, a motorcycle category is featured.
As you can tell from these photos, the Studebaker is currently in the midst of a major overhaul. Our goal is to build a dragster which will hopefully be competitive in racing, while keeping safety as our utmost concern. With the generous donations of time, labor, and expertise… Cal Roth of Cal Roth Racing in Ramona and Guy Pelowitz are working at a feverish pace to prepare our new race car for its July drag strip debut.
Our race team should be very easy to spot on the track, as our 1950 Studebaker Champion Starlight 2-Door, (the ’50 and the ’51 are the only ones with the very cool Bullet Nose) will be sporting the Paralyzed Veterans of America Logo. Chances are we will be the only racers out there running an Adaptive-Controlled Dragster. So… anyone out there feeling the need for speed? How ‘bout the smell of a little burned rubber this summer? Who’s up for it? Let us know, because the summer is coming up quick!