Mid season madness!
Evan Consolazio doesn’t look too happy about his round-number birthday! From left: Steve Ulfelder, Nick Leverone, Andrew Burke, Evan, Rob Newton, Dave Goulet, Seamus Erskine. Behind the camera: Jody Leverone
It’s been a crazy-busy time around both the shop and the track. As often as not, it seems, Flatout is taking care of clients at two tracks on the same weekend – usually in 95-degree heat. So let’s start by thanking everybody you see in this photo, plus Adam Desrosiers, Nicky Beans, and Jody Leverone, for tireless crew work!
May 27-29 found us at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for SCCA Regional racing. Our own Jody, who hadn’t raced in too long, got to drive Doug Fisher’s beautiful Flatout-built Miata. Tony Vaccaro, Kent Vaccaro, and Wendy Cappola all rented, while Stephen Pope, Dave Kuchrawy and JT Coupal wheeled their own cars.
June 2-5 was a split weekend. Some of us trekked to Mid-Ohio Raceway far an SCCA Majors event. Tim Estes (with a pair of top tens!), Doug Fisher (his first Majors in the new car), Peter Doane, Nick Leverone, Hugh McHaffie and Craig McHaffie all ran strong. Meanwhile, some clients headed south to New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Lightning circuit. Eric Thompson drove our newest rental, a Honda S2000, in STU, STL and T1! Rick Miller wheeled our Number 00 rental Miata.
Not long after, we embarked on a jam-packed week that began Tuesday, June 14, with a Lime Rock Park test day. We supported JT, Dave Kuchrawy and Stephen Pope, while Nick did a coaching session with old friend Joe Stadelmann. Some of us stayed at Lime Rock Wednesday for an SCDA event, after which a couple of the guys cannonballed down to NJMP, where they helped clients Amy Mills and Whit Gregg run a NASA weekend. Meanwhile, a few of us split off to Watkins Glen to support JT and Dave K in testing. The rest of the crew stayed at Lime Rock for a great weekend. Old chum Nai Nan Ko came out of retirement to run some excellent races. Erik Beck rented as well, and Eric Thompson again drove the S2000 in dominating fashion. Dave Kuchrawy, Stephen, and Wendy also enjoyed excellent race weekends.
Next, we parked ourselves at the Glen for three weekends in a row. June 24-26, we supported four TWR Racing cars – a pair of Porsches and a pair of Miatas – for Steve Tullman, Max Tullman, Jim Walker, and Neal Walker. At this Majors Weekend, Peter Doane, Amy, Whit, Tim Estes, Doug Fambrough, and Leland Engelbart all raced as well. Leland had a serious wreck, and Amy had a moment (!) as well, but we’re happy to say everybody’s doing well and eager to race again.
July 1-3, the Tullmans enjoyed outstanding IMSA Weathertech Porsche GT3 Cup events at the Glen.
July 8-10 saw the long awaited debut of Eric Thompson’s Toyota Celica All-Trac STL car. It was a success, albeit with typical new-build teething pains. This was a favorite weekend of ours, the July Sprints; Paul Schulman and Abe Zimroth rented and had a ball. Whit Gregg, JT Coupal, and Stephen Pope all had great races, and it was great to see Anne Lamport Hammitte again.
The weekend of July 22-23 was the Racing Against Leukemia event at Thompson Motorsports Park. Flatout has long been very active in this fundraiser. We gave track ride-arounds, helped with the raffle, and generally had a ball. Kent Vaccaro was running strong until he wrecked. Dave K was fast, as usual, and JT won all the Spec Miata races! Tom Paolino was there, as was Stephen, and we got to see Anne and Keith Hammitte again (we’ll be tending and transporting their BMWs). The same weekend, we sent a crew to NJMP Thunder for a Majors event. Amy, Whit, Tim Estes, Peter Doane, Jim Walker, and Tom Haronian all ran well. Mills and Estes in particular finished up front.
Tuesday July 26, we hit an SCDA day at Palmer Motorsports Park. Pope and Doug Fambrough grabbed some track time. Meanwhile, Matt Salmon, DJ Salmon, David Lewis, Gregg Darrish, Win Brown, Peter Brakan, and Jason Sevinor shared four cars between them – and had a blast!
Whew! Now it’s back to the grind as we swing into August and our racers begin to think seriously about the SCCA Runoffs and NASA Nationals.