VDCA at Roebling Road

by Bob Spruck

      Skeptics claim you can’t have both quantity and quality. Well, yes you can, if you plan it right. In the realm of vintage sports car racing, if you race with The Vintage Drivers Club of America, you always get both. Quantity of track time and quality of racing and racecars were all in abundance at the December 13th to 15th event at the 2.02 mile long Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah, Georgia. There were some quality racecars present as well. Many racers have been heard to scoff at the late date and the rather grassroots venue, but those of us who have been there and done that are not among them. WE know how good the weekend can be. Those of us who want lots of track time and good racing in the true vintage spirit, make sure we reserve this weekend to close out our racing schedules each year. Despite sharing the track with the BMWCCA and with over 80 vintage racers registered, there was enough time and racing excitement for everyone. No complaints are ever heard around VDCA events about getting shortchanged.


The Safety Fast paddock, with Midgets of Spruck & Van Kirk, and Joe William’s Bugeye
The race format was fairly typical, i.e. two 30 minute sessions each day for each of the 8 race groups and a Fun Race and a one hour Endurance Race for all groups. That adds up to four and a half hours of track time for each Group. That’s quantity! Because of the gentlemanly racing, all the sessions were the full 30 minutes. There was no track time lost due to hauling cars from the track, out of the boonies, or off each other. The relatively minor contretemps were few and far between. Every group had exciting races within races, usually with different cars each session. Even the BMW guys behaved themselves and neither group impinged on the schedule of the other. That’s quality!
      The weather, as is usual for coastal Georgia at the season changes, was varied, very varied. Rain was forecast for Friday, cold for Saturday, and warm for Sunday. When I peeked out the hotel window at 6am Friday morning, it was raining and blowing so hard I wanted to return to the warm and cozy bed I had just left. But, we were here to race, not sleep. There would be plenty of winter weekends for that. This was the last opportunity to race this year and we were committed regardless of the conditions. By the time we got to the track at 8 am, the rain had stopped. The wind, however, did not. Wind is good because it tends to dry things out. The warmer the wind the faster things dry. The only problem was that the temperatures were still in the low and mid thirties with a wind that was estimated to be near 25 MPH. That makes for rather uncomfortable conditions. Even though the track and the paddock dried out as the day progressed, the weather stayed cold and blustery. Saturday was the same but without the wet. Sunday was the Chamber of Commerce day: clear and sunny, imperceptible winds, and temps in the high 50s. Couldn’t have been better.
      The Friday and Saturday schedule provided plenty of practice and racing, tuning and fixing. The highlight was the Fun Race, dreamed up by Doug Meis with some help from a crew of diabolical assistants. The race involved many rules and conditions, some made up as it went along. They involved forming numerous teams with a maximum displacement of 18,000 cc and a 10 car maximum per team. All 32 cars started based on previous lap times inverted. Points were awarded to each car based on 1 for last, 2 for next to last, etc. The sum of the finishing position points for each team determined the overall winning team. There were also a few random scoring factors thrown in for fun and surprises. I heard there might have been a rule about the number of red cars on a team, some formula for the ages of the drivers and the cars, etc. You get the idea. Strategy and tactics abounded. Racing was good. Valuable awards were given out at the Saturday Night Party. There was plenty of laughing and groans, but everyone had a good time. After all, it was called the Fun Race. It was too confusing to try to sort out any details about the teams, but Mary Gibbons from Cape Coral, Florida held top MG position in her 1967 MGB. She was 19th overall and 2nd in Class EP. George Pardee, the quintessential MG racer, placed 1st in Class VHP in his ever beautiful ’54 MGTF 1500.

Stan Heath’s 1959 MGA was first in class 3FP
The Sunday morning one hour Endurance Race was a route for the big bore cars. But back in 9th place overall and 1st in EP was Fred Danovitz of Pittsburg, PA in his 1964 MGB. He was followed by John Sheldon in his MGB in 16th place,1st in DP, Stan Heath’s FP MGA 1st in Class and 18th overall, Mary Gibbons’ MGB in 21st, the Midget of Greg Bennett of Sanford, Florida in 24th, and good ole’ George Pardee in the TF in 28th and first in class.
      The Feature races for each Group began right after lunch. In Group 1 for small bore production cars, Newnan, Georgia’s Bob Van Kirk in his 1965 MG Midget found himself surrounded by Spitfires at the start. He let a few by just to toy with them (at least that’s what he told me) but then dominated to finish ahead of Fred Danovitz and Rob Stewart at the end. Next MG was Bob Spruck from Sharpsburg, Georgia in his 1967 Midget in 11th place. Bob had some close racing with the Alfa Sud Coupe of Jimmy Dobbs and the GSM Delta of Jim Shelton. Van Kirk and Spruck are race partners in the Safety Fast Vintage MG Racing Team. Jack Cassingham, usually one of the fastest cars in the Group, had mechanical problems and took his ’66 Midget home early. Greg Bennett’s ’72 Midget was in 16th place. The seven 948 Bugeye Sprites, the five Spridgets, and the five Spitfires all mixed it up with the Turners, a Fiat Abarth 850 TC, the Alfa Sud, and Lotus’s, Morgans, and the GSM Delta.
      Group 2 included the open wheel cars (6 FVees, and two FFs) as well as the Pre-War cars, moved from Group 1. One of the great things about VDCA is that it provides an opportunity for racers with some really unusual and valuable racecars to exercise them in an aggressive yet safe manner. The Pre-War class at Savannah contained some very unique and historic cars. It was thrilling to see the likes of John Kendall’s 1932 Alfa Monza, Don Coleman’s 1932 Maserati, Scott Ebert’s 1939 flathead Dreyer Special, Harry Reynolds’ 1953 Kieft FIII, Ben Bragg’s 1927 Bugatti 39A, and George Holman’s 1932 Plymouth PB Sprinter up close in the pits. It was more thrilling to watch them on the track. It was most thrilling to pass them on the inside and the outside in the turns. Because of their beauty and value, we all gave them a wide berth if we were able to overtake and pass. It was worth a few slow laps just to ride behind and watch these men handle these old, precious cars at speed. VDCA style racing attracts these kinds of cars and we vintage enthusiasts surely appreciate that. George Pardee, racking up the miles on old 66, placed 1st in Class VHP.
      There was a nice variety of larger displacement production cars in Group 3. Marques represented were MG, Triumph, Morgan, Turner, Porsche, BMW, Alfa, Mercedes, Jaguar, and Ferrari. Only nine of the sixteen registered cars made the final race, and it was pretty much a parade with only first lap leader Jack Poteet’s Morgan 4/4 working it’s way back from last on the second lap to finish fourth. Larry Wilson (1963 Porsche), Fred Danovitz (MGB), and Mike Muckle (1965 Turner Mk3) capitalized on Jack’s misfortune and finished in that order ahead of Jack. Fred started 2nd in the B and finished 2nd after a close battle for all 10 laps, even turning better times than Larry in 1st place. He just couldn’t get by.
      Quantity and Quality. VDCA has them both. The biggest improvement we all hope for in 2003 is an increase in quantity, i.e. the number of great events that the group puts on. The tentative schedule for 2003 includes VIR in April in addition to Savannah and possibly the new Barber Motorsports Track in Birmingham, Alabama. Stay tuned. Tell your friends. Bring them to a VDCA race. I did and we now have two more racers who are convinced that VDCA has the right combination. Quantity and Quality, indeed.