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Alright, everybody.  The SCCA Solo Nationals are behind us and it’s time to quit stressing over tires, shock settings, and tire pressures and get back to having some Spokes fun on the autocross course!  We’ve got a great “Fall Season” lined up for you that will not disappoint!  Spokes friends, low stress, and cool(er) temperatures, this is my favorite part of the season!

First on the agenda, we’ve invited our good friends at SASCA to join us for a joint event at San Antonio Raceway on September 27th.  That’s right around the corner so be sure to pre-register as soon as you can.  This event counts towards both Spokes and SASCA Year End Championships!  We’ll be running the D-class too so if you’re interested in running and working twice for a second entry fee be sure to check out the Spokes online rulebook for eligibility requirements.

October 18th and November 15th mark the next two and final San Antonio Raceway autocrosses of the year.  The weather is only going to get cooler so we’re expecting these events to be “a breeze” as well!  Pre-register early and contact our VP Vivek Goel if you are interested in being a course designer for either of these two events.

And, to round out the year, we will have our 2nd annual autocross at Harris Hill Road on December 6th.  Last year’s event at H2R was one of the highlights of the season and this year should be no different.  Expect a fast and fun autocross within the bounds of the H2R course complete with elevation changes!  We should have food at this event too so that’s just icing on the cake for our final event of the year.

Looking forward to a great series of events to wrap up an awesome year for Spokes!  Skopes!  Skopes!  Skopes!

Before that though, we are back at the AT&T Center on the 28th on June for one more run (set of runs!) with the SASCA crew!  Spokes tech, member discount, and Spokes points are all applicable at this joint event just like the last one so there’s no excuse not to check out all that SASCA, Spokes, and the AT&T Center have to offer!  This is the second-to-last event for SASCA at AT&T so don’t miss it!

Alright folks, everyone knows that you can’t keep a great club like Spokes down for long, we just keep popping back up with new fun autocross events!  Just around the corner, join us for two great joint autocross events with SASCA this June!

That’s right, June 7th and 28th we’ll be joining the great folks of SASCA at the AT&T Center for some awesome autocross action.  The June 7th event will be a Divisional-in-a-Day format with a set of runs in the morning and a set of runs in the afternoon.  Best time for the day will be a combination of fastest morning and fastest afternoon run.  Course map has been posted on the SASCA forum here.

And we’ll be back at the AT&T Center on the 28th for one more run (set of runs!) with the SASCA crew!  Spokes tech, member discount, and Spokes points are all applicable at both of these joint events so there’s no excuse not to check out all that SASCA, Spokes, and the AT&T Center have to offer!

Check out the schedule on Spokes.org for more information as it becomes available.  Our August 2nd date is still on the schedule and we’re working on getting a cool alternate venue for this date, stay tuned.  Then it looks like we’ll be back at San Antonio Raceway for a few events and finish up the year at Harris Hill Road!  Go Spokes!!!

Register today for the last Spokes event at San Marcos Airport!  That’s right, the San Marcos Airport Commission has decided that May 17th will be the last Spokes event held at the airport.  I want to thank everyone for being on their best behavior at all of our events at SMA, this one was just out of our control.  We are still on great terms with the airport management so don’t give up hope and please stay on your best behavior for this final (for now) event.

As an added perk, Louie Martinez and crew will be back on Sunday serving the best backyard burgers money can buy.  Please support them with your business as they are supporting Spokes.

And if that was not enough, Harris Hill Road is sponsoring an after-party at their facility.  That’s right, help us clean up after the event on Sunday and the great folks at H2R will treat us to some on-track rides with their members and a lead-follow session for Spokes folks.  See y’all Sunday!

Just a quick post to remind everyone about the great events we have coming up on the schedule as well as update everyone with a few details and changes:
April 19th – This Sunday is the second Spokes autocross at San Marcos Airport!  Vivek Goel will be the course designer for this event so it’s sure to be a fun course.  Louie Martinez will be out all day cooking burgers and selling “combo meals” including a burger, chips, and a drink for only six bucks ($6)!  He even promised to grill up a few chicken breasts for those of you skeered of beef!  And in related news…the port-o-jon will be much closer to the paddock this time!  I’ve updated the site layout and directions and added a “15MPH ZONE STARTS HERE!” warning.  That’s right, 15mph at all times once you enter the airport property!  We’re going to be very strict on this rule, please spread the word!  We’re a ways off the entry cap so I’m going to open up the event to Double entries on Friday morning.  Only caveat is that all D-class entrants must stay after the event and help clean up the lot.  Yes, brooms, dustpans, and garbage cans will be involved!  If you leave without fulfilling you’re cleanup duties you will not be able to double-enter again.
http://www.spokes.org/uploads/SMA_Site_Directions.jpg
May 2nd –  Spokes BBQ Run!  We’ll meet up at Walter E Long park across from the Travis County Expo Center starting at 9am on Saturday May 2nd .  Estimated time of departure will be 9:30am from the park and we’ll take a leisurely stroll through the hill country towards Bastrop and end up at Smitty’s Market in Lockhart, TX for the best pork ribs you’ve ever feasted on!  This will not be a competitive event, leave your ego at home, etc.  There are plenty of other clubs in the area that like to drive fast on public roads, Spokes is not one of them!  Then after a delicious BBQ meal at Smitty’s Market we’ll either part ways or have the option to join the Capital Z of Texas club for their dyno day at Steve Hudson’s PowerCurve dyno.  This last leg of the run is still in flux, more details to follow!  Proposed route at the link below:
http://www.tinyurl.com/spokesbbq
Thanks for reading.  Looking forward to an exciting next few weeks with Spokes!

Registration is now open on Axware for the next two Spokes events:

March 29th: Joint Event with TAMSCC at the Riverside Annex in College Station.  Open now to all members and non-members.  $10 entry fee for Spokes or TAMSCC members and just $15 for non-members.  This is going to be a great event at another very large, very grippy concrete site and the TAMSCC crew are always awesome hosts!  Our own Drew VanderPloeg will be course designer!

April 19th: Spokes Autocross back at San Marcos Airport.  We’re capping this event at 130 this time to let a few more people in on the fun that is San Marcos Airport.  Registration for this event is members-only up until the end of March and then it will open to everyone.  Early registration is encouraged but please unregister if your plans change as this gives everyone a chance to run.  Louie Martinez (you may remember him from our Driveway and H2R events) will be out at this event selling burgers to make sure we all get to eat too!

The San Marcos City Council has approved our lease agreement with the San Marcos Airport!  This means that our event this Sunday is a definite go!  Andy Hollis has signed up to be Event Master for this very special first event at SMA and has promised a true Nationals-style course:  “fast, fun and very, very challenging.”  Do not miss out, registration is already open to all Spokes members.  Registration for non-members will open tomorrow morning and the event will be capped to 120 entrants total.  This is going to be a popular event, don’t expect to walk up Sunday and register, sign up now!

As with any event at a new site, we expect everyone:  members, non-member, spectators, family, and friends to be on their very best behavior while on airport property.  We’ve worked very closely with Scott Gallagher, the airport general manager, and he deserves our thanks, make sure you let him know if you see him on Sunday.  Let’s work together to make sure that this turns out to be the best site for Spokes yet!

As many of you know, Spokes is always looking for new site opportunities in and around the Austin area.  We’re currently in the process of obtaining a site near Austin for our March 8th event but it is still very tentative.  Too keep things rolling along smoothly, registration has been opened for this tentative March 8th event to all Spokes members.  Registration for non-members will open on March 4th and the event will be capped to 120 entrants total.

As with any tentative event at a potential new site this event is subject to cancellation at any time.  Keep your eyes on the Spokes email list or this spot on our website for up to date information as we get it.  We hope to have a decision by the time we open registration for non-members.  And everyone keep your fingers crossed for a new place to play for Spokes!