“Crew Chief” By Linda Santangelo-Mosley

November 2024

Stories, Past and Present, from our Northern New Jersey Region

Recently I was asked what inspired me to start the “Stories Past and Present” series in my column. As I’ve traveled throughout the Northeast with Chris for the NEDiv Road Racing Series, I’ve enjoyed conversations with longtime members of the SCCA about experiences in their region. When the NNJR Board decided to give up the storage unit, Chris volunteered to take and store a number of cartons containing forms, marketing materials and publications containing our region’s history – and this series was born.

This month’s article is from the very first NNJR Regional Newsletter.

The date was January 1956, the RE was Elwood Walker, Assistant RE J. Russell Lodge, Secretary Catherine Georgov, Treasurer Jay Fisher, Publication’s Editor Ralph K. Reed, Activities Chairman Herbert Barrow, Contest Board Chairman David Michaels and Membership Chairman J. Russell Lodge. The first “From the Editor” column was written by Ralph K. Reed. These are his words. “This is the first of what we hope will be many (and better as we go along) newsletters. We were very heartened to find so many volunteers ready to work on a paper, which just goes to prove what we were thinking all along, that the Region NEEDS a newsletter. We’ve had volunteers to cover races with pictures we hope eventually to be able to handle and other forms of assistance, including a masthead by Fred Kirberger, who did that slick cover on the December Road and Track. For those who kindly volunteered, we’ll get together later this month and decide who does what. If anyone else is interested in reporting, typing or just licking stamps, please call or write, Ralph K. Reed, 125 Daniels Ave., Rutherford, NJ Webster 9-6047. Thanks.”

NNJR News

  • Check out the calendars for Rally and Solo events on our website. Come out and join us to support the participants and/or to participate.
  • The NNJR Worker’s Party has a new date at the Packanack Lake Clubhouse, Saturday January 18, 2025.

Please consider becoming a volunteer at events in our region and others throughout the Northeast Division.

Feel free to reach out to me with any ideas or suggestions at re@scca-nnjr.com. I’d love to hear from you!

October 2024

SAVE THESE 2 DATES!

The NNJR Worker’s Party has a new date, Saturday January 18, 2025. The new date was unanimously approved by the NNJR Board in place of the usual February date. The party will still be held at the Packanack Lake Clubhouse. The agenda will include Worker Appreciation Awards, Solo 2024 Season Awards and a special presentation to our past RE, Peter Schneider for his years of service as RE.

The NEDiv Convention will be held on Saturday February 22, 2025. The location is the Lackawanna Radisson in Scranton, PA. There will be a welcome event on Friday evening February 21, 2025. I will Co-Chair the NEDiv Convention again with Kathy Barnes. I will keep you posted as more details become available.

Stories, Past and Present, from our Northern NJ Region

This story is from the September 2000 Pole Position.

It is an article written by Marilyn and Larry Moorehead titled “A visit to the NNJR Solo Event at Englishtown.” In Marilyn’s words:

     “Larry and I have heard so much about how successful our Solo ll program is that we decided to go to them ourselves. So we packed our sandwiches and coke and off we went to Englishtown. When we got there we were greeted by our fearless leader, Ernie Andersen, who proceeded to show us where the best vantage point was to view the runs and get to the restrooms, etc.”

      “First, let me tell you about the cars. There were so many lined up waiting to get to the start line. It looked like New Jersey’s biggest car lot for race cars. There were Porsches, BMWs, Mercedes, Hondas of all kinds, Toyotas and even a Griffith. Larry and I were in awe. We wanted to get out there and man a worker’s spot, but Ernie has it so well organized that he needed none of us to work because he has all the drivers manning the stations themselves.”

      “So off to the stands we went. Not only did we have a good view of the Solo ll event, when we turned around, we could see and hear the drag races on the other side. Time went by so quickly watching all the cars get at least 6 runs each heat, that all of a sudden it was over.”

      “When we went over to Ernie to say good-bye and thank him and his lovely wife Henrietta, he said ‘are you guys still here?’ ……We had to tell him how impressed we were with such a smooth operation. I know what it takes to run a road race and a hill climb, ……..that I couldn’t imagine how he gets it all done. He told me he still needs insurance, sanctions, track rental, etc., so now I was more impressed. He’s just efficient, that’s all. ……..We decided that we’re going to have to do this all over again.”

NNJR News

  • A new NNJR postcard design is being finalized by Don Yeske, our Membership Chair, to hand out to promote our region and its activities.
  • Check out the calendars for Rally and Solo events on our website. Come out and join us to support the participants and/or to participate!

SCCA News

  • The NEDiv Road Racing Series chaired by Chris Mosley will hold its 8th and last race for the 2024 season at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park in Thompson CT on Friday October 18th and Saturday October 19th. Chris and I will be working the event handing out the driver awards on Saturday.
  • By the time you read this, the SCCA will have 26 new national champion drivers. The SCCA Run-Offs were held from September 30th to October 6th with races October 4th, 5th and 6th. Videos of the races are available on the SCCA website’s main page.

Please consider becoming a volunteer at events in our region and others throughout the Northeast Division.

Feel free to reach out to me with any ideas or suggestions at re@scca-nnjr.com. I’d love to hear from you!

September 2024

Stories, Past and Present, from our Northern NJ Region. In 1990, the RE was Walter Huber and the Assistant RE was Diane Miller. On December 1, 1990, they held the NNJR Annual Dinner Dance at the Skylands Manor, Route 10, Randolph, NJ. The Holiday Party featured “The Best Rock ’N’ Roll Band – Blue Sparks.” Cocktails from 7:00-7:30pm, Dinner at 7:30pm and Dancing until Midnight. The evening’s activities included a slide show of NNJR Solo, Rally, Racing, door prizes and raffles. The sit-down dinner included a choice of Chicken Cordon Bleu or Chateaubriand at a price of $25 per attendee. RSVP’s were sent to Diane Henderson.

In 2024, we are planning to host a Holiday Party again, a tradition that has been on hold for the past few years. We are looking at options for venues and we will keep everyone posted on the planning process. Feel free to send suggestions on dates and locations for the Holiday Party to me at re@scca-nnjr.com.

SCCA News

Pitt Race hosted a race weekend August 24th and 25th at Beaver Falls, PA, the hometown of Joe Namath – Go Jets! This was the 7th race weekend in the Northeast Division Road Racing Series chaired by Chris Mosley with double race points available. It was a busy weekend with karting, time trials, driver school and road racing. A food truck provided delicious BBQ- a fun time was had by all!

On Wednesday August 21st, SCCA President Mike Cobb provided an update in an 8pm Zoom call. A variety of topics were covered including financial and membership performance, an update on all SCCA’s motorsports programs, upcoming Championship Season and an overall status of the Club. A recording is available on the SCCA website.

NNJR News

We have submitted a region grant request for $2500 which is available from the SCCA to benefit region programs.

A new NNJR postcard design will be ready in September to hand out to promote our region and its activities.

Please consider becoming a volunteer at events in our region and others throughout the Northeast Division.

Feel free to reach out to me with any ideas or suggestions at re@scca-nnjr.com. I’d love to hear from you!

August 2024

Stories, Past and Present, from our Northern NJ Region

We have lost a dear friend and NNJR family member – Diane Henderson. These are her husband John Henderson’s words as we celebrate her life.

“Diane and I celebrated 56 years of marriage in May. Twenty of those involved Diane as a corner worker with SCCA. We are members of the local MG car club. Several

SCCA members came to one of the MG club meetings to present what they do at races. Diane was smitten! She loved being a corner worker. Lou Gianelli and Daryll Anthony were her mentors. I knew she would be safe under their tutelage when she would inform me “I’ll be playing in traffic this weekend”! We both enjoyed sports cars. I had a 1959 Triumph TR3 then a 1964 Mustang.

Diane had a 1966 MG B when I first met her. She bought a ’67 B mid 70’s and it was her daily driver for many years. It’s black in color, we still have it and it is in great shape. Her nick name for it is “The Shadow”. I took her on sporty drives up until very recently. Rob Medynski equipped it with a great sounding muffler and the car still runs strong today. Diane was also the editor of the NNJR Newsletter for many years. We’ve been and still are active with the Seeing Eye in Morristown. Raised 2 pups and they both graduated as guides for the blind. Diane was always their favorite over there”.

John Henderson is planning a celebration/remembrance of Diane on Saturday September 14th 2pm – 5pm at Vander May Funeral Home 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne New Jersey. NNJR will be making a donation to the Seeing Eye in Morristown, NJ in her memory. Diane was loved and we will miss her.

SCCA News: SCCA at Corvettes at Carlisle, August 22-24, 2024

Ed Jenks is looking for volunteers for their next event. Volunteers participate from many regions but more are always needed. Volunteers will get free entry, free parking, a one-of-a -kind T-shirt and $25 to help with travel expenses. The job is just talking to people about the SCCA. This year’s event is being held at Carlisle, NJ August 22-24. SJR’s Ed Jenks is spear-heading staffing for the event. Ciocca Corvettes is giving the SCCA space for their table in their tent. For more information or to volunteer, email Ed at ed.jenks@yahoo.com and put Carlisle in the subject line.

Please consider becoming a volunteer at events in our region and others throughout the Northeast Division.

Feel free to reach out to me with any ideas or suggestions at re@scca-nnjr.com.

I’d love to hear from you!

July 2024

As we enter into the summer months, we’ve been experiencing unusually hot (August like) weather. It’s a time to plan vacations with family and friends, but don’t forget the events happening in our region and throughout the Northeast. NNJR Solo has an event scheduled on July 13th at the Meadowlands. NNJR Rally has no events in NJ in July. Road Racing throughout the Northeast Division has a busy Summer schedule to name a few. On June 14-15, NER hosted a race weekend at Lime Rock, well attended with over 190 cars. A fun fact – this is the only race weekend that holds a “Paddock Crawl” on Friday night with everyone bringing food and drinks to share as participants “crawl’ along the paddock. Chris and I are headed to Watkins Glen this weekend for the Glen Region race weekend, the 4th in the NEDIV Road Racing Series.

SCCA NEDiv News from Topeka

SCCA NEDiv News from Topeka Area 1 Director Peter Schneider and Chris Mosley, Chair of the NEDiv Council, are asking drivers and workers to go to the main SCCA page to read the proposed changes to the 2025 Run-offs. The proposal includes shortening the length of time (days) for the Run-offs, the reduction in classes invited and the path to earn an invitation to the Run-offs. The SCCA is looking for input and comments to these proposals. Please take this opportunity to share your thoughts before the cut-off date at the end of July.

Stories, Past and Present, from our Northern NJ Region

Stories, Past and Present, from our Northern NJ Region – a new monthly feature. This month’s story is taken from the NNJR newsletter “The Tonneau” dated May 1963. It is an article written by then Trustee Vic Wallder called Yankee Monte Carlo Rally in his own words. “Jess and I have been making this Connecticut Sports Car Club event a must for the last three years. It is billed as a low pressure rally to brush out the winter cobwebs and tune drivers, navigators and equipment for the coming SCCA national season. This was the 12th running and it continued to live up to expectations. This year included a 200 mile run each of two days starting from Westport, CT. The rally ran to South Egremont, Mass on Saturday and returned to Weston, CT on Sunday. While we were enjoying an excellent prime ribs dinner at the finish we heard of an amusing incident. One checkpoint crew brought sandwiches, etc. for both days. Being tidy, they collected their apple cores, waste paper and the like in a paper bag and threw it in their car to dispose of later. Then on Sunday, on opening their lunch bag they found that they had thrown away the wrong one! Luckily their CP teammates had enough to share…. Oh yes, Jess and I won with a total of 45, 38 which we collected on Saturday.”

Please consider becoming a volunteer at events in our region and others throughout the Northeast Division.

Feel free to reach out to me with any ideas or suggestions at re@scca-nnjr.com. I’d love to hear from you!

June 2024

I hope everyone enjoyed the Memorial Day Weekend with friends and family.

This Memorial Day Weekend, the South Jersey Region held a successful and fun racing event at NJMSP in Millville, NJ. It was round 2 of the following: MAARS Series, US Touring Car Championship, Sprint Bracket Road Racing and the NEDIV Road Racing Series. The event was well attended with over 120 drivers registered and participating. Chris and I worked the event for the NEDIV Road Racing Series (Chris is the Chairperson) spending time with our racing friends and workers and handing out the driver awards on Sunday.

“The Men In Black”

The well known and loved NJ Tech Team – is creating a documentary/history of the MIB. Chris and I were interviewed at different times during the weekend to share our experiences working with the MIB during the past years for the documentary. It is a pleasure working with and growing our friendships with them. I encourage everyone who knows and/or has worked with the MIB to contact them and share your MIB experiences in their documentary.

Stories, Past and Present, from our Northern NJ Region – a new monthly feature.

This month will be the first of monthly stories I will be sharing from our past Pole Position magazines and the original print magazines, The Tonneau. The first story comes from The Tonneau issues dated August 1963 written by Eleanore Noble on July 2, 1963 about having become a flagger. In her own words – “As a spectator I have observed with some curiosity the groups stationed at various points around the racing course. There they were in baggy white coveralls, broiling in the sun, holding flags, running to help a driver in trouble, and amazingly enough, seeming to enjoy their work. Leaving the spectator role and becoming a participant is something I would highly recommend…. It’s quite a job and, if possible, one not to be missed. Recounting incidents at flagging stations during a week-end of racing makes for good laughs, debates, constructive criticisms, not so constructive criticisms, and proud recollections all winter long.”

Please consider becoming a volunteer at events in our region and others throughout the Northeast Division.

Feel free to reach out to me with any ideas or suggestions at re@scca-nnjr.com.
I’d love to hear from you!

May 2024

As we move into May, we are enjoying warmer weather and looking forward to activities in our NNJR Region and in the Northeast Division.

This past weekend, Peter Schneider, Rally Chair, hosted another successful Road Rally. Perry Aidelbaum and Mark Labbancz have been busy hosting successful Solo Events at the Meadowlands MetLife Stadium.

In 2 weeks, the NEDiv Road Racing Series, chaired by Chris Mosley, will kick off its series at the Palmer Motorsports Park in MA. Chris and I will be working the weekend, promoting the series and handing out awards for the winners of Sunday’s races.

We would like to congratulate Chris Mosley as he celebrates 50 years of racing with Championships in National and Regional Road Racing at numerous tracks throughout the eastern United States.

The NNJR Board is working on a brief survey to send to our members for feedback on events for 2024 and 2025. One suggestion is to change the February Region Party to a Holiday Party in November when the season ends – a tradition our region supported for many years. Be on the lookout for the survey as we would love to hear from our members with your ideas on how to grow our region and spend more time with our NNJR family.

Feel free to reach out to me with any ideas or suggestions at re@scca-nnjr.com. I’d love to hear from you!

April 2024

On March 1, 2024 I was pleased and honored to step in to the position of NNJR RE. Peter Schneider made a decision to step down as RE and continue with his many other responsibilities as Area 1 Director, Rally Chair and Editor of the NNJR newsletter. On behalf of the NNJR Board and our members, I would like to express our appreciation for Peter’s contributions and hard work during his terms as RE. We wish him continued success and thank him for his friendship.

For members who I have not had the pleasure to know in our NNJR Region, let me introduce myself. I have been a Trustee on the NNJR Board for more than 15 years and I’m a 27 year member of the SCCA. I have planned all the social events for the NNJR Region and I have Co-Chaired the NorthEast Division’s Convention in Scranton, PA for the last three years. This past year I joined the SCCA Foundation as a member of the Web and Communication Committee as the Foundation launches The Legacy Project. For the past 11 years I have assisted Chris Mosley in the NEDiv Road Racing Series traveling throughout the northeast. I’m excited to carry on the RE tradition and look forward to sharing updates with you every month in my column

“Crew Chief Linda.” Linda Santangelo-Mosley (click HERE)