The fifth annual Wild Hare Run ran April 13-15, and judging from the number of entrants on the entry sheet, it is obvious this event is gaining popularity! Again we shared the track with the BMW Club, and it really is a great partnership. Thanks to a 3-day schedule loaded with track time, we got more dry track time than some groups offer in a comparable weekend.

The Wild Hare pursuit race takes place on Friday afternoon after we get worn out running our normal 3 practice sessions. So for the fourth time of the day, we don the nomex and go to the grid. Cars are lined up slowest first, and with stopwatch in hand, released at the precise time that would allow--should all cars do 6 laps at exactly their best lap time—for all cars to cross the finish line at the same time. Mari Ryan got the "pole position" in her 1954 Lotus VI #666. She was the driver guaranteed to be passed by most of the 62-car field. Sandbaggers can't win, and the winner is usually somebody who starts in the first 15 slots or so. Starting any further back than that would require some outrageous luck to get through traffic.

Anyway, the proud winner of the Wild Hare Run this year was Dennis DeLap who towed his beautiful Surrey Topped TR4 all the way from Illinois! We know he will covet the, ahem, trophy. Dennis was ready to run Sunday with his trophy wire-tied to his grill but unfortunately weather did not permit. For the past couple years the second place trophy has been donated by a generous VDCA member with an active imagination, Bob Clarke, and has gained a reputation to be coveted even more than the trophy for first. This year’s second place trophy was absolutely up to par, a section of a Hoosier tire on a plaque running over a hare. Second place went to no other than Charlie Kates. You long-time Triumph racers and fans may remember him and his TR4 and his legendary battles with Mike Jackson in the TR3. Charlie got away from racing 13 years ago, but decided last year that it's time to get back in the fray. He has bought a Lotus 7 (shown at right) and is in process of finding the handle.

The second award of the weekend was presented by the Friends of Triumph (FOT). There was a race within a race and even more bragging rights at stake. Over copious amounts of Fat Bastard Wine at Kershaw, a number of Triumph guys concocted the First Annual Triumph Bash April Spring Tune-up And Race Days (FATBASTARD). A long and humorous tale was dreamed up. As the besotted fabrication circulated the Internet and people in the know got hold of it, holes the size of the Grand Canyon were drilled into the tale. But I have never known the facts to stop a group of Triumph guys on a mission, so during the Wild Hare Pursuit Race on Friday all the Triumph guys were being scored on some yet-to-be-determined points system, (I think they pulled the name out of a hat), and the winner was, again, Dennis DeLap!

Dennis went home with yet another coveted trophy, this one being a golden Keds high-top screwed onto a plaque. I wonder if there is any gold spray paint left in Virginia after seeing that sneaker! Back in the paddock, the grateful Dennis was trying to convince the guys this needed to be a traveling trophy. I don't think Dennis' wife Joan wants that thing on their mantel for the rest of their lives!

One of the truly coolest parts of the weekend for me was being paddocked with Mark Wheatley, who runs Charlie Kates' old TR4. To see Charlie reunited with his old car was quite a treat. Charlie kept coming over to see how we were doing and saying that driving that TR4 was like driving a bus compared to his Lotus. As a TR4 pilot myself, I fully understand!

The rain that had been forecast for Saturday held off, and I believe all race groups got a dry session for their qualifying race. Tom Grudovich finished first in class and first overall for the Groups 1 & 4 Qualifier. He drove his 4D Elva MK IV to a handy lead over Jack Cassingham in the FP MG Midget who was also first in class. Rob Stewart finish third in his FP Triumph Spitfire.  The F-V's had a tight race after a split start.  Drysdale, Yow, Gaither and Harkness are shown to the right in Hog Pen.

In the Qualifying race for Groups 2, 5 & 7, Larry Wilson took the checker and first in class in his Royale RP-17 while Larry Rossi took second and first in Class 7S2 in his Lola T-598 and Jeff Wright finished third and first in Class 7ASR in his Lola S2.

Track conditions were perfect for us in Groups 3, 6 and 8. Everybody I was racing with ran hard, and I was having a great race until I had another issue with the fuel pressure gauge. It seems to read zero when the fuel level drops to nil! The first sputters occurred in the uphill esses. I thrust my arm up and Gene Hammer repassed me. As Hank Giffin queued up to go by, the car fired again and away I went. I was running strong and hoping to see the checker when we went by start/finish, but all I saw was the one-to-go finger. The next misfire was at turn 3, up went the arm again, and I drove to the corner station at 4. I know Hank (shown below) had to be muttering a few expletives at me, but after the race we had a good laugh at my expense. I promised to work on my fuel management skills!

The forecast was even uglier for Sunday with the Nor’easter moving through, and many folks packed up on Saturday. The Enduro was run in the rain, and several brave souls were out their showing off their wet driving skills. The Enduro was won by a Rainmeister from Florida where they get plenty of practice driving in "frog strangler" conditions. Tim Slater in his Triumph Spitfire, a substitute when his Triumph Sebring went in the trailer on Sat. for mechanical reasons, won handily, beating out Tolksdorf and Starkweather who came in second sharing the ride in Tolksdorf’s MGB and Stirl Heath who finished third in the family MGA.

While drivers in Groups 2, 5 & 7 declined to go out Sunday afternoon, the Group 1 Vee's once again lined up to do battle along with Beau Gable in his Turner and Gene McOmber in his Morgan. "It's the only chance I get to race!" McOmber protested. They got to run in reasonably dry conditions, but syncronized spinning by Gaither and Yow broke up any repeat of the tight vee race they'd enjoyed on Sat. 

By the time our Group 3, 6 & 8 feature race came next on Sunday afternoon, the rain had still held off, so several of us rolled our cars off the trailers and had a go at it. All grip went away after a few laps when the rain started again, but everybody had fun with a minimal number of off-track excursions.

Journalist and certified ride mooch Burt Levy was in attendance and copped a ride in Kate's Lotus, gathering intel for a story, so watch the usual places to see what he has to say. As the word spreads about all the fun we are having with VDCA, it can only get better!

VDCA once again partnered with Buccaneer Region SCCA in September for the Peach State Classic at Roebling Road. This year the event consisted of not only two Vintage groups and selected regional classes, but also hosted round six of the GT1 Pro Am season.