PA. STATE CHAMPIONSHIP CANCELLED FOR 2000

After much soul-searching, and at my behest, the Appalachian Sports Car Club's Executive Board has opted to cancel what would have been ASCC's 11th annual Pennsylvania State Solo II Championship, originally scheduled for July 20-21, 2002. Please pass this information on to others you believe may have been interested in attending this event.

Those two days, July 20-21, will still be utilized as series events #7 on Saturday and #8 on Sunday, but now as two separate, single-day ASCC autocrosses - assuming the lot remains usable at that time.

As you've probably heard, the Susquehanna Region, SCCA (of which ASCC is a chapter) has been faced with questionable site availability on which to hold our autocross events. During our 2002 Regional autocross series' first six events, we have held autocrosses on three different sites, two of which have already evaporated. The remaining site, which includes the northern and western portions of the old Farm Show parking lot, has been undergoing constant change since the new Farm Show construction began last year. Old light poles have been removed and holes dug for placement of several new light poles, which so far have not critically interfered with our use of the lot.

However, excavation of trenches for underground electrical connections joining those new light positions was scheduled to begin this week. It is unknown if or how those trenches will affect our intended use of the lot for the remaining six events of the 2002 series, so we are approaching the balance of our schedule on a per event basis. If the lot is usable, we'll use it. If the demolition becomes too severe to put on a safe event, we will have no option but to cancel the remaining series events, unless another site materializes.

Unfortunately, I feel we have no choice in the decision to cancel. The PA State Solo II Championship is a pre-registration only event that typically attracts competitors from far greater distances than most of our series events. It is unreasonable to expect these competitors to plan for this event and make the long drive to Harrisburg with the very real possibility that the event may not happen due to last-minute demolition or construction that would leave the lot unusable.

No one finds this situation more unbearable than yours truly. For the past ten years, this has proven to be one of the most popular and enjoyable events in Central-Pennsylvania. We at ASCC will make every effort to resurrect this event again next year. We are exploring several potential event sites at this time, but nothing yet has solidified. My best advice for keeping abreast of our activities and upcoming event status is to frequently check our website at http://www.scca-susq.com

We will post pertinent information as soon as it becomes available. For now, we are treating the remaining scheduled autocrosses, with the exception of the PA States, as do-able.

-- John Rudy, ASCC president
(and would-be PA State Championship chairman)