New England Region

NER Solo Event #2 at NHMS began wet, ended dry, and hinted at what lies ahead for the '08 season up here in Yankee land.

Proving that the NER staff can do the impossible before breakfast, an orphaned GMC dualie that threatened the finish area of the course miraculously moved itself to a safe location without benefit of keys (or a fork lift). All this without Wiley too...

Before the day was done it became clear to your humble scribe that there will be great battles in several classes this year - particularly DSP where Chris and Mike teamed up in last year's National Champ car in defense against the onslaught of the Integra featuring Nate and Cliff.

DS was another show stopper with four different makes - pitting the likes of Matt Murray against Chang, David, Scott and Ed H. Still another promising scuffle occured in GS where Lou's Civic overcame a number of perennially fast competitors, proving that you don't need a Mini to win.

We are also graced this year with the immaculately prepared Solstice brought to CS by Bud and Lynne Collins - adding another National level husband and wife team to complement the amazing Kozlaks.

With far fewer competitors in hand than appeared for the Devens opener, this event permitted four runs in the morning, and three more in the afternoon. With changing conditions many competitors trimmed several seconds late in the day - keeping the suspense intact until last runs.

My own contribution to the day was to somehow depart from history, physics, and driver talent, and come out ahead in STX. This improbable circumstance featured seven progressively faster runs with no cones, and proves two things in my view:

1) good tyres in ST are necessary (but not sufficient) - I had a new set, and liked them
2) every dog has his day - although that dog might have to wait years to see it! :-)

I probably aggravated Eric and Dan on the day - which reminds me somewhat of a poster that I liked in the seventies. It depicts a mouse giving the middle finger to an eagle, which is swooping down with extended claws and open beak. The caption reads: "Last great act of defiance".

Respectfully submitted for your dining and dancing pleasure,

The Mouse
STX #1 JCW Mini