SCCA annual tech

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isaac

New member
Hi,

Does anyone know of a SCCA tech inspector in the Chicago area that will come to my garage and complete my annual inspection?
I would like to get it done before I travel to the VIR major race. One less thing to worry about at a new venue.

I am willing to pay for the service.

Isaac Preston
SCCA# 408120
Morton Grove, Illinois
 
If you can't get it done, Buddy Matthews and his tech guys at VIR are pretty accommodating and will get it taken care of for you. I may even be there on Thursday and could do it for you. I have a Pro Late Model race Friday and Saturday but will be back Sunday. BTW, I checked the compression ratio with the whistler of 5 prod cars at Atlanta Majors and 5 more at the NOLA Majors. Figured I'd get an early start on Daytona Runoffs. Consider the Atlanta and NOLA comment a hint for VIR.
 
FP Racer":dvzbmg9m said:
If you can't get it done, Buddy Matthews and his tech guys at VIR are pretty accommodating and will get it taken care of for you. I may even be there on Thursday and could do it for you. I have a Pro Late Model race Friday and Saturday but will be back Sunday. BTW, I checked the compression ratio with the whistler of 5 prod cars at Atlanta Majors and 5 more at the NOLA Majors. Figured I'd get an early start on Daytona Runoffs. Consider the Atlanta and NOLA comment a hint for VIR.
Click to expand...


I plan to arrive at VIR at 5-6PM on thursday evening. Not sure if anyone will still be around at this time.
1st qualifying session is at 11am so I should have time in the morning if that does not work.

Thanks!
 
I may still be there then. If not, Buddy and other tech guys will be there.

Whistler is just a quick check tool and no one has been cc'ed-- yet.
 
Issac,

we have a couple of guys that have been known to make house calls. I can ask.

When was your last annual? They go for 12 months now, not year to year.

It also sounds like the VIR people are very accommodating. I have always found SEDIV to be so. An annual there should not be a hassle.

Scott
 
isaac":32571m2c said:
One less thing to worry about at a new venue.
Click to expand...

Isaac,
Do yourself a HUGE favor and get this done before you schlep down there. As nice as the SEDiv folks are (and they are), the last thing you want is to be surprised 800 miles from home. Yes, maybe something they find could be repaired, fixed, upgraded while you're down there.....but who wants to hassle with that deep behind enemy lines?

Contact Dave Kettler (NorCon Series Tech Chief) and he'll point you towards a tech guy in the area. Give him/her some coin for the gas and you should be good. I'll PM you his phone number and email address.

Dayle
 
Scott,

Good idea to check the date of my last annual, it is 5/3/14 so I will be good for the VIR race.
I will still try to get it done while I am there if time allows.

Thanks everyone for the help and feedback!

Isaac.
 
Dayle Frame":4n3ukux3 said:
Isaac,
Do yourself a HUGE favor and get this done before you schlep down there. As nice as the SEDiv folks are (and they are), the last thing you want is to be surprised 800 miles from home. Yes, maybe something they find could be repaired, fixed, upgraded while you're down there.....but who wants to hassle with that deep behind enemy lines?
Click to expand...

Plus one for this sage bit of advice, I've seen it happen at early events with new cars, or due to recent rule updates.
 
A friend of mine and I once added door bars to someones car while at the track.

Last year I read the date code on my belts wrong. Just flat out read them wrong.

So, yes, get checked out ahead of time especially for a new car.
.
 
Also be careful with the registration folks... My car and gear were teched 11/2014, but I was told I couldn't get through registration/tech at the NOLA majors unless I had a 2015 helmet sticker.. wait... WHAT?! my annual tech was 3 months old and is no longer valid. I showed the notations in my logbook where everything was checked in november, and it still wasn't OK..
I had to walk back to my trailer, dig all my safety gear out of the bottom of my trailer and take it back to registration... only to be handed a 2015 helmet sticker and be sent on my way without them actually looking at my gear. (FYI, our BOD rep was standing there watching the whole thing go down....)

... so why are we doing this tech stuff again?
 
Matt--suggest you read the GCR.

Annuals for your car are from date to date and are good for one year. Your gear including your helmet, Hans & drivers suit must be checked for Snell & SFI at the first race of the calendar year. The sticker on your helmet means it has been completed for that year. In addition, a notation should be made in your logbook that the gear was checked and decal issued.

Wonder if your Director knew that? It's apparent you did not.

We've only been doing it this way for four or five years now!!

PS==Check the supps. I believe they also said that you needed to bring your gear to express tech if no 2015 decal issued.
 
Matt ...

Also - please be careful about directing your ire at the Registration folks. Not every registrar wants to be a tech inspector. We have plenty to do without having to worry about the tech rules in the GCR as well. Many locations have a tech inspector located in Registration to do these types of inspections, and IMHO that's the preferred way to do Express Tech.

Kelley Huxtable
DMVR
"PLAY SAFE"
 
I'd be more than happy if it was consistent... This race is the only one I've had to bring my helmet to registration/tech, even though it's the same people that do reg and tech at every other race in the division. This also isn't the first race of the season I've been to with this car or this gear. nobody checked nuthin at TWS in Feb. looked at my logbook with November tech on the car and gear, gave me my tech sticker, and I was on my way.

I'm OK with the rules as they are written- either way would be quick and painless assuming everyone had everything when they showed up. The process just needs to be done consistently so we're not having to read through the supps every event to figure out how to get through registration.
 
YOU NEED TO READ THE SUPPS FOR EVERY EVENT. They are what tells you the rules for that particular race that are pertinent. Supps have rules that may be there because of track rules, necessary because of staffing, etc. The NOLA race was staffed primarily by volunteers from SW Division. The local Region does not race. Me, I came from SEDiv to help with tech.

However, I do agree that it is asking a lot of registration people to act as tech inspectors and have expressed my concern about this. It was my impression that there was someone form tech in registration but maybe not when you went through. On the other hand, I was the only tech inspector on Thursday at the Atlanta Majors for more than 1/2 the day and I know how difficult it got trying to do everything from check in to new car logbooks (9) and annuals.

Just remember before you slam a worker, they are volunteers and for the most part, are spending their racing budget helping conduct the events. NEVER should you be rude to one of them. Without them, the cost of racing would be out the roof. I spent over $400 for NOLA in fuel and electrical hook up for RV at the track and I know others came further than I did.
 
Put down the torches and pitchforks kids-- please tell me where I slammed the registration volunteers; I said to be careful with registration. Also note the volunteer/registrar at NOLA is a good friend of mine and fellow EP racer that I've known for 10 years. I've also worked F&C for the last 10 years or so, so I'm very aware of the volunteer aspect. My point is that there is a different process at different tracks with the exact same 3 people in registration. Why? It creates unnecessary confusion in what should be a very simple process. Make the registration process the same at every event..

The tech process currently in place isn't technical at all- assuming there's nothing wrong on paper. Someone looks at the helmet and/or logbook for a current sticker/stamp and voila. Thus the premise of express tech. (The usual procedure in SWDIV is to look at the logbook for <12months since last annual on both car and gear-- my helmet hasn't been looked at in registration for quite some time now..) The current process in place is fine- just please make the process the same for every race, regardless of Majors or non.. This would negate the need for a half a page of procedure in the supps (which I do read, btw..) I also read all of the emails I received before the race. The supps said 'current helmet sticker'-- mine was 3 months old, isn't that 'current enough'? ;) -- and one of the emails said a 2014 helmet sticker was acceptable, so I believed I was in compliance..

And no, the procedure for this part doesn't need to change due to the track. it's a group of volunteers sitting at a desk and looking at a couple papers during registration. Actual tech and parking requirements obviously need to be different to accommodate the facility, but the registration process should be simple and straightforward..
 
Matt, your helmet/gear is checked once a year at the first of the year. It's been that way since you started racing. If your logbook doesn't have a notation for "Gear OK - 20nn" then you have to produce your gear. That's nation wide. Then the tech inspector will make the notation. As a lesson you should always make sure that they make the notation. Especially since you now have two cars. The reason for the helmet presentation is for guys like me that have 12 or so cars and for the race day renters that aren't associated with a singular car/log book.

Express tech is for the 95% that are up to date and the other course is for the 5% that can't get it right no matter what.

You made the 5% group at NOLA. :whistle:

I am curious as to you getting an eMail about a 2014 sticker being OK. I didn't send it, nor did Ken Patterson. So that leaves Sydney and I'll check with her tomorrow. I'm thinking you may have confused eMails with an earlier race in the season before 2015 stickers were available.

James -r
 
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