The Crittenden Automotive Library

The Rally Route

The Rally Route

The Carlisles, TMS Rallye Editors
(Bill Carlisle & JoAnn Carlisle)
Today's Motor Sports, January 1962

Johnny Appleseed National Rally

Apparently you can't please all of the people all of the time, or even some of the time, but the Johnny Appleseed National Rally put on by the NeOhio Region of SCCA came close to doing just that. It is one of the few rallies we have run which is consistently good. We believe it is because it is prepared by not just one or two good national rallyists but by several. Suzanne Hundertmark and Bob Mollman are most responsible, but they are backed by Walter Larson, Jim Earnshaw, Bud Fry and many others of long national experience. Every part of the rally reflects this experience.

Only Blame Selves

The 1961 event was technically perfect. There were no bad instructions, the route was run on interesting roads, the checkpoints were beautifully located and expertly run, general instructions were clear and concise. In short, the only complaint contestants could make was that they made mistakes themselves. Perhaps the only thing that detracted from complete enjoyment of the rally was a well-meaning blunder on the part of the rally committee.

Posh, but Gosh!

The accommodations were in a luxurious suburban Cleveland motor hotel. It was so luxurious that we had to pay 30c for a bottle of coke delivered by a bellboy who seemed insulted because he didn't get a 25c tip. The motel was three stories with elevators and the contestants felt somewhat isolated and missed the congeniality of the gathering outside their doors around the cars to discuss the day's events. However, we believe that the majority of the entrants felt that the Appleseed was a very worthwhile event.

As in the case of most good rallies, there is not much to say about the course itself because everything went so smoothly. The controls were all Open Controls. We think this is a good idea on a national event where scores are within seconds of each other. The contestant has a chance to be sure that all the times given are correct. Most of the controls were timed at the timing line by the whistle man, using telephone communications with the timing table. This seemed to work out extremely well.

Prone Position

At one checkpoint on top of a small hill the flag man was lying down behind the checkpoint sign. The contestants were not aware that they had reached a control until almos thte second they passed the sign. This is a real encouragement to those who try to run on time all the time without any leeway. The average speeds were brisk but we don't recall any control locations which could not be reached on time if you were running on time. You just couldn't lag behind and hope to make it up.

The route was not too difficult to follow but it did require that the driver be alert at all times to the possibilities of a change in direction. The navigation was fairly simple but again required exact attention to each instruction. The results show just how well this could be done by experienced rallyists. The spread between 1st and 3rd place was 3 sec. and 46 sec. between 1st and 10th place with an average of 1.666 sec. per control for 1st place.

Houghs in Third Win

Larry and Helen Hough, of Westport, Connecticut, scored their third victory of the 1961 season with 35 points. Second place was taken by Don and Ruth Nixon, of Michigan City, Indiana, with 37 points. Both the Moughs and the Nixons entered national rallies for the first time last year.

Daniel Boone National Rally

October's first weekend — perfect weather and the Daniel Boone National Rally combined to start fall in a glorious manner. This was the first regional rally for the St. Louis Region of SCCA. It established a reputation they will be hard pressed to live up to.

A Well Done!

Everything that was done was done well. While individual credit would be difficult to assign, because it is deserved by so many, special attention should be given to Don and Ida Mae Doll, currently the most successful rallyists from the St. Louis region. As in the case of the On Wisconsin and the Appleseed the organization of a good rally depends upon the recent competitive success and experience of the organizers. This doesn't mean that everyone in the sponsoring club must have such qualifications. It does mean, however, that the chairman or co-chairman must be so qualified and that he have a strong enough personality to impress his subordinates with the importance of doing the job right.

The Daniel Boone did the job right. Wonderful rally roads, a good choice of speeds, good checkpoint operation and an excellent attitude on the part of the organizers made it a refreshingly pleasant weekend. This was the third national caliber national rally we have run this year, and for the third time we did not hear even a suggestion that a protest might be entered. This is usually a reliable indication of the quality of the event.

Coming in 1962

We have a few personal news items to share with you this month. First, Bill has a new job and we will be living in Marshalltown, Iowa, at #2 Dunmead Blvd. after January 1, 1962. Stop in and see us if you are ever on Route 30.

Tra-La and Envy!

Second, we are taking a month's vacation in Europe before starting to work in Marshalltown. We don't suppose we will be able to participate in any rallies although we will be picking up a new Porsche, but perhaps we can depart from our usual subject long enough to tell you about anything unusual we see there.

Future Frostbite

We can't tell you much about what is scheduled for 1962 as yet. We do know that the "Frostbite 500" is on the calendar again for February and the Great Lakes Sports Car Club in Milwaukee promises a better than ever "Frostbite." We have heard this as recently as September when we finally received the results of the 1961 event. There is certainly room for improvement in procedures on this one.

No "Appleseed" in 1962

The Johnny Appleseed will not be run in 1962 as the organizers will be taking a much deserved rest. It will be replaced by an event which has been a very fine local for several years, The Great Petroleum Rally. This event will be sponsored by the Mahoney Valley Region of SCCA. (That's western Pennsylvania, if you didn't know—we didn't when we first heard of it.)

At any rate, there will probably be good rallies and bad rallies and we will tell you what we think of as many as possible. If you think we are missing some that are noteworthy, write to us and send pictures. Remember that notices of coming events must get o uts long before the running of the event. For instance, this column is being written on October 10.

Happy New Year to all of you. We hope you will have a good rally season. We are looking forward to hearing from you in 1962 and hope to meet more of you during the coming year.

LETTERS TO THE RALLYE EDITORS

5602 Terwilliger
Houston 27, Texas
August 10, 1961

Today's Motor Sports
185 North Wabash Avenue
Chicago 1, Illinois
Suite 1708
Dear JoAnne and Bill:

In reading your Rally Route in the August issue of Today's Motor Sports magazine, I noticed a question about drilled spindles for Corvettes. The Scott Manufacturing Company, 8790 West Colfax Avenue, Lakewood 15, Colorado, sent me a letter announcing a front wheel odometer drive kit for Corvettes. I am enclosing a copy of that letter and will also send extra copy to Lin Halin who asked the question.

Cordially,
Jerome Moore
Secretary
San Jacinto Corvette Club

6321 North Winthrop
Chicago 40, Illinois
September 19, 1961

Mr. Jerome Moore, Secretary
San Jacinto Corvette Club
5602 Terwilliger
Houston 27, Texas

Dear Mr. Moore:

Thank you very much for your letter concerning the question of drilled spindles for Corvettes. For the sake of Corvette owners who are interested in front wheel drive odometer kits we hope that there will be many who write for information to the Scott Manufacturing Co.

We are also turning over a copy of the letter to the North Shore Corvette Club here in this area since they have a number of interested rallyists.

It is always a pleasure to know that someone is reading our column and is interested enough to volunteer helpful information.

Sincerely,
JoAnne & Bill Carlisle

Dear Bill & JoAnne:

Having done a lot of road travelling in the past few years, I have always enjoyed it more if I tried to follow a timed schedule, just to see if I could do it.

In just the past year, I've discovered that there is actually a SPORT that consists of driving against (or with) the clock.

Down in this neck of the woods, there's not even any such word in the vocabulary as "rally." But from what little I've read, the sport already fascinates me.

At the present time, I have only two pieces of rally equipment, no, three. First, my wife, who loves to drive and travel, and is a nut about maps AND math. Secondly, I own a '61 Corvair Monza with the 4-speed synchro-mesh and the high-performance motor. And third, my copy of TMS, where I read your article, "The Rally Route."

If it won't take too much of your time, I'd appreciate it greatly if you'd drop me a note of suggestions as how I can find out a little more about the sport. I'll be having plenty of time to read up on it, since my wife is expecting our first child in October. My trouble is, I don't have anything to read. Please send me a list of publications which you think a person who is sincerely interested in rallying would profit and learn by reading, before driving across the U.S.A. to attend a rally.

All technical and personal viewpoints will be appreciated, I can assure you. I will be awaiting your reply.

Thanks,
Jim Nichols
2403 University Drive
Valdosta, Georgia

Dear Jim:

Let's get to your problem. And it is a problem. Your present equipment (both car and interested wife) are an excellent start. Your next problem is to find a rally. That isn't too easy. The nearest region of the Sports Car Club of America is in Macon which looks to us like a pretty long drive. Furthermore, we are not at all certain that they do much rallying. They may be interested chiefly in racing. If you would like the name of someone to contact there, let us know and we will supply it.

Your next best bet is to contact a sports car dealer in the nearest big city and ask him if he knows of any sports car clubs in the area. Most clubs are glad to hear from anyone interested in any phase of sports car activities.

We can't be much more helpful in the realm of reading material. TMS is the only sports car magazine that carries information on rallying. During the past year a portion of our column has been devoted to discussions of rally equipment. We can't hold out much hope that you can get back issues but you might try writing to the publisher.

The most comprehensive book we know of for the novice is called Sports Car Rallies, Trials and Gymkhanas, by Art Peck and Dave Hebb. This book is really very entertaining and gives a quite complete picture of rallying in general.

There is another book written in paperback form by Gene Hammond which is a more advanced manual. We believe it is published in California. Other than that, there isn't much. The best way to learn is go out and rally.

The SCCA national rally rules are so general and aimed at the organization of rallies that they would not be of much help to you. There is a booklet of Standard Rally Terms and Procedures put out by the Tri-State Sports Car Conference for 50 cents which might be helpful if you would be interested in the terminology used in rallying. You can get one from the Secretary, Mrs. Ruth Nixon, 205 E. Coolspring, Michigan City, Indiana.

Our advice to you at the moment would be this: read whatever you can find on rallying. If you feel that you are interested, try to enter some Sunday afternoon events in nearby (if there are such things) clubs. If you still like it you will probably want to enter some national rallies. Don't worry about equipment other than the car until you know if you like it. You won't win, of course, but you will learn a lot. We also firmly believe that you can learn the first lesson—don't get lost—much more rapidly when you aren't burdened with a lot of calculating equipment.

One other suggestion we can make is to arm yourselves with a copy of Rallies, Trials and Gymkhanas—find some friends who are interested in driving or sports cars—be prepared to use a lot of Sunday afternoons—and start your own club. Set up a rally yourself and see how it turns out. That's the way a lot of us started and it is perhaps more fun when you are all novices together. Those who have joined clubs of long standing have sometimes been overawed by the old hands and frightened away.

We hope this letter has been some help. After you have done some reading, we will be more than happy to answer any questions that may come to mind.

Please let us know how everything turns out. Again, thank you for your interest in the column.

Sincerely,
Bill and JoAnne