The Southern California chapter of Neon America had a meet on Saturday and we stopped by Tustin Dodge to attend. I will say that it was not exactly what I was expecting. For starters, they are really organized and we went over past and future events and club items. More like a board of directors meeting then a ‘parking lot gathering’. What can I say – I’m used to 200 people showing up to a park in CT and when the cops show up asking who’s in charge, they point at me…

It’s a small family crew that was quite welcoming and made us feel right at home. After recording the minutes, we all strolled over to the cars to go grab some fast food in the area. That’s when the talk turned serious and I wanted to get some Neon owners opinions on my upgrade path.

So I’m looking for a fresh transmission from a sport model with the 3.94 final gear. I’m going to install a Phantom Grip with the diff saver brackets (mopar 05134957AA), and a fresh clutch. While I’m in there I’ll install the solid bobble strut and new shifter bushings. For the engine I’ll get an MSD coil pack for better spark and try to get my O2 in a place that the exhaust + skidplates won’t crush it. I’ve also ordered stainless steel braided brake lines finally. I need to get down to the salvage yard to grab some more rear trailing arms and other spare parts for the bin.

Two weeks ago, we once again attended the CRS Rally School in Ridgecrest, CA, although this time in more of a volunteer capacity. I taught skid pad basics while Christine helped with suggestions at the co-driver class. We are by no means experts, but I think having gone off and run two rallies with the information gleaned from last year’s school, I can say that we offered a fresh reassurance that what they teach works. Quite well as a matter of fact.

Last weekend was the CRS awards banquet. We both enjoyed seeing everyone again, and loved chatting until midnight. We can’t wait to get back out there at the next rally. Our plan this year is to really kick it up. We’ll start with Rim of the World as our first rally of 2006.

The Rally Neon is in good shape. I installed a new Optima battery to replace the 5 year old Interstate I had in there. I have a growing to-do list of things I want to replace or upgrade. I’ll have articles covering them as I do more work. New suspension, a ‘fresh’ tranny, limited slip, and some more spare parts are on the top of my list.

This short music video highlights our 2005 season with lots of out-takes and little snippits that didn’t end up in the other in-car videos. It’s a fun fast paced overview of how dynamic this sport can be. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I can’t wait to get fresh footage from my new bullet cam setup. It’s got a nice wide lens and it’s ready to capture so much more from the car and the road. I’m planning out my WRC favorites: foot cam, driver cam, roof cam, etc. Look for more this season, starting in May!

Great picture by Christopher Keach. Results can be found here!

Our friends over at Dirty e30 Racing have worked hard to put together a new rallycross venue near San Diego! If you’ve never done it – you need to get out there! You don’t need any special equipment. Just a car in good working order and a helmet if you have one. (If not borrow one at the event.) Show up, drop 45 bones and RACE ON DIRT! Full details and directions to the San Diego Rallycross available here.

Or rather “How I ended up co-driving at the Ramada Express Rally.”

So Kris and I were headed out to Laughlin to work at the rally. I said somewhat off-handedly that “I should have brought my gear.” Kris asks, “Why?” “Just in case someone needs a co-driver!” This is the first rally that we’ve worked at or been to since we started competing, since we got all our gear and got licensed. We chatted a bit about “who I would co-driver for” and in what situations. I’m still getting used to doing everything a good co-driver should be doing – reading the notes at the right time, resetting the odo, calculating our stage times, resetting the speedometer, setting my stopwatch, all the while counting down, and tightening down my harness and helmet – would I really be comfortable riding with someone else? On the other hand, I want the experience so I can be a better co-driver for Kris.

To continue – when we got to Laughlin Thursday night we checked in, and caught up with a few people. We stopped to talk to Michael Taylor, and he mentioned that since his son had finals at school, he wasn’t going to be co-driving the whole rally. Instead, his wife Jennifer would be co-driving on Friday and Steven would be there on Saturday. So he needed a co-driver for Sunday, “if we happened to know anyone.” Well, I obviously didn’t have my gear, or licenses, and even though the Sunday portion of the rally is more like an extended rallycross, each team is still required to wear a full suit and there has to be a co-driver.

After a bit of brainstorming, Kris suggested asking if I could borrow Steven’s suit and helmet, if the organizers would agree to let me sign up without my newly acquired licenses. Donna Hocker was happy to sign me up: “Oh, I know you’re in good standing with your license, you just got it at Prescott! And you already signed the waiver to work, so you’re all set. I’ll put you on the entry list.” On Saturday night I got Steven’s suit and I was ready to rally in the Taylor truck on Sunday morning. I had a great time with Michael, the truck got more sideways than ze’Neon usually does, so that was a cool experience. I had to really shout because it was REALLY loud and the intercom was on the fritz. All I hope is that I did a good job. I know Michael has won the CRS P-Stock class, and I was more than happy to help. Next time I’ll bring my suit and helmet!

2005 was a great year for the team! We had set our sights on a strong finish in the CRS rallycross championship and we will take home 2nd in class. We also finished our first and second rallies: Gorman Ridge – with a 20th overall and a great test of what the car was capable of, and Prescott – where we started to see the real speed of the car and a surprising 4th in class. We had a fantastic time in both and learned a great deal about ourselves and the car. Ze’Neon is a tough little car and has proven to be reliable, even while working through some initial problems.

The rally in Laughlin was a little too far out of our reach this year, so we will be there as volunteers! We kept within our budget and will be better prepared for the New Year, and we’re already looking at what rallies will be on the calendar for 2006.

I would like to thank all the awesome people we met this year that helped us and supported us at these events! They are: John Black, Ryan Tilder, Jay Farina, Cyndi Stivers, Kaiser Chen, Brian Driggs, Nicole Miller, Dave Wenzlick, Kim Stephens, Pete Morris, Leon Styles, Jeff Rados and Guido Hamacher! All the great competition from: George Doganis, Mark Anton, Lisa Klassen and Guy Sappington. Special thanks to all the organizers: Ray & Donna Hocker, Mike & Paula Gibeault, Michael Taylor, George Scott & the entire Gravel Crew. All our friends in NESIC, AZ2GNT, CRS, and Neons.org. All the support from our sponsors: rallydecals.com and Energy Suspension!

Have a great holiday season – we’ll see you in 2006!

‘Dust To Glory’ If you have not seen this film – buy this for yourself for Christmas. Have someone else buy it for you. Rent it at least. It’s a fantastic documentary about the 2003 Baja 1000.

It captured the excitement and the disappointment of a grass roots sport that allows million dollar trucks to compete alongside hundreds of low budget small team entries. (sound familiar?) There’s almost no prize money, teams spend thousands to compete, and the risks are real. Why do it? Because it’s awesome.