With the completion of Sunday’s SCCA Regional Solo race, another successful season has sadly come to a close for Oakland University’s Grizzlies Racing.  The Day started damp and windy, then progressed to sunny and windy, with a slight sent of victory!… too much?   Anyway… we unloaded knowing the ol’ girl was going to be bad fast!  This weekend we ran 2 classes, FSAE and A-Mod.  The drivers racing today were, Ryan CieChanski, Stephen Parker, Tom Garvey and myself.  Both Ryan and Stephen raced the FSAE class in session 1, and Tom and I raced A-Mod  in session 2.  We were glad to have Ryan back in our car again; he is an OU alumni and drove for us in 07, 08 & 09.

It was a great turn out, and the SCCA put on a fantastic show as usual.  Stephen had the first go and laid out a very quick run, only to have it surpassed by Ryan.  They would go back and forth with each topping one another, but ending with Ryan on top with the fastest lap of the event……so far!   In session 2, Tom went first and had one great lap after another followed by me.  As it worked out Tom was faster all day, even with the extra runs awarded due to timing issues. Well I never did get my last run, while on the grid, our race engineers ( John Smerczak & Matt Schmalenberg) found something wasn’t right with the car.   John shut me down, and the laptop came out.  By the look on John and Matts face….and not willing to risk the car, my day was done.  A sad ending for the ol’ girl, but…that’s racing!

This was a record setting day for Oakland University and Grizzlies Racing.   Ryan won  the FSAE class followed by Stephen in second place.  Ryan had the coveted fastest time of the day, till the second session, it was taken by a bad fast shifter cart.  With the completion of the event, Stephen had won his second straight SCCA Detroit Region Solo class championship, and that makes it three straight years in a row for Oakland University (Barry Dodson in 2009),  and not another University in our region can claim such a feat.  In A-Mod, Tom won his very first race, after only being in the car about three times!  If you see him in the halls, give him an at-a-boy for a job well done.   And for me…well it’s been about 17 years since I’ve been in a formula race car, and I can honestly say… I felt it!  These kids here are young and fast, so I’ll take second place to a better driver any day…especially if they’re a teammate.  I’m still looking for pictures of that boulder I was dragging around all day…no one seems to believe me!  So take note…here at Oakland University, we grow good drivers!

Now that FCXI (we called her 11) has run her last official race, we can proudly look back and reflect on the accomplishments and disappointments of another record breaking season. Each year we set the bar higher, and each year we’ve been able to somehow clear it.  This can only happen when you have exceptionally dedicated, talented and generous people around you.  Now without a break, the 2011/12 car (now known as GR12) is well underway, and looking to be lighter, faster with new secret go-fast stuff from our team of mad powertrain engineers.  So it’s here, that I would like to thank ALL our sponsors for a fantastic year, for none of this could happen without the help they give.  And to the members of the “University Team” that few know,  without their help, we would not exist. And we really mean that!

Dr. Louay Chamra – Dean – School of Engineering and Computer Science

Brian Sangeorzan – Professor – School of Engineering & FSAE Facility Advisor

Barbara Kline – Office of the Dean

Len Brown  – Laboratory Manager

Pete Taylor – University Project Engineer

The Oakland University Alumni Association

The Oakland University Student Activities Funding Board ($AFB)

The Oakland University Dept. of Pubic Safety

And a special thank-you to the Auburn Hills Fire Dept.

So, thanks for all the support it’s been a great year!  We look forward to another successful year here at Grizzlies Racing, and hope to see you all at our appearance during the North American International Auto Show in 2012!

And thanks to Pat Hoenle for the Go-Pro shots and Scott Linton for the photos.

~ Scott Meyers