Great idea Keith. I'll play along, since this may be entertaining to some
folks. It's as much a bio of my ugly little car as it is of me.
Chuck Rothfuss, Pole Cat Hollow, NC (A fictional place near Camp Lejeune.)
Been a land speed racing fan since I sat on my Fathers knee and heard about
Craig Breedlove and the Spirit of America when I was just old enough to be
interested in fast cars. Finally got my chance when I heard about the ECTA
while attending the first Beech Mtn Hillclimb, and attended my first ECTA
event as a spectator at the close of the '97 season. That's all I needed to
prepare the E/Mod autocross car (USS Wankel, a 1971 Datsun RX510) for double
duty as a land speed racer. After an extremely frustrating winter of
calling Jim "BICWIG" Bodenheimer and John Beckett for rules clarification
and a first season of feeling secluded here on the coast I knew that LSR
needed an e-mail list like the trusty Datsun 510 had. One word about it to
Keith Turk and next thing I know Mark Bradakis has started one for us!!
Raised in rural Michigan, I've been fascinated by anything mechanical for
as long as I can remember. My Dad is a self taught machinist, so I had seen
engines created from rough sand castings, and collected my own odd
assortment of ancient engines before I could drive anything but a tractor.
Growing up cruising M59 through Waterford or Woodward Ave in Detroit I
quickly got interested in heavy Detroit iron.
Off to see the world and fulfill my childhood ambition of becoming a
"World traveling bum" (My 4th grade teacher was not amused!) I joined the
Marine Corps after High School, having been unsuccessful in talking Mom into
signing the papers the previous year. Second stop on my first hitch was
Okinawa, Japan. Try as I might, the only big V8's I could find over there
were in the occasional Cadillac.
Enter the small sedan. Along with a job in an automotive component
overhaul shop that let me do pretty much anything I wanted to a car I found
a circle of friends who got me into street racing, rotary engines and the
Group B Pro Rally scene. The combination would forever change my view of
small cars. I lived in Japan for most of '81-'87 and after running 11 cars
into the ground on mountain trails I put the USS Wankel aboard ship for its'
THIRD trip across the Pacific and came home to NC. The car had gotten me
into a bit of trouble, but had earned me a college degree (another long
story) and a place to put the two brand new rotary engines (one 12A and a
13B) that a buddy and I had built in college.
I had always intended to autocross the car, but had so much fun driving it
to work every day that I did that for 10 years before it saw it's first
autocross event. Still quite functional as a street car, it's won regional
autocross championships the past two years in a row along with getting me
into the ECTA top 10 points. (4th in '98 and 9th in '99) Haven't been able
to push the little brick faster than 139.319 at Maxton, but more lowering
and the new engine oughto help. All my records have been in E/ modified
classes, although I have jumped to higher car preparation classes. The car
will return next season as a gas coupe or an altered, with competition coupe
being a possibility only if I can get a belly pan around the exhaust under
the car.
Like Keith, I'm also a grumpy old retired CWO. Always a ground
maintenance type, I made GySgt before pinning on bars at 35, and retired
before keeping up with 19 year old kids could do any more damage to my body.
I'm turning wrenches again at the biggest Chevy dealer in the area, and love
my new no stress retired life.
Plans for the 2000 season include a new peripherial port 13B that had once
belonged to Team Highball, 5 time Daytona 24 hour race winners. It'll go in
the 510 til the new RX7 project is ready. My past two racing seasons have
been without a wife in the house, so I'll have to play this next one by ear.
I want to have it all, but family has gotto come first. I plan to reduce my
autocross competition and concentrate on getting several cars out to Maxton
with my partner at Orphan Motors. First out will be an Opel Ascona, then we
start playing with older toys, including a '51 Willys Aero Lark and a '38
Desoto Business Coupe.
Land speed racing is the motorsport that I'd been searching for. No quick
reaction time required, no need for smooth transitions out of a slolom, or
concerns about braking points for corners. Best of all has been the
fabulous group of owner/builder/drivers and their families who do all their
own work on machines that are far from what most would consider "normal".
Bonneville is still a long way off for me, but in LSR circles I'm still a
young man at 38. I'll sure be having fun at Maxton in the meantime.
Chuck "World traveling bum" Rothfuss
Pole Cat Hollow, NC
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