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Mirror Khana XXVI

To: "Kelly, John" <76067.1750@compuserve.com>,
Subject: Mirror Khana XXVI
From: "Rocky Entriken" <rocky@tri.net>
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 19:11:05 -0500
This was the writeup that went out with the results mailed today. Event was
this past weekend:

                    MIRROR KHANA XXVI

   Watching the Weather Channel nervously the several days before Mirror
Khana XXVI,  the wet-weekend forecast became less and less so. By Friday all
the predicted wetness had been dispatched to Wisconsin and Oklahoma and we
had two days of marvelous weather June 3-4 for the "Last Mirror Khana as we
know it.” The Second Millennium ends along with that part of the course on
the street, and next year we will greet the new Millennium with a new
course. Not all that new, really. It should look quite familiar to old
hands.
   No, this has never been a "Street Event" in the rulebook sense. We never
put our event on a street, the city put a street on our event. Actually,
around 1988 they took that old airport taxiway and extended it a mile south,
giving it a name. But the portion we used remains as obstacle-free as it was
when we ran Schlitz Cup here in 1970, when we ran six Solo II Nationals in
1975, 1980-81, 1983-85, and for 26 Mirror Khanas. That changes now that an
exclusive housing development is going in right on our course area. Dunno if
they will build any street-course type obstacles. Doesn't matter. We cannot
block the only entrance to people's homes, so we will do something else for
future events.
   But for this last time around the Buttonhook, through the 2-lane shift
and around that 120-degree Fifth Tee turn, we had 101 entrants – veterans
eager to do it one more time, newcomers taking their first taste of this
unique event.
   We ended up with 14 classes, half of them going to a runoff to decide the
winner. The runoff happens when the driver who emerges from the prelims
unbeaten (going directly to the finals) loses there to the driver coming up
from the quarter- or semi-finals. At that point, both have one loss and one
more pairing must be run to determine the winner.
   Except twice, it ended up two more pairings! Once in a very unusual C
Stock which had two D Stockers in the final, and once in the last class of
the day, Street Tire. Simply explained, in Salina Region, Street Tire is
defined as STS-legal, but NOC. Mostly it is big cars.
   Our very own Renee Stout-Montoya has been casting about for something new
to drive and was the 101st entrant. Her husband, Mike, told her she "needed
to drive" this last-as-we-know-it Mirror Khana and should take his cherished
Corvette. By the time the weekend ended she set a new record for times in
the grass (three!), but worked through a tough and interesting Street Tire
class. Her final agricultural run was on the last Prelim, when Joe Silva
(Camaro SS) went off course. Silva then got back to her in the final and
they ran a dead heat. Out again, Silva's Camaro SS finally beat the ‘Vette
to force the Runoff. With both drivers trying not to leave too much on the
table but still carefully avoiding cones, Renee came through on that third
try for an exciting win.
   C Stock was quite different, as Ron Williams (Nissan Sentra SE-R) asked
if the three D Stockers could bump up. With all five C Stockers giving their
assent, Williams and Eric Linnhoff (Dodge Neon) went about making them
regret their charity. Linnhoff went undefeated to the final and Williams
came through the loser bracket to meet him. Williams won when Linnhoff hit
four cones, forcing the runoff. On the rematch, they both hit four cones. It
took a third time, but Williams finally won it.
   It was a good day for the Williams family, as son Ron (Toyota Paseo) won
H Stock in much less spectacular fashion over Russell Blume (Honda Civic S).
   The final rounds began with a runoff match in the first class on the
schedule, ASP, with Craig Snyder taking the Don Lilling 911 up against Tim
Owen's 914/6. Snyder, having lost in prelims to Owen, tried a novel tactic
to save time -- hit every other cone in the slalom in order to straightline
it. It worked ... once. He forced the runoff, tried it again, but this time
caught a fourth cone to hand victory to Owen.
   The largest class of the event was C Prepared at 14 cars ... er, 14
drivers, in nine cars. And then it became breakdown hell. Fully half the
drivers ended their day with an X on the results signifying they did not
take their final run. The car was broke. That covered everyone from Art and
Kyle Martinez, who hurt their Trans-Am during practice, to Dave Zitzlsperger
(Camaro), who took his X on what would have been the semi-finals (still
third place, his best finish ever). Larry Kilts (Mustang), bedeviled by
tire-rub problems that left him unable to compete, even got in a lick
because of the DNSs when he went out for one run anyway because the opponent
was broke and he could do it without pushing hard.
   But this was the year for Dave and Jo Richards (Mustang), and one of Jo's
finest moments when she beat Dave in stopwatch runs to close out the
preliminary rounds. They would meet again in the finals, and Dave (the cad!)
showed no mercy running a pair of 1:09s to force, and then win, the runoff.
   Jim French (Corvette) has been the ruler of Super Stock at events here
for some time, but this year Jeff Broveak (Pontiac WS6) at least gave him a
worry. French, unable to make Saturday practice, had gone out cold Sunday
and ran unbeaten to the finals, but there Broveak handed him a loss. Never
losing his fabled aplomb, French methodically went out for a winning rerun.
   Two G Stockers bumped to B Stock – can you believe GS bumps that high?
Rulebook says so! – and showed it was no mismatch. Jeroen Dolmans in a GS
Subaru forced Chad Sutton to a runoff, But Sutton's Miata prevailed in the
rematch.
   Jim Abel had to hold off a charge from Greg Reno to win E Stock. The two
met in the second round with Abel's Saturn sending Reno into the loser
bracket. The Mazda MX3 fought through the rounds to reach the final and get
his revenge. Then with their personal grudge match at 1-1,  Abel came back
in the Runoff for the win.
   The only other dead heat of the day, in CSP, turned into a hearbreaker
for Tom Snyder, the only RX7 in a forest of CRXs. He thought he had Melanie
Costello but the judges sent them back out against each other again and
Melanie won that one, only to lose to Steve  Snyder, who not only is no
relation but also had the only other non-Honda, a Spitfire 1500 bumped up
from FSP. Ultimately it was a CRX duel between Dan Costello and Brian Meyer,
with Costello winning.
   ESP was 7-cone city, with three of the four rounds that ended the prelims
being decided when the losing driver hammered that many of the li'l orange
critters. Rob Pickrell (Camaro)met Mark Jorgensen (Mustang Cobra) in the
first round. Jorgensen fought his way through the loser bracket and met
Pickrell again in the final, with the same result.
   DM was the smallest class of the event, two VW Beetles and one Spitfire
bumped from DP -  mine - and a winner after Vernon Maxey's Darth Beetle ran
me hard in the final.
   A Stock was relatively easy for Tom Dupler (MR2 Turbo), but Adam Perney
(RX7 Turbo) found himself second after winning the semi over a Porsche 911
C4 as a result of Richard Warman's four cones.
   F Stock fell to Don Knop (Camaro), the man (after me) who can claim the
most Mirror Khana appearances. He prevailed in a final over Torry Kilts
(Mustang).
   Street Touring S went to Loren Williams (Saturn SC2) over a pylon-happy
Gary Gaither (Subaru Impreza), who had to fight through the loser bracket
after losing to Williams in the first round.
   See you in 2001! Rocky Entriken

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