AT THE TRACK — Paul Newman (right) talks over a race with Butch Kummer
in Atlanta last year. Newman sometimes participates in SCCA events,
but is not expected to attend the May race in Alleghany County.
| 114th Year, 19th Issue | Thursday, December 19, 2002 | Sparta, North Carolina |
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AT THE TRACK — Paul Newman (right) talks over a race with Butch Kummer
in Atlanta last year. Newman sometimes participates in SCCA events,
but is not expected to attend the May race in Alleghany County.
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Racing fans and sports car enthusiasts: Get ready to strap yourselves in. After months of preparation the first annual Blue Ridge Hillclimb is coming to Alleghany County May 16, 17 and 18, 2003.
The event, orchestrated by the Central Carolinas Region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), will become part of the points championship series in the Southeast Division, one of eight regional divisions of the SCCA. The Southeast Division championship series consists of eight to 10 races from March through November each year and includes drivers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida. Drivers from Pennsylvania are also expected to compete here.
The Blue Ridge Hillclimb originated at Chimney Rock in 1956 and moved to Beech Mountain in 1996. The last race at Beech Mountain was in 2001, leaving the Southeast Division without a hillclimb race in its championship series.
"We have no hillclimbs in the Southeast Division right now and the
drivers are ready for one," said Butch Kummer, a member of the Atlanta
region of the SCCA. Kummer, who has been racing since 1972, performed
the official course inspection on the one-mile section of Doughton
Mountain Road in Laurel Springs, the location of the 2003 Blue Ridge
Hillclimb, in early September.
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