2003 Nationals: Autocross, Car show, and Awards dinner

FFR Nationals 2003: Car Show, Autocross, & Awards Dinner

Check out the new 60 sec video from Nationals!

Car Show, Autocross, and Awards Dinner

FFROG Car Show Judges (left to right) Tom, Russ Thompson, Wayne Presley, Don DePontee

Gathering of the Faithful

Even though the FFR Nationals didn’t start until the weekend, many Factory Five owners and racers began arriving as early as Tuesday to check out the SEMA show. The crew from FFR was in attendance at the SEMA show all week, displaying all the latest new products and ideas.

SEMA is the auto industry’s largest trade show and the Factory Five team used the chance to show off some exciting new products in development like the FFR-Roush Coupe project and the prototype Mk III Roadster (powered by a 4.6 litre DOHC Ford engine). Check out the play-by-play on the SEMA show here.

For more on the 2003 SEMA show, tons of photos and cool new product news, click here.

SEMA wrapped up Friday night just hours before the FFR Nationals was scheduled to begin. The weekend long nationals event got off to a shaky start as the Friday evening cruise was cancelled due to the sheer logistical challenge of trying to get 125 + FFR’s out of the hotel and down the strip from the smaller than expected entrance of the Treasure Island resort.

FFR's Dave Smith answers the questions...

"So where's the rally dude?"

Art Totten (blue shirt) and Mary Borden grab some late night Vegas cuisine Friday evening.

Worse yet, the organizer Bill Peirce from FFROG.com (President of the FFR Owner’s Group), who was in charge of the rally, was waylaid in Texas and had to cancel at the last minute.


More FFROGs hit the midnight buffet while the car show moves into the parking garage.

Typical though of FFR customers, folks made the most of the night, some gathered for an impromptu car show and hang-out in the hotel/casino’s parking lot while others found something else to do for the evening (not too tough in Vegas…).

Friday evening turned out to be not so bad as people hung out in the Casino putting names and faces to internet call tags. Most everyone set their sights on the morning car show and Nationals race event scheduled for the next day.

Concourse Car Show (Saturday Morning)

The sun rose on a perfect desert morning. The 55 degree chill of first light melted into a comfortable 60’s all day long, sunny with nary a chance of rain or trouble. The FFR team was out at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway facility setting up the displays and working with the owner’s group representatives to ensure everyone was ready for the masses of rolling tube steel due to arrive by 9:00 am.


Cars and Spectators began to arrive around 9:00 am. FFR crew were ready to greet them...

The team from Roush arrived to set up a nice display.	FFROG director Wayne Presley was on-hand to help out.

As the day progressed over 125 cars had arrived from as far away as the East Coast to attend the two-day event, along with about 40 FFR spec cars looking for a chance to run the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Track. During the morning hours people spent time with registration, introductions and catching up with old friends.

The event was split into three areas. The car show and vendor area was at the main entrance to the track. Just across from the car show area (100 feet) was the autocross (open to all FFR customers). The race area and paddocks for the Championship race was down the hill by the track pit about ¼ mile from the car show.


Left: Art Totten served duty in the FFR Tram while (right) Chris Richards sets up for the fun day ahead.

There was a non-stop tram that was available to take folks down to the track throughout the day so that people could check out the racing action of the FFR Spec Series being held concurrently at the outdoor roadcourse just south of the car show and autocross event.


The car show was underway by 10 am.	Just one of over a hundred beautiful street rides...

Fara Snook and company unload their show winning designs (left) while customers wait to sign up for the Racing Adventures Autocross rentals.

As the morning progressed, vendors set up their booths and the judging for the customer car show had started. The weather warmed and the party was underway.


FFR's Mark Weber was available to answer questions along with 17 other FFR employees!	Stewart Transport had a display set up next to the FFR booth for folks who want to have their kits shipped to them direct.

Parade Laps

Just about every car in the show evacuated the area at noon and headed down to the race track for Parade Laps. Since there were women and children taking touring laps of the track, hot dogging and racing were not on the menu for the lunchtime session.


At noon the car show (left) took a back seat to the parade laps (right) that got everyone out on the LVMS track.

The Parade laps were a lot of fun and gave folks the chance to take their cars out on the same race course that would later be host to the FFR Spec car Nationals finals. The roadcourse is over three miles long and there was fewer than 100 feet between cars the whole way around! Seeing this many FFR’s driving at once was beyond description… Simply AWESOME.

Norm the track photographer was on hand to take photos of people and their cars. Check out the full list of photos at the end of this story. If you want to purchase one you can log onto headonphotos.com and buy them direct from Norm.

New GTM Supercar Intro!

The FFR display had the new GTM Supercar prototype and chassis on hand for folks to check out. The display also featured the test design on the new 4.6 powered Mark III roadster and a stunning red Spyder GT.


FFR's Steve Dutton sets up the booth.	Customer Gary Cheney's wife took a break from her supermodel schedule to check out the GTM.

The feedback on the GTM and the Mk III were very positive. The plans for both kits are a 2004 release… More details as they become available.

Customer Autocross and Results

The competition was intense and the event was fun. There were some big surprises as well. The autocross event gave everyone a chance to compete in a venue that was safe and easier on the cars


Two Gals at the forefront... Left: Rebecca Robertson enroute to a 7^th place in the Pro Class. Right: Mary Borden takes the guys to school.

Mary Borden stomped the boys, being bested only by her relieved husband Dave. The street class saw some VERY close action as only six hundredths separated 2^nd place Glen DiOrio from 3^rd place Art Ehman and only THREE hundredths separated Luke Lucas (4^th) from Scott Peterson (5^th).

Special note here. Both Mary and Dave Borden donated their winnings to the CF Foundation (Team Jenny). The Bordens are the best of people and everyone knows it.


A beautiful blue and white roadster (driver unknown)	Buzz Ryzcamp in his green beauty at speed.

Here’s the way the final results came out…

Pro Class Name Time (sec) Award

1^st Place Dave Borden (big surprise) 20.712 $500 and trophy

2^nd Place Mary Borden ( Take that guys) 22.041 $350 and trophy

3^rd Place Chuck Robertson 23.264 $250 and trophy

4^th Place Gary Cheney 25.113 $150 and trophy

5^th Place Bob Zook 25.944 $100 an trophy

6^th Place Ted Johnson 26.166 $75 and trophy

7^th Place Rebecca Robertson 31.123 $50 and trophy

Street Class

1^st Place Wayne Presley 22.582 $500 and trophy

2^nd Place Glen DiOrio 23.226 $350 and trophy

3^rd Place Art Ehman 23.285 $250 and trophy

4^th Place Luke Lucas 23.712 $150 and trophy

5^th Place Scott Peterson 23.741 $100 an trophy

6^th Place Ralph Button 23.954 $75 and trophy

7^th Place Barry Mattingly 24.045 $50 and trophy

8^th Place Derald Rice 24.207 $25 and trophy

* Special award for “Most Blatant and Senseless Slaughter of Innocent Cones” went to Wayne Presley who ought to be ashamed of himself for mowing down more cones than were hit during the entire 2003 SCCA autocross Nationals. He did, however, manage to clean up his act enough for one clean run for time to win the street class.

FFR-NASA Exhibition Race

The 2003 FFR-NASA Challenge Series, in its fourth season, witnessed more cars than ever vying for the National Title. The format this year was fun. Saturday would be an exhibition race with visiting VIP’s and drivers racing for bragging rights only.


The pace was notched up a level from autocrossing (left) when the exhibition race took to the track (right).

A lot of customers got the chance to watch the exhibition race from the top of the car show area. Others chose to ride the tram down and watch the action trackside. Either way, the race was fun and exciting to watch. More than a few folks understood the historical significance of the race. There have never been so many cars like these racing at one time. Watching Bondurant dice it up with Dick Smith and Larry Parker from Roush was entertaining as well.

Folks drove to vintage racing (no-contact) rules and Bob lead the race until his power steering pump gave out. Just a side note: If anyone wants to know just how good a driver Mr. Bondurant is, consider for a moment that he jumped on the pole and lead the race without ever having driven the track or even practicing! That my friends, is talent and a real great example of how fast a real race driver can learn a course!


The exhibition race was the highlight of the day for many race fans.	Close wheel-to-wheel action with famous drivers on a track that was great for spectating made it a fun race to watch.

After 40 minutes of racing, the pack spread out only a bit with furious battles for places throughout the field. In the end Bryan Dobyns won the exhibition race as he would repeat the next day in the finals. Check out the entire story here.

Next year’s Nationals are scheduled for VIR in Danville Virginia for Labor Day weekend 2004.

Car Show Winners and Saturday Awards Dinner

There were a thousand untold stories on the day but time came to retire to the Treasure Island Resort and Casino for the awards dinner. The track action was over by 5:00 PM and the dinner began at 6:00, giving everyone a chance to clean up and enjoy a nice evening of drinks, food (not enough) and fellowship (in abundance).


FFR crew: Dougherty, Tara, Liz, and Weber were there to make sure things went smoothly.	The dinner hall was beautiful with killer food and three cash bars.

Over 350 people attended the awards dinner! It was great to catch up with some good friends we hadn’t seen for a long time. It was also fun to put names to faces, and in many cases, names to internet faces.


The tickets were sold out a week before the dinner at 350 attendees! Food ran low as the night ran on... (That was a real bummer, one of the only let downs of the really fun evening).

Russ Thompson (superffrog).	Bob Bondurant, Dave Borden and Dick Smith keeping the racing tradition alive.

The dinner was served and the drinks flowed. FFR president Dave Smith served as the emcee, introducing VIPs Bob Bondurant and Dick Smith. Dick and Bob kept us riveted with their stories of 200 mph in his original CSX 3035 and the early days of LeMans and American Road racing. Those lucky enough to be there to hear these guys talk will never forget it.


Left: FFR's Dave Smith. Middle: 200 MPH legend Dick Smith. Right: World Famous Bob Bondurant

Following the speeches, The FFROG (Factory Five Racing Owners Group) presented awards for the car show as well as the free kit drawing and other awards.


Chuck Robertson wins "Best-in-show" overall.	Ralph Button wins the FFR Legacy Award.

Car Show Awards and Prizes

Best in Show Over-all

Chuck Robertson $1,000 Cash

Best Use of Chrome

1^st Place Sergio Trejo $250 and trophy

2^nd Place Steve Moriarity $150 and trophy

3^rd Place Rick Leyva $100 and trophy

Best in Show FFR Roadster

1^st Place Glenn Diorio $250 and trophy

2^nd Place Bob Zook $150 and trophy

3^rd Place Al Solomko $100 and trophy

Most Innovative Design

1^st Place Bart Carter $250 and trophy

2^nd Place Dan Zoil $150 and trophy

3^rd Place Tom Austin $100 and trophy

Best In Show FFR Coupe

1^st Place Tony Popish $250 and trophy

2^nd Place Lance Green $150 and trophy

High Mileage Award

1^st Place Ralph Button $250 and trophy

2^nd Place Dave & Mary Borden $150 and trophy

3^rd Place Paul Gellespy $100 and trophy

Best Paint

1^st Place Bruce Kaesen $250 and trophy

2^nd Place Mike Easton $150 and trophy

3^rd Place Jim Olsen $100 and trophy

Best Engine

1^st Place Ramona Cornell $250 and trophy

2^nd Place John Peterson $150 and trophy

3^rd Place Bob Farris $100 and trophy

Best Interior/Details

1^st Place Rich Calhoon $250 and trophy

2^nd Place Buzz Ryskamps $150 and trophy

3^rd Place Larry Johnson $100 and trophy

Special thanks to all the people who made this year’s Nationals a GREAT success. We have scheduled the 2004 event for Labor Day Weekend in Danville, Virginia at the world famous Virginia International Raceway. We hope to see you there!

See ALL the Photos (over 200!) of this event!

Watch the new video of this event! (3 Megs)

Check out customer reports of the event on FFROG.com (hundreds of pictures and posts)

Check out the rest of the weekends events from the 2003 FFR Nationals:

FFR-NASA Championship Race 2003

FFR Nationals: Car Show, Autocross, & Awards Dinner

SEMA 2003 Car Show