HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF, AGAIN – Allied vs Axis
December 9, 2012 – Dixie Region SCCA held the 25th Annual Allies vs. Axis Solo Autocross at South Georgia Motorsports Park in Adel, Georgia. Allies vs. Axis commemorates Pearl Harbor Day with a Solo event on the Sunday closest to the anniversary of the December 7, 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, the event that led to American participation in WWII. This event is a team autocross, with American and British (“Allies”) vehicles competing against Japanese and German (“Axis”) cars. Italian cars are Axis before lunch and Allies in the afternoon. Swedish cars, officially neutral, park in the paddock and sell stuff to both sides at enormous profit. We have decided to take a year off from making jokes about French cars in hope that one may actually show up next year.
In the the early morning fog, the Axis team made their ceremonial first run around the course at precisely 7:53 AM, the time the first bombs fell on Pearl Harbor. With their war cry of “Furu to Yaku!” (“Shake and Bake” in English) ringing out, the Axis team took to the course. The attack squadron included Arty “Yaku” Gallegos, Nicole “Rookie” Hamrick, and Floyd “Furu” Webb. The Axis team, blinded by the early morning fog, totally ignored the course and were all declared “DNFs”. The Allies met this attack with a blistering barrage of anti-aircraft rice for the attackers as they crossed the finish line.
The odds were stacked against the Allies with 58 Axis entries versus only 48 in the Allied camp for this 25th running of the event. The Axis powers also held an edge right out of the box with 8 uncontested classes. The Allies once again spread themselves into a “Thin Red Line” by bumping cars into higher classes to level the playing field against the numerically superior Axis team. The Axis forces went off to an early lead, and the numbers mounted against the Allies throughout the early runs.
When the dust and tire smoke settled the Axis finished the day with 11 class wins:
C Stock – Steve Seymour, Mazda Miata E Stock – Larry Ferrell, Mazda Miata
Street Touring F – Adam Neylans, Honda Fit Novice PAX – Chris Espy, Honda Civic
Street Mod FWD – Adrian Tello, Honda Civic D Street Prepared – Alex Smith, BMW 325
Street Touring R – Gino Manley, Mazda Miata
Street Touring X – Brian Tyson, Mazda Miata
C Street Prepared – Johnattan Franco, Mazda Miata
Street Touring C – Jim Mincey, VW Golf
Street Tire Pax – FastPhil Curran, Toyota Celica
The Allied team came together with a monumental effort and once again came from behind and took 20 class wins overall. Allied class winners were:
B Stock – Danielle “HamDip” Miller, Ford Mustang B Modified – Howard Sharf, Legrand
D Stock – Mark Canekeratne, Chevy Cobalt C Modified – Dan McMahan, DareDevil
F Stock – Brian Meyers, Ford Mustang D Modified – Jack Ackridge, 1934 Ford
G Stock – Gayle “TWWTFM” Kemp, Ford Mustang E Modified – Steve Brueck, Jeep YC-J
B Street Prepared – Allyne “HHGOA” Miller, Ford Mustang
F Street Prepared – Chris Moore, Triumph TR6 Pro PAX – Tommy Pulliam, Chevy Corvette Z06
B Prepared – Randy Pajer, Chevy Camaro
C Prepared – Tracy Lewis, Ford Mustang
SSP – Thomas Simon, Chevy Corvette
X Prepared – Alyssa Lewis, Ford Mustang
A Modified- Russ “Hero” Clark, Ford Mustang
Super Stock – Roberta “Spouse Abuser” Wetzel, Chevrolet Corvette
E Street Prepared – Sandy Heath, 1940 Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk Ford Mustang GT
F Prepared – “Allied Forces Supreme Commander” JK Jackson, Triumph TR6
Street Modified – James Bell, Ford Mustang GT
Repeating the story of WWII, against all odds the Allies came through victorious again. For the 25th year in a row, history has been upheld; the Allies prevailed and took 20 class wins against the Axis 11. 
In addition to class win trophies, the “Crappiest Run Golden Toilet Seat” award is given to the driver who has the crappiest run, or whoever falls victim to voter fraud. This is a “people’s choice” award, with all entrants asked to vote early and often for their favorite crappy driver. This year the ballots were stuffed in an act of Brotherly Love. The win was not so much for the crappiest run but a promise made by Wilson Richardson to his brother James. Seems Wilson promised James a trophy, and so Wilson then voted for James approximately 128 times, a legal maneuver in this highly esteemed and yet totally corrupt Allies vs Axis award.
Awards were given again this year for best decorated Allied and Axis cars. The Axis win went to Tally Imports driver Floyd Webb for a Japanese battle flag painted across the hood of his Acura Integra with a close second by a German decorated 2004 BMW Z4 owned by Ray Brake. The Allied award went to Sandy Heath’s P40 Warhawk with an honorable mention to the CJ Jeep of the Murphy/Brueck team. The Jeep wasn’t actually decorated, but it’s a Jeep, for gosh-sakes!
And as always part of Allies vs. Axis, Dixie Region collects toilet paper and cash donations for the Leon County Shelter for the homeless. Like previous years, this part of the event was a great success, with plenty of donations for the Shelter given by the entrants. We want to thank all that contributed, and this is a part of the Allies vs. Axis event that both sides can take pride in.
The hero of the day was a young man named Russ Clark. Russ had a ride lined up for Allies-vs-Axis, and then it fell through. Then, he volunteered his trailer to tow a car for a friend and was offered a ride in that car. The car broke down on its first run, leaving Russ again ride-less. Another hero, Sandy Heath, offered his Mustang to Russ, who then used it to win A-Mod for the Allied Team.
Another great part of Allies-vs-Axis 2012 was summed up by Dixie Region RE Chris Yearwood: “AvA was a great success today. The one image I can’t get out of my head was the long row of novices repeatedly getting out of their cars and sharing a look of excitement with their friends and competitors. It reminded me of children on Christmas morning seeing gifts which had appeared overnight. But, in this case, the gift was the ability to safely turn a tire into noise and adrenaline.” Yes, Chris, you’re right, it was one of the best moments in a day full of great moments.
(Authors: Rob Ippolito and JD Kemp. Special thanks to Arty Gallegos)
Results Link: http://www.dixiescca.com/2012results/dec12.htm