Opening day—the crack of the bats and the smell of the hot dogs.  There were no bats at the Region’s first event of the season, but there were plenty of hot dogs—drivers, that is!

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.  Very little wind, few clouds, and temperatures in the 60s.  The Food Services of America site appears to have a lot of potential.    The warehouse provides a nice windbreak for the spectators and the paved area offers much more flexibility than Vo-Tech.  Chris Brewer set up a nice course that allowed for some tire smoke, but kept the times close.

The Region welcomed brand-new members Jim, Alex and Kara Verploegen. They received the "WE HAD A GREAT DAY AWARD,” with two very competitive cars entered.  Unfortunately, all times were recorded for their BMW.  Accordingly, it was not known if their fast times were from the BMW or the Toyota Supra.  We’ll sort out that problem next time!

Sheree Summer and Mark Pilon drove all the way from Fallon, Montana, for the "LONG DISTANCE" award.  Mark’s beautiful blue Subaru Forester is certainly not lacking in the power department!

The stunning dark blue Saturn Sky driven by Ray Burns from Cody, Wyoming got the "Best Looking (almost unknown) Car Award.”  We don’t see many cars like that in Billings.  (Very few spectators believed that this was Ray’s first autocross.)  We hope to see Ray and his charming wife at future events.

It was good to see Dave Marble back “on track.”  Dave’s ultra-fast, twin charged Mini scored the fast time of the day.  Jim Coon’s stealthy Subaru WRX STI was second fastest, and rounding out the top three was your Webmaster driving his kids’ $300 Civic FOR THE FIRST TIME!

Chris and Susan Doll’s turbo Jetta showed a lot of potential and Reese Newman’s black Audi 90 made its final appearance.  Luckily, Reese didn’t break anything and its sale to a new owner can proceed.  Solid performances were also put in by regulars Randy Roberts (4th overall), Scott Cranston, (5th overall), and Chris Brewer (6th overall). 

Course designer Chris Brewer won the “CONE CRUSHER AWARD.”  Katie Cranston was only 0.7 seconds slower than her dad, so it won’t be long before she starts leaving him in her dust.  Joe Bonini and Clint Ruff were fast.  Last, but not least, Adam Chamberlain’s “new” Mustang showed promise.

Everyone left the site with an early-season sunburn, but with a big smile!