A friend who attended the recent Sports Car Club of America’s National Championship Runoffs at Heartland Park Topeka in the club’s new Kansas hometown wonders if there were more pit pass wearers than spectators at that event. A growing fan preference for “back gate” admission, rather than “front gate” entry, is tough on raceway owners as back gate fees traditionally go to the sanctioning body whereas the track owner-promoter gets the front gate ticket-sale money. “Back gate tracks” often run many classes of cars — bolstering pit attendance — which leads to race meets taking longer and finishing later and later. It is a growing problem many raceways now face.

Discount SCCA! Some are agog, others aghast. That’s the reaction of more than a few to a new Weekend Membership program being initiated by the Sports Car Club of America. It’s for non-members who want to rally, race or try out the club for size. Ever since the club’s 1945 creation, one has had to be a fully paid-up member to participate in organized events and be covered by SCCA insurance and derive other benefits. This new move allows non-members to participate in organized weekend activities for a fee of $15, rather than the annual SCCA membership charge of $75. These happy weekend warriors can also have their $15 fees (two maximum) credited toward an annual membership if desired.

Older and faster. Ed Shadle, age 66, plans to attempt a world land speed record run on a Nevada desert strip any day now. Shadle, of Spanaway, Wash., will wheel a jet-engined car in an effort to break the current world LSR of 763 mph. He’s been piddling around at 350 miles per hour just to get in shape. When 63-year-old Steve Fossett disappeared Sept. 3 in a flight over Nevada’s vast desert area, associates said he was scouting sites for his own world LSR attempt. 

Bank of America, NASCAR’s newly-designated Official Bank, which sponsored the recent 500-miler at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, has discovered being involved with racing drivers can be profitable. The bank, which now has arrangements with 10 race tracks, introduced its affinity credit and debit cards in May and added Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya and others to its list of participating drivers. The bank says that affinity banking (credit card, debit card and checking) now accounts for 10 percent of its deposit growth. Other new non-racing companies using racing drivers to further their business interests include Tylenol and Gillette.     

Tuxedos needed. It’s that time of year. Black-tie racing dinners are scheduled Monday night, Nov. 5 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, for the National Hot Rod Ass’n 2007 POWERade Awards Ceremony honoring the club’s world champions. And 2,800 miles eastward, in New York City, another black tie gala, the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series awards ceremony, comes off at the celebrated Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Friday night, Nov. 30. Elsewhere, the annual movie party of the New England Antique Racers (no tux needed) and its hot and cold buffet, is slated for 6 p.m. Sat. Nov. 10 at the Dante Club, on Memorial Ave. across the street from the old fairgrounds race track in West Springfield, Mass. Tickets at the door $20. This coming Monday, Oct. 29 Sam Schmidt’s second annual Racing to Recovery Golf Tournament will be held at the South Shore Golf Course in Las Vegas. Wanna help — or go? Call Ida Cahill at (317) 236-9999. And the late Adam Petty will be memorialized at the All-American 400 Nov. 2-4 at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville.

Political campaigning has hit the tracks. Constant reader Lee Clark of Fremont, Iowa sends along a tear sheet from the Cedar Rapids Gazette which includes a photo of his Chevy-engined sprint car with the name of Democratic presidential aspirant John Edwards in bold type on its wing. The Lewis car races regularly at the famed Knoxville Raceway. Edwards is aware of the importance of auto racing in the Hawkeye State, having held a July meeting at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville. By the way, Des Moines’ Jack Housby is the new president of the Nat’l Sprint Car Museum in Knoxville with Mike Brooks the new VP and Louis Long taking over as Secretary-Treasurer. The ’08 schedule for this noted central Iowa speedway shows 36 race dates. How many short tracks run that many days-nights of racing in one season? 

After the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s next Nextel Cup  (soon to be Sprint Cup) race on March 2, 2008 takes the checkered flag, the United Auto Workers union will say goodbye as the event sponsor. Track officials are seeking a replacement for 2009 and the years beyond. UAW stood behind the Vegas race for eight years starting in 2001.That event’s support race next March 1, the Sam’s Town 300, will see Nationwide Insurance replace Busch beer as series sponsor.   

Did open-wheel driver Jeff Simmons get more publicity for marrying TV morning reporter Stephanie Soviar of WTHR Indy than he ever got for driving a racing car? The couple wed Sept. 20 in Texas but held a big reception a few days later at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. 

Chill my fuel. Is Kimi Raikkonen the new F-1 world-driving champion or is Lewis Hamilton? Raikkonen may be a nice guy, but he’s a cold fish when being interviewed. The telecast of the Brazilian F-1 series finale was a dud, with no post-race chat with the day’s biggest loser, Hamilton, as to why. And while on auto race telecasts, the American Le Mans Series finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca deserved better TV direction, as it was a truly great race. The late going was highlighted by a furious see-saw battle for the lead between an LMP1 Audi Diesel and an LMP2 Penske Porsche which was never reflected in the streaming video as only “class” positions were shown. Viewers never saw the “overall” standings. With the sophisticated computer capability available today, why the ALMS doesn’t stream overall placing — specifying class — is beyond me. And while on “class,” where were Laguna’s GT-1 cars?     

We old timers are mourning the recent passing of Shav Glick, the retired L.A. Times sportswriter. Single-handedly Shav kept auto racing in the columns of the largest newspaper on the west coast. He was an old friend and will be missed. On another sad note, noted auto-racing auctioneer Charlie Sentman died over the weekend of complications of a stroke.