Don't let anyone say that the members of MME will turn down the opportunity to eat. Seeing that the end of the year was near, we gathered for a bit of fine Mexican cuisine at Los Amigos in Grapevine for a little bench racing and a chance to shoot the breeze.

At last count, we had 11 cars and 14 folks together. We look forward to seeing you the next time we get together!

I'd like to personally thank everyone who came (and everyone who reads this) for making the first year of MME a successful one. We've come a long way from a dozen guys doing fluid changes in the back of a garage and swapping e-mails. Here's to a prosperous 2005 for one and all!

Maverick Region PCA has opened registration for the 2005 autocross school season! If we haven't made it clear in the past, these are the best bang for your autocross buck around. From raw beginner to semi-seasoned veteran, these schools have something to offer. Real pros should consider getting in touch with the organizers to volunteer as instructors.

I learned a lot and benefited from some quality seat time during last years AX102 school. If you've never autocrossed or if you feel you need a leg up, be sure to sign up now.

Click here to sign up now as a student or volunteer. Information on the 2005 PCA Autocross schedule is also available on the events calendar. The first autocross of the 2005 season is currently scheduled for April 3^rd at TMS.

So... What can you do with a $700 Miata, a $300 eBay motor and the super-charger from a Toyota Previa mini-van? How about auction off over $3,000 worth of excess Miata parts and build a screaming 200 rwhp 1800 pound handful of a cone-eating beast!

Rob Welsh of ATS Machine Safety Solutions took some time out to give me the tour of this formerly civilized Miata. Those of you with the mod bugs might enjoy taking a peek inside this conversion. Fender flares looking familiar? Think Dodge Omni...

Rob tells me the next project is to remove the front bumper and bracing and replace it with an aluminum bumper/air dam... At 1800 pounds, he's got another 300 pounds to lose in E Mod.

Inside the shop, a new (lighter, simpler) intake manifold was being worked up to facilitate an upgrade to an M62. Rob has been blessed with a good supply of "used" slicks from Southeast region Formula Atlantic drivers. He's also contemplating swapping in some 626 pieces in hopes of taller gearing. He's shooting for 50+ in 1st and 75-80 in 2nd. As it stands now, he figures he travels 15 feet in first before shifting to 2nd.

Now I just have to figure out a great excuse to come to North Carolina for a visit during the autocross season. This car looks like an absolute blast to thread through the cones!

A fine weekend of Racing!

The most wonderful thing about Spec Miata is that if you set them up right at the shop, you can, for the most part, not worry too much about them at the track. Our shop, Track Ready Performance, maintains roughly 8 cars between events, and we do track-side support for up to 4 at each event. Our version of track-side support includes any work needing to be done to the car, short of removing heavy driveline components or major alignment, for $100 per track day.

This past weekend, we had a great time racing at Texas Motor Speedway. With awesome garage space to work in, and great company around us (John Phillips Race prep on one side, the McSpaddens on the other, Bob Stretch, Paul Keplinger, and Brad Sawyer across from us), we were able to run a rather stress-free weekend and just work on making our cars run better.