Dave was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in the month of May at the closest hospital to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so the first sounds to his newborn ears were probably those of an old Offy Roadster circling the track! Five years in Indiana, then the family moved to San Diego, California where he grew up. He moved to Arizona in 1998 for a job.
Dave has had a myriad of odd jobs over the years, and the last one was computer help desk with a hotel franchiser. Having burned out on that, he has been buying, fixing and selling Mazda Miatas the last 19 months. After 40 years of working for someone else, this has been a refreshing break from the 9 to 5, and he hopes to continue, perhaps opening a shop one day, but for sure playing with cars in some fashion.
Dave has always been interested in cars. He built models as a kid, had a little racecar set laid out in his room, and remembers days going to Carlsbad Raceway to watch the drags, going to Del Mar to watch sports car racing, and watching Dad participate in autocross events back in the day. Dad was a sports car nut, having owned an Austin Healey Sprite (still his favorite), an MG TD, and a Big Healey. Dave's folks used to drive in sports car rallies and toss the kids into the minimal back seat. He still remembers a ride in a Lotus Europa when he was about 8 years old, and not being able to see over the dash, just the sound of that marvelous 4-banger running through the gears echoes to this day.
Dave's first car was a 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint V8, a hand-me-down from Dad to get him and his brother to school and such. He learned to drive on some dirt roads, tossing the car around and learning to countersteer in a slide. Then came a slew of British cars, starting with a 1960 Hillman Minx (yuck!) and ending up with a collection of MGBs and Austin Minis. Dave has also always had the muscle car bug, and has owned Camaros, Firebirds, and even a few 5.0 Mustangs.
He got into Miatas one day while looking for a car to replace a Mustang GT he had just sold. He was in a little used car lot, looking at an Eagle Talon and a Probe GT, when in drove this little white '93 Miata, fresh from the auction and a checkup by the lot's mechanic. He took a test drive, and the decision was made! That was in March of 2000, and there have been at least 18 Miatas since that one. The list includes quite a few cars that are still autocrossing here in Phoenix and in Tucson and even Sierra Vista! That first car was bought by Brian Peters and converted into CSP form. Steve Steele currently owns it and is a regular at our events.
Dave and Don Sattler teamed up one summer in 2001 when they were both trying to campaign 1994 Miata R models against the new '99 Sport and getting whooped pretty badly. It was one of the summer night events at Firebird when Don said, "What are we going to do? We can't beat the better car. How about building a Prepared car?" Dave, not knowing much about SCCA classing at the time, asked what that was, and that eventually led to the building of the Beastie, which was Dave's '94 R stripped down to bare bones and modified to fit the class. The car was a blast to drive and develop, moreso than the evil tow vehicle which had a knack for stopping on highway bridges.
Dave and Don have campaigned Miatas at most AZ events and a few National Tour events in San Diego. This photo of Beastie was taken at Firebird in its glory days, and rumor has it that it will one day make a triumphant return. Now outgunned by other more prepared cars in D or E Mod, and maybe the Prepared class, it is just too much fun to be left sitting out back at Dave's place, looking sad and neglected.
Meanwhile, the guys transferred all the performance parts and the '99 engine and ecu into a '91 Miata that Dave bought from a guy up in Prescott. When he got the car, it had been backed over on the right front corner, so the drive back to Phoenix was a bumpy and scary adventure down I-17 with SUVs towing campers and boats back down the hill on a Sunday evening! Dave and Dad in the chase vehicle were barely able to go 65 mph in the 75 zone, with emergency flashers going, and getting honked at and flipped off all the way. Thankfully nothing untoward happened, and the car made it safely home.
Over the years, there have been different wheels and tire combinations, and stiffer springs and shocks. Dave has more of a wildman driving style, and Don is smooth and precise, so together, they have influenced each other a bit to meet somewhere in the middle. Results show VERY close finishes between the two, and may have sparked a resurgence in the CSP Open class, as others have jumped into the fray over the years.
Steve Ashcraft is the latest member of the gang, pitching in for a new set of the FAT 13" Hoosier R compounds and helping with setup. Steve pretty much swept the Fall 2008 Series except for the December event, where Dave got enough sleep and had that one good run that spoiled Steve's Win Parade. The boys are planning on continuing on in 2009 and going to the San Diego National Tour event to see how the car stacks up against the Best from the West. Will this lead to a trip to Nationals next year? We'll see ...
Meanwhile, Dave has taken over the Pylon Press editor job, and makes as many events in Arizona as he can. Folks say he is always smiling while driving the course, though there are a few expletives that can be heard when errors occur. All in all, though, it has been a great run of 8 years, returning to a sport that he started in San Diego in the late 80's with a wild and crazy Mini. So, it is almost like going home to do the San Diego Tour event, with lots of that old gang still around.
Dave was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in the month of May at the closest hospital to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so the first sounds to his newborn ears were probably those of an old Offy Roadster circling the track! Five years in Indiana, then the family moved to San Diego, California where he grew up. He moved to Arizona in 1998 for a job.
Dave has had a myriad of odd jobs over the years, and the last one was computer help desk with a hotel franchiser. Having burned out on that, he has been buying, fixing and selling Mazda Miatas the last 19 months. After 40 years of working for someone else, this has been a refreshing break from the 9 to 5, and he hopes to continue, perhaps opening a shop one day, but for sure playing with cars in some fashion.
Dave has always been interested in cars. He built models as a kid, had a little racecar set laid out in his room, and remembers days going to Carlsbad Raceway to watch the drags, going to Del Mar to watch sports car racing, and watching Dad participate in autocross events back in the day. Dad was a sports car nut, having owned an Austin Healey Sprite (still his favorite), an MG TD, and a Big Healey. Dave's folks used to drive in sports car rallies and toss the kids into the minimal back seat. He still remembers a ride in a Lotus Europa when he was about 8 years old, and not being able to see over the dash, just the sound of that marvelous 4-banger running through the gears echoes to this day.
Dave's first car was a 1964 Ford Falcon Sprint V8, a hand-me-down from Dad to get him and his brother to school and such. He learned to drive on some dirt roads, tossing the car around and learning to countersteer in a slide. Then came a slew of British cars, starting with a 1960 Hillman Minx (yuck!) and ending up with a collection of MGBs and Austin Minis. Dave has also always had the muscle car bug, and has owned Camaros, Firebirds, and even a few 5.0 Mustangs.
He got into Miatas one day while looking for a car to replace a Mustang GT he had just sold. He was in a little used car lot, looking at an Eagle Talon and a Probe GT, when in drove this little white '93 Miata, fresh from the auction and a checkup by the lot's mechanic. He took a test drive, and the decision was made! That was in March of 2000, and there have been at least 18 Miatas since that one. The list includes quite a few cars that are still autocrossing here in Phoenix and in Tucson and even Sierra Vista! That first car was bought by Brian Peters and converted into CSP form. Steve Steele currently owns it and is a regular at our events.
Dave and Don Sattler teamed up one summer in 2001 when they were both trying to campaign 1994 Miata R models against the new '99 Sport and getting whooped pretty badly. It was one of the summer night events at Firebird when Don said, "What are we going to do? We can't beat the better car. How about building a Prepared car?" Dave, not knowing much about SCCA classing at the time, asked what that was, and that eventually led to the building of the Beastie, which was Dave's '94 R stripped down to bare bones and modified to fit the class. The car was a blast to drive and develop, moreso than the evil tow vehicle which had a knack for stopping on highway bridges.
Dave and Don have campaigned Miatas at most AZ events and a few National Tour events in San Diego. This photo of Beastie was taken at Firebird in its glory days, and rumor has it that it will one day make a triumphant return. Now outgunned by other more prepared cars in D or E Mod, and maybe the Prepared class, it is just too much fun to be left sitting out back at Dave's place, looking sad and neglected.
Meanwhile, the guys transferred all the performance parts and the '99 engine and ecu into a '91 Miata that Dave bought from a guy up in Prescott. When he got the car, it had been backed over on the right front corner, so the drive back to Phoenix was a bumpy and scary adventure down I-17 with SUVs towing campers and boats back down the hill on a Sunday evening! Dave and Dad in the chase vehicle were barely able to go 65 mph in the 75 zone, with emergency flashers going, and getting honked at and flipped off all the way. Thankfully nothing untoward happened, and the car made it safely home.
Over the years, there have been different wheels and tire combinations, and stiffer springs and shocks. Dave has more of a wildman driving style, and Don is smooth and precise, so together, they have influenced each other a bit to meet somewhere in the middle. Results show VERY close finishes between the two, and may have sparked a resurgence in the CSP Open class, as others have jumped into the fray over the years.
Steve Ashcraft is the latest member of the gang, pitching in for a new set of the FAT 13" Hoosier R compounds and helping with setup. Steve pretty much swept the Fall 2008 Series except for the December event, where Dave got enough sleep and had that one good run that spoiled Steve's Win Parade. The boys are planning on continuing on in 2009 and going to the San Diego National Tour event to see how the car stacks up against the Best from the West. Will this lead to a trip to Nationals next year? We'll see ...
Meanwhile, Dave has taken over the Pylon Press editor job, and makes as many events in Arizona as he can. Folks say he is always smiling while driving the course, though there are a few expletives that can be heard when errors occur. All in all, though, it has been a great run of 8 years, returning to a sport that he started in San Diego in the late 80's with a wild and crazy Mini. So, it is almost like going home to do the San Diego Tour event, with lots of that old gang still around.