Word: formula
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...with either the Indianapolis 500 or Richard Petty and redneck stock car races on Southern oval tracks. Like actors and baseball players, racing enthusiasts are regarded as somewhat declasse. But the Harvard-dominated Medenica team defies all the stereotypes, both in racing style and in personnel. They compete in Formula Ford road racing, on Grand Prix-style courses with single-seat cars equipped with 1600cc. Ford Fiesta motors. While Formula Ford cars can't match the flat-out power of Indy types they still average 90 to 100 mph on twisting, graded courses...
Aronson, a Social Studies concentrator and a talented graphic designer, says his fascination with cars dates back to early childhood. In 1975 he worked on Roger Penske's Formula 1 (the big time of inchildhood. In 1975 he worked as a mechanic on Roger Penske's Formula One (the big name of international road racing) team, staying on until driver Mark Donahue died in a practice run crash late in the season. During his freshman year at Harvard he met Medenica on the street in Cambridge, and eventually the team was formed...
Medenica, a former driver, knows all too well about what that one little mistake can mean. On Labor Day, 1976, while in third place in New England Formula Ford standings, Medenica crashed in a practice session at Lime Rock, plowing into another car that had spun out into a blind spot over a rise. Medenica's fragile car collapsed around his legs, fracturing both ankles. It was five months before he could walk without rutches, and he may still need another operation to regain full use in his right foot...
...bottom rung of the Sports Car Club of America's (SCCA) racing structure. This organization, which sanctions all American road racing and is the official U.S. representative of the international regulatory body of road racing, also sponsors Super Vee and the new Atlantic series, which compares roughly to European Formula Two. In all, the SCCA covers 28 classes of racing, from weekend drivers to professionals. In every class, racers must begin at the regional level of competition. There are 80 regions in the United States, among which New England and Southern California are by far the largest and most competitive...
...Ford division, chock-full of young drivers seeking a permanent career in racing and teams looking for a way to hold on, is the most competitive, Herne says. Founded in 1968. Formula Ford is an internationally recognized beginners' class. The successful first season cost the Medenica team about $12,000, but they managed to break even when they sold their car at the end of the year. A normal weekend of Formula Ford racing costs about $500, Medenica says, including entry fees, a set of tires, gas, hotel and travel expenses and repair work on the car. The $500 figure...