RallyAmerica posted a great article about us and our 2013 National Championship effort with the Dodge Neon SRT4.
http://rally-america.com/news/entry/...ational-season
Chris Greenhouse to Complete First Full 2WD National Season
Posted September 17, 2013
Rally America takes a look at the hard fought campaigns of the rally drivers that just placed outside the title battles being waged at the last round of the Rally America National Championship. Their story is filled with determination and effort that cannot go ignored. Today we take a look at Chris Greenhouse from Cincinnati, Ohio whose season can be described as on pace with the top of the 2WD class, but just one mistake or two from being positioned for a shot at 2WD crown.
Greenhouse has had a tough run this year against the more well-funded Scion and Ford teams, but he has kept a positive, almost philosophical, demeanor to handle the adversity that plagued his team and kept him from largely cracking the podium in his 2003 Dodge Neon SRT4.
Despite the challenges Greenhouse’s third overall 2WD position in his first full national season could only be lost if he fails to finish the Lake Superior Performance Rally (LSPR) and Verena Mei wins the class. He cannot mathematically take over second place, but he summarizes this third spot finish is a victory for his personal goals.
Giving the outcome of LSPR, Greenhouse is likely to add to his weighty list of accolades that include an unprecedented five consecutive Central Region Group 2 Championships and eight Rally America national 2WD podiums since 2009.
When Greenhouse decided to challenge the full 2013 national season, his year began with a scramble following a humongous crash at the 2012 Olympus Rally that consumed all his off-season free time realigning the frame and rebuilding the shell.
“The Olympus crash was purely my mistake,” said Greenhouse, “We were time barred on the first stage, but Rally America allowed us to run for times later that day. That’s when we overshot a turn at the top of the crest, hit a huge boulder at 50mph and rolled three times. A tree stopped us from going over a cliff.”
Through those cold Ohio months Greenhouse and his team spent considerable time repairing the Dodge and wasn’t finished until literally the night before Sno*Drift. “The light pod was the hardest thing to find and rewire on that car, and then repaint the whole car in a cold garage.”
Greenhouse made it to Sno*Drift and he was ready to compare himself to 2WD’s best. What happened at Sno*Drift characterized the rest of the season for Greenhouse when the team got stuck on a snowbank and lost over 12 minutes to his rivals.
“We were on pace with those guys and we even got a 2WD stage win in trying to catch up to Ed McNelly,” added Greenhouse, “ We made up 10 minutes to just 40 seconds behind Ed.” Greenhouse finished fourth in 2WD at Sno*Drift.
The Rally in the 100 Acre Wood went much the same for Greenhouse as the team climbed into third place in 2WD through an ice storm that severely impaired traction on the stages. On the second day the team decided to remain on snow tires compared to his competition selecting gravel tires. “We were battling against Tim O’Neil and he just outdrove us on his gravel tires. We had the pace, but that tire choice mistake cost us dearly.”
Mechanical problems hit Greenhouse hard at the Oregon Trail Rally. It was an event he was not familiar with and the farthest for him to travel. Right away the Dodge broke an axle inside the gearbox on the last PIR Raceway stage and they spent all night getting ready for the gravel stages near Mt. Hood. The team finished replacing the gearbox at 4am and still had to drive over an hour to the stages. “It was a horrible weekend. I had a stock gearbox, I was tired and drove terrible, and I still had to limp through the stages. I was just happy to finish and get points.”
The team wanted to turn their fortunes around at STPR, a historically successful event for Greenhouse having won 2WD twice in the past. They had good power and were familiar with the stages, but a steering problem surfaced when they held third place in 2WD with one first stage remaining, which effectively knocked them back to a dismal sixth place finish.
Said Greenhouse, “It was rough after STPR, we weren’t that far off from Andrew Comrie-Picard and Brendan Reeves. We just had to look at the bigger picture and figure that the season wasn’t lost.”
The New England Forest Rally just got worse, unfortunately. The team broke both their axles and was forced to Super Rally. His rivals had even a tougher go and amazingly Greenhouse finished in fourth place one more time.
The Ojibwe Forests Rally is when the team’s efforts finally accumulated into a coveted podium finish. Historically, they have run well at the event in the past and without the entrance of Will Orders and Dillon Van Way in 2WD Greenhouse knew he had a better shot. The team survived another broken axle and traded second and third positions with ACP all weekend, until ACP rolled his car and Greenhouse took 2nd place, his best finish this year.
Fans will get to see Greenhouse and his powerful Dodge SRT4 one more time at LSPR even though the team considered not going. Greenhouse reasoned that he needs the seat time as his national competition gets stronger.
“My desire is to improve and drive at the same level as the top drivers,” said Greenhouse, I’m happy keeping company with these top guys, but the ante has been raised the last few years. The 2WD competition has greatly improved because of Team Scion and Reeves. With the possibility of other international or local drivers getting back into the game I need to be ready as well.”
Photo 1: Elliott Sherwood
Photo 2: Aaron Kathman
Event: Lake Superior Performance Rally Drivers Tagged: Chris Greenhouse,
http://www.allspeedinnovations.com
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by BIGBRUDDA
