ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Rod Millen grabbed his second win of the season last weekend at the Manistee Trails PRO Rally when John Buffum's Audi went topsey-turvey on Stage 14 of the Michigan event. When Buffum limped in to the service area in Cadillac, both sides of the Quattro were badly crunched, the windshield was popping out and the front left corner was also severely bent. The crowds watched in fascination as the crew, including Buffum, quickly went to work. They had just one hour to put the car to rights. Recruiting a local Quattro to help out, they attached a tow rope to Buffum's smashed left front and drove backwards, carefully, over and over again until the fender was clear of the radiator. At the end of the hour, the Audi racecar, looking a little worse for wear, was ready -- and so was Buffum. It was clear that he intended to recapture as much as possible of the 12 minutes he lost after the roll, and by determination and effort, he was able to do so. It was not enough, however, and Rod Millen took the win -- giving him a slim 5-point lead in the series. At year's end, only the best 7 of 9 events are counted for the Driver's Championship. Buffum now has one DNF and one second place finish, both of which he will probably want to throw out. That means the pressure is on for the rest of the season.

One of the rally's most avid spectators was Ron Slager, the event sponsor. His company, Hearing Aid Centers of Kalamazoo was a new addition to Manistee Trails and their support was highly visible. "I was impressed by the high calibre of people rallying attracts I'am interested in a long-term commitment to the sport", Slager said after the event. HAC's support didn't stop with the organizers, as they donated $3,000 worth of equipment to the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee. This will enable hearing impaired patrons of the theatre to sit anywhere and enjoy enjoy equally fine audio -- the only system of this type installed in a theatre in western Michigan.

In the Production Class, Doug Shepherd is moving up rapidly on leader Walter Boyce who had problems in this rally with a broken throttle cable, Shepherd took the class win with less than a minute margin between himself and second place finisher, Guy Light. Cal and Karen Landau from Pennsylvania took third in class with their Dodge Charger. Chrysler products are well represented in the PRO Rally Series these days, and this event saw top Chrysler official Dick Maxwell competing --- taking 5th in Production Class.

Competition is also heating up in Production GT where Steve Nowicki took his second win in as many starts driving a Nissan 3OOZX. Steve is a former Standard Production class champion who got a late start in the `84 season, but he is making up time fast second was taken by the personable John Crawford of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, in another Dodge product, with third going to Kelsey's Mazda.

Next event on the SCCA PRO Rally calendar is the famous Budweiser Press On Regardless PRO Rally to be held in Houghton, Michigan on October 26-28, 1984. For more information, contact SCCA at (303) 779-5525.