Kris Mandt and Barb Coburn  Kris Mandt

I'm 40, married and have a son 19 who lives with my ex-wife. My wife Nancy and I live in Iowa City Iowa, where I work as a design technician for a gas/electric utility (MidAmerican Energy).My wife is a principal clerk in the research department with ACT the college testing folks. Hobbies for me (other than racing) are; reading SciFi, Tom Clancy and tech. info books on cars/racing, building race car models and collecting die cast cars. I also love to cook and have begin to home brew beer. The wife likes to do crafts and sewing on the side.


I guess my interest in Motorsports goes back to my childhood. I grew up in Waterloo Iowa and the guy who lived across the street, drag raced motorcycles. I spent many an afternoon with him being a pit "gofer". Plus there were many Saturday nights spent at the local 1/2 mile dirt track watching the local heroes race stock cars. When the family moved to Des Moines back in 1974, I got introduced to the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and began to autocross my VW Superbeetle. I've autocrossed quite a few cars in the past with my best finish being the winner of C Mod. at the 1980 SCCA Mid West Solo 2 Divisional Championship in a Beech Formula Vee. I placed 6th at the SCCA Solo 2 National Championships that year in that car. The car I had the most fun autocrossing was a friends Ferrari 308, I now know what it feels like to spin out a REAL expensive car <G>.


Shortly after beginning to autocross I attended my first SCCA race in August of 1975 at Mid America Raceway (MAR) in Wentsville MO. I worked corners for the first time that weekend and have been hooked on road racing ever sense. I spent most of the next summer working events at both MAR and Brainerd Int. Raceway (BIR) in Minnesota. After a bit I decided I wanted to turn wrenches more than work corners so I volunteered to work on a few local drivers pit crews. Over many years I worked on both amateur and pro pit crews including a stint in both the second generation CanAm and IMSA RS. I also spent two years racing a 100cc Yamaha engined gokart on both street courses and road race tracks.

Back in 1989 I began to work corners again, mainly as a way to help pay back those drivers who took me to 22 different tracks around the US and Canada. In 1992 thanks to the Ruan Greater Des Moines Grand Prix -our former Trans Am street race- I met my wife. I got her hooked on racing shortly after we met and she began to work corners in 1993.

We both hold national level officials licenses in Flagging and Communications (F&C) - read that as marshaling for those over the pond. She also holds a national Starters license and in 1999 she will be the Divisional Administrator for Starters in the Mid West Division of the SCCA. I tried my hand at starting last year and hope to continue to work that specialty from time to time in the future. We both have served on the board of directors for the Des Moines Valley Region of the SCCA in the past.

We work a lot of weekends -although not as many as Dick and Barb <G> - with our average for the last three years at 36 days (39 days last year). We have worked events for; ASA, ARCA, NASCAR, CART and SCCA Pro along with our "normal" SCCA club events. The tracks we will work this season are Heartland Park Topeka, Blackhawk Farms Raceway, Gateway Int. Raceway, the Minneapolis street race course, the new Route 66 Speedway outside of Chicago and Mid Ohio for the full week of the SCCA Runoffs. The closest track to us is Blackhawk Farms - only 3 1/2 hours drive away, with most of the others at 5 + hours diving time. So we also get a lot of "windsheld time" though out the season.

 

and more...

 

Name: Kris Mandt 

Nationality & Location: American, Iowa City, Iowa

Competitior or Former Competitor: Road and street raced a 100cc gokart
(race kart?- 80 -100 mph top end) for two years. Autocrossed (Solo 2)
everything from a Beach Formula Vee to a Acura Integra. 

Worker - Motor Club and type of work at meetings: Member of Sports Car Club
of America (SCCA) holds a national license in Flagging and Communications
(F&C), also regional level lic. in Start and Emergency Services. My wife
Nancy holds national lic. in F&C and Start and is the Midwest Divisional
Administrator for Starters.

I started working F&C at Mid America Raceways in 1975. Worked F&C for one
year and then decided to work as pit crew for amateur and pro road racers.
Spent time on a second gen. CanAm team and with the 2 time IMSA RS
championship team of Chuck Hemmingson. 

Got back into working F&C in 1989. The wife and I have worked an average of
34 race days over the last 3 years. We worked 38 days this season. Our
closest track is 3 1/2 hours drive away. 

I follow just about all forms of motorsports.