Slipstream - September 2003

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Later Sunday I caught a ride with fellow Zone 5 Instructor Bob Hieronymus from Hill Country Region in his 911. We then swapped and Bob rode with me in my 951. We compared notes about different approaches and lines though corners. Bob commented that he did not know that I could toss my 951 though the Inner Loop “like a 911” and noticed how much I caught up on other drivers there. (Bob did not know about my Friday brake zone exercises to maximize my Inner Loop entry speed). As we headed into Turn 10, we both spot “snow” – lots of “snow” suddenly rising rather than falling in the air. However, it is not real snow but rather small pieces of Styrofoam flying through the air and large pieces littering the short straight between Turn 10 and Turn 11. As I gingerly picked my way through the debris, Bob looked at the outside wall at the remains of several smashed Styrofoam soft-wall blocks. The culprit, a white 911 RSA, was crossing the track ahead of us limping onto Pit Road with a rather crumpled rear end. Well, THAT was exciting! Another white RSA would find its way into the Styrofoam blocks at the same location on the track later in the day. I saw four cars damaged during the weekend. While this may seem like a lot of car damage at a DE, I have to qualify the damage by the nature of the track. There are very few places around the Watkins Glen track where someone can spin or drive off without getting car damage. Recall that the Armco surrounds the track; tire barriers line the Armco at Turn 6 and Turn 9, and Styrofoam soft-wall blocks appear in many of the corners. At TWS and MSR, we have the luxury to “drive off” the track when something goes wrong, and even spins pose little problems since the tracks have ample run off areas. The Glen is different – with Armco within two or three feet of the track in most places and right on the edge of the asphalt in others. Small errors at The Glen can result in significant car damage. While the track is wonderfully exciting to drive, it can bite and bite hard. Sunday ended with a light rain shower during the last 10 minutes of the final 45-minute run session. Everyone told me it always rains at The Glen, so this small shower so late into the event did not bother me at all. I was already hot and tired, and the shower helped to cool me off at the end of a long weekend of track driving. I logged just under 500 miles on the track during the three days – all but 3.4 miles in the dry. We had hauled a set of mounted rain tires with us, but never needed to put them on the car. Murphy’s Law says that if we had not hauled those tires half way across the country, it would have rained every day. As it was, the rain came during those last 10 minutes, but stopped as the cars entered the paddock. We were able to pack up and say farewell to The Glen in the dry. My car ran perfectly all weekend, and it did not have any tire wall scares, or bite marks from blue Armco – this had been a very successful and fun-filled weekend. My thanks to all of the Zone 1 staff for providing a terrific event: Henry Hoeh - Zone 1 Rep and Event Chairman, George & Connie Beuselinck - Registrars, Dave Maynard – Chief Driving Instructor, Bob Michaelson – Zone 1 Safety Chairman, and the rest of the Zone 1 staff including the all-volunteer corner worker crew. Also, thanks to Don McGilvery and Steve Atwell, fellow Zone 1 Instructors for their mentoring and helping this Maverick take his first laps around The Glen. Lest I forget my student, Mary Anne Broda, for providing me with the opportunity to obtain even more track time by sitting in the right seat of her car. Finally, a trip to Watkins Glen would not be complete without a drive around the original Grand Prix road race circuit. With our handy map in hand (which we picked up at the Seneca Lodge restaurant), we took a lap around the original 1948-1952 6.6-mile road course. While it would have been nice to make this lap in the 951, we settled for the Ford Expedition since the course follows public streets and the 951 is not quite street legal. However, it was a pleasant journey through history as we read the Self-Guided Tour brochure and drove along the historical roads.You could almost hear the roar of the cars (maybe it was just me making motor noises) and see the crowds (farm animals) standing along side the road cheering me on. It was a fitting end to a weekend of driving at Watkins Glen. 24
Post-Parade Party by Wendy Shoffit The Prairie House restaurant in old downtown Carrollton has been our Post Parade Party spot for the past few years. Their delicious barbeque and cobbler coupled with a private room makes it the ideal location. Nearly 40 Maverick members came out to tell stories and listen to others’ about this year’s Porsche Parade near Tampa, Florida. There were trophies, pictures, and souvenirs on display. Some even included electronic slideshows for the after dinner entertainment. Linda Bambina was kind enough to bring a screen, digital projector, and PA system to help out. She was also first up with her digital presentation. As always, she gave a first class performance, both with her fun Myra and Fran show off Parade Shirts photos and interesting stories. If you can believe it, she even got Peter Porsche to put on Alan’s cowboy hat AND shirt to pose for a series of pictures. It was Simply Amazing. James and I had a few photos to share, but they were mostly of Jasmine, and good friend, Geneva Spreen. They both had a great time together in Florida. This year had a fantastic program designed for the children, including Geneva and Jasmine are short a few teeth coconut painting and an overnight trip to the aquarium. We were very fortunate to bring them back whole… some of the alligators in the resort were a bit, ummm, large-ish. Our illustrious editor, Matt Platts, provided us with a show Photo by Wendy Shoffit Photo by Wendy Shoffit Photo by Wendy Shoffit Tom and Annette Snodgrass pose for a photo. Photo by Wendy Shoffit of a different sort. You see, our president, Keith Olcha, attended Parade this year. Unfortunately, though, he had to leave early and missed the autocross banquet where he would have received his 3rd place trophy. James was there and accepted the award on Keith’s behalf. But, the party didn’t stop there… Keith’s trophy went on to have a helluva good time in spite of its owner’s ...Needless to say, the trophy had almost as much fun as the escorts.. absence. Matt, James, Mark and Lisa Steele, and I made sure that the trophy partied a’plenty that night and photographed it all. From singing with the hot chick band to having a drink with Jutta Wendy and James kept the tropical theme going Altenhoff, having a swim with a local frog, getting a massage at the spa, and even tossing its cookies after having too much to drink. Rumor has it that it woke up in bed with a married woman… scandalous! Needless to say, the trophy had almost as much fun as its escorts. True to form, KO was also missing in action at the Post Parade Party and even missed the recap of his trophy’s fun. What a pity - he even missed the peach cobbler. All in all, the night was a hoot. The only thing better than hearing about Parade is actually experiencing first hand. Just ask Keith. So, go ahead and ask for your vacation time now, July 4 through 10 right here in Fort Worth. Y’all Come! Hope Shelter Needs Your Donations! Clothing, Household, Furniture, and Kitchen Items Please contact Lanean Hughes for more information, 972-484-3040 or lhughes@fmstech.com 25
Page 1 and 2: www.pca.org/mav September 2003 - Pu
Page 3 and 4: www.pca.org/mav Volume 48, Septembe
Page 5 and 6: 3
Page 7 and 8: Road Ramblings by Keith Olcha, Mave
Page 9 and 10: Email: mayos@imagin.net or FAX at (
Page 11 and 12: Happy Hour at The Main Event by Den
Page 13 and 14: The Importance of an RSVP by Mimi S
Page 15 and 16: Art Appreciation Rally by Russell J
Page 17 and 18: Photo by Bill Stafford The 2nd plac
Page 19 and 20: McKinney Library Concours by Beth S
Page 21 and 22: 28” x 35” Garage Posters! PRINT
Page 23 and 24: Autocross #5 Results Class Car # Na
Page 25: tried braking between 400 and 300?
Page 29 and 30: New Wheels If you have any changes
Page 31 and 32: Slipstream Advertiser for 25 years!

Slipstream - September 2003

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