Slipstream - December 2003

Road Ramblings
by Keith Olcha, Maverick Region President
Ayear as region president is coming to an
end for me, as it is also for the rest of the
executive team, the board, and a year of
Slipstream under editor, Matt Platts. I view
Slipstream as the heart of the club. I don’t know
about you, but I’m just not ready to give up print
and hardcopy pictures. I think Matt has done a
super job this year taking over for Wendy Shoffit,
her past work as editor was definitely a benchmark. I hope you’ve
all enjoyed Slipstream this year, and if you’ve got any suggestions
for next year, please forward them to Matt (editor@mavpca.org),
who has graciously agreed to return next year as our editor. I also
want to thank all our executive officers, chair persons, board
members, and many other committee members for helping in
planning and running the region and its events this year. I hope all
of you had as much fun as I did this year!
Karen and I recently attended Maverick’s November 8th
annual celebration- Founder’s Day, where we had 120 attendees
including the PCA Parade National Committee. They were in
town for the weekend as part of Parade planning meetings and
activities, so we invited them to our banquet at Texas Motor
Speedway. As part of Founders Day we present various awards.
I’m pleased to announce that Mike Lockas won the Greg Murrell
Driving Enthusiast Award, Chuck Machala and Wendy Shoffit
as the Time Trial/Autocross Top-Driver (men’s and ladies,
was into VW beetles in a big way. He had two in that time
period and hopped them both up with stinger exhausts, custom
wheels, shift knobs, etc. I was the helper, and often rode with him
anytime he would let me come along. When it was time for me
to learn to drive, he was already in the “excess-car” mode that so
many of us get into as enthusiasts. He had some old MGs and
one late 60s Beetle in addition to a regular driver. I learned to
drive on that VW Beetle, and he often let me take it out by myself,
even if not completely legal for a learner’s permit-only driver.
Boy, were things a lot simpler 30 years ago with cars, especially
that bug. If you saw the way I drove, you’d know how glad I am
there were fewer cars on the road back then, too.
In terms of Porsche cars, 2003 was an incredible year for new
car introductions- the GT3, the Cayenne, the Twin-Turbo and
C4S Cabriolets, and the Carrera GT. I’m sure the first customer
Carrera GTs won’t get into people’s hands until early –mid 2004.
I can’t wait to see the first Carrera GT in person. Perhaps one of
our area dealers will have an unveiling party?
Also a quick note from Maverick Jeff Jones- in reference to
last month’s Road Ramblings- he and Alan Lage have been
happily using Griot’s detailing and car care products for a couple
of years. They work well and they are produced and tested by
Griots themselves. Happy Holidays everyone- enjoy the colder
weather and see you next year.
...even if not completely legal...
respectively) award recipients (based on a points calculation
system), and Cody Sears the Driver’s choice AX and TT Top
Driver Award. In addition I was pleased to announce Cody as the
Richard F. Selcer Award winner. The Selcer Award is given to the
Maverick member who the current year President feels has been
a significant leader and contributor to the region and its
activities. Lanean Hughes also did a wonderful job organizing
the evening and our silent auction, which raised $2900 for the
Hope Shelter, a Maverick charity.
With the end of the year here, I want to remind you about
our annual Holiday party on December 13th. Karen and I plan
on going and enjoying the hospitality of Jay and Lisa Walker, this
year’s gracious hosts. Speaking of December, my driving events
are over until February or so and I’ve got to lay out my plans for
what to work on during the off-season. This year might be the
least, in terms of work on my 911, but I’m toying with a few
projects for the Boxster. I’m thinking about some suspension
upgrades and Litronic (Xenon) headlamps to name a couple.
We’ll see.
I’m writing this column on my brother, Gary’s, birthday.
I must thank him again for my introduction to cars, and
particularly air-cooled ones. You see, Gary graduated
high-school in 1967, the VW Beetle heyday. During his last
couple of years in high-school, and the summers after both, he
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