Slipstream - July 2004

Road Ramblings
by Keith Olcha, Maverick Region President
Welcome 49th annual Porsche Parade
attendees! You’re reading this
because you have successfully
registered and received this copy of
Slipstream, our newsletter, as part of that
process. Two years ago when we began the
process of bidding for this Parade, it seemed
like it would never come. Easy for me to say,
not being one of the chairpersons responsible
for a particular event you are looking forward to this
week. Our Maverick Region last hosted the 32nd Parade in
1987. While then chairperson, Teri Davis, is still actively
involved in this 49th Parade along with other contributors
from back then, much as changed, too.
The 1987 Parade was held in Dallas. While Dallas and
Fort Worth are virtually next-door when driving from, say
California, they are if fact, almost 60 miles apart. We
decided to hold this Parade in Fort Worth because of the
venues involved and the cowtown flair of the city. In fact,
the Texas Motor Speedway and the current version of our
host hotel did not exist back in 1987. We really hope you
will enjoy the format we’ve laid out this year, plus the extra
bonus of a Club Race and two days of racetrack driver’s
education packed into the week of traditional Parade
events. Having those events running in parallel with the
Autocross should provide sensory overload at the end of
the week to balance the sensory overload the beautiful cars
at the Concours start the week with.
miles southwest of downtown Fort Worth. We went from
famine to feast for track junkies in 7 years. We have two
tracks within a 70-mile radius from most of our members.
We normally run a large portion of our time trials and
autocrosses at the Mineral Wells airport- a former military
helicopter base, since closed for many years. Unfortunately
to hold the Parade Autocross there would have involved a
one hour commute each day. Instead we’ve opted for one of
our other venues, the parking lots at TMS. TMS is about
twenty miles from the Worthington Hotel. Inside TMS will
be driver’s education or club racing depending upon the
day of the week. On the outside are the remote hospitality
site (complete with pool) and the autocross competition, as
well as the Michelin “Try Me Tires.” This concept will allow
folks to move back and forth between many events easily.
Annually, Maverick Region holds five driving school
days, six time-trials, six autocrosses, four Drivers Education
weekends, and a Club Race each year, skipping only 3
months due to weather and holidays. I think it’s an ambitious
schedule, but one we all enjoy. This year’s Parade has
an ambitious schedule that will be very satisfying as well.
I’m hoping to meet as many of you as I can this week, and
I can’t thank our Maverick Region Parade committee and
their PCA National committee counterparts enough for
their help in putting this 49th Parade on for all of us. Enjoy
the week, my friends.
... if you didn’t already know it,
it does get hot here in July ...
If you didn’t already know, it does get hot here in Texas
in July. Unfortunately, the hottest part of the day is around
6:00pm. The good news is that it’s a dry heat. They told me
I couldn’t write this article if I didn’t say that. Seriously,
with that in mind, we anticipate ending all traditional
Parade events by 2:00pm or earlier each day, and racetrack
activities by 3:00pm or so. By now you’ve been told twentyseven
times that the Tech-Quiz is on Wednesday and the
volunteer party on Friday night. Consider this your 28th.
As of this writing, I’m told there will be a Carrera GT on
display at the Worthington Hotel through Tuesday, and
then out at the Texas Motor Speedway the rest of the week.
It will also be running some laps on the track during
lunchtime at the end of the week. I know it’s not the cars,
it’s the people (a Maverick member penned that quote,
by-the-way), but this is a pretty special car and I was even
hoping we might also get a preview of the new 997 due in
dealers later in the year.
Back on the topic of racetracks, in the past the only
venues near North Texas were Texas World Speedway in
College Station (home of Texas A&M), and Hallett, near
Tulsa, Oklahoma. Each track is a three and four hour drive,
respectively. In the last 7 years we’ve seen the building of
TMS, as well as a 1.8-mile club track where we hold five
DEs each year- MotorSport Ranch in Cresson, Texas, 20
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