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Slipstream - March 2012

The monthly newsletter of the Maverick Region of the Porsche Club of America

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continued from page 11<br />

off, half of left front nose gone with<br />

bent hood and fender. End of his<br />

final race. Turn 17 goes under a<br />

bridge and there is no way a driver<br />

can see a super slow car upon<br />

entry at speed. He was flying and<br />

gonna win the class by somewhere<br />

around half a lap, as he had done<br />

all weekend. Such a shame.<br />

Thomas Jones’ Spec Boxster after Turn 17 in the<br />

Enduro<br />

Billy also has some bad luck. He<br />

is dueling hard somewhere near<br />

30 minute mark. I do not know<br />

what position he is fighting for<br />

in class - I think it is either first<br />

or second place. Nose to tail with<br />

another Cup car, they enter a<br />

corner with Billy having his left<br />

front corner slightly left of his<br />

competitor’s right rear wheel. Right<br />

rear of the opposing car goes flat<br />

and they collide. Unbelievable.<br />

Jim Buckley has been looking<br />

pretty strong all weekend. We<br />

thought he could finish top three<br />

and even possibly win in E class. His<br />

wife Leslie was gonna help with his<br />

refueling and they had a pit stall assigned<br />

two away from ours. I visited<br />

with her multiple times before and<br />

even during the Enduro. We were<br />

planning on running over and<br />

lending a hand during Jim’s stop if<br />

we could. I think it was lap 12 that<br />

he goes by us on the front straight<br />

with smoke coming from the rear<br />

of the car. It looks intermittent and<br />

we start to worry. Next lap looks<br />

worse. Lap 14 he retires with a right<br />

cam feed line pouring oil on the<br />

exhaust. AAAAArrrrrrrggghhh.<br />

Bryan Bell has<br />

a good run with<br />

his brother-in-law<br />

Charles Bray. They<br />

finish 1-2 in SP996<br />

class. Unfortunately<br />

they are the only<br />

two in that class.<br />

I hope it grows.<br />

They stay out of<br />

trouble and get the<br />

job done. Way to<br />

go guys. Charles is<br />

also a Mav so HEY,<br />

Mavs dominated<br />

SP996 class. Ha!<br />

Then there is<br />

James. Our very<br />

own Mr. Shoffit<br />

shows up and simply works at<br />

getting quicker. Never at a loss for<br />

humor is James. He comes in at one<br />

point and is steaming with anxious<br />

emotion. “I<br />

got schooled<br />

out there, I got<br />

killed every<br />

lap!” The D<br />

class starts with<br />

nine cars in<br />

qualifying. By<br />

the time the<br />

Enduro starts<br />

there are five<br />

cars left including<br />

James.<br />

On Saturday<br />

he comes in<br />

and looks at<br />

Thomas and<br />

says “I was all<br />

over yer bumper till the green<br />

flag dropped!” That exclamation<br />

has us all rolling around laughing<br />

for quite some time. When<br />

the Enduro finally gets going? He<br />

simply goes out and gets it right.<br />

Second in class at the checker<br />

and is only a couple feet from<br />

first place. Nice work James!<br />

Gary and I are up at 6:30 am each<br />

day, watching the sun come up with<br />

a cup of coffee while overlooking<br />

the track from our balcony. It is<br />

always being cleaned by workers<br />

driving sweepers, etc., as we sit<br />

and watch in the pre-dawn light.<br />

Palm trees in the background<br />

sometimes with fog surrounding<br />

the trunks as the sun comes up.<br />

Then go from 7 am to dark thirty<br />

with meetings, practice sessions,<br />

warm ups, qualifying, sprints, and<br />

the Enduro. Standing in hot pits,<br />

checking tire pressures, replacing<br />

brake pads, worries over possible<br />

brake fluid seepages getting worse,<br />

tire maintenance, fuel usage calculations,<br />

and pit stop strategies.<br />

Oh My!<br />

Billy Stevens in his GT3 Cup car<br />

<strong>March</strong> 15

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