Slipstream - October 2012

Drifting: Fifty Years Young
By John Hamilton, Region President
Yup - your
Maverick
Region
is just 50 years
young this year,
with the actual
anniversary date
falling on December
24. We’ve had a great 50th
year so far, with our “50 Cars for
50 Years” celebration at TMS,
and our upcoming Holiday and
Founders’ Day celebrations.
This year’s Founders’ Day (Saturday,
December 1 - mark your calendar
now) will be particularly meaningful,
since it’s when we celebrate
the founding of our club back in
1962! To add to that celebration,
we have two nationally known
guests attending and participating:
• Master of Ceremonies: Mark
Shevitz, who continues to be the
emcee for the national Porsche
Parades, and is the president of SJI
Inc. in St. Louis, which specializes
in managing promotional events. A
professional speaker and business
consultant, Mark is also a great
friend of the Maverick Region.
• Keynote Speaker: David Hobbs,
who has a vast 30-year history of
international driving experience
at all levels of motor sports, including
sports cars, touring cars, Indy
cars, IMSA, Can-Am, and Formula
One. He has participated in the
Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours
of Daytona. He made twenty starts
in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race,
finishing in 8th place at the first attempt
in 1962, following with a pole
position and a best finish of third
(in 1969 and 1984) to his credit.
In 1971 Hobbs won the U.S. Formula
5000 L&M Continental Series
championship, driving for Carl
Hogan out of St. Louis, Missouri,
in a McLaren M10B-Chevrolet. He
2
won five of the
eight rounds that
year at Laguna
Seca, Seattle, Road
America (Elkhart
Lake), Edmonton
and Lime Rock.
Twelve years later,
he would claim
the 1983 Trans-Am
Series championship
as well. He
also made two
NASCAR Winston
Cup starts in 1976,
including leading
two laps at the
1976 Daytona 500,
and drove a race in the 1979
International Race of Champions.
Today, David Hobbs provides commentary
for Formula One and GP2
races on the Speed Channel (alongside
Bob Varsha and former Benetton
engineer Steve Matchett), the
SCCA Valvoline runoffs, and parts
of the 24 Hours of Daytona. He has
also worked for CBS on its Daytona
500 coverage, working as both a
color commentator and a feature/
pit reporter from 1979 until 1996.
So mark your calendar now for
December 1, and watch for the
announcement when we open registration
to attend our 50th Anniversary
Founders’ Day celebration!
Mav of the Month
Some people wait to be told
to do something. Others see
something that needs to be
done, and just go do it! This
month’s Mav of the Month
comes from the second group.
As a regular participant and helper
for our Autocross and Time Trial
events, Travis Howard has spent
many hours operating our equipment
vehicle, lovingly known as
“The Truxster.” This vehicle has
been through a lot over the years,
without much attention to maintenance
and upkeep. So last month,
Travis got together several of the
people who normally work the
events, and together they repaired
and performed necessary maintenance
on it. New oil, brake fluid,
back doors: they did it all and
more. So thank you, Travis, for
taking the lead on getting the old
Truxster back in shape. Enjoy your
well-deserved gift card to the Silver
Fox Steakhouse!