November 2021 - Volume 59, Issue 11 |
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Caffeine & Porsches
Photo Collin Fat (from the roof)
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From The Editor
Mike Willis
The year is winding down time to think about events for next year. There will be a planning meet at the beginning of 2022.
But before that is the rest of 2021 with our Christmas Party. Look below for the dinner signup. The deadline to sign up and make your dinner selections and reservations is rapidly sneaking up on us.
Post event coverage is open to anyone to write something and send to me for publication. Pictures are always welcome.
When sending me a video it needs to be on a webpage (link) or a file not to exceed 5MB. Also images have the same limit. (I am able to resize most of them).
In addition The Drifter is available to our advertisers to also submit articles to our members. Please contact me about timing for any of these articles.
Please note text that is blue text is a link. As we use MSR (Motorsport Registration) all of those events advertised are linked to the specific registration.
This issue contains the following as you scroll through.
Also remember that all advertisers are linked to their web page.
Editor Comments
President's Column
Vice President Calendar Information
SVR 2021 Christmas Party
SVR Membership
Caffeine & Porsches
Secretary Board Minutes
Brookfields Monthly Breakfast
Long Creek Winery Tour
M_AX Fun
A Track Day At Laguna
Driving to Porsche Parade
In The Zone
SVR Classifieds
SVR Store
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Vacant, Advertising
Vacant, Flyers
Rik Larson, Proof Reader/Tickler
Ed Parra, Reporter
Skip Quain, Contributor
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Greg Peart 3rd Place Monterey |
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Rik Larson, SVR President
PDK (Pretty Darn Kwik)
November 2021
PDK (Pretty Darn Kwik)
What happened to the SVR election for 2022?
· Easy answer is that the new bylaws that went into effect on January 1, 2021 provided for a 2-year term for the six elected positions on the board (which was downsized by those same bylaws from 10 positions to 7 positions).
· The election process starts prior to April 1, 2022 with the selection of a Chairperson of the Nominating Committee. The election will be held in November 2022.
Finished for 2021
· The SVR Autocross season is done. Expect to see awards presented at the SVR Christmas Party on December 17th. Don't forget to bring your unwrapped toys for the CHiPs for Kids folks.
· The Zone 7 Autocross season is also finished. Expect to see awards presented in early 2022. Collin Fat, Zone 7 Representative is looking for a suitable location and date.
Getting back to normal?
· Sign up for the Christmas Party on Friday, December 17th.
· The 2022 SVR Planning meeting (also known as the Annual Planning Meeting according to the bylaws) has been scheduled for Thursday night, January 6th. We will return to the Round Table Pizza at Madison and Greenback for pizza.
· The Pacific Grove tour will occur in May 2022.
· The SVR 60th Anniversary event is scheduled for September 24, 2022.
· CRAB 38 will now occur in 2023 instead of 2022. John Lanting and John Hawk continue to look for volunteers to help with this endeavor. There are still several more positions to fill. You can contact them at CRAB@svr-pca.org to discuss the various needs.
Rumors or not?
· I was just thinking the other day and doing some calculations and came up with the fact that PORSCHE will be 75 years old in 2023.
· Some of you remember that there was a big celebration by PORSCHE to celebrate their 50th anniversary at Laguna Seca in Monterey (well really Salinas) in 1998.
· Fact: The Porsche Parade will be held in Palm Springs in 2023. Well actually at the La Quinta Resort in La Quinta. It could be warm in June. When this event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 they had over 1,000 cars registered.
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Sally Boeck
Vice President
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This month starts off with the annual Mendocino Tour. It’s usually such a pretty and fun drive through the wine country to the coast. We are so lucky to have Rik Larson continue to put on this event. Don’t forget your kites!
On November 28, we have Christmas Tree decorating at the California Auto Museum. This is also an annual event. It’s such fun to decorate the trees with Porsche related decorations and enjoy a huge potluck dinner. If you have not attended this event in the past, try to make it this year. After our trees are decorated, you can wander around the museum at your leisure. If you happen to have any Porsche Christmas decorations to add to the mix, feel free to bring them. Thanks, Kim Nelson, for continuing to chair this event.
December 4 is the Saturday Breakfast at Backfields in Rancho Cordova, organized by Jerry Alter. Thanks, Jerry.
Now, near the end of the year, it’s time to be thinking ahead to events for next year. Be thinking of events you would like to put on, and ideas for events you would like to attend in 2022. It’s never too early to get started!
Sally
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Registration is open and is starting to fill up quickly.
Click on the below to register.
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Ken Shahoian, Membership Director
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The year is winding down. There is still time to do some things with SVR. Take a look at the SVR calendar events that may interest you.
Also for all members, if you need a name badge
please contact me to order one.
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Membership Reports For October 2021 |
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Since we use e-mail for most of our communications, it is necessary to keep our e-mail address current with SVR and PCA. To update your information, go to www.pca.org and login. You can then make any updates (address, car, e-mail etc.). Also, even though we receive the information from PCA monthly, you can send the same updates to: membership@svr-pca.org. New Member badges will now come with a removable colored sticker to encourage introductions at club events. They can be removed at any time. Welcome to the Sacramento Valley Region of the Porsche Club of America.
SVR - PCA Member Services
Not a Porsche owner but interested in the PCA? Try the PCA Test Drive program. For information, go to: www.pca.org/pca-test-drive Need to update your PCA information? Update your PCA record at www.pca.org
Do you have 2 e-mail addresses? Want Club info sent to a second email, work, home, spouse, friend...? It’s as easy as e-mailing your second e-mail address to the Membership Director, Ken Shahoian at: membership@svr-pca.org
How can I contact the SVR-PCA by mail?
Sacramento Valley Region-PCA,
Post Office Box 254651,
Sacramento, CA 95865-4651
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Caffeine & Porsche's at Fat's Roseville, Photos Collin Fat. |
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Nancy Olson, Secretary
SVR September Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Subject to approval by SVR Board
SVR Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
Meeting Date/Time: Tuesday, October 5, 2021; 7 pm; targeted to end by 9 pm
Location: ZOOM Video Conference (Due to COVID -19 restrictions)
Meeting called to order at 7:05
Board Members Present (4 needed for a quorum)
Excused --- Mike Willis
Present: Rik Larson, Sally Boeck, Bob Peake, Nancy Olson, Jerry Alter, Ken Shahoian, Richard Wetzel
John Lanting and John Hawk joined to report on Crab
Richard MacFarlane joined at 8:16
Introduction of guests:
Non
Any Changes or Additions to the Agenda?
● Email Business Conducted
● MRS - cancellation of Sept dinner and refund status
● Release Forms
1) Old Business
a. DRAFT Minutes from board meeting held on July 6, 2021 *Bob Peake moved and Sally Boeck
second. Motion passed
b. DRAFT Minutes from board meeting held on September 7, 2021 *Mike Willis and Bob Peake
second. Motion passed
c. Motion for acceptance of July 6, 2021 minutes *see above
d. Motion for acceptance of September 7, 2021 minutes *see above
e. Christmas Party ---- Mike Willis --- update; Charity Event (CHiP'S for Kids --- PCA subsidy YES; 24
people signed up so far.) *Rik reported on Christmas Party progress. Bob Peake reported that only 9
people of paid via MSR
f. SVR 60th Anniversary Event - Kirk Bradford --- update after January 2022 ----- meal pricing not
available until then)
g. Sacramento Auto Show participation by SVR? -- Dick MacFarlane (see attached Exhibit Space
Agreement)
i. October 15-17, 2021 at Cal Expo
ii. Event cancel by organizer --- COVID
iii. Contract was signed by Rik and forwarded to the organizer as requested.
iv. Event was cancelled by organizer
v. We will look forward to participating next year.
h. CRAB 38 --- updated from John Lanting and John Hawk *John Hawk reported from the financial
prospective - connection issues. John Lanting - 4 additional volunteers (new members). Need
experience people to assistant major positions. No communication from Food/Beverage Chairman.
Some of the sponsors from last year are no longer in business. Nancy Olson will be Registration and
will work with John Lanting discuss registration progress. Cost per person may need to be increased
from $125 due to lack of sponsors. Funds spent on 2020 crab have been transferred to
2022(deposited) and awards have been prepped/paid. 8 positions left to fill - names have been
suggested as possible chairman's. It was suggested that CRAB be moved to 2023 due to lack of
chairman's, sponsors and COVID. *It was moved by Sally Boeck and second by Bob Peake to
postpone CRAB to 2023. Motion passed.
i. other????
2) Past SVR Event Feedback, Reports filed Waivers, Expenses, etc. PLEASE NOTE that a number of
reports for events have not been filed per Collin Fat, Zone 7 Representative. We will discuss in more
detail at the meeting.
a. SVR Tour to Long Creek Winery, October 2nd ---- reports filed, article for November DRIFTER?
b. Chairs will send waivers to VP to be stored.
c. Nancy will research how to gain access to sign forms on MSR
3) FACEBOOK Status
a. Rik has not forwarded letter to FACEBOOK yet (been just a little busy).
4) Future Board Meetings to continue via ZOOM
a. Possible in person meetings beginning January 2022 at Firehouse #32 in Fair Oaks (Cookie)
5) New Business
None
6) Upcoming Events and who is attending?
a. SVR AX, October 16th - Bob Peake will be attending the event.
b. SVR Caffeine and Porsches, October 31st (6 kids registered so far) 28 attendees and 8 children
*Jerry Alter - reported on the event. Ken Shahoian will reach out to new members.
c. SVR Mendocino Tour, November 5th-7th *Rik gave a report and will provide Sally with event
information for insurances.
d. SVR Breakfast, November 6th *Same date as Mendocino tour
e. SVR CAM Christmas Tree Decorating at CAM, November 28th (details needed, budget)*More
details will be provided later
7) Board Reports
a. President
i. Christmas Party ---- program, awards, etc. *Discussion on program - Rik is “wide open” on
the program for this event. Board agreed awards for events
b. Vice President (see calendar in the DRIFTER and on the website) *Sally reported on insurance
requests completed/pending.
c. Secretary (see attached minutes for July 2021 and September 2021 for approval)
i. MSR experiences
ii. Refunds process
iii. Concerns with tracking funding i.e, events with multiple options - Bob Peake
d. Treasurer (see attached documents ---- 3 of them)
i. DROPBOX invoice (Gregg Plourde) ----- annual renewal ----- who uses this ---
background?*Gregg was reimbursed $199 renewal fee for DROPBOX. Bob Peake reported
that Gregg was unable to cancel account. Bob reviewed what was stored in DROPBOX and
the amount of megabytes used by each file. Rik suggested that a meeting be arranged with
Gregg to discuss contents of DROPBOX and purge unnecessary files.
ii. *Bob Peake reviewed Treasurer's report and Banking Summary (see attachment documents)
e. Membership Director (see attached); also SVR logo image needed for 'intro brochure'?*Ken
Shahoian on membership numbers and creating a “brochure” with QR code to handout - card like
size. Bill and Ken will work together on creating a card that reflects Sac Valley members.
f. Social Director - No report
g. Past President - No report
8) Chair Reports
a. Safety
i. AX is handled by Greg Zajic
ii. Other events are handled by Rik Larson until we get a Safety Chair
b. AutoCross
c. Charity (Charity auction to be handled by Dick MacFarlane in 2022 --- none in 2021)
d. Concours
i. GGR Zone 7 event on October 24th is not open to the public
e. CRAB 38
i. Covered under OLD BUSINESS as part of ongoing report - Board voted to postpone CRAB
to 2023.
f. DRIFTER Editor - No report
g. Event Liaison to Porsche Rocklin (excused --- on the road) *No report
h. New Member Group
i. Rally (possible co-sponsoring a TSD Rally in 2022 with Redwood Region)*Richard Wetzel reported
on Redwood Region’s events
j. Share the Wealth
k. Technical Chair
l. Webmaster -- still looking for a volunteer
9) Next Meeting
a. Tuesday, November 2nd, location ZOOM
10) Adjournment : Adjourn at 9:01pm
ACTION/FOLLOW-UP ITEMS:
a) Volunteers, filling of vacant positions (chairs ---- tour, webmaster, historian, safety)
b) Transition of items from 2020 SVR Board and Chairs; location of boxes, assets, etc.
c) 2021 Calendar (SVR, Zone 7, PCA)
d) 2022 Calendar
e) 2022 SVR Planning Meeting, Thursday, January 6th at Round Table Pizza
f) 60th SVR Anniversary ---- September 24, 2022 --- next report in January/February 2022
g) MSR - Nancy
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Long Creek Winery Tour
By Ed Parra
Photos by Collin Fat
Saturday Oct 2, turn out to be a beautiful day and drive to the Long Creek Winery in Oroville.
A group of 18 cars met at Niello Rocklin for a 9:00 AM pre-tour meeting conducted by Ernie and Wendy Bulhoes as well as Tracy and Janice Nations, Tour Leaders. We then departed Niello and meandered over to Hwy 193, taking scenic back roads to reach Hwy 49 near Grass Valley. Next, we hopped on Hwy 20 to Oroville and arrived at the Long Creek Winery tucked away amongst wooded rolling hills near the Oroville Dam.
The owners Mike and Cheryl Phulps, welcomed us with fabulous hors d'oeuvres, especially the marinated pork belly, slow cooked for 6 hours. The tasting was next, with a great wine tasting selection of their 2018 Pinot Grigio and 2016 Chardonnay, 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016 Zinfandel, 2016 Syrah and their 2013 Merlot blend. After the tasting and a little relaxation in the semi-enclosed dining area we were treated to a great lunch. Their Chef, who introduced himself with the nickname “Fonzie”, did a great job preparing all the meals and was also very engaging and humorous while hosting the wine tasting bar along with the owners.
The entire Porsche crowed spent a few hours chatting during and after lunch, catching up with each other. We hope the Bulhoes and Nations plan another one-day winery tour soon as most of us are ready for another get-away.
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YOUR LOCAL EXPERT IN ALL YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS |
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M_AX Fun
By John Leet, SVR Autocross Chair
Photos Collin Fat
We have concluded the 2021 Autocross season with a fabulous final event on October 16th at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, CA. Our seventh autocross was also part of a two-day event, with Sunday’s racing hosted by Redwood Region. The racing was also the last in the Zone 7 series and presented drivers with their final opportunity to compete for a Zone trophy.
Competition was intense. Huge congratulations to Tara Shapowal who secured Top Time of Day (TTOD), beating out Steve Lau who recently won his class at SCCA Nationals, and the always-fast Monty Pack in 3rd. As an indication of the level of competition in Zone events, the top 9 times were all non-SVR drivers with Alan Booth from SVR in 10th. In PAX (where times are normalized for a car’s theoretical performance), Tara took top honors, followed by Himanshu Patel and Monty Pack.
Saturday night featured a Zone 7 buffet dinner at the Thunderhill Café, which provided great comradery and an opportunity for drivers to share stories of the day. Huge thanks to Collin Fat for organizing.
For the full 2021 SVR Series, congratulations to the following class winners in classes that had multiple competitors with more than half of the events:
A-05 Weyland Fat
O-04 Bob Peake
P-03 Grady Carter
P-04 Drew Powers
P-05 RJ Harrison
P-06 Monty Pack
Reflecting on the season, we continue to build on our success and participation continues to grow as drivers recognize the fun and excitement of driving their cars at the limit in a safe environment. In 2021, we had a total of 389 driver participation days, with an average of over 55 drivers per event. Kudos to the entire autocross team for making this happen.
Thunderhill offers a great venue for autocross, and we are now in planning for the 2022 season. We are looking to extend our season early and late in the year, and potentially avoid a couple of the really hot months in the summer. Our autocross driving school will be held in March of ’22, so if you are interested in learning autocross driving techniques, please keep a lookout for future announcements on scheduling and registration. We are excited to continue to extend participation and welcome anyone who is interested in trying out the sport. Please email me with any questions at autocross@svr-pca.org.
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A Track Day at Laguna
By Skip Quain
Photos by GBM
I retired from Vintage racing my 1962 Lotus 23 (Under two litre Sports racer in 2014 after 30+ years of racing up and down the West coast with a trip to Dallas to run in a support race to the first, and unfortunately, only Dallas Formula One event. The race was run during the July 4th week. I also towed twice to Denver for Vintage events.
After being ill for several months, my health and energy has returned and I was looking forward to running my stock 2012 Carrera 4S on my favorite track Laguna Seca. I found Hooked on Driving. (HOD) was running the October 13th.
Mardi and I filled out the entry forms, booked a room at the Casa Munras In down town Monterey. We planned to arrive Tuesday afternoon, check in and head to dinner.
I looked forward to running my track day The gates at Laguna opened at 7:00 am. We arrived a little after 7:00 AM, checked in. I had signed up for Group B, drivers with some track experience. I had requested a helmet as the helmet I used in my vintage days was well over the” use date.”. On my first session so I would be without a coach. But no worries as I was familiar with Laguna from my Vintage racing.
B Group had a meeting at 8:45 to go over the rules. The “B” Group, consisted of several Porsche GT3 and GT4 Porsches, a couple of front engine Corvettes and two new mid-engine Corvettes. This groups rules allowed the cars to run modified suspensions, racing tires and modified motors.
The track had marked areas where passing would be allowed. Passing would only be allowed when the following driver was pointed by.
A 90 DB sound limit would be strictly enforced. One run above 90 DB and your day was over. I checked with Neillo’s service team and they assured me I would be under the 90 DB limit).
The first lap would be under the yellow flag with no passing. We lined up on the pre-grid based on potential performance. I was gridded in the back of the “B” group as I hadn’t been in a racing for 7 years my driving skills were rusty. I had spent several hours reviewing recordings of my last two years of racing at Laguna in the Lotus. I noticed that I was taking an early apex at several turns. My first goal was to adapt my driving to using to using a latter apex at turns 3, 4, 5,6, and 10.
The “B” Group was waved onto the track for our warm-up lap. Being at the back of the Group B grid about half way down the front straight the faster cars including several GT3 and GT4 Porsches came up behind me to pass. I waved by several when turn two was in front of me. I focused on getting around it. I drove through 2, 3 and 4 using the same line I had driven with the Lotus. After several laps I discovered that the Carrera and it’s wide front and rear tires gave me better grip than the Lotus’ harder and narrower Avon & Dunlop vintage tires. I was getting more comfortable and picking up my pace. But some of the more aggressive drivers had no patience with my slower pace and road my bumper waiting for me to wave them by.
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At the top of the hill going in to “Cork screw” was the checkered flag station. My first session was over. I came into my pit and climbed out of the Porsche. I went to the Group B de-brief. Tupper Hull the head driving coach told me he would go out with me during my next session at 11:05. Great news. I grabbed my laptop and went over my recording of my 2013 ReUnion race – my best event at Laguna. My lap times in the Lotus 23 were in the 1:43 1:44 range. At my next track day, I will bring a stop-watch to time my laps.
Across the paddock in one of the garages was a Taycan 4E-Hybird. After every run the Taycan pulled into the garage and immediately plugged the power source into the Taycan to start charging. Looked like his range was being limited by his high-speed laps.
My next session was at 11:05. Tupper, my instructor, came over and set me up with an earphone that would fit inside my helmet. During the first lap I was having problems hearing so we pulled into hot pits and stopped to adjust the earphone problem solved and now I could hear perfectly. Back onto the track.
Tupper showed me an entirely different line starting with Turn 2. With the Lotus I stayed close to the inside of turn 2 and moved out to the right and headed toward Turn 3. Tuppper talked me through a line through Turn 2 that had me took me to the outside of Turn 2. The Carrera has much better grip than the Lotus and that allowed me to carry more speed around the outside of turn and a higher exit speed as I set up for Turn 3. Tupper emphasized that taking a later Apex than I was using for in the Lotus. After several laps, using a later apex became more natural and I was carrying more speed out of the turns. My line through the Corkscrew had me turning in for Turn 9 later and also taking a later turn-in for turn10. As we pulled onto the front straight Tupper instructed me to keep my concentration on the track ahead and wave following cars by, but don’t slow or move too far to right side of the track.
I got the checkered flag prior to going into Turn 6 at the top of the hill. We exited the track and drove back into my pit. Tupper and I discussed how taking a latter apex going into the turns would allow me to carry more speed out of the turns. Second, he advised me to pay more attention to the track ahead and worry less about the cars lining up to pass paying more attention to the track ahead and worry less about the cars lining up behind to pass.
B Group’s next track session would start 12:35, so Mardi and I went over to the café for lunch. Part of the entry fee provided me a lunch. The hamburgers were better than we expected.
Then back to the Porsche to get ready for B Group’s 12:35 track session. I checked the fuel gauge and had close to a ½ tank. We reminded ourselves to check our fuel level after each session so the Porsche would have sufficient fuel to finish each track session.
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At 12:20 I drove to the starting grid where I placed myself at the back of the slowest group which would to allow me to run some laps before the faster cars came up to pass. Taking a “later Apex” into turn 2 I had a higher exit speed.
Took a later apex going into turn 2 and I immediately saw I could carry more speed around the turn 2 and had a higher exit speed. The same with turn 3, 4 and 5. Taking a “Later Apex” allowed a higher exit speed at each turn.
Sooner than I expended the checkered flag waved going up the hill to Turn 6. Down the Corkscrew I went to the pit entrance and over to my pit. As I was getting out of the Porsche the driver pitted next to me pointed out a significant amount of white smoke coming out of my exhaust pipes. What’s this? The billows of white smoke brought over several other drivers. After several discussions a fellow Porsche owner called the Porsche Monterey and talked with the service manager explaining our problem. Nicholas Newton, the service manager, recommended we slowly drive over to their shop. to have the Carrera checked out.
We slowly drove over to our hotel, unloaded our track gear and proceeded to Porsche Monterey. Nicholas introduced us to Garrett Clapper, the service rep, who would handle our problem. We were in good hands. The Carrera would be checked out Thursday and Garrett contact would us with the result of their diagnosis.
Mardi called Uber and when the Uber driver arrived, we headed back to the hotel. We called ahead and made reservations our favorite Mexican restaurant in Pacific Grove, Peppers.
Thursday morning, we decided to have lunch and see the new James Bond movie.
At the Del Monte shopping center. Another Uber call and over to the Del Monte shopping Center for lunch and the Bond movie. We enjoyed the new James Bond movie with Danial Craig as James Bond. While at the movie we received a call from Garrett at Porsche Monterey with news of the Carrera’s exhaust smoke. After going over the entire engine no errors plus a road test could not duplicate the exhaust smoke problem were found that could have caused the exhaust smoke. We could drive the Carrera home using a soft throttle foot. No need to schedule an immediate service appointment. We had dinner at the hotel.
Our plans were to head back home on Friday morning around 10:00 am. The drive home went smoothly and traffic on I5 heading north was light. The commute traffic heading South on I-5 was at bumper to bumper for miles. We arrived home tired and without any problems and ready for several days of relaxing.
What I learned – I would have to leave behind the technics I had learned driving the Lotus. Driving the Carrera required using a late apex entering the corners which would result in higher speeds exiting the corners because of the Carrera’s wider tires gave a better grip. The Carrera has great brakes and I could brake later with confidence.
For SVR members who enjoy AutoX or would enjoy running on tracks like Laguna Seca and Sears Point track days provides an opportunity to take the next step with your Porsche.
If you have any questions on my Track Day at Laguna feel free to contact me: skipquain@aol.com/650-504-4846.
In spite of the exhaust smoke, we plan to continue the track day events at Sears Point and Laguna in 2021.
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Driving to Porsche Parade in French Lick with friends was an unforgettable experience
by Robert M. Lee, Jr.
Photos Robert M. Lee, Jr.
Several months ago, five couples from the Sacramento Valley Region (SVR) Porsche Club of America were having dinner in El Dorado Hills, California. Over dessert one member blurted out; “why don’t we plan a drive to French Lick, Indiana and attend the 65th Porsche Parade?” There was a moment of silence followed by a babel of “heck yes”, “why nots”, “let’s do it”, and “we are in” statements from the assembled group.
As with many spur of the moment ideas fueled by liberal amounts of good California wine, many of us thought that might be the end of the discussion concerning French Lick and the 2021 Porsche Parade. However, I have since learned to never underestimate several talented people who have been locked down for a year by the Covid 19 restrictions in California.
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Steve and Rita Barker, Rob and Julie Lee, Brian and Sue Sanders,
Larry Moore and Sue Sheehan, Gregg and Rebecca Plourde
In this group of friends and road warriors you had two former Presidents, three former Vice Presidents, two former Secretaries, and two former Membership Directors of the Sacramento Valley Region Porsche club. All who had been as frustrated as the rest of the country over the massive impact of the Covid 19 restrictions on their lives and the social aspects of the SVR club. I quickly learned this was not a “throw away idea.”
The late fall 2020 dinner ended with each couple having assignments to research different aspects of what would be involved for a 5,000-mile round trip drive to Indiana with touring on the way home. Assignments ranged from route planning to the plan to ensure all five couples could get signed up at the same time for the Parade with proper hotel accommodations in French Lick (no small feat which you know if you have ever tried to sign up for a PCA Parade).
Assignments did not end there. Members of our group have wide and varied backgrounds, which were brought to bear on different requirements. One member is an expert seamstress and volunteered to create a custom logo for our band of travelers. We ended up with black shirts displaying the Porsche 2021 Parade logo with the German phase: “Freunde auf Tour or Friends on Tour” embroidered on the front of our shirts. These were worn and displayed at several of the Parade events in Indiana. Another member assembled games and travel bags for each person. Her trivia games were very educational and fun.
Our computer experts started a detailed route plan that would keep us on the back roads of America all the way to Indiana and back with minimum time on the interstate system. We even had a former restaurant owner and manager who coordinated our meals in great places to eat along the way. The rest of us took on researching interesting things to do and see along the general planned route. We also found other events in the French Lick area to fill in the space between planned PCA events. These events included a personal tasting tour of a whiskey distillery in Louisville, KY, and a great dinner at one of the best German Restaurants in Indiana. Getting ten people signed up for all the planned PCA events as a group can be a challenge so we wanted a backup plan for our time together.
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Between our late fall 2020 dinner and our departure date of July 7, 2021, we held several planning and status reporting dinners concerning each couple’s success (or failure) on their part of the group’s preparations. The planning dinners helped build the collective excitement as each new part of the plan was confirmed. These reports made it “real” once everyone understood the amount of work each of us were doing to make this a fun and interesting trip.
One of the major highlights of the planning (and a key effort) was a hosted breakfast at our lead driver’s home on the morning PCA opened the online registration for the Parade. All five couples were present with our laptop computers poised to log on at the same time. This was a critical stage of the planning because if any of the five couples did not get registered then the planned trip would be ruined (this was an “all or none” trip). How is that for friendship?
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As luck would have it (and good preparation) we all got in and were registered to attend the Parade. Our efforts to get signed up for the events we wanted to attend at the parade was not as fortunate, but we had backup plans for that problem, so it was not a big deal. When the planning dust settled, we had a 19-day, 5,000+mile grand tour planed for our road trip to Indiana and back. The best statement to come out of the planning phase was a reply to one of us who was concerned if their Porsche could stand the rigors of a hard driven 5,000-mile trip: “Don’t you think your car can make it to the next oil change?”
The route we chose to get there was basically a direct shot to French Lick on any road that was not interstate and not gravel. On day one (July 7, 2021) the group assembled in the center of the El Dorado Hills shopping center at 6:45 AM for photos and a 7 AM departure time. One member supplied props for the photos, which made it much more interesting than plain pictures. A French Beret with 1930s-style motorcycle goggles was the winner of the starting lineup.
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Without a second thought this group took the “loneliest road in America” out of California, passing our beloved Lake Tahoe, into Nevada on US Highway 50. Traveling in tight formation for 430 miles with five cars took us to Ely, Nevada. Ely is one of those desert towns that makes you wonder what the residents do everyday and why do they live in Ely. There is the Ruth Copper Pit, one of the largest copper pits in the world. However, they had a new hotel and good food and that was good enough for us.
The first night at Ely started a tradition that lasted for the rest of our evenings on the trip. After arriving at each location, we would hold a group review of the day’s travels and events. Not to anyone’s surprise, each couple brought a supply of their favorite snacks and beverages. After check-in, we would gather in the breakfast room or hotel lobby and cover the available tables with snacks and drinks. Everything was open for discussion and there was very little which was not commented upon.
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The evening topics covered driver’s judgement, navigator skills, poor driving skills of our fellow road warriors, the drop-dead beauty of the scenery, and even the number of required biological relief stops requested during the day. After that first night, I noted a game of who could hold it the longest until some other car called for the group to stop.
Day 2 started at 6:30 AM and in the almost 600 miles covered that day we transitioned from the Nevada desert through the Great Basin National Park to the lower parts of Utah into the most beautiful part of the drive. The route into Southern Colorado down into Gunnison, Colorado was breathtaking. Each driver was acutely aware of the hairpin curves and thousand-foot drops into the river as we moved through the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park on Colorado Highway 92 and then back to Highway 50 into Gunnison.
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Just before reaching the end of the drive we passed a full-scale recovery effort to get an automobile out of the river hundreds of feet below us. The crane, ambulances, and helicopters were stark reminders of what one careless moment while driving could cause. The drop was clearly not survivable. It was a sobering moment for all of us. Gunnison is a lovely Western Colorado mountain town, and we were sad only to be able to spend one night there.
The next day (day 3) we left Gunnison and climbed up over the well-known Monarch Pass (11,312 feet) before starting down to the Western Slope of Colorado through Salida, Canyon City, and Pueblo, Colorado. After driving East through Pueblo, the rest of Colorado starts to look like Kansas (flat and lots of planted fields everywhere). We pulled into the fabled city of the old American West: Dodge City, Kansas 430 miles later. I am not sure what we were expecting but we were not met by Wyatt Earp or thousands of cattle roaming through the streets.
The evening post-drive discussion was shorter than normal because the seven- to nine-hour driving days were starting to take their toll on our older group of road warriors who all thought we were younger than we were. Sleep was more important than words and poking fun at each other. Additionally, there were no double-swinging-door saloons to be found so the night was short.
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Day 4 started with a 6:45 AM departure from Dodge City and a grim determination to get across Kansas and as much of Missouri as possible. We had no expectations of a scenic drive. We took Highway 50 East to Hutchinson, Kansas and then cut over to old Federal Highway 54 for the final run into Jefferson City, Missouri.
With another 470 miles behind us we knew we only had one more day to reach French Lick, Indiana and we were grateful. By now, we had all settled into our formation positions of the five car Wolf Pack and had gotten used to the driving style of the person we were following every day. If you have never done it, formation flying, or high-speed driving requires constant attention from everyone to avoid disaster (and embarrassing rear end fender benders).
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Even though we were only starting Day 5 of a planned 19-day cross-country tour, our excitement to reach the second phase of the trip was high. French Lick was a mere 360 miles through Missouri, Illinois, and part of Indiana.
Needless to say, we were looking forward to several days of non-driving events. However, when we drove through St. Louis, the Great Arch was a beautiful sight to see. As we crossed over the Mississippi River, thoughts of Mark Twain and Huckleberry Finn did cross my mind (as well as others in the group), which led to another stop several days later.
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We stayed on Federal Highway 50 and 150 most of the day and took Highway 56 to reach the front entrance of French Lick’s hotel. It did not fail to impress us. Built in the early 1900s, the French Lick Resort grabs your attention the moment you see it.
A Dixie Land Band playing on the huge wrap-around white porch added to the fun while we checked into the hotel. Besides the massive building and Dixie Land Band, we were impressed by the number of Porsches on the grounds. Porsches were everywhere and that never changed for the rest of the time we were there. Somewhere PCA stated there were over 1,000 Porsches at the event. Wow! That was heaven for most of us Porsche people.
Others have written about the activities that were available at Parade 2021 (including in the October 2021 Porsche Panorama), and more will be written about the detailed focal points of each daily event. It was clear to me that, of the thousands of attendees from all over the country, each came for different and personal reasons. However, for the ten of us from the Sacramento Valley Region, it was all about the drive there and back. We enjoyed every minute of the gathering, but the trip home was still a major part of the trip for us.
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We were lucky enough to see our Zone 7 representative at a couple of the social events but were never able to meet with our Sacramento Valley Region President. We assumed he was busy with Parade business. |
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Highlights of our Parade events were the welcome dinner, dinner at Schnitzelbank Restaurant, a tasting tour of the Angel Envy Distillery in Louisville, KY, photos in front of Churchill Downs Horse Racing Track, the Concours dinner, and the French Lick dinner train. Good memories. |
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Early Thursday morning, July 15, we departed French Lick for Phase three of our grand tour and made a fast trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and museum in Indianapolis. After several hours of viewing cars racing on the track and stories covering some of the greatest racers in the world, we departed for Dayton Ohio, and the United States Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. That part of the trip was a mere couple-hundred miles and an easy day of driving. The city of Indianapolis was voted by us drivers to have the poorest roads we had seen up to this point in the trip. Several of us thought we had sustained road damage from the potholes we could not avoid. |
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The entire next day was spent at the U.S. Air Force Museum and quite frankly that was not enough time if you really wanted to see and enjoy everything it had to offer. America should be proud of its Air Force, and the museum covers an amazing slice of our country’s history.
July 17 was another early morning departure so we could cover the 330 miles to Springfield Illinois, and Abraham Lincoln’s museum and tomb.
However, earlier thoughts of Mark Twain on the mighty Mississippi River made us realize his boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri was a quick stop on our way to Springfield. A couple of hours in Hannibal brought back the magic of Mark Twain’s stories.
We arrived in Springfield with time to tour the impressive Lincoln museum, take a walk past his former home and conduct a quick look at his tomb. This was an impressive museum covering Lincoln’s entire life and significant accomplishments for the Nation.
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The next leg of our trip was a long drive (561 miles) to reach Kearney, Nebraska. Even with our best research efforts, we could not find anything interesting to visit in Kearney. It is a solid Mid-West city with hard working citizens but not much to see if you are on tour. That evening we took over the lobby of our hotel and reviewed much of the trip up to this point. Even at 12 days into the trip everyone was getting along and still enjoying each other’s jokes/stories.
Day 13 covered 476 miles to Casper, Wyoming, which was just an overnight stay before pushing on to Cody, Wyoming. However, we made two important stops on the way to Casper.
Scott’s Bluff National Monument, Nebraska is not very well known but it was a major jumping off point for immigrants traveling on the Oregon Trail and part of the Pony Express route to Sacramento. While parked up on the bluff, a young man was so excited about our five Porsches, he took pictures of us with our cars overlooking the beautiful prairie.
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Our second stop was a short visit to the well-preserved Fort Laramie, WY National Historic Site. Fort Laramie played a major role in protecting the immigrants who were opening settlements in the late 1800s within the Western Territories of the United States.
On Day 14, we visited the monument to Custer’s last stand: The Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana. Standing on the hill where the battle took place was a lesson in how events can go terribly wrong. You could almost perceive a slight chill in the air where the United States Army suffered one its greatest disasters at the hands of hundreds of Native American warriors.
Cody is a lovely town where we stayed for two nights while touring Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons National Park. One of our members had arranged for a full day guided tour of Yellowstone via bus so we were off the hook for driving on Day 15. As was expected, Yellowstone National Park was absolutely beautiful. Day 16 was spent driving through the Grand Tetons National Park on the way to our next stop in Sandy, Utah.
The road trip from Cody to Sandy was the most difficult drive of the trip. Heavy traffic, detours, heavy rain, and rude and dangerous truck drivers with a late arrival in darkness made it hard on all of us. One truck driver’s attempt to run one of our drivers off the road at 80 mph (while our driver was trying to pass) caused quite a scare and may cost him his job. A formal complaint was filed the next day with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. We don’t need people like that on our highways.
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Day 17 was spent touring different parts of Salt Lake City, Utah and a quiet dinner together because our Parade 2021 adventure was almost over. The next day (#18) we struck off for Tonopah, NV to prepare for our last leg of the drive through the back side of the Sierra Nevada mountains into California and home. Tonopah was another one of those desert towns that makes you wonder why it is still there: great people but what goes on there?
We learned the world famous Clown Hotel is located in Tonopah and visited by people from all over world because it is believed to be haunted. Located just outside of Tonopah is an abandoned World War II Army Air Corps training base. Still standing are two huge aircraft hangars which were constructed completely out of wood. How they are still standing is a mystery to me, but they were certainly interesting to see as a relic from our past. We even found a mid-’70s Triumph TR-7 abandoned in the sand, which managed to “photo bomb” one of our car pictures in front of the old hangars.
Our final day brought a minor disappointment when we learned our planned route home was closed because of raging wildfires blocking the highways. We were forced to drive north to Fallon, Nevada (the aerial training area of the Navy’s Top Gun School) and connect to Interstate 80 back into California. On July 25, as we drove down the mountains into the Sacramento Valley Region, one by one, our cars dropped out of formation for their respective exits to home. It was a bit anticlimactic for such an exciting trip with “Freunde auf Tour”!
- Over 6000 miles
- 19 days & 18 nights
- 15 States
- Many National Parks
- Five great Porsches
- A PCA National Parade
- Average Speed (left blank to protect the guilty)
- No tickets and no crashes
- 10 good friends with unlimited libations
- The drive of a lifetime….
- ...Priceless
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In The Zone
November 2021
By: Collin Fat, Zone 7 Representative
Sacramento Valley Region
Photos by
Simone Kopitzky, John Leet, and Collin Fat
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Getting Involved with your Club:
There is a saying among long time PCA members that only about 20% of their region membership participate in club activities and even less volunteer to chair an event or consider serving on the board. This is quite unfortunate as it puts the burden of running the club on just a few dedicated members to run and plan the operations of the club year in and year out. I am reaching out to active members who have participated in club activities and found them a lot of fun and have experienced the sharing of a common passion for the Porsche brand. If you have the time and enjoy the types of activities and events the club organizes, then step up and help-out. Imagine what your club would be like without a board or volunteers to organize tours, tech sessions, a concours, or driver education event. Kind of boring and not the reason you joined the club in the first place. I assume you joined because of all the good things you have heard about regarding membership. If you would like these types of events and activities to continue, consider volunteering. With many clubs scheduling their annual planning meetings in the coming months, it is a perfect time to contact your club president or activities director about volunteering. Think about organizing a dinner at your favorite restaurant or organizing a tour on your favorite back country road.
Zone 7 Concours Series Date Changes
The final 2 concours of the season was originally planned by Golden Gate Region on October 24th and another by Loma Prieta Region on November 7th. Due to weather related issues surrounding the October event, it has now been re-scheduled for November 7th while Loma Prieta Region has now rescheduled their event to November 14th. Registration for both events is now open. For more information please visit zone7.pca.org
Diablo Region hosted their annual concours at Porsche Fremont on October 17th and had a nearly record turnout with over 33 judged cars and some 27 cars on display. Event chair, Marc Giammona and his crew were very organized and the event was conducted with no hitches. I believe the competition was close in all classes with 1 car being judged in the full concours class, 14 in street, 9 in touring, and 8 cars in the full concours class. Visit the Zone 7 website at https://zone7.pca.org/. for the most current series standings.
Zone 7 Concours Series Calendar
Date Region Location
November 7th Golden Gate Region Porsche Redwood City
November 14th Loma Prieta Region Porsche Livermore
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The Zone 7 Autocross series concluded with a 2 day weekend at Thunderhill Raceway Park on October 16th and 17th with Sacramento Valley hosting 63 drivers on Saturday and Redwood Region hosting some 46 drivers. The weather over the weekend was fantastic with temperatures in the mid 80’s on Saturday and in the 70’s on Sunday. There was a buffet dinner arranged on Saturday evening following the autocross and 29 drivers dined together and had an opportunity to do some bench racing based on the day’s activities.
For Saturday, it was quite a competitive event in almost all classes with Tara Shapowal taking the top time of day with a blazing 39.45 followed closely by Steve Lau, 39.911, Monty Pack, 40.792, RJ Harrison, 42.165 and Drew Powers, 42.332. Results are available on the Sacramento Valley Region website under the autocross tab.
The results for Sunday have yet to be posted on the Redwood Region website but should be by the time this column is published.
It was an appropriate ending to an incredible season that was faced challenges almost every month related to Covid restrictions or with date changes imposed by the facilities. A sincere thank you goes to Himanshu Patel, Ed Hunter of Golden Gate Region, Grady Carter, Zone 7 Ax Chair, John Leet, Sacramento Valley Region, Drew Powers and Stacy O’Connel, Redwood Region for their tireless efforts to make autocross a huge success in Zone 7. See below for an update on the Zone AX Awards banquet.
For 2021 final standings in the Zone 7 Autocross Series visit the Zone 7 website to see who are the current class as well as PAX leaders or go to the Zone 7 Website link at: https://zone7.pca.org/autocross-results/.
2021 Zone 7 Annual Awards
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The annual Zone Awards Banquet has generally been held in November prior to the holidays but has also been held in conjunction with the annual Zone presidents meeting in late February or early March. Due to the rescheduling of several concours events in November and the lead time necessary to order the trophies the awards banquet will now be held in early March in conjunction with the annual Zone presidents meeting. Please watch this column for further updates on date and location. |
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The 2022 Shasta Region Zone 7 Tour will have Open Registration on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 7:00 am. The Tour is limited to 54 Porsches, so it is expected to "Sell Out" rapidly.
The following is suggested:
· Registration is through MotorSportReg.com, so if you don't already have an account set up with them, you might consider doing so in advance--it will save time when registering for the Tour.
· This is a "private" event, so you can only find the Zone 7 Tour by use of a "hyperlink" that you find below. (ONLY ZONE 7 MEMBERS RECEIVE THIS EMAIL WITH THE LINK, so don't share it with other Zone Members.) .
· Sign up early on the 1st, if you wish to obtain a spot on the Tour. If it fills up, a Waitlist will be created, for possible cancellations.
If you have questions, there is a direct link to the Organizer's email is on the MSR Webpage.
Events of Interest:
1) PCA Spring Treffen at the BROADMOOR, Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 27-May 1, 2022
2) Porsch Parade 2022 at Kahalari Resort Poconos, Pennsylvania June 12-18th
Note that past Treffens have sold out in as little as one hour due to their popularity. Registration for the Treffens typically opens 3-4 months prior to the event.
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TrackMasters Racing is a leader in the High-Performance Driver Education events in Northern California and invites SVR-PCA drivers to participate in these events. For the complete schedule click the link below. |
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PCA Members may place non-commercial classified ads for no charge. Photos will be published on this web page at no charge. Non-PCA members may place ads on our webpage, on a space available basis, as follows: Ads without photos $20.00; Ads with photos $35.00. All ads run for two months unless canceled. There will be no refunds for paid ads.
Ads must be submitted electronically with attachment to classified@svr-pca.org. PCA members must include your PCA membership number on all submissions as proof of membership.
Paid ads will not be published until payment has been received. Checks must be made payable to PCA-SVR, and mailed to: Porsche Club of America; Sacramento Valley Region; PO Box 254651; Sacramento, CA 95865-4651
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Sacramento Valley Region Web Store |
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Sacramento Valley - Red House® - Mini-Check Non-Iron Button-Down Shirt |
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Sacramento Valley - Eddie Bauer® Ladies Hooded Soft Shell Parka |
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Sacramento Valley - Element 095
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Submitting Material to the Drifter
The Drifter is Produced online monthly for its members. Written contributions are welcome and should be e-mailed to editor@svr-pca.org. The deadline for submissions is the 15th of the month prior to the month of publication. Submissions in WORD or TEXT are preferred.
Photos are always welcome. Photos should be sent separately from the text. (You may also use a downloadable link to the photos.)
To change your email address or street address, please email our membership director to insure uninterrupted delivery.
Ken Shahoian at
All material in this newsletter is protected by copyright.
However, newsletter editors of other Porsche Club of America regions may reprint any article provided that credit is given to the author and Sacramento Valley Region and also The Drifter is cited as the source.
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