February 22, 2021

The Blue Ridge Blogger

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The Blue Ridge Region Welcomes . . . .

New Porsche in the family . . . Many of you know Don Salisbury, a long time member. Recently he regained ownership of his first Porsche 914. He had sold his 356C cab for $2K more than he paid for it, easy money in the ’80s. So he talked his wife, Vicky, into letting him get a 73 2.0 914, saying “when Stephanie gets to college, we’ll sell it to pay for tuition:….easy money plan!”
That marathon blue 914 became his first closed wheel track car. He sold it to Harry Hall before Stephanie got to pre-school. Harry used it to Club Race then traded it to Bill Driskell. Bill and his daughter raced it a few years and eventually parked it at Bill’s shop alongside his other collection where it sat for over 15 years.
A couple of years ago, Don took his 914-6 outlaw to Bill’s to get a tune up and saw the old 914 sitting there and asked: “Bill what are you going to do with my old Marathon Blue 914?”

The following was a once in a lifetime answer. ” might sell it”.
Don said, “How could I past up not re-owning my 1st race car.?” Since then it got a new paint job, interior freshened, engine freshened. “The plan is to give it to Stephanie for a toy car with family routes….soon as she gets a house with a garage…..don’t tell her….its a surprise. Its been lots of fun working on it….cool old car!”

Upcoming Activities

Cars and CoffeeMany of us old-timers are getting our Covid-19 shots now. I got my second shot this week. I am optimistic that it will not be too long before we have another Cars and Coffee.
Some awards from our CnC Guru.

VOTY (Venu of the Year) Award – Posthumously awarded to Carol’s Place in Forest. Unfortunately, Carol’s Place was sold and repurposed as a parking lot!
LDC (Longest Drive Contest) – Awarded to John Abadie and Bena of Woolwine, VA. They made it to both events in 2020. Apparently they are enjoying shredding roads in that Boxster.

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Board Meeting
You are invited to our quarterly Board of Directors Meeting coming up on April 14, 2021 from 5:30PM to 6:30PM. Because of the Covid-19 virus, this meeting will be held as a Zoom Meeting. If you want to participate, email Reid Kuder at president@brr-pca.org.
ALL MEMBERS NEW AND OLD ARE WELCOME!

Social Meeting
Due to the Covid virus, we are temporarily curtailing our monthly Social Meetings. We will advise you when and where they will resume.
What’s Happening with PorscheThe Executive Board at Porsche AG has given the green light to the development of an LMDh prototype. After a lengthy evaluation phase, Porsche Motorsport received the order to build a vehicle based on future regulations. From 2023, the LMDh cars will make up a new top class in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Both championships are hugely significant for the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer. Porsche very much welcomed the introduction of the new class for hybrid prototypes when it was jointly announced by the organizers at ACO/WEC and IMSA. The racing cars, which tip the scales at around 1,000 kilograms, are powered by a hybrid system with an output of 500 kW (680 hp).

“The new LMDh category allows us to fight for overall victories with a hybrid system at the Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring classics – without breaking the bank. The project is extremely attractive for Porsche. Endurance racing is part of our brand’s DNA,” explains Oliver Blume, CEO at Porsche AG.
Porsche LMDh Prototype

Is this your next Porsche?

Of course your next Porsche need not be a new one. Here is a great picture of the 924-944-968s over the years.

The Porsche Type 181

Our old friend Mick has uncovered this fascinating clip about the Porsche Type 181.

181? What is the Type 181? Never heard of it.

Mick says he got this story from his old friend, a retired college professor, Bob Watts, who now lives in Idaho. Mick actually saw this car a number of years ago somewhere outside of Detroit at a 356 Holiday event. Well, here is the story. Click below.

Type 181

For the Ladies

Want to know top 10 female NASCAR drivers?

NASCAR is an association for all types of auto-racing, but have you ever expected females to be a part of these racings? If not, then get to know that there are female NASCAR drivers have been participating in the racing events for years.

Top Women Drivers in NASCAR

This Day in History

This Day in Automotive History 2/15

1902: Oldsmobile ran its first national automobile advertisement in the Saturday Evening Post.
1929: Graham Hill born, London, England.
1933: The Willys-Overland Company was forced into receivership.
1944: SCCA formed.
1948: NASCAR holds its first race on the sands at Daytona Beach, a full six days before the organization actually incorporates.
1954: The Thunderbird name was chosen for the new Ford sports car.
1968: American Motors debuts AMX to the press.
1963: Studebaker announced that all of their new cars would be fitted with front seat belts.
1968: Subaru of America Inc was organized in Pennsylvania and began importing the Subaru 360, a two-seater mini saloon.
1981: Richard Petty and crew gambled by not changing tires on the last pit stop and it paid off with Petty taking his 7th Daytona 500 win.
1998: After 20 years of trying, racing great Dale Earnhardt Sr. finally wins his first Daytona 500.

Newsletter

We have a new edition of Blau Rain produced by our hard working webmaster, Dave Hogan.Click Here to see it!
Facebook
So, there are many groups out there on Facebook. I thought I might link to a few from time to time in case I hit on one or two of interest to you.
911SC and Carrera 3.2 Registry

And of course, don’t forget our BRR Facebook page.
BRR-PCA Facebook

YouTube
Valet ServiceStory

An Invitation to Race at Le Mans (Le Mans Classic) – Continued

The Road to a FIA Historic License, PCA Club Racing.

So, getting a PCA Club Race license is the easiest way to get a FIA Historic License to race in the Le Mans Classic. Unfortunately, the next PCA Club Race (the Potomac Region) is in two weeks. I wonder if I can pull it off? I checked the PCA Club Race rules. My car is almost ready. I just need to add some safety features, like a kill switch, a window net and a seat support. To apply for a rookie license, I will need our chief instructor to sign me off and give me a letter.

A quick call to Paul Amico. Nice guy, that Paul is! And he can lie well. Some nice words, he wrote in his letter. All those passing signals I have given over the years are beginning to pay off. Susan Shire is our PCA National Club Racing license volunteer. What a peach of a lady. She got the paperwork through in record time. And Dave Derecola, who is running our Potomac Club Race is stressed to the max one week from the race. The computer programs had failed. And here is Pete, throwing his weight around (after all, I was Vice President), trying to get in the Club Race at the last moment. So, I am in. I run out to OG Racing and get some Nomex undergarments’. The race weekend is fast approaching. I have to be there for Drivers School on Friday night.

I am cutting it close, speeding out to Summit Point. I arrive at 6PM. I come around the corner, looking for registration and the class (which I think starts at 7PM) and run into my friend (?) Don Wohlfarth.

“Thought you were club racing this weekend” he says as I approach the classroom.

” I am”, I replied.

“Well, you are late for class”, he says, with that glint in his eye. In a panic, I threw open the door creating a disturbance to a class underway. No, I am not late. It is just a class for first time racers at Summit Point. Don got me again.

I sign up, get my stuff and throw myself down in a chair and look around at the competition. The rookie class of 2003. Bunch of young guys and a few old guys. They look friendly enough. Easy fodder. After all, I am racing at Le Mans. Better quit daydreaming and pay attention.

Well for those of you who do not know, rookie drivers must go thru a school, including classroom training, practice starts and practice races. If you successfully complete the program, you are allowed to drive in the Club Race. Our instructor, a crusty old sort who had been racing for 20 years, gave us our lecture. He told us that we must complete the program under any circumstances or we could not race on Sunday. And that included no incidents (ie metal to metal contact). We got the point.

After the class, he mentioned that it looked like rain tomorrow and he expressed that he never drove in the rain. He told us a few stories about racing and rain, scaring the heck out of us. We got the point, rain was a good time to keep your car parked.

But then the obvious question. “What if it rains tomorrow? How can we complete the practice races if our car is parked?”

“Well”, he said, “you can always come to another Club Race event.”

Needless to say, we all made every event the next day, in spite of the torrential rain. I was about ½ a lap behind my rookie classmates in a four lap race. But I finished and graduated from the class.

The next day I competed in my first Club Race event. I started near the back and finished dead last. But the thrill was indescribable. I had my PCA Rookie license. I sent that on to SCCA and got my SCCA Historic license and finally my FIA Historic license. I was ready to go to Le Mans.

To be continued . . . . . .

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AND OF COURSE

A Porsche Gone Bad

Firstly

Secondly— Enjoy this Porsche Ad Porsche Ad

And last,Best Kind of Divorce Settlement
We would have given anything to be a fly on the wall of this messy divorce. This woman got a whole lot out of her ex-husband, and she wanted everyone to know it!

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Our Sponsor of the Week

Kustom Film and Tint

2625 Colonial Ave. SW

Roanoke, VA 24015

540 537-7895

Custom Film and Tint Website
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2021

For Planning Purposes Only. Check online calendars for latest info.

	EVENTS
MONTH	BLUE RIDGE REGION	NATIONAL AND ZONE2
January	1/13 – Board of Directors 5:30pm
February	2/10 – Exec Board 5:30pm
March	3/10 – Exec Board 5:30pm	3/19-21 – Zone 2 HPDE (VIR)
April	4/14 – Board of Directors 5:30pm
May	5/12 – Exec Board 5:30pm	5/5-9 – Treffen Spring (Scottsdale, AZ)5/21 – Werks Reunion (Amelia Island)
June	6/9 – Exec Board 5:30pm	6/18-20 – Rumble at Oak Tree Club Race
July	7/14 – Board of Directors 5:30pm	7/11-17 – Porsche Parade (Indiana)
August	8/11 – Exec Board5:30pm
September	9/8 – Exec Board 5:30pmStreet Survival – Sept. or Oct – TBD
October	10/13 – Board of Directors 5:30pmStreet Survival – Sept. or Oct – TBD	10/13-17 Treffen Fall (Wisconson)
November	11/10 – Exec Board 5:30pm
December	12/8 – Exec Board 5:30pmHoliday Party/New Member Event – TBD