Entries by nnjr-pca

Tracking Out, How hard can this be?

September 5, 2012 in /by

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I carefully move the shifter through the gates before I start the engine, a dress rehearsal for the opportunity I am about to have. Reverse up and to the left? Check. The 1-2 shift seems easy enough, and 3rd gear is spaced perfectly. Piece of cake.

            Turning the key, the engine comes to life with a loud bark, and immediately settles into a turbine-smooth rumble. Foot on clutch, shifter eased gently into first, left pedal out slightly, right pedal in slightly, the revs build and….stall. Hmmm. Let me try that again. Vroom…snick…stall.

            “Don’t feel so bad,” chides the Paul Miller rep with a smile. “You cannot start this car normally. You have to gently let out the clutch until it starts to catch, and then let it out a little further until the car starts to roll.” I start to try his approach before my brain kicks in again, pushes the right pedal, and stalls the car. One more time, and I am going to follow the directions to the letter, for better or for worse. I lift the clutch, the car starts to roll, I lift it a little more, and I am off! I squeeze the gas a bit, and finally, I am actually driving a Porsche Carrera GT. (copy editor’s note: I heard from a reliable source that some small petite lady (my daughter) after hearing that all of the male drivers stalled the Carrera GT had no problem and did not stall it. She is still giggling about it.)

A Cup Car in Sprint Cup Land

September 5, 2012 in /by

The tale of how a NNJR PCA guy and die-hard road racing fan found himself surrounded by thousands of NASCAR fans, and lived to tell about it.

             This adventure started with a message from fellow NNJR instructor Scott Lynn: “Let’s have lunch.” Great idea. I knew that Scott had been working on starting his new charity for the benefit of amateurs who are injured in motorsports activities, and I am interested in hearing how that is going. Turns out that Scott had been invited on short notice to set up a trailer at the June Pocono 400 event to introduce the Motorsport Rehabilitation Foundation to NASCAR fans. Really cool. Let me know if you need any help…

            As a draw for fans, Scott and co-founder Michele Randall had the idea to display a vintage stock car racer associated with the old Flemington track. Great idea!

            A day later – Thursday – my phone rang. “We need to be at Pocono tomorrow afternoon and the race car deal fell through. We need something else to draw fans to our tent. Any chance you could bring your Cup Car?” “Sure, but it’s a Porsche, it has nothing to do with NASCAR.” A check with Pocono confirmed that this was indeed a “Chevrolet Event,” no other cars welcome. But “Oh wait, it’s a race car? No problem.” What had I just gotten myself into? 

The DIY Workshop

September 5, 2012 in /by

Summer has fully arrived and for concours enthusiasts, that means that our annual “Do It Yourself Concours Workshop” was again part of our concours agenda. Ray Catena Porsche generously agreed to host this event at their outstanding service facility in Edison, NJ on June 3rd. 

Despite erroneous reports on the local radio station that Route 1 was closed in both directions at the Route 287 exit as a result of an overturned tanker truck, over forty members showed up for this workshop ready and eager to learn the tips, techniques and secrets of proper Porsche car care from our celebrated team of concours experts. With our club’s emphasis on recruiting new members, it was encouraging to see a number of new faces interested in proper Porsche care.

The DIY Workshop

September 5, 2012 in /by

Summer has fully arrived and for concours enthusiasts, that means that our annual “Do It Yourself Concours Workshop” was again part of our concours agenda. Ray Catena Porsche generously agreed to host this event at their outstanding service facility in Edison, NJ on June 3rd. 

Despite erroneous reports on the local radio station that Route 1 was closed in both directions at the Route 287 exit as a result of an overturned tanker truck, over forty members showed up for this workshop ready and eager to learn the tips, techniques and secrets of proper Porsche car care from our celebrated team of concours experts. With our club’s emphasis on recruiting new members, it was encouraging to see a number of new faces interested in proper Porsche care.

2012 Nominating Committee Appointments

August 5, 2012 in /by

  REPORT OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE The Nominating Committee, exercising its duties as representatives of the NNJR Membership, has nominated the following candidates to serve on the Board of Governors for the calendar year 2013. PRESIDENT: Craig Mahon VICE PRESIDENT: Drew Karpinski SECRETARY: Cindy Cristello TREASURER: Tom Iervolino GOVERNOR: Jeff Cafiero GOVERNOR: Craig Ploetner GOVERNOR: […]

Upcoming Events

July 19, 2012 in /by

NNJR Event Calendar 2012 Rev. 7/5/12

July

1 Sun Driver Ed Pocono All

2 Mon Tech Mosport Tech Town Porsche,105 Grand Ave, Englewood, NJ 5:30-7:30pm

5 Thur Board of Governors meeting Somerset Hills Learning Institute, Somerset, NJ 7:30pm

8 Sun Rally High Marques Rally High Marques, Morristown, NJ

8 Sun Parade Start National PCA Parade Salt Lake City, UT

11 Wed Monthly Meeting Bruce Wennerstrom The Villa, Mountain Lakes, NJ 8pm

13-15 Fri-Sun Driver Ed Mosport Drive Ed Bowmanville, Ontario

13 Fri Social/Concours Biergarten at Deutscher Club Pavilion, Clark, NJ 5:30-10pm

14 Sat Parade End National PCA Parade Salt Lake City, UT

22 Sun Social 55th Anniversary Celebration Harbor Hills Picnic Grove, Mendham, NJ

23 Mon Tech Watkins Glen I Tech Powertech, Rockaway, NJ 6 – 8pm

24 Tue Closing date for September issue of Porscheforus

29 Sun AX #4 Autocross Met Life Stadium, Lot E, Meadowlands, NJ 8am

August

3-5 Fri-Sun Driver Ed Watkins Glen I Watkins Glen, NY

8 Wed Monthly Meeting Tim Pappas The Villa, Mountain Lakes, NJ 8pm

9 Thu Board of Governors meeting Brick Academy, Basking Ridge, NJ 7:30pm

12 Sun Concours MiuliMark Concours New Hope, NJ

19 Sun AX #5 Autocross Met Life Stadium, Lot E, Meadowlands, NJ 8am

20 Mon Tech Lightning Tech Shade Tree Garage, Morristown, NJ 6 – 8pm

24 Fri Closing Date for October issue of Porscheforus

25-26 Sat-Sun AX Zone 1 Autocross Fort Devens, Ayer, MA

2012 Nominating Committee Appointments

July 19, 2012 in /by

  Notice of Annual Meeting: Pursuant to Article X of the Bylaws, Northern New Jersey Region (NNJR) Porsche Club of America, President Craig Mahon, with the approval of the Board of Governors, has asked the following members to serve on the 2012 Nominating Committee. All of these members have agreed to serve. Andy Gisonna, Chairperson […]

Tracking Out – July 2012

July 19, 2012 in /by

I used to have this shirt that I would wear sometimes when doing SCCA Solo II events in my Miata. I think the wording was, “Autocross: If it were any easier, they would call it Driver Education.” I know, real funny. I thought it was, at least. It was all part of the good-natured ribbing that takes place between parking lot racers and track guys. The lines of demarcation have always been blurry for some, though. If you look at many of our chiefs (Bill Gilbert and Scott Studer immediately come to mind), instructors like Keith Peare, Rick Newman, and Robert Ida, and advanced drivers like Tom Iervolino, Joe Aiovoli, Lou Hudyman, and Iskender Catto, the multi-discipline guys are represented in good numbers.

I count myself among the “ambidriverous” (I just made that up). And so, when the SCCA Northeast Autocross Championship was up on the calendar for May 12-13, I was really excited. Finally! A national-level event locally at the Meadowlands! What would I drive? Who would I co-drive with? The excitement lasted a couple of hours, when Tom Iervolino reminded me that the 13th was Mothers Day. There are some things in life that that you just do not mess with, and Moms are one of them. Rats. I had to cancel. Intrepid Lou Hudyman, with his teammate and wife, Kelly, were driving their Lotus in the big event, though. I decided to live vicariously through them, and follow the live results online as they drove in the competition over the two days.

I was surprised on Sunday, when no results were being posted. I figured something was wrong with the online results system. A text message from Lou late in the day, informed me that the event had actually been cancelled due to a fatality that took place at the Meadowlands early in the day involving a motorcyclist and a traffic investigation. Being a part-time motorcyclist myself, it always touches a special chord in me when I hear about a fallen biker. Naturally, your thoughts turn to their lives, their families, and the general sadness of it all.

Juicing it up!

July 19, 2012 in /by

Well, you decided it is time to “upgrade you car” with a few bits and pieces. While this article is not meant to cover what you can and cannot do to move from Stock to Production to Improved, etc… it will cover some relatively easy and somewhat inexpensive changes you can make to help improve your times.