NNJR Concours Competitors Triumph!

August was a very busy month for our NNJR concours enthusiasts with the national Porsche Parade in Savannah, Georgia, the New Hope Automobile Show and Concours in Pennsylvania, and the annual NNJR Picnic Concours. And, as we had hoped, our NNJR concours crew did our club proud by bringing home the bling!
During the first week of August, an adventurous crew of dedicated concours competitors headed south to Savannah with their meticulously prepped Porsches to take their chances in what is unquestionably the most challenging Concours d’Elegance competition in all of Porschedom, the national PCA Parade Concours.

Donna and John Paterek drove their original 1962, 356 cabriolet all the way from Chatham, NJ to Savannah in a two day adventure without incident. Jeff and Marjorie McFadyen motored in their newly restored 1957, 356 “outlaw” coupe despite the exposure to the elements it would encounter; and Bob and Lucille Knapik did the same in their beautiful 1989, 911 coupe. All of these dedicated enthusiasts deserve credit, not just for their willingness to go up against some of the country’s finest examples of the marque, but for driving all that distance in the sweltering July heat without any air conditioning!
Fortunately their journey was worth the effort. Our NNJR competitors scored extremely well, reaffirming the strength of the NNJR concours program. In the 356 Preservation Group, Donna and John took first place with what has to be one of the finest examples of an unrestored 356 cabriolet still on the road. Also in the Preservation Group for 1984 through 1990 911s, Bob and Lucille Knapik were going for their second win in a row and placed second in class in a very tough group of competitors this year. Marjorie and Jeff McFadyen achieved the ultimate prize for their newly restored 1957, 356 outlaw, winning first in the Full Class, Division, and Group for performance cars! Great job to all, and congratulations from NNJR.
With only a week to recover from the excitement of the Parade, NNJR participated in its next competitive concours event in conjunction with the 54 annual New Hope Automobile Show in New Hope, PA on August 14. The New Hope event is a two-day car show extravaganza and this year to make it extra special, Porsche Cars North America was the presenting sponsor. PCNA did not disappoint. Tim Heffernan, PCNA Regional Manager, was there with his team and a display of the newest models from Porsche.
On Saturday, the classic American cars are on display and judged; and on Sunday, the foreign cars competed for the coveted silver trophy platters. Contrary to Saturday’s weather, and unfortunately for us, Sunday’s weather was such that it would have been wiser to arrive at New Hope in the Ark rather than a Porsche. We had one of the heaviest rain fall days of the season with many New Jersey towns experiencing significant flooding. But, to the truly committed concours enthusiasts, rain is merely an inconvenience and not a deterrent; and once again the Porsches were the largest class at the show on Sunday.
That’s not to say that we didn’t experience significant attrition. There were approximately 40 Porsches pre-registered for the event – what would have been our largest turnout since NNJR has been participating in this competition. The showers and threat of torrential rains dropped the actual number of Porsches in attendance to less than half. None the less, with the help of our dedicated, drip-dry judges, we managed to complete the judging and scoring before the heaviest rains began to fall.
Lake Underwood, Jr. took first place in the 356 competition class with a 1957 blue 356 speedster race car made famous by his father Lake Underwood, Sr. in SCCA races. Ed Neighbour placed first in the early-911 class with his all-original1978 black 911. In the mid-911 class, Fred Simonson scored a resounding first place with his brilliant 1989 Guards Red 911 cabriolet, and first place in the late-911 class was solidly captured by Murray and Akemi Kane with their 1992 black 911 coupe. Bob Knapik took first place in the 924/944 class with his seasoned 1987 924. Congratulations to all of these dedicated competitors!
Craig and I wish to extend a special thank you to our committed team of judges, many of whom came just to volunteer their time and assisted NNJR in ensuring a successful event. Thanks to Ben Rasmussen, Fred Simonson, Anthony Cristello, Stu French, Murray and Akemi Kane, Ed Neighbour, Phil Stern, Rick Barrack, and Bob Knapik. Without your help we truly would have been up a creek without a paddle in the rain.
Bringing this month of fierce competition to a close, on August 21 we held our annual Picnic Concours at the Mill Road Day Camp in North Brunswick. Once again with threats of heavy rain in the forecast, we were fortunate and managed to complete the concours judging, scoring and award ceremony before a drop began to fall. That is not to say that it did not pour buckets on the drive home!
Taking home ribbons for their accomplishments and bags of cleaning products from Detailer’s Domain were: Warren Gisser with a first in the veteran late-911 class and Rick Barrack with a first and Patrick Linton with a second in the novice category. Anthony Cristello took first in the mid-911 class as a veteran, and Murray and Akemi Kane took a second as veterans in this class; Dan Arnauto took a first in the novice category in this class. In the early-911 class, Jerry Manna took first as a veteran and Don Nix took first as a novice. In the 356 class, Jeff McFadyen took first and Jim Crawford scored a second as veterans. Phil Stern took a first in the 928 class as a veteran and Don Doherty took a first in the Cayman/Boxster class. Congratulations to all the winners.
The Concours season is still not over so do not pack away those cleaning products just yet. On Sunday, October 9 we have the always informative and entertaining Larry Reynolds from Car Care Specialties as our guest presenter at the Paul Miller Porsche Workshop. And, on Saturday, November 5 we have the “Dent Man,” Bill Rochford, returning to work his magic in a workshop at Flemington Porsche. And to wrap up the Concours season, we have a Winter Prep workshop scheduled at ID Signs in South Hackensack on Sunday, November 13.  Check Porscheforus for details on all of these events.