What’s New

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Wow, what a meeting. You might be asking yourself are they kidding. What could be so exciting about a New Member reception? Well let us start with the fact that we had a record number of new members turn out for the reception followed by what most attending the meeting would agree was one of the most entertaining and engaging speakers to come our way in recent memory. And let us not forget the food. The Villa put out a spread that had everyone at the reception’s taste buds singing.

We began the evening festivities by signing in the new members and giving each a name tag. We also gave them a heads up that after the reception, when the regular portion of monthly meeting starts, we would be introducing them to the club and ask them to speak about what model Porsche they own and what activities they plan on participating in with the club. With the help of the BoG members in attendance, we did our best to answer the new member questions about the Club and its activities. We encouraged them to share stories about their Porsches and themselves and we did likewise. This led to some very lively conversation. While all this was taking place we dined on the aforementioned sumptuous finger foods from the Villa’s kitchen.

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“Now, to put a water-cooled engine in the rear and to have a radiator in the front, that's not very intelligent.” - Ferry Porsche (PANO, Oct. '73). There I was, out there just enjoying myself during the third Black Group run on Day 2 at Lime Rock, and all of a sudden I am doing a “tank-slapper” on the uphill. Holy cr#%, what the hell is going on. The tires felt a bit greasy at turn one but now all hell was breaking loose. I decided I better head to the pits and see what is going on.
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Anyone interested in being considered for an elected NNJR position…
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I'm sure most of you have heard the term "wet sanding" or "color sanding." What do these terms mean and when and how should you use these procedures? Sometimes the only way to remove or lighten a heavy imperfection is by sanding the paint surface. This can be a fast and effective way to remove a heavy scratch or scuff, if you are skilled and very careful. On the other hand, this method may lead to a trip to the spray booth if you are over zealous and not aware of when to stop.
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The 2012 Club Race season is underway and a number of our members have had some good and bad luck so far. We had several NNJR members go down to Sebring and do quite well. This past weekend was Road Atlanta and we had our same crew as last year make the trek - Craig Mahon, Greg Mills, Ken Ernsting and myself. The weather was a big worry for us as last year we were welcomed by torrential down pours. This year the weather forecast for Friday was 60% chance of thunderstorms, but I guess we caught a break and the day was fantastic, sunny with temperatures in the mid 70's. Friday was the practice day. Craig came down a day earlier for the Test and Tune and was feeling pretty good about the track. It is kind of tough getting quickly up to speed on a track that you drive only once a year, but after a few runs you get that warm feeling when all the corners fall into place.

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There were a few things that I could always depend on while growing up: Mom’s chocolate chip cookies, wedgies on the school bus, and my monthly issue of Car & Driver. It was a happy day for young Drew Karpinski when the mailman would deliver a fresh new car magazine. I had read it from cover-to-cover, including the letters, the ads, and most of all, the articles on all of the new cars. To this day, I can visualize the layout of these articles, the attention-grabbing cover headlines, and even the advertisements that seemed to appear in every magazine. Yes, it was a time when you could have 10 records for just a penny, California Car Covers were serving up sheep skins by the Benz-load, and eternal bliss was just a set of Kleen Wheels away!

I had not driven anything more powerful that a Big Wheel at this formative stage in my young life, so I obviously had no real experiences to validate anything of what I read, save for my passenger seat observations of whatever cars my dad had at the time. I would hang on to every word, except for those of which I had no clue of their meaning. Understeer? Oversteer? Trail braking? No problem for kids today…look it up on the iPad and read Wikipedia, or better yet, watch a YouTube tutorial. For me, though, I only had a Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and a set of World Books from 1972. Great for learning about the transformation of Europe or the pollination of a flower, but not so much for brake fade or sway bars. I would have to rely on context clues, and trust the overall opinions of the writers.

 

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