a love affair with america’s sports car · 2020-02-28 · a love affair with america’s sports...
TRANSCRIPT
A Love Affair with America’s Sports Car
March 2020
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2020 SJCC OFFICERS PRESIDENT Geoff Ansley VICE PRESIDENT Tim Mattingly SECRETARY Jan Grout TREASURER Dana Petroni GOVERNOR Suzanne Ansley
ACTIVITIES Mike Kochanowsky MEMBERSHIP Sharon Earnest NEWSLETTER Sydney Heald SERGEANT- AT- ARMS Bob Berger
2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chuck Holden Frank Bobbie Paul Grout Jerry Johnson Bill Heede Mark White
MARCH 2020
OUR SPONSORS
PRESIDENT
Preferred Partners Guideline
MEMBERSHIP
ANNIVERSARIES / BIRTHDAYS
GOVERNOR’s REPORT
AMBASSADOR’s REPORT
Member’s Vendor Network
ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR
UPCOMING EVENTS
ARTICLES / PICS
Scholarship Application
CLUB INSIGNIA
TRAVELING TROPHYs
EDITOR’s PICK
OUR SUPPORTORS
SJCC PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Contact Information Can Be Found On SJCC Shutterfly Account
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Thank you to our San Jacinto Corvette Club Sponsors
Make sure you call them when looking for vendors that provide these services.
Remember to tell them that you are a member of San Jacinto Corvette Club
and that you appreciate their sponsorship.
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A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT March 2020
....and on tonight’s show, I cook a few snags, Roy nearly starts the MidYear, and FLOSJAC goes to drool over the C8R race car at COTA. But, before all of that, GO BERNIE.... wouldn’t be me with-out a satirical look at the current state of our politics... if Ber-nie doesn’t get moved to one side by the DNC then come the presidential debate, I cannot wait to see the ultimate capitalist vs Bernie the “democratic socialist....” whatever that is. Seems to me that Bernie has just taken his political lead 100% from me, after all it seems based upon my suc-cessful manifesto, of offering “free Ice Cream”, look it worked for me, so I really have nothing to criticize Bernie
over, other than one tiny detail. Which, somewhat critically, is that I actually paid for the free ice cream that I gave ya’ll, while Bernie will need your money to pay for everyone’s free ice cream. Still there’s a long way to go; tell you what, how would you feel if you were Bloomberg, other than “Uber wealthy”, imagine that you are 100% used to having things go your way with lots of positive butt kissing from your entourage of yes men (non-gender specific term) and you’ve just dropped God Knows how many millions on your advertising campaign, only to be lit-erally scalped by Pocahontas, on national TV... if you missed it, it was one of those TV moments that was up there with.... oh, I dunno, the cliff hanger when JR got shot.... nah, it was good, but it wasn't that good! Anyway, to club business, busy February, seems that every weekend there has been something on. We had a good turnout at the February General Membership meeting. Followed by a great Valentines Day poker run to Bay City for lunch at the Fat Grass restaurant. The food was good, but maybe the wait could have been less. Congratulations to our ‘junior member” Gary Bonnet Junior who at age 6 won a nice bottle of wine, with the best poker hand, that he promptly traded, under the supervision of Gary Bonnet Senior, for a box of chocolates. Then on the 23rd we had a “non-sanctioned” run as the guests of West Enders Car Club to the Gullo Museum. Not sure how many SJCC members took advantage of this, as I know that some of you tagged along with FLOSJAC to view the C8R at COTA. We rounded the month out with a run to get FRIED CHICKEN at the Pickett House in Woodville.... thanks to all who arranged an activity. Looking forward, March is also full, Club meeting on the 6th, Vette’s at the San Jac Monument on the 14th, the wine, jazz, train, corvette trip to Grapevine, and we close out March with a Blue-bonnet run courtesy of Mike K. So plenty to do involving driving our cars, eating and drinking. I previously asked for some feed-back, and by and large it seems most people are happy... at least for the main, never gonna make everyone happy all the time, but there has been positive feedback received about the meeting location. The runs have all been well attended, so more of the same to come...check the calendar on the website. Now finally, after many days (well 3650 to be more or less accurate) of preparation building a
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Restomod and finally chasing down fluid leaks and remaking brake lines...... Last week, I was ready to fire up the C2 Restomod.... All reasonable pre-flight checks had been completed, the engine had been primed, plugs removed to allow initial oil pressure to build whilst cranking on the starter motor with no risk of firing, and the start sequence initiated.... Nothing, Nada, Nichts, Niet.... seems that the Neutral SAFETY switch might be to blame. Anyway, onward and upward... getting close now. And, as I am prone to say, on that bombshell. da Prez.
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Preferred Partners Guideline We are Corvette owners and enthusiast’s. That does not mean we drive only GM vehicles.
Most of us have daily drivers that aren’t Corvettes. As consumer’s of many products almost any business can realize a benefit by advertising with
us. We have a limit of only one partner per product line / area. i.e. Only one auto dealer per
product line, one speed shop, one roofer, one electrician, one painter etc. We seek $100 / Month in a single level sponsorship (details on the ‘sign up’ sheet) with an
intended 12 month commitment, but an understanding that they can cancel at anytime. Potential Partners: Insurance Agents CPA’s / Financial advisors Realtor Specialty shops Travel agents Home repair (No need to look in Angie’s list we can have the San Jacinto list.) Automotive dealerships (all makes) Speed shops / parts stores Corvette Specialty repair shops etc. etc. Method: We all interact with Trades, Retail and other Professions in the course of our daily lives, some
of these People / Organizations may be looking to reach people of our demographic group to offer specific services, all you have to do is politely ask if such a thing would be of interest, and give them the flyer.
Submit the completed sign up sheet, and we will contact your Sponsor and arrange everything, and you will get Membership Participation Points as both the Chair and attendee (17 total).
http://www.sanjacintocorvetteclub.org March 1st 2019
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San Jacinto Corvette Club (SJCC) Preferred Partners Sign Up Sheet Introduction and Objective This program is intended to direct SJCC members and friends to businesses that support us, provide outstanding customer service and represent exceptional value for dollars spent. SJCC has approximately 200 Member in good standing. The Offer: San Jacinto Corvette Club, (SJCC) is offering to market your business on our Website. Furthermore, you are invited to attend club meetings as a guest speaker, and attend our pre-meeting social hour to meet and greet our membership. You are invited and encouraged to submit articles / advertisements that further your business for inclusion in our monthly newsletter (The GrandSport). SJCC can arrange “Show & Shine” car shows at your business to help promote whatever activity is in the interest of your business. Your Company name and a link to your webpage will be posted on our Home Page as well as a “Supporters of SJCC / Sponsor” page on our website. Your Contact at SJCC is the “Sponsorship Chair” whom we will introduce to you, he or she will assist manage you manage your relationship with SJCC Only one business per business specialty. Only one car dealership per manufacture model line. Cost is $100.00 per month with a 12 month commitment (you can cancel if you need too)
Name of Business ______________________________________
My Signature below gives permission to use my business logo for the term of marketing program. Contact information ________________________________ Email __________________________________ Date __________________________________
Bill me: Monthly _______Semi Annually ______ Annually ____
Authorized by ____________________________________________
http://www.sanjacintocorvetteclub.org March 1st 2019
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MEMBERSHIP NEWS MARCH 2020
NEW MEMBERS Please welcome to the club: Don Hutton and Sheila Gilbert from the Lake Houston/Summerwood area Jeff and Genie Kline from the Tomball area Dale Byrd from Willis
RENEWALS (I forgot to mention last month) Leslie DeMar, Mike and Kimberly Hess, Jay and Robin Schill
MEMBERSHIP We currently have 185 members.
Joining SJCC: The application form for new members can be printed from out website www.sanjacintocorvetteclub.org I will also have some at the club meetings or on events.
Dues are $75 single and $100 couple Nametags are an additional $13.50 per each one. Replacement nametags are $13.50 as well.
Our club has many activities planned. The Bandit Run was a huge success and then we had another large turnout at the Valentines Poker Run. Upcoming events are The Chicken Run on Feb 29, a trip to the San Jacinto Monument on Mar 14, Grapevine Wine Train Mar 20-22, and Bluebonnet Run on Mar 28. Thank you to those planning these events.
Sharon Earnest
Membership Director
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SJCC CELEBRATIONS – MARCH
Mike Averitt
Kathy Kirk
Sydney Heald
Mike Kochanowsky
Beverly Nelson
Tony Mannion
John Swart
25 years
Bill Harris
10 years
Patty Walker
Thomas ‘Toast’ Hernandez
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March 2020
GOVERNOR’S REPORT
2020 Southwest Region Competition Schedule
If you would like to try competitive auto crossing, car shows, funkana’s, etc, then the Southwest Region calendar is now available and the flyers are slowing being loaded for a fun filled year of events. All SJCC members are members of NCCC so you are eligible to compete. Let me know if you have questions.
http://www.ncccswregion.org/schedule.html
NCCC Discounts
Remember that you have access to the NCCC Discounts https://www.corvettesnccc.org/Friends.html. The one I use the most is the discount at Choice Hotels.
NCCC Scholarship Program
The NCCC Scholarship Committee awards $1000.00 scholarships to worthy young people who have some connection with NCCC through a Father, Mother, Grandmother, Grandfather, etc. who has been a mem-ber of NCCC for at least three years. All completed electronic applications must be received by May 1, 2020. Remember we also have an SJCC Scholarship and you should see information on that shortly. Online Scholarship Application
Blue Bars Magazine
The Winter copy of the Blue Bars Magazine is now available online. Click on this link to read this great magazine https://www.corvettesnccc.org/History/BlueBars/historybb_2020Winter.pdf
Save the wave……………. Regards,
Suzanne Ansley
SJCC Governor
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John Kappel Ambassador
MARCH I have chosen this month to update you on current activities at Corvette. Below are some excerpts from the NCM mailings, I felt would be of interest. MotorWeek presented their annual Drivers' Choice Awards at The Chicago Auto Show on February 6th, 2020. Receiving an award for Best Performance Car, and Best of the Year was the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Congratulations to General Motors and the Corvette team!
MidEngine Corvette Forum The MidEngineCorvetteForum.com is your destination for news, discussions, and sharing photos and details of your new C8 Corvette. Cited by Road&Track, AutoWeek, MotorTrend and and over 25 other auto-media sites for BREAKING C8 NEWS, our Corvette experts present factual content in a friendly environment of mid-engine Corvette enthusiasts.
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LAST C7 Grand Sport Convertible Raffle Winner Drawn
Congratulations to Mike Donnelly of Huntsville, AL - winner of today's raffle drawing for a 2019 Blade Silver Grand Sport Convertible with ticket #162. We sold all 1,500 available tickets. 2020 Arctic White Corvette Coupe Raffle Drawing 03/26/2020 Tickets $100 / Limited to 2,000 Tickets Only 503 Tickets LEFT as of 02/20/2020 2020 "Build Your Own" Corvette Or $60,000 Cash Option Raffle Drawing 04/24/2020 Tickets $250 / Limited to 1,500 Tickets Only 25 Tickets SOLD as of 02/20/2020 2020 Black Corvette Coupe Raffle Drawing 4/25/2020 Tickets $20 / Unlimited Tickets
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***SJCC Member's Vendor Network*** I have volunteered to coordinate implementing an SJCC Member’s Vendor Network Excel Workbook. This will be available on our private Shutterfly site (maintained by Suzanne Ansley) by Jan 2020. Upon request, it can be emailed as well, but it is for internal club use only. It will include an Index with links to take you to the page (tab) of interest and visa versa. The Excel Workbook will be divided into major categories:
(Sponsors; Restaurants; Cars; Homes; Medical and Other) Each Major Category has a review tab, followed by subcategories related to the Major Category
(ie Restaurant Major Category includes a Review Tab + individual tabs for Recommended Break-fast, Lunch & Dinner Tabs)
Subcategory tabs include the Contact information for the vendor. Review Tabs include the initial recommendation and any additional reviews / endorsements. Special Sponsors tab will be included at the beginning of workbook Sponsors are also included & highlighted in their related categories The Network can be downloaded from Shutterfly & saved on your own PC The workbook will be periodically updated as necessary and as time permits All tabs can be viewed on an iPad or Smart phone, but links may only work on a PC Negative comments will not be included, however, we will monitor with Board approval, vendors will be considered for removal. Use of this workbook is at your own discretion (SJCC, Inc., our Board, & our Members are not requiring use of any vendors & accept no liability for its use). WE NEED YOUR HELP PLEASE: To roll this out effectively for Jan 1, and have it be a useful document for our club:
Please email me the Contact data (Name, Address, Phone #, Contact Email, Website, etc) and a brief recommendation for Vendors to be added to initiate this workbook
An Example from Paul Grout:
Just experienced a very good candidate for our Vendor Network today: Car Keys Express. Got a new key fob for my 2012 Dodge van for $99+tax, vs about $500ea. at a dealer. Company HQ is in Lou-isville KY, but Gavin Peterson, the Houston area Account Mgr, is the one to contact: 281-881-1502 (cell), email [email protected]
He operates 2 mobile units and visits different metropolitan areas. He is easy to work with; they cover many makes, models, and years of cars. Prices vary, but typically around $100. A real bargain, and it came with a 3-yr warrantee.
As it gets going, feel free to send a review or endorsement on an existing vendor. Email me Ilene Kappel at [email protected] as well with any questions or issues. Thanks for all your support on this initiative and I look forward to this being a useful resource for our mem-bers! ~Ilene Kappel: [email protected]
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News from your Activity Director
“What’s going on in our little world?”
Hope we’re rested and our personal batteries are
charged. As I look at the calendar we have a lot coming
up the next couple of months. If winter would let go,
spring and SJCC are ready to take off. But it seems every
time spring gets a foot hold, BLAM winter decides to
throw another cold front at us, even colder than the last
front. Let me figure on making a pot of chicken and
dumplings or pot of chili and it starts turning a tad
hotter.
I do have some exciting news, unfortunately it is not the
return of Date Night (Saturday at the Bijou) hopefully we
can get it reinstituted soon, but still good news. POP-
CORN is coming to the San Jac General Meeting, it is
some pretty good fresh popcorn plus I’m happy to see
some more use out of the machine.
On to March in case you missed all of the e-mail communications and club Facebook postings,
some great event for the month and several following months, but this is about March. Don’t believe we
have had a club photo shoot since Suzanne organized the club’s 50th Anniversary at the San Jacinto Battle
Grounds. We are going to meet directly at the Monument rather than caravanning into it. Please arrive
so we can get the cars arranged, hopefully we will have some members there to set the cars up, Larry is
still pouting about not getting an arm band. We believe we have a photographer coming with a drone
for some aerial shots and hopefully some individual shots. After the photo shoot we will drive down to
the Monument Inn for lunch.
Wine Train. Leaving Friday the 20th and coming back on Sunday 22nd. Unfortunately the wine
train is sold out, but Suzanne will have info on what else to do, and Saturday’s road trip at Friday’s
meeting.
On the 28th, we hit the road for our Bluebonnet Run and Steak-out. This proved very popular last
year so please drop me an e-mail you’re coming so I can let the restaurant know how may to expect.
The steaks last year were so tender I don’t remember them serving me a knife.
Mike K aka “Bufford T. Justice” Chairman Fun and Games, Shenanigans, Dragons Slayed [email protected],
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Le Chicken Run February 29, 2020
Please join us for another favorite SJCC event as we run a few back roads up into east Texas Big Thicket
on what is poised to be another excellent adventure. Remember Road Trip Rules #1 Arrive with full gas
tank and an empty bladder.
If you have a CB bring it, if you don’t have a CB bring your hand held Walkie-Talkie, and add just a little
more fun to your drive.
Driver’s Meeting: 9:00 am - Humblewood Shopping Center @southwest corner of FM 1960 and Hwy 59
(I-69). Center is located directly across from Deerbrook Mall and first light west of Hwy 59
We will be directly across from FedEx Office Center. HINT: Look for the brightly colored Corvettes.
Pickett House Restaurant
The world famous Pickett House Restaurant serves boarding house style all you can eat fried chicken, chicken & dumplings, country vegetables, cobbler, biscuits and cornbread and all different condiments for your liking. Plus your choice sweet or unsweet ice tea. The Pickett House, still the best southern home style eating place in Texas.
Questions
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Vettes and the San Jacinto Monument March 14, 2020
10:00 am at the monument
Directions
Take Highway 225 east, Texas Independence Highway, to La Porte. Exit Independence Park-way (formerly Battleground Road) and turn left. When the road divides into two roads, remain
in the left lane, continue through the tall stone park gates, and turn right into the park. We will have club members directing the parking
After the photo shoot we will have lunch at the Monument Inn by the Lynchburg Ferry
Questions RSVP
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Texas Bluebonnet Run Saturday
March 28, 2020
Meet: Buck-ee’s I10 West Cane Island Exit Driver’s Meeting: 9:15 am Wheels Turning 9:30
(Remember full tank, empty Bladder)
Cruze’ the back roads from here to there, check out some Texas wild flowers, and roll upon a place to have a great meal (as always)
“Let’s Ride” Mike K
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Dine, Wine & Socialize!!
Who’s up for a little run and fun???
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Meeting place: Buc-ee’s 27700 Katy Fwy, Katy (Take Cane Island Parkway exit)
Driver’s Meeting: 8:45 am SHARP
Depart at 9:00 and hit a few backroads for some driving fun.
Will end up at the best BBQ place in Katy and after a great lunch will head to Erma Rose Winery just a short distance away to taste and socialize.
Tasting is $12.00 to taste all 9 of their wines. They will give club members a 10% discount on all bottle sales (not to be combines with any other discounts.) Hopefully, the weather co-operates, and we will have fun in the sun!!
Please R.S.V.P. to Marilyn before March 28, 2020 as we need a head count for dining and tasting. Thanks, and hope to see y’all there!
Marilyn Mohs [email protected]
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April 10 – April 12, 2020 Host Hotel
Inn on Barons Creek Phone: 830.990.9202
Room Rate: $189.00 plus tax King or 2 Queens Rooms will be released 3/11/2020
Friday – April 10, 2020 Meet @ Buc-ee’s
Hwy 290/FM 362
Driver’s Meeting 8:45 am, depart 9:00
Saturday – April 11, 2020 Driver’s ready to leave at 9:00 am
We’ll do some Twisted Sisters and other exciting back roads
This year we return to the Laurel Tree Restaurant. It’s been years since we ate there and we’ve managed to get reservations.
Saturday Night Dinner @ 7:00 pm
Chef’s select salad w/ 2 dressings Grilled Chicken served with
Stroganoff w/ cognac, sautéed mushrooms & bacon Sliced pork loin w/ sweet berry glaze
Buttered egg noodles Haricot Vert. Sautéed
Assorted rolls and butter Apple Strudel
Fresh brewed ice tea and water $55.00 person, includes taxes and gratuity
Dancing to music by “The Flashbacks”
Sunday – April 12, 2020 Aspirin, breakfast and head for home
Questions Mike Kochanowsky
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You’re Invited to a “ride on the wild side”…..of eating that is!
Join King Payne & his Queen for a
“Meet & Eat”!
WHEN: Sat, May 9, 2020 6:00 p.m.
WHERE: Lucy’s Ethiopian Restaurant & Lounge 6800 Southwest Freeway, 77074 RSVP: Cheri Payne 281-415-8080 or [email protected] Please RSVP so we can reserve tables in the private party room
Join us for dinner, great food, belly laughs and if we are really lucky….belly dancing!
For those not so wild….they serve burgers and wings!
Lucy’s was voted The Top 50 Restaurants in Houston in 2013.
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Spring Concours Corvette Shows
It's that time of year again when the trees are budding, the pollen is flying and the sweet smell of carnauba wax and tire dressing is in the air. So it must also be the time of year that Corvette shows are getting scheduled. Here's what is in store so far for the up coming Spring season. First up, as usual, is the Space City Corvette Club's show and crawfish boil being held on Saturday, March 28th at Stevenson Park in Friendswood. It's always a good time to get your car cleaned up for the start of the season and come on down for some good crawfish.
Next up is our friends at the National Afro-American Corvette Club presenting their show on Saturday, April 25 at Craft Republic on Westheimer, the former Fox and Hound. No flyer available as of this writing. Then the Sam Houston Corvette Club's show on Saturday, May 2, at the Park in Conroe, one block off Main Street. This is listed as a "Bow Tie Performance Car Show" so it is open to all Chevrolet products, not just Corvettes. No flyer is available as of this writing.
Next up is the Corvette Owners Club of Houston's show on Saturday, May 9, at Sugarland Town Square. This is always a good show so help out with your support. Again, no flyer is available as of now.
All of these clubs contribute the proceeds of their shows to local charities so show your support by either attending, contributing to the charity or, better yet, showing your car. Frank Bobbie
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HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE CORVETTE OWNER’S SCHOOL? - Mike Lenaers
Chevrolet gives you a tremendous bargain on a performance driving school when you buy a new Corvette. I have now attended twice because of the untimely demise of my beloved Limerock Green Z51 C7 Stingray; RIP! The purchase of my replacement Grand Sport, even though a dealer manager’s car, gave me the option to attend the deeply discounted Corvette Owner’s School at the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School at the Spring Mountain race complex in Pahrump, Nevada again. The race resort is about an hour west of Las Vegas. That is about half way to Death Valley National Park, so consider that when scheduling the time of year you attend the course. My first trip was in November of 2015; the most recent trip was in February of this year. Weather was great both times.
ABOUT THE CORVETTE OWNERS SCHOOL (COS):
The cost of the course to a new owner is $1,000. Chevrolet pays $1,500 of the $2500 Stingray course cost; $2,695 of the $3,695 Grand Sport and ZO6 courses, and 100% of the ZR1 course. That means you pay $1,000 for the two day Corvette Owner’s School (COS) unless you purchased the ZR1. That cost includes one free night of lodging in the on-site condos that are located over the garages at the resort-style Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club, as well as breakfasts and lunches both days. The resort amenities available include: a Clubhouse with bar which serves your included breakfasts and lunches, fitness center, pool, Jacuzzi, putting green and basketball court, indoor shooting range, and available massage therapy. But let’s get serious; we are there for the driving experience. The complex has three tracks: a long North/South track, and shorter East and West tracks. We used the East track this time, but I used the West track on my first visit in 2015.
The classes run from 8am – 4pm both days (7am-3pm during Summer; DON’T GO THEN!) The COS is designed for drivers of all experience levels and includes dynamic car control exercises on both dry and wet skid pads, proper cornering techniques, in-depth instruction on the car’s capabilities, driving modes, paddle shifting, launch control, threshold braking, the use of the ABS to include panic braking, and throttle steering (something I finally understood.)
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We definitely had All Experience Levels in the COS this trip to Spring Mountain. My class had 10 partici-pants this year; there were 24 in the class my first trip (which was very high and not done since 2015.) The norm is between 10 – 16 max in a class. Our group was made up of 5-ZO6 owners, 4-Grand Sport owners and 1-Stingray owner. The ZO6 owners were grouped together for most exercises and the other 5 of us were in a separate grouping. When tracking the cars, one group would be on track while the other was in the classroom. We all drove Corvettes that matched what we own (model and transmission).
Day one was focused on teaching us the capabilities of the car off the track. Non-driving exercises covered proper seating position so you can maximize brake, throttle and steering control, as well as visual scanning far down the road or through the curves. Then we went into motion with rapid lane change exercises, eye positions - scanning on a serpentine track learning to look out the side windows (while the windshield is covered with a sun screen) to pick turn in points and apexes, work on the skid pad in the wet, ABS control, skid control and use, wet mode effect, and wet panic stops with ABS. They talked us through Launch Control, but we didn’t actually do that. In the afternoon we finally got onto the track, first with a braking and shifting exercise driving a loop on one of the straights. After a classroom session on the 8 Steps to a Corner: Visual Scan, Brake, Downshift, Turn-in, Balance, Clip-the-Apex, Unwind and Accelerate we were finally out on the track driving a few laps.
Track sessions are set up so that half the total class is in the classroom while the other half is on the track. As I noted earlier, the Z06 group would be out together in one group; the rest of us in the other group. Each of the 5-driver groups was subdivided into two groups that spaced out on the track (thus 2 Corvettes behind one driving instructor and 3 Corvettes behind a second driving instructor.) First, we would do a couple warm up laps behind our instructor. Then the instructor would pick up the pace and pull the driver behind him as quickly as he or she was comfortable with, and the other drivers following and trying to maintain about a 4-5 car length buffer. After two laps directly behind the instructor that driver would pull out of line and the other cars would move up in the line so that each driver did at least two lap sequences directly behind the instructor. This process continues through each track session. When directly behind the instruc-tor he is talking to you about keeping your eyes up and looking for the next turn-in point, apex, or following turn. All the turn-in points and apexes are precisely marked and the instructor is coaching you on hitting them, not getting “cone focused”, but rather keeping your eyes up, scanning ahead and picking up the cones out of your peripheral vision. The instructor tries to pull each student a little faster each lap, matching his speed to the student’s ability. There was no skill-level grouping before this first track session, so the times were dramatically different between drivers in line. Overnight that sorting was done, so that driver/instructor pairing would lap at very comparable speeds during subsequent track sessions.
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Day two is all about track sessions, with half the group in class and half on track. On the second run of the day the students are passengers with the instructor so that the students can get a better feel for the art of the possible and how little slow-down is needed on most of the corners. Also the instructor demonstrated just how fast the Corvette could make a panic stop in the middle of the esses.
“Bury the brake if you lose control! ” The stop is amazingly fast and controlled. The rest of day two is spent between classroom and track. We were on the 1.5 mile West Loop.
For drivers really into honing their race skills there are Level 1 & 2 courses in performance driver training. I’m neither that fast nor dedicated, but I know there are those that are.
TIPS FROM A TWO-TIME VETERAN:
This is a great bargain; take advantage of it.
You get one-night lodging included in your school costs, but I recommend you also pay to stay in your
condo the night before your class starts. It is an hour + drive out from Las Vegas, the speed limits are
enforced, and there is on-going construction on the route.
You have one-year from purchase to use it. If you are running out of time contact Brooke Bailey at Spring Mountain and she can probably get your window extended. She did for me. [email protected] (800) 391-6891 ext. 225
If your SPOUSE IS NOT GOING TO DRIVE bring him or her along. They can’t ride with you, but they can
ride with the instructors. Lorel had a great time doing that and is now an expert in correcting my driv-
er errors: “you are braking too much before turn-in, that apex was a little early, accelerate a little
harder during the unwind …”
It is easy and cheap to get a Southwest flight out to Las Vegas
If you want to visit Las Vegas as part of your trip remember that most of the shows on the strip are
closed/dark Monday – Wednesday. Plan your trip so that your desired shows are running either be-
fore or after the driving course. This year we saw Beatles Love, but Le Rêve at the Wynn is still the
best Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas.
A car is a liability on the Las Vegas Strip, but necessary for the trip to and from Pahrump. If you are
not going directly to Pahrump from the airport just Uber or taxi to accommodations in Las Vegas and
rent the car only for the window you need it (before and or after.) It is cheaper to Uber back and
forth than park the car.
Check Airbnb for some great on-the-strip reservations where you can avoid resort fees, parking fees,
etc.
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Pahrump is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but they have a Wal-Mart, grocery stores, and
ONE GREAT RESTAURANT. Symphony’s Restaurant located at the Pahrump Valley Winery is only
about 15 minutes from the track complex. The food is outstanding, service very good, and their red
wines were surprisingly good. They will let you sample to select what you want to drink with dinner.
White wines options were not too good. We’ve gone there every night during our two trips (4-
nights of dinners); it is that good.
Have a great time! Life is short; enjoy it!
THE C-8s WERE ALREADY AT SPRING MOUNTAIN! :
The C-8s were running on the East track while we were at Spring Mountain. We believe they had dealers and sales personnel going through driver training on the new mid-engine C-8s. They were out running laps every day we were there. A pair of them was housed in the garage below our condo. None were marked with the Spring Mountain decals like our cars. The staff said they aren’t allowed to talk about what is going on before the official announcement sometime in February, but a C-8 Corvette Owner’s School is part of the planned process by Corvette.
The C-7 Corvette Owner’s Course is planned to end this year, so it may be tough to get extension beyond the year for close of C-7 production.
Did I mention the sound of the C-8 starting up in the garage under our condo was really great, even if it was at 6am?
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Hey SJCC members, give yourself a ‘big pat on the back’ for your great support of toothpaste and dental hygiene month for Kidz Harbor. This is my first time to be a chair person so as Chair of Charities I am learning as I go, so please bear with me as I attempt to do this job. Shampoo for March This month please bring shampoos to the next meeting. Two sham-poos I would like to mention are: 1. For the younger kids, Cantu Care for Kids Tear-Free, which can be purchased a walmart.com 2. Pantene Pro-V Truly Natural Hair for the older African American kids. It can be purchased at
walgreens.com The club is to be commend for supporting Kidz Harbor. One never really knows what effect one small act of kindness can have on another person. Your Chairperson, Ann Bailey Kidz Harbor was founded in March 2003 by the late Rev. Jim H. green. His mission was to help the abused and abandoned children of Texas. To achieve this goal, Rev. Green acquired a facili-ty on 6 acres of beautiful property nestled on Chocolate Bayou. The facility contained a full court gymnasium, in-ground swimming pool, and commercial kitchen. The facility became licensed and regulated by the Teas Department of Family and Protective Ser-vices. It has 24 hour awake staff, licensed counselor, and volunteer tutors. Kidz Harbor offers medical, physical, educational, and psychological assistance to every child who enters its doors. It provides recreational activities such as skating, bowling, swimming, basketball and fishing for its children. Since its opening, Kidz Harbor has achieved its original foundation goal by successfully assisting hundreds of children. Kidz Harbor continues to be a lighthouse for children and memorial to the vision of the late Rev. Jim H. Green.
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Valentine Day Poker Run I think this might be the second year we have combined our Valentine Day event with a Poker Run. It was another well-attended event, with 44 club members and their friends.
While we were getting ready to set up, I received a text from Kathy Kochanowsky advising that they were on 99 near I-10 and the low tire pressure warning came on. Not only was it low but it was going down from 28 to an alarming number that you know there is something more than a cold tire trying to warm up!! They had the sign-in sheet, the raffle tickets and the playing cards.
I moved into Plan B, because I have been well trained by Mike K that you can’t have a Plan A if you don’t have a Plan B!! 1. I commandeered Bill Heede and Illene Kappel to work the cards and the score sheet which
luckily I had volunteered to print (Mike and Kathie were going to do the scoring) 2. Used the back of one of the directions page and turned it into our sign in sheet. Mike was
bringing this. 3. Luckily I had already placed a pack of cards in my bag when Mike told me he had a pack that
he would bring. 4. Raffle tickets for those who had something Valentin-ish on, could wait for Kathie and Mike to
join us. Our run started in Brookshire with the first card drawn, followed by 3 stops along the way for the second, third and fourth card draw.
You know some days luck isn’t with you and I seriously consider renaming this event “Corvettes, Bicycles and Trains” event!!!! You can probably guess why!!
Traveling south isn’t really my favorite di-rection due to the roads being pretty straight and flat, with not many curves but I think I found enough to give everyone a little of each.
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We all arrived safely to “Fat Grass” our lunch location in Bay City. Geoff and I had eaten there over the Christmas break with our family and thought it would be a great SJCC event location.
Just before we arrived, I received an update text from Kathy. It wasn’t good. A large bolt was embedded in the tire, which they must have picked up on 99. They were at Discount Tire waiting for a new tire to arrive and there was no way they were going to make it to the lunch location.
Mmmm, another Plan B moment. No raffle tickets!!! As nearly everyone in the group had “red” on somewhere on them, I randomly gave everyone a number between 1 and 44. I would then have someone select a number between 1 and 44 for give out the four boxes of chocolates we had as prizes.
Now if you attend any of our monthly club meetings, you will know how lucky the Mohs family are!!! It’s unbelievable, they regularly win a raffle item, and in fact they won a Corvette from the NCM raffle!!! So I always thought they must have a system or something. So I randomly ask a club member to pick a number between 1 and 44, two out of the four box of chocolate prizes are won by Marilyn and Mark Mohs!! I want them to buy me Lotto ticket!!
We had a surprise prize for the best dressed Valentine person or couple. I assigned the selec-tion of the winner to a secret appointed club member. He/she came to me and said here are the top 3, Sharon Earnest, Dale Byrd (new club member) and Cheri & Charlie Payne. I looked at him/her and said “Oh no, you need to pick a winner! So who is it?” He/she deliberated for some time and final-ly advised that Cheri and Charlie were the winners.
We also had prizes for the Best and Worst Poker hand. Bob Berger won the Worst Poker hand. As I am typing this article I asked Geoff if he remembered what it was as he reviewed the hands and his response was “Not very good!”. LOL.
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The best hand was won by 6 year old Gary Bonnett Jr. !!! He had 3 Aces. He also won a bottle of wine! He asked if he wanted to trade his bottle of wine for one of the Mohs box of chocolates and that was a resounding YES!!! A funny after story!! Monday I went into work and was chatting with a new work colleague. I asked what did she get up to over the weekend and she told me about her trip down to Sweeny for the weekend with her sister to go visit her Mum and Dad, and how this long line of Corvettes, with an amazing array of colors, passed by them. She told her sister that a work colleague (me) owned a Corvette and was in a Corvette Club. I shared with her that it was my club and I. She thought it was the cool-est thing ever!!! Thanks to all for coming along! Suzanne Ansley
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Special Number Plates
I had a fun weekend in Austin watching the new C8 racing Corvette participate in the FIA WEC - Lone Star Le Mans (6 Hours) event at COTA. While the Cor-vette didn't do too well at this event, I think most of us who follow the write-ups on the C8 know the Corvette powers that be decided that they need to test this car and reentered this event that they left a number of years ago. All good news for future owners of the C8, especially the future Z06 owners (or whatever they choose to name it.) The event had a Corvette Corral and many owners proudly showed off their pride and joys! Including me. Here are some of the fun plates that were on display. Can you pick mine????
Suzanne Ansley
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BANDIT RUN
A message from Cindy Ceesevin
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San Jacinto Corvette Club Insignia Hello SJCC Members, As the insignia representative, I would like you to know our club members have access to apparel and other items sporting our SJCC logo. Please visit the website, www.hyperstitich.com for a wide variety of items you can purchase with our logo. You can also find a link on our club Shutterfly page. If you need any assistance navigating the website, please let me know. You can reach me by email at [email protected] . Thanks, Sharon Earnest/SJCC Insignia
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CURRENT TROPHY HOLDERS:
T. O. M. = JOE PFAU
WHY ME, LORD? = BOB BERGER
GOLDEN ARMADILLO = MELANIE CARRINGTON
HERO DRIVER = GEOFF ANSLEY
I’LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN = ERIC MILLER
March 2020
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INTRODUCING……..
CORVETTES on the BIG SCREEN
See if you can you name the movie and year model (difficulty level : depends on your age)
“It was terrible, I mean just terrible. He musta been doin' over 80 ya know. ”
by Sydney Heald
February answer ;
TRANSFORMERS 4
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THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS
Mark A. White
Attorney at Law
Law Office of Mark A. White
*************************************************** 1500 McGowen, Ste. 220 Houston, TX 77004
T: 832-255-2015 F: 832-202-2525
*************************************************** [email protected]
www.mwhitelaw.com
General Civil and Commercial Litigation
Free Initial Consultation
San Jacinto Corvette Club, Inc. (SJCC), established in 1957, is an organization of Corvette enthusiasts and their spouses. SJCC is a member of the National Council of Corvette Clubs, Southwest Region. SJCC monthly club meetings are held on the first Friday of each month, except December, at Mattingly Enterprises, 9426 Katy Freeway, Building #8, Houston, TX 77050 at 8 p.m. Visitors are welcome! SJCC Board of Directors meetings are held the third Monday of each month at Munday Chevrolet, 17800 North Fwy, Houston, TX at 7pm. Yearly membership dues are required. Annual dues are $75 for a single membership and $100 for joint membership. ————————————————————————————————————————————————-
The Grand Sport is a monthly publication of SJCC solely for the purpose of reporting club news and other items of interest to the membership. The Grand Sport welcomes articles from the membership. Some articles may be edited before publication. Please submit articles electronically (preference is MS Word in Arial 12). Email to current GrandSport editor: [email protected] SJCC members receive The Grand Sport by email each month without charge. Non-members may subscribe for $20 per year by email. ————————————————————————————————————————————————-
ADVERTISING Advertising rates (6 months / 12 months ) for 2018 are: Full Page $100/$120 Half Page $80/$100 Quarter Page $60/$80 Business Card $45/$60 Trade Fair: $30/3 mos.; $45/6 mos; $60/year Corvette related items for sale by club members may be included in the newsletter FREE of charge, on a space available basis. Please submit ads in writing (email). Ads by non-club members are billed at the Business Card rate listed above. Contact the President: [email protected]
SAN JACINTO CORVETTE CLUB INC. P. O. BOX 13992, HOUSTON, TX 77219 PHONE: 281-444-0749 FAX: 713-615-5863