fall 2004 NewsLetter image Oct 08, 2004

Newsletter Fall Edition by Larry Gable

NEWSLETTER LATE SUMMER EDITION 2004

Fall is here and we closed out the summer with a great day at the track. I want to thank all who came, it was a memorable day. The weather, the food, the camaraderie and all your cars ran great - ahh - except for Mark's, which was a real downer. I will say even the track owner, Bob Metcalf and his wife Donna, appreciated the way we handled ourselves, they truly enjoyed seeing all the turbo cars. He even requested a copy of the photo we had taken of the 17 cars we had lined up on the track at the end of the day. I am in the process of putting together an 8x10 framed glossy for him.

Again, I thank all of you who showed up. Even though I was again without a car - I had a great time and all was good.

Special kudos go out to Paul Cummings and his pal Phil McCabe who spent much of their day running the lights and the water box. As you recall it was Phil McCabe who was running the corvette - he ran consistent low to mid 13's - a very nice car.

Yours truly ran the lights for a period of time while taking some movies - I had a great time. It was fun observing all of you bringing you cars up to the water box and as you pull up to the lights the looks on your faces were intense and sheer determination, it was great!

Overall, the racing award of the day goes to Dave Schreiber. As you recall, shortly after his arrival he had a problem with his brakes. Chris Fuqua saved the day when he found a dime size piece of cardboard blocking the outlet port of the master cylinder and that was all it took to get Dave out onto the track. From that time on throughout the day Dave ran his car like there was no tomorrow! I'm not sure how many times he came up to the lanes but it had to be over 15. His best was 12.01 at 114 mph.

Phil Toenniessen, a seasoned track vet gets the fastest ride award - 10.73 at 124 mph - congratulations!

Joe Rizzo is another one of those shake and bake wizards along with sheer determination. He worked the timing on his car throughout the day and finished with a great 11.67 at 116 mph. He also pulled a 1.59 60 - on drag radials. That is just nuts! Nice going Joe.

Paul Plavetzki just surprised the hell out of me. I know he has not had much track time but he pulled the car up and had a great day racing. His car ran strong and smooth throughout the day at a best of 11.99 at 115 mph - nice job Paul!

Joe Doino's car also ran strong and smooth, it was great to see him behind the wheel again. His best was 12.57 at 112 mph.

Jerry Thompson runs at 11.65 at 114. He makes it look easy! Then his most pleasant friend, Cindy, gets behind the wheel and ran the car at 12.4 at 113 - that was a great sight to see!

Steve Bayes was all fired up as this was his very first time stretching out the quarter mile. His best was 19.43 at 71.29 mph. Steve has always been an upbeat guy, a very active member in our group and has attended many events without a car. It was just great to see him behind the wheel and having a great time. I should also note that he cleaned up a bag of ginger snaps in 5 minutes and 32 seconds! Now there's a record no ones going to beat - nice job Steve!

Dave Andrews, a new club member and anxious to get involved ran a best 13.2 at 106 mph. Nice job Dave and welcome aboard.

Kevin Turch was running his dad's car. We've all seen him do it before - he just smokes the tires to the point where the car disappears in the smoke. It's a sight to see, and then moments later Ron is reaching for his wallet looking to place another order for a set of drag radials, I love it! Kevin ran his father's car at a best of 12.0 at 110 mph. The car just runs great!

John O'Neil ran 13.6 at 103 and his car also ran hard and smooth. Just another member who helps where ever he can.

Bus and Karen ran their black beauty at 12.2 seconds at 110 mph. Karen and Bus both do a great job in driving their cars. However, I give the edge to Karen as getting the highest rush - she just loves it.

Ed Chapman just loves to race. He stepped up to the lights almost as many times as Dave Schreiber. His best time was 14.3 at 96 mph with his Pure Stock T. The guy is just a pleasure to be around. He does a lot for our club.

Ken Feind had a great day. The guy can drive and has a quick GN. His best time was 11.99 at 113 mph. Another member into the 11's - Congratulations Ken.

Finally Paul Pryor! He has his car running so well it is scary. I wouldn't be surprised if we find he has some mixing a little jet fuel in from work.. His best time was 11.74 at 112. And get this however he runs a stock intercooler! Get out of Town!

All in all, just a great day. Next year we are going to invite those from Central New York and members of the Massachusetts Turbo Club. Hopefully we can come up with a sponsor in between now and then and keep the cost down for everyone and come up with some categories for trophies. Heck maybe we could even splurge, winner take all with a gift certificate to McDonalds.

We need to close out this season with a meeting at Athon's Restaurant in Cheektowaga. Hopefully, we can come up with a day where the weather is still nice enough where we can bring out the cars. Saturday, 11/06/04. I will be sure to bring a VHS tape of the event. If anyone else took any footage, put it on a VHS format and bring it along.

I am already looking forward to next years season which will include at least two of the indoor shows in Buffalo and Hamburg. Should any of you have an interest in placing your cars in these shows, get a hold of me as soon as possible. In the past we have had some great participation and it is always a lot of fun.

I want to thank everyone who showed up at the event, including John McPherson. Though his car was not up and running and he had to get his butt back to work, he drove all the way out to Leicester just to spend the morning with us. It just shows the strength of the camaraderie in our group. Oh - lets not forget Ron Turch. One of our club Pillars! The guy does so much for us. He is always one of the first to arrive at any event and always the last to leave. Would not be the same without him. Thanks again for coming. See you at the next meeting Larry


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