From DER Prez

It’s Summer!  Come join us at the Track!

by Don McGilvery, aka NINE44T

Summer is in full swing here in Maine - the grass is growing like crazy, the “to-do list” is getting done a little at a time, and prime P-car time has arrived.  As you will see in this Newsletter, the Down East Region has been and continues to be busy with our various events scheduled for this year.  One quick note: the Camden Ramble that was rained out this spring will be rescheduled for the fall and will dovetail with an event at the Owls Head Transportation Museum.

                As most of you know I am a dedicated drivers’ education “trackie” and I take every chance I can to promote this wonderful opportunity to drive our cars the way they we designed and engineered.  The PCA, through the various regions throughout our country and Canada organize, promote, and run hundreds of track days each year.  We are very fortunate in Zone One and, in particular here in the Northeast, to have many high quality and historic tracks available and several very active regions that take every opportunity to get to the track.  While our club has, on several occasions, discussed the possibility of running an event of our own, we feel that due to our small size and the somewhat limited involvement of our membership to date, that this undertaking is beyond our collective capabilities and would have limited benefit to our club. I can not stress enough, however, that all PCA members are welcome to attend other region’s events and I urge you to do so. Many of the Down East Region “trackies” help out by volunteering as out of region instructors, thereby contributing directly to the success of these events.  The Board of Directors is always available to answer your questions related to these events so feel free to contact any of us or visit our website.

                In addition to our regular DER calendar, we are again looking forward to working with our neighbor, the North Country Region, to promote and provide a Track Sampler event this fall at the New Hampshire International Speedway. Last year DER had approximately 25 participants for this event and I know of at least three who have signed up to try their first full fledged DE event within the next few weeks.  If you are not familiar with this event, NHIS is about two hours from the Portland area, the event includes some classroom instruction of the dynamics of track driving, the “rules of the road” while on the track, the various signal flags used on the course, and a general introduction to what you can expect throughout a typical day at the track.  In addition, there is “open track” time in which you can drive your own car at a controlled, limited rate to get a feel for the track, and finally, there is the opportunity to ride as a passenger with an Instructor in their car to experience track driving with an accomplished driver.  This event, by far, provides the best opportunity to drive your car the way it is meant to be driven. I know you won’t be disappointed and if you decide that this type of an event isn’t for you, you will have spent a day with great people, seen some fine machinery, driven your car in, and experienced, an event that might otherwise not be available to you – how can you lose?!

                So keep the grass at a reasonable length, whittle away at the to-do list, but most of all get out and enjoy your summer – it’s here! I hope to see many of you at our events this year.

Don

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