Monterey historics weekend report

Hi guys,

You might as well start by clicking on this link:=20

http://members.aol.com/mikeldrew/monterey2005.jpg

It=E2=80=99s a huge JPG collage and will take a week to load at dial-up spee=
ds--might=20
as well let it chug away while you read!

It=E2=80=99s Tuesday evening and I=E2=80=99m happy to be back at home after=20=
yet another=20
excellent vacation chasing my classic automotive passions. For this past we=
ekend=20
was The Weekend, as it=E2=80=99s now universally known, featuring the Monter=
ey=20
Historic Races, Pebble Beach Concours and the Concorso Italiano.

Although normally I attend this event in one of my beater VW Sciroccos, this=
=20
year I decided to celebrate the re-emergence of my 427 Cobra replica and tak=
e=20
that down there instead. After lots of work to it, to-ing and fro-ing=20
(including several steps backwards when my radiator fans came adrift and pun=
ched=20
right through my aluminum radiator a few weeks ago, totally destroying it),=20=
I=20
finally had the car mostly sorted (it still has a cracked windshield) and fe=
lt it=20
was ready to go.

I even washed and waxed it, first time in years!

On Thursday afternoon, with a full tank of gas, I loaded it up and set off=20
for Monterey, which is about 170 miles south of my home. =20

The weather was glorious and it felt great to be zooming down the freeway,=20
with the sidepipes literally roaring and the sound bouncing off the center=20
divider and the doors of the cars I passed. The sun was shining, but it was=
cool=20
enough to warrant the wear of a sweatshirt. =20

Everything was going smoothly until I hit bumper-to-bumper traffic on Hwy 10=
1=20
south of San Jose. I clicked on the radiator fans, but noted they had no=20
effect. The Smith=E2=80=99s mechanical water temperature gauge is graduated=
in a=20
non-linear fashion, with the lower numbers appearing much closer together. =20=
I guess=20
the premise is that as the car gets closer and closer to boiling, the needle=
=20
will move faster and further to indicate each ten-degree differential and th=
at=20
would hopefully alert the driver; so it appears thusly: =20

40..60..80...100.....120......130........hey stupid, 140!!!!!

The car normally runs down the road at a cool (too cool in fact) 60 degrees=20
centigrade (which is only 140 degrees F), but sitting in traffic the needle=20
started moving visibly. About a half mile after passing an exit because I=20
couldn=E2=80=99t get over, when the needle hit 130 (which is 266 degrees F,=20=
yikes!) I=20
finally decided the situation called for extreme measures. I got over to th=
e=20
shoulder, then reversed at a good rate of speed a half-mile back up the free=
way, and=20
then dove off the freeway and pulled into a gas station. Only then did the=20
car start to boil over, puking a bit of water out of the overflow tank onto=20=
the=20
ground.

While I sat there to let it cool, I pondered the situation. I thought that=20
during my recent reinstallation of the radiator I had adequately bled it, bu=
t=20
perhaps not? While I was sitting there and letting it cool, I phoned Gary R=
oys=20
(who built the motor, gearbox and generally sorted most of the front=20
suspension and steering) just to commiserate. He reminded me that the car d=
id the=20
same thing while in his stewardship because he=E2=80=99d hooked up the sucke=
r fan wires=20
backwards. The car has two pushers and one sucker, and when that happened t=
he=20
fans were fighting each other and there was zero airflow. I had found and=20
fixed that while visiting him (and the car) last year.

No way I could have done that? After all, the blue wire on the harness goes=
=20
to the blue wire on the fan and the black wire goes to the black wire. How=20
hard is that?

Well, upon closer examination I discovered that BOTH the wires on the fan ar=
e=20
blue; the =E2=80=98black=E2=80=99 one had been wrapped in black tape which h=
ad peeled off. =20
And yes, when I put the radiator back in a few weeks ago I had wired them up=
=20
backwards, just like he had done!

30 seconds later, the car was fixed, and as the quantity of water that had b=
e
en heaved overboard was quite small and the temperature had fallen back down=
=20
to about 210 F, I fired it up and set off, and the temperature came right ba=
ck=20
down to normal again. Whew!

Since I was in a gas station anyway, I took the opportunity to fill the tank=
..=20
I burned 13.6 gallons after travelling only 104 miles, resulting in some=20
serious teeth-sucking on my part!

The rest of my trip was thankfully uneventful, and I soon rolled into the=20
Pantera Club of Northern California=E2=80=99s event hotel, the Los Laureles=20=
Lodge in=20
Carmel Valley. Not too many people were there, and somebody mentioned that=20=
a few=20
folks had gone down to the Baja Cantina for their weekly Thursday car show.=20=
=20
So I hopped back in the Cobra and zipped down the road to join the fun.

I=E2=80=99ve heard of this event for years but have always failed to make it=
there. =20
The Baja Cantina is a Mexican restaurant with an outdoor patio (tonight=20
featuring a live band) and a fairly large parking lot. Every Thursday night=
they=20
hold a car show, but this night in particular is special, because so many pe=
ople=20
attend.

The show, more than any other I=E2=80=99d ever seen, crossed the entire leng=
th and=20
breadth of the automotive spectrum. Ferraris were parked next to street rod=
s=20
next to muscle cars next to pre-war classics next to brass-era cars (the old=
est=20
one driven to the show dated from 1904 or something!), with motorcycles and=20
trucks and even a 1930=E2=80=99s fuel tanker to boot!

My camera was buried so I wasn=E2=80=99t able to take any photos, but it was=
=20
fascinating walking around and seeing all these cars--and of course there we=
re several=20
other Pantera guys wandering about, and Jim Kuehne=E2=80=99s Mangusta was dr=
awing=20
quite a crowd.

Eventually I split for downtown Monterey, where I had a room waiting for me=20
at the U.S. Navy Lodge, a nice, proper hotel that the Navy runs as a=20
military-only R&R facility.

The next morning dawned cool and damp, with heavy fog--standard Monterey=20
weather. With some trepidation, I ambled over towards the Black Horse Golf=20=
Course=20
(the former U.S. Army golf course on the former Fort Ord), the site of the=20
Concorso Italiano.

Last year, the traffic situation was an absolute nightmare, with people=20
having to sit in line for over an hour only to be told they were in the wron=
g place=20
and had to go sit in another line somewhere else. Cars were overheating and=
=20
tempers were flaring--it just sucked. So I was quite pleased to see that=20
apparently they had sorted it out this year. Yes, I did have to sit in traf=
fic=20
for about ten minutes, but then I was guided to a parking lot and waltzed in=
to=20
the show, which was already filling up with people. The one great failing o=
f=20
this event has apparently been fully resolved, thankfully.

As usual, the Concorso was filled with a stunning array of Italian cars, as=20
well as a few motorcycles and boats. The show is rather lopsided in that th=
e=20
participant vehicles are almost exclusively post-war machines, which would l=
ead=20
one to believe that there was no Italian transportation industry before 1945=
..=20
But with that acknowledged, nevertheless the collection of cars was=20
astounding, featuring well over 500 Ferraris, perhaps 75 Lambos, close to 70=
De=20
Tomasos, and tons of Alfa Romeos and Fiats, not to mention a few Etceterinis=
too.

Something else I really like about this event is the huge number of sales=20
booths. The whole show is lined with tents selling just about anything you=20=
can=20
think of, from artwork to old parts to books and arcane documents.

Speaking of which, I stumbled across a little treasure in a dark corner of=20
somebody=E2=80=99s booth. He had an envelope that was simply stuffed with r=
andom=20
internal memos and documents from Ford relating to the De Tomaso program. F=
or=20
example, according to one report generated on March 10th, 1973, there were 1=
4=20
Pantera dealers in the greater Memphis area, they had sold a cumulative tota=
l of 40=20
Panteras, with six sold in the previous 30 days. Between them, they had 19=20
Panteras in inventory, and 8 more assigned but not shipped from the (US) por=
t. =20
On that same date, a total of 1853 1972 model year Panteras with small=20
bumpers had come off the assembly line (not counting European production,=20
presumably, which was a completely separate deal), with 1844 of them shipped=
to the USA.=20
A further 443 late 1972 cars had been built (with the one-piece bumpers) an=
d=20
429 had been shipped. A total of 112 1973 model year cars had been built bu=
t=20
only 21 had been shipped.

Of the 2273 1972 model year Panteras shipped to the USA, all 2273 had been=20
received at the various ports of entry (a good thing!), 1657 early cars and=20=
10=20
late-model cars had been shipped to dealers, 606 were still in port stock, w=
ith=20
138 okay to sell and assigned to dealers, 7 okay to sell and not yet=20
assigned, 46 early cars not okay to sell, and a whopping 415 L-model cars no=
t okay to=20
sell (presumably awaiting one of the many ongoing retrofit programs that For=
d=20
had instituted).
=0BBesides the statistical reports, there are also numerous memos from=20
marketing managers and district sales managers, and even a comprehensive fin=
ancial=20
projection of the whole Pantera program for 1972, showing an explicit breakd=
own=20
of the total fixed and variable costs, and projected profits, and showing th=
e=20
actual 1971 figures.

Nothing earth-shattering, but very interesting nonetheless, and of course I=20
couldn=E2=80=99t let it remain behind! I=E2=80=99ll undoubtedly waste hours=
of my life poring=20
over this stuff trying to figure out what it all means.

I spent the whole day wandering around the show, meeting up with people here=
=20
and there, checking out cars and catching up on each other=E2=80=99s lives,=20=
before one=20
or the other of us would drift off in a different direction. And of course=20=
I=20
was shooting photos left and right.

This year=E2=80=99s show featured Alfa Romeo and there were tons of them on=20=
display;=20
it also had a secondary feature for the 40th anniversary of the Lamborghini=20
Miura, and I guess there were about 30 or more of them there. Stunning!

I happened to be in the De Tomaso area at the right time to watch Pantera=20
designer Tom Tjaarda hand out the trophies which were the result of a popula=
r=20
vote among the participants, as well as individual trophies made by him, and=
by=20
Dave and Linda Adler of Pantera International, which is the marque=E2=80=99s=
sponsoring=20
club at the Concorso.

As usual, at the end of the day I couldn=E2=80=99t bring myself to leave and=
found=20
myself wandering around after 95% of the cars had left. But eventually I go=
t=20
back into the Cobra, and then headed back to Carmel Village for the Nor-Cal=20
Pantera Club=E2=80=99s dinner.

In order to get there, I had to cross the Laureles Grade again. This is a=20
simply wonderful road, about eight or ten miles long perhaps, that twists an=
d=20
turns up one side of a steep hill, then drops down into Carmel Valley below.=
=20
And until I got caught in traffic, it was like my own personal Targo Florio.=
=20
Whee!

I got to the hotel a half hour before the dinner was to begin, and there I=20
met one of my friends from England, Andy Prill. If you have been reading my=
=20
prior reports on my various travels, you may remember Andy, who is a Porsche=
356=20
guru. Last time I saw him was at Le Mans, where the principal 356 he looks=20
after had burned a valve. He had the motor in his lap and was awaiting the=20
arrival of parts from his workshop back in England, but all worked out well=20=
and=20
the car eventually performed quite well; he co-drove the car with its owner,=
a=20
fellow named Richard Clark, who is nominally a resident of Monaco and makes=20=
his=20
living running the largest international car shipping agency in Europe. =20
Richard had flown the car over to California to run it at Monterey and Andy=20=
was=20
there to look after it.

Anyway, Andy had last driven my Cobra way back in 1997 when it was beautiful=
,=20
but woefully under-engineered. Since then it has undergone lots of work to=20
the engine, gearbox, clutch, steering, suspension--everything except the=20
brakes, which were always excellent. As Andy is used to running around in t=
hese=20
weedy little Porsches, I threw him the keys and told him to drive me over th=
e=20
grade and back.

Simply put, he was absolutely astounded. The car is completely transformed,=
=20
and he told me so. He just went on and on, raving about it as he drove it.=20=
=20
His eyes were as big as saucers, he just couldn=E2=80=99t get over the power=
, and he=20
was laughing and cheering uncontrollably as he powered the car up the hill a=
nd=20
drifted it through the corners. =E2=80=9CThis thing is SO fast, and the bra=
kes are=20
PERFECT, and the steering is great, even on long sweeping curves--Mike, this=
car=20
is AMAZING! It=E2=80=99s a totally different car! And I can=E2=80=99t get=20=
over the=20
power--it=E2=80=99s just SO powerful!=E2=80=9D

And that=E2=80=99s before he even opened the secondaries. :>)

After we got to the bottom of the hill and turned around and pointed it=20
towards the hotel, I finally convinced him to just put the throttle to the f=
loor in=20
2nd gear as we were pointed up a long hill, and the thing finally pulled the=
=20
way I am accustomed to. He was even more astounded at that point, and quiet=
ly=20
yelled (you can=E2=80=99t actually speak quietly in this car when underway,=20=
there are=20
only degrees of yelling possible), =E2=80=9CYou know, you could have a reall=
y big=20
accident in this car!=E2=80=9D :>)

We had to go get gas when we got back to the bottom of the hill, so went dow=
n=20
towards the Baja Cantina, where the car swallowed up 15 gallons after=20
travelling some 104 miles, resulting in yet more teeth-sucking on my part. =20=
=E2=80=9CBloody=20
=E2=80=98ell!=E2=80=9D was all Andy could say, =E2=80=9CBe glad you=E2=80=
=99re not driving THIS car in=20
Europe!=E2=80=9D

I don=E2=80=99t even think this fuel-saving device would help me....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...D7993916387&s=
sPag
eName=3DADME:B:EF:US:1

When we got back to the hotel, he shut it off and then just sat in it for a=20
minute, shaking his head and muttering to himself, =E2=80=9C...Awesome...jus=
t=20
awesome...=E2=80=9D

The dinner was on an outdoor patio, surrounded by Panteras and three De=20
Tomaso Mangustas. The meal was exquisite, as was the company, including sev=
eral=20
people who had skipped the Concorso and the races but had driven down just f=
or=20
the dinner. The dinner had a =E2=80=9860s theme and I surprised everybody b=
y reaching=20
far back into my closet and coming up with appropriate =E2=80=9860s garb, in=
the form=20
of an original Woodstock t-shirt (so thin you can practically see through it=
=20
now) and an old Vietnam-era army fatigue shirt (ditto).

Considering that I was not yet four years old when Woodstock happened, peopl=
e=20
were amazed that I had this shirt--and in fact had been wearing it off and o=
n=20
for some 20 years myself....

Eventually, around 11:00 p.m. I left to back to my hotel, and I couldn=E2=
=80=99t help=20
myself--I had to take a detour and charge over Laureles Grade once more. :>)

The next morning was even more foggy than the previous one. I tooled over t=
o=20
Laguna Seca, and parked in the Shelby Corral, grabbed my camera gear and set=
=20
off. Thanks to my media credentials, I was able to secure a photo pass agai=
n=20
and thus gain access to areas of the track normally off-limits to spectators=
,=20
and I spent the majority of the day taking photos, mostly of the cars that=20
would be of interest to the various clubs of which I=E2=80=99m a member, as=20=
well as cars=20
that belong to friends, but also of cars that I found personally attractive.=
=20
(As an aside, two of my photos last year were included in the official event=
=20
program this year, which further legitimizes my =E2=80=98media=E2=80=99 stat=
us).

The featured marque of this year=E2=80=99s event was Chaparral, and American=
-engined=20
specials generally. I had long desired to travel to Midland, Texas and chec=
k=20
out Jim Hall=E2=80=99s Chaparral museum, but he was kind enough to bring the=
museum to=20
Monterey, thereby eliminating that destination from my list of places I must=
=20
go.

During lunchtime, five of his cars were taken out and driven around on=20
demonstration laps. Of them, the most significant and unusual was the 2J, o=
therwise=20
known as the =E2=80=98sucker car=E2=80=99. This Can-Am car featured a very=20=
ugly, boxy body,=20
and the big-block Chevy was augmented by a snowmobile engine which was used=20
to drive two giant fans which literally sucked the air out from the inside o=
f=20
the boxy bodywork. A system of plastic skirts around the bottom of the body=
=20
sealed in the low pressure and literally sucked the car to the ground, resul=
ting=20
in phenomenal cornering speeds. The car was soon banned from racing.

When it drove around it made a most unusual sound, as the (Chevy) engine=20
would rev up and down while the snowmobile engine ran at a constant speed. =20=
It=20
sounding like nothing so much as a 200 mph leaf-blower!

There were all sorts of great displays in the paddock, but unfortunately I=20
was so busy hiking to obscure and off-the-beaten-track sites to shoot action=
=20
photos that I didn=E2=80=99t actually get to see anything there on Saturday.

The weather remained foggy far longer than usual, and in fact at one point=20
the fog got so thick that the corner workers could no longer see the track s=
o=20
the racing was stopped (!) but eventually it burned off and we enjoyed brigh=
t=20
sunshine. The track had undergone extensive renovations earlier in the year=
in=20
order to run the Moto GP (Formula 1 motorcycle) race. In many places, runof=
f=20
areas had been expanded and the gravel pits made much deeper. The result wa=
s=20
that an off-track excursion more often than not resulted in a car being=20
thoroughly stuck in the gravel, requiring the corner workers to go extract i=
t. Thus=20
the racing was marred by an unusually high number of standing yellow flags,=20
which helped to get the event off-schedule somewhat.

At one point in the afternoon, Mercedes brought out the old #722 300SLR that=
=20
Stirling Moss had used to win the 1955 Mille Miglia; Stirling himself blaste=
d=20
around for several laps with Jay Leno in the passenger seat, his hair being=20
blown all over the place!

Of greatest interest to me was the race that featured the small-block Cobras=
,=20
GT350s and Corvettes. Don Lee held the pole in his #89 Cobra, and Tom=20
Georgalos was in fifth spot, the first GT350; there were a total of 33 cars=20=
entered=20
in the race, although unfortunately Tom Fry blew a clutch during practice an=
d=20
had to sit out the race. When the race started, Don held the lead until ne=
ar=20
the end when Larry Bowman simply outpowered him in his own Cobra and passed=20
for the win. Tom fought off a Corvette that had at least a 75 hp advantage,=
=20
but finally let him by and then chased him to the checkered flag to finish i=
n=20
6th spot.

I met up with Gray Gregory after the races, and after letting the traffic di=
e=20
down for an hour (while doing a pit walk and checking out some of the=20
competing cars), we drove back to the PCNC hotel (yes, that required another=
drive=20
over Laureles Grade, oh darn) and there joined about a dozen other members o=
f=20
the club for a fantastic dinner in the hotel restaurant.

I was a bit tuckered out by this point, and knew I had an early morning ahea=
d=20
of me, so I left uncharactistically early (around 9:30 p.m.), and again took=
=20
the long way home, back over the grade again. I really, really like that ro=
ad!

I got up at the obscene hour of 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, in order to pack up my=20
gear and get out of the hotel, and then head to Pebble Beach. I had been to=
ld=20
by many people that the only way to properly see this show is to get there=20
insanely early, but each year previously I had failed due to oversleeping. =20=
This=20
year was different, and I found myself sailing along the stunning 17-mile=20
drive shortly after 6:00 a.m. At one point I saw a pair of headlights absur=
dly=20
low in my mirrors, and found that I was being followed by an Alfa Romeo Tipo=
=20
33/2 Spyder, a full-on race car that of course is nowhere near street legal!

I was early enough to zoom right into the rock star parking lot, immediately=
=20
adjacent to the show grounds, eliminating the need to park out with the hoi=20
polloi on the coast and take those pesky shuttle buses to the show. Shortly=
=20
after getting out of my car, I spotted a fellow trying to push a =E2=80=9830=
s Alfa Romeo u
p a slight incline and leapt beside to help him; he said that this car was=20
his =E2=80=98driver=E2=80=99 for the weekend. I was too polite to ask him w=
hy we were pushing=20
his =E2=80=98driver=E2=80=99 into the parking lot. :>)

The show was singularly spectacular, as ever. Alfa Romeo was the featured=20
marque (explaining the aforementioned Tipo 33/2 ambling down the road) and t=
he=20
grass was littered with spectacular examples of the marque. Among the other=
=20
classes were the =E2=80=98standards=E2=80=99 (Ferrari, Duesenberg, etc.) as=20=
well as some=20
interesting rotating classes; this year they had post-war tail-dragger custo=
m cars=20
(basically, lead sleds from the 50=E2=80=99s), and wooden skiff-bodied cars.

Among the cars on the grass was a simply beautiful Ford GT40. Unusually,=20
this car was in complete road car trim. Of the 133 GT40s made, 31 of them w=
ere=20
built and sold as road cars by Shelby American. These were detuned and=20
up-contented versions of the race car, fitted with Borrani wire wheels, a st=
andard=20
GT-350-spec engine (although fitted with Webers), and trimmed with nice leat=
her=20
upholstery, slightly different switchgear, and even an ashtray and parking=20
brake. The overwhelming majority of these cars were later returned to race=20=
car=20
specification, but not this one. No, the owner had painstakingly restored t=
he=20
car to its original configuration, and it was fascinating to see it and=20
compare it to the race cars I=E2=80=99m accustomed to seeing.

Various manufacturers had their wares on display outside the show grounds,=20
but nobody put on a show of force like Aston Martin. They had several dozen=
=20
cars, both old and new, and spectators literally had to run through a gauntl=
et of=20
new Astons in order to get to the show grounds.

After a few hours the grounds started filling up with both hoi and polloi, s=
o=20
I took that as my cue to leave. On the way out I spotted a new exhibit, a=20
small-scale copy of the Retromobile show in Paris. Retromobile is the large=
st=20
show of automobilia and accessories in the world, and apparently they are=20
trying to do the same here now. High-end booths filled with posters, artwor=
k,=20
jewelry and accessories filled a rather good-sized tent; it has lots of pote=
ntial=20
to grow and make the crowds that much more unmanageable.

I received very explicit directions from the 12-year-old directing traffic,=20
who sent me in exactly the wrong direction, and I spent the next 30 minutes=20
driving around in circles through the better part of the Pebble Beach reside=
ntial=20
community before I finally stumbled across a convenient ocean, turned right=20
and followed the coastline until I recognized something.

There was no traffic getting into the track, and this time I parked in the=20
media parking lot at the top of the hill. I rolled into the media/driver=
=E2=80=99s=20
hospitality area for a (great) lunch, then went back out into the wilds and=20=
spent=20
the whole afternoon shooting more photos. =20

On my way through the paddock I met up with Relay Rick Moseley and Carl=20
Stein, and we stopped to admire an American special that had a distinctly Eu=
ropean=20
flair. I told them that I thought it had a Touring body, or at least an int=
er
esting copy of one. Turns out it=E2=80=99s a 1929 Alfa Romeo with Touring b=
odywork,=20
that in the =E2=80=9850s was converted to a hot rod using a Cadillac V8! Wh=
o knew in=20
the 1950s that an old Alfa Romeo race car would be worth over two million=20
dollars? Right now the car is worth next to nothing, but the owner, a very=20=
proud=20
Texan, has turned down multiple offers from people who want to return the ca=
r=20
to its original configuration. He likes it the way it is. :>)

The racing was excellent, as always. Richard did a fine job in his Porsche=20
356, especially as this was his first exposure to Laguna Seca. It=E2=80=99s=
a very=20
different track from Le Mans, no doubt, but he said he loved it! =20

The FIA Championship race featured no less than six GT40s, but the early=20
leader was Mac Archer in his booming 427 Cobra (Yaay!) The deep roar the ca=
r made=20
as it came down the front straight was simply awesome (and very familiar to=20
me), when contrasted with the shrill shriek of the GT40s that followed. But=
=20
within a few laps, the Cobra began to drift backwards (I suspect the brakes=20
started to give up, as they are still original solid rotors) and two GT40s m=
anaged=20
to slip past.

Bill Cotter, a fellow I had met at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier in=
=20
the year (he was driving the Scarab F-1 car there) was here in a Porsche 935=
=20
racing in the IMSA class (which is new for this year). In the morning=20
practice, he had literally ripped the steering column right out of the dash=20=
while=20
negotiating the corkscrew (!) but fortunately his mechanics were able to wel=
d it=20
up and he put on a fine show in the race, starting near the back of the pack=
=20
and passing two or three cars each lap to finish third.

In an odd coincidence, Bill is the former owner of a Gr4 race Pantera, which=
=20
he recently sold to a fellow in Belgium, in order to purchase the Porsche 93=
5.=20
The Porsche was previously raced by another Belgian fellow named Guy=20
Trigeaux, who had raced, and still owns, another one of the Gr4 race Pantera=
s (of=20
only 14 made). Small world....

Also in the IMSA class, which was more or less owned by Porsches, were a pai=
r=20
of the wildest Chevy Monzas you have ever seen. They were built to compete=20
head-to-head with the Porsches, and in fact may have been even faster, but t=
hey=20
lacked the reliability to win long races. But they are ideally suited to=20
these ten-lap sprints, and Kenny Epsman put on a great show, fighting agains=
t=20
Bruce Canepa (Porsche 935) and trading the lead back and forth several times=
=20
before finally finishing second.

I was able to just catch a glimpse of the displays inside the various tents=20
etc. before they started tearing them all down, which was kind of a bummer.

After the driver=E2=80=99s awards ceremony, I followed Andy and Richard back=
to their=20
hotel. Oh darn, another trek across Laureles Grade. Andy had actually=20
picked up the Porsche 356 race car at the airport and driven it to the track=
the=20
previous week (a concept unheard of in the USA) and now that it had acquitte=
d=20
itself well on the track, he drove it back to the hotel. We all went to din=
ner=20
in Carmel Village, and I gave Richard his first Cobra ride on the way there.=
=20
He=E2=80=99s used to 145 hp in a car that handles like an egg, so 569 hp in=20=
a 2350 lb=20
car that actually handles pretty well was more than a bit of a revelation to=
=20
him.

Mostly the 569 hp...:>)

Finally, at about 9:00 p.m. I had to acknowledge that the event was finally=20
over. There was nobody left to hang out with, no more car events to attend,=
it=20
was dark and getting cold, so I finally had to go home.

After filling the tank (paying $3.11 a gallon), I roared down the hill=20
towards the junction, then turned right and went up Laureles Grade for one l=
ast=20
time. I=E2=80=99m sure Andy and Richard stood outside and listened for a fe=
w minutes as=20
the car absolutely bellowed up the mountain. 5500 rpm in 2nd, 3rd, then jus=
t=20
touched 4th before dropping back to 3rd for a left-hander, then a series of=20
corners, then down into 2nd for another series of slower corners, then a sho=
rt=20
straight with a kink that let me catch 3rd again (back up to about 85 mph),=20=
and=20
on and on...climbing into a fog bank, just a sublime piece of pavement, this=
=20
time enjoyed with no traffic at all, except for one slow car that immediatel=
y=20
pulled over and let me pass with no provocation on my part (except for the f=
act=20
that I came up on him with about 30 mph of overtake...)

Once on the freeway the drive was mostly uneventful; occasionally I would=20
pass a trailer carrying a race car and would always toot the horns (ex-my=20
Pantera) and wave. After yet another gas stop (made it almost 120 miles thi=
s time,=20
sucked down another 15 gallons or so), I arrived at the toll booth at the=20
Benecia bridge.

The toll collector nearly fell out of his booth when I slowly rumbled up. I=
=20
was wearing earplugs for the freeway drive, but I could clearly hear him as=20=
he=20
pointed at the car, wide-eyed, and shouted, =E2=80=9CCOBRA?!=E2=80=9D Yes,=20=
it=E2=80=99s a Cobra. =20
=E2=80=9CWOW! What an awesome car!=E2=80=9D I handed him my three dollar to=
ll (a crime, but=20
that=E2=80=99s another story), looked around and saw no other cars, and espe=
cially no=20
cars with blue and red lights on the roof. He was standing there, just=20
dumbstruck, as I put it in gear, smiled and hollered, =E2=80=9CHave a great=20=
night!=E2=80=9D, then=20
revved it to only about 2000 rpm and stepped off the clutch.

The tires started spinning and I rolled on the gas, revving it to 5000 rpm.=20=
=20
The car started to turn sideways to the left and I corrected it, then after=20
about 30 feet of wheelspin it hooked up and just launched forward. Grabbed=20
second gear, 5500 rpm, then into third gear, 5500 rpm, glanced at the speedo=
and=20
saw 110 mph as I went through the curve onto the 680 freeway (just a few=20
hundred yards from the toll booth), then eased it into fourth and backed out=
of it,=20
settling down to a nice 80-90 mph cruise on this particularly deserted stret=
ch=20
of highway.

You can guarantee that he=E2=80=99ll be telling all his friends about that.=20=
:>)

The car was just running great. It was cool out, but with my gloves and=20
fleece hat, I was feeling fine. I slowed down a bit and just flowed with th=
e=20
traffic once I got on I-80, but then as I approached home, I peeled onto the=
=20
I-505, a singularly deserted freeway. The connecting ramp sweeps up and ove=
r the=20
I-80 in a broad left curve with a distinct bump partway through where the ro=
ad=20
becomes an overpass, then turns into a downhill right curve with a left kink=
=20
at the bottom before opening into a straight that=E2=80=99s about three mile=
s long. I=20
cruised through the transition at elevated speeds, chassis wiggling a bit as=
=20
it negotiated the awkward bump, but I wasn=E2=80=99t worried because I was f=
ar from the=20
limits of adhesion, then as I entered the straight I saw the road was wide=20
open all the way down to my exit, about a mile and a half up the road, so I=20=
just=20
pinned it, something I=E2=80=99ve never done in top gear before.

The car just pulled and pulled and pulled, right up to 5500 rpm in 4th, the=20
highest I=E2=80=99ve ever had it. I just had time to glance down and to the=
right and=20
see 145 mph on the speedo before I backed off and coasted up to and then up=20
the off-ramp.

Like one of those old Sprint commercials where everything just goes right fo=
r=20
people, the road was still completely empty (it was close to midnight), and=20
as I approached the light it turned green. Somewhat hard on the brakes (but=
=20
never waiting until the last minute, oh no, this isn=E2=80=99t a race after=20=
all), heel=20
and toe down into third, then second gear, going really slowly now because i=
t=E2=80=99s=20
about a 120 degree turn to the left, turn in and squeeze on the gas, and as=20
the road crowns and goes off-camber, the back end gently slides out, easy to=
=20
catch it with just a hint of opposite lock, and away. Then gently into thir=
d,=20
then ease into fourth, and burble the rest of the way home at a sedate and=20
neighbor-friendly (well, at least not as neighbor-hostile) 1000 rpm.

I pulled the car into the garage and shut it off. My senses were still=20
battered from the onslaught of noise and the buffeting of the wind, but as I=
=20
removed my earplugs I could hear the ticking of contracting metal as the pip=
es=20
cooled, and could smell hot oil (from oil being pumped out the dipstick hole=
onto=20
just about everything on the left side of the engine bay). Other than that,=
=20
the car was in great shape, and ready to do it all over again.

And so am I. Next August can=E2=80=99t get here soon enough! :>)

I=E2=80=99m going to spend the rest of the week at home, but don=E2=80=99t b=
e surprised if=20
my wanderlust strikes again and I=E2=80=99m out and about before too long...=
:>)

Mike