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Way
Out West
by Janet Curran email
janetcurran@verizon.net
Contributions by Bruce Miller and Joe Syslo
Summer is over and Autumn is beautiful. Nice warm days
and cool nights are very energizing and tempt us to venture out to the
various events that keep the Corvette family busy. It is time to caravan
up to the mountains with friends to see the changing of the leaves and
watch the critters prepare for winter.
In Colorado Springs, the Rocky Mountain Corvette
Social Club takes full advantage of the environment, ending their
formal “Drive-N-Dine” season with a Color Run through … where else … the
Rockies. As in previous years, the event was organized, planned, mapped
and executed by our own Dan Samento [C5R# Z6286].
 The
northeast caravan contingent left Colorado Springs led by Bruce
“Wrong-Way-Miller” [C5R# X3278] eventually heading
southwest to Penrose, CO for breakfast at the Gooseberry Patch. Dan and
his wife Priscilla took the lead from their winding up the twisty back
roads, past the Llama Ranch on the way to Cripple Creek, an old mining
town turned low-stakes gambling. The Aspens were in a state of full
migration turning from green to vibrant states of yellow and orange,
seemingly glowing without the aid of sunlight.
No Drive-N-Dine is complete without a “Dine”, so off they
went on a mountainous back-door approach to the Hickory House in
Denver. No Drive-N-Dine that Dan plans is complete without an
opportunity for triple-digits either, and as the season was coming to an
end, both requirements were fulfilled.
Track days are in full swing at the many road tracks in
the West. Homecoming Parades, Autocrosses, Car Shows, Road Rally’s and
impromptu Road Tours compete for our attention every weekend. Shine up
that vette and choose your event – a few hours, a full day or the entire
weekend, it is time to join friends and share the pleasures of the West
with Corvette friends.
 West
Coast Corvettes held a Grand Opening
party at their new Anaheim facility in September. Complimentary In-N-Out
burgers and wings & hotdogs from Hooters were served to the happy
attendees. The first 500 Corvettes received great goody bags and a
raffle ticket for a chance to win one of the over $12,000 in giveaways.
There was an entertaining DJ that kept the music going between the many
raffle drawings. People came from all over the West and even a few from
further away, including one Corvette from Florida. West Coast Corvettes
has a great new state of the art facility and they were busy doing
modifications and installations in the pristine new service bays with an
enthusiastic audience for each Corvette. With over 500 Corvettes and
1,000 people in attendance, this was the place to be in September. Watch
for West Coast Corvettes’ announcement for their 2007 party and mark it
on your calendar. This is a not-to-be-missed event!
The Silver State Classic
Challenge
was held September 17. This is one of the twice yearly Open Road Races
held in Nevada. The State of Nevada closes the highway so that
competitors can compete against the clock trying to achieve a perfect
“target time”. Silver State is open to all makes of cars as long as they
hit the prescribed safety requirements for their class. The Silver State
always has great Corvette participation and this event was no exception
with 48 Corvettes entered in 12 different classes. There were seven
Corvettes that won their individual classes and a total of 16 Corvette
Podium finishes, including Ted Bair [C5R# W0762] who took
3rd place in the 140 MPH class. Congratulations to all of the
participants.
 The
Road Runner Open Road Race
was held in Texas on 10/16/06 attended by Joe and Marianne Syslo
[C5R3 X1900] who took 2nd place driving his C5 FRC
(Marianne has an ’03 Z06). They have been very active in this event for
several years and reading Joe’s report leaves little to the imagination:
Marianne and I managed a
2nd Place finish in the GS1 (130 MPH Target Speed / 168 MPH Tech Speed)
group. We finished the 80 miles at an average of 130.050 MPH, five
hundreths of a MPH fast, and 0.851 seconds fast crossing the finish
line. The guy who won was .023 MPH fast, and 0.390 seconds fast. That is
INSANE accuracy! Doing the math, we covered 80 miles of public highway
in 36 minutes, 56 seconds, covering the distance each way of 40 miles in
18 minutes, 28 seconds, AVERAGE!!! Speed ranged between 110 and 160 mph.
I hauled back at 160 because the car gets 'light' at about 155 MPH.
I'm going to add some serious aero over the winter, probably the Z11
wide body kit from ACI, with vented hood, front splitter, rear diffuser,
ground effects and (real) C5-R wing. I plan to run Kinesis Wheels with
315's on the front and 345's on the back with Penske fully adjustable
shocks. I've already added Wilwood Big Brakes (6 piston front and 4
piston rear with vented and slotted rotors) and the T1 suspension and
lowered to the maximum GM setting. On the interior, I'm adding a full
cage, crashworthy fuel cells and full fire extinguisher system in
addition to the six point harness and Corbeau Forza race seats. The
engine will get a new BeCool aluminum radiator, SVO 36# injectors, a Z06
intake and roller rockers (I have already added coolers for the tranny
and diff). I will run straight exhaust and have a chip tune by JR Rovner,
of Team ZR1 fame. I hope to have all of this done in time for the Big
Bend Open Road Race in April. If not complete, I'll likely use
Marianne's Z06 in a lower speed category, because it doesn't have all
the safety gear that the FRC has.
By the way, when I'm not racing, I do use Zaino
J.
The Corvettes and Ghost Riders Tombstone Run was
held in Tombstone, AZ October 5 thru 8. This memorable event was
attended by 200 Corvette fans, some coming from as far as Ohio, North
Carolina, Texas and Pennsylvania. The Town Too Tough To Die welcomed the
Corvetters with open arms, side arms, hanging ropes and lots of great
western entertainment. There were re-enactments of the Gun Fight at the
OK Corral, Saloon Girls, Ghost Hunting and lots of partying. The car
show was held in downtown Tombstone with all five generations of
Corvettes represented in great contrast to the old west of the 1880’s.
There was a walking rally to make sure that you didn’t miss any of the
sights of downtown and a Cochise County Road Tour to make sure that you
saw the beautiful countryside. Mike and I had a great time and hope to
attend again next year. Extreme Corvettes, Corvette Motorsports, Vettes
& Rods of Scottsdale and Desert Corvette Association produced a FUN time
for all. For more information about the Tombstone Run and to see
pictures of all the Corvettes in Tombstone go to
www.corvettesandghostriders.com/
.
Las Vegas Corvettes held
their inaugural Corvette Roulette
in Las Vegas, NV October 5 thru 8. This was one of the last events to be
held at the Stardust Hotel as it will be razed and a new complex built
in its place. There were Autocross and Funkana sessions, an indoor car
show and a scenic rally around Las Vegas and the surrounding area.
Corvettes of Temecula
Valley held their annual Day of Wine and Roses Rallye
on September 16th at Lake Skinner. The four events included a
Gimmick Rallye, a Poker Rallye and two Game Rallyes. This was the
perfect day to join friends, tour the country side, enjoy the Santa
Maria style barbecue and have a fabulous time.
Upcoming events –
Jan 27-28, 2007 Corvette Track Days, Spring Mtn,
Pahrump Nevada
www.springmountainmotorsports.com
April 14, 2007 ALMS & Speed World Challenge,
Long Beach, CA
http://www.americanlemans.com/home/ALMSHome.aspx
April 21-22, 2007 Corvette Track Days,
Spring Mtn, Pahrump NV
www.springmountainmotorsports.com
April 26-28, 2007 C5/C6 Birthday Bash,
NCM, Bowling Green, KY
www.corvettemuseum.com
July 27-29, 2007 Big Bear Bash,
Big Bear Lake, CA
www.corvetteswest.com
July 25-29, 2007 Vettes on the Rockies,
Breckenridge, CO
www.lgcacorvette.org
If there is an event that you believe others might care
about, please let us know.
Join us
for a lot of C5/C6 FUN!
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