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Porsche Club of America
The Northeast Region

By Frank Bruns, Bruns911@PorscheNet.com
NOR'EASTER Online - July 2000

Well, the summer season is finally upon us. For me, that means getting in as many Drivers’ Ed events at as many different tracks as possible. This results in a lot of days “on the road” and away from home. Gaining support from Bernadette for all this travel to various tracks around the area became much easier a couple of years ago when I bought our new trailer. In the past, Bernadette had a choice of staying at home while I roamed the region, or going with me to the event and walking around the track for a couple of days while I had my fun. While I’m sure she enjoyed the social aspects, three eight-hour days in the paddock for a non-driver can become a bit repetitive. These days, we can arrive at the track, unhitch the trailer and she has the tow vehicle to free her to explore the surrounding countryside. I don’t know how many of you realize this, but our Drivers’ Education events take place in some of the most beautiful areas in the East. I would include Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Pocono and, our personal favorite, Mt. Tremblant in this list. And, from what I heard about Virginia International from the group that recently made the trip, it makes the list, as well. Think about it – all of these are regions whose local economy is heavily based on tourists. And these tourists are people that use their vacation time, spend money for food and lodging, and don’t get a minute of seat time on a track. While I can’t give up my track time for local touring, Bernadette now looks forward to some of the events as much as I do. (This has got to be good for my continued enjoyment of the sport!) I did, however, get a chance do a little touring combined with my track time. We recently attended the Metro New York and Zone 1 events at Watkins Glen. The Metro event was a two-day event followed by three days for Zone 1. Since the first day of the Zone event was for instructors only, I had the opportunity to join Bernadette for a day of touring. I can personally attest to the enjoyment of checking out the surrounding wineries and touring the incredible waterfalls and gorge in the State Park (less that two miles from the track!).

At this last event, Bernadette made an offer that I would like to pass on. Almost every large business gathering has alternate events scheduled for the non-participating guests of the attendees. (OK, I am trying very hard to keep this politically correct.) Why shouldn’t we do the same? Even if our region doesn’t run the event, we could do a lot more to encourage non-driver participation at the more interesting Driver’s Ed venues. If we are successful, we could plan for a more for a more formal program at our (hopefully) Mont. Tremblant event next summer. For now, Bernadette has offered to share the Explorer and her tour-guide skills with others at the track. If there are other “tow vehicles” available – even better. We still have several events scheduled for this summer and its not too early to start planning for next season. If anyone is interested in taking Bernadette up on her offer, you can email us at Bruns911@porschenet.com or call us at 508.359.7171. We will act as a “clearing house” for people interested in “alternate activities” and other potentially available vehicles. Even if this it is an event we will not be attending, maybe we can help put cars and people together via email. This is a great opportunity to make the events more of a family affair (and perhaps justify more events – it’s a vacation!)

On a totally different subject, last month I had the occasion to drive a car up from Austin (TX) to Boston for our niece who is attending college here. Since I had to get back on time for our Go-Kart event, I made the trip in 48-hours. The drive was actually a lot of fun, but I did make several observations that I thought I would pass along. First, Massachusetts is not unique – there is a deer overpopulation across the nation. Deer have now surpassed armadillos and opossums as road kill along our highways. Second, there is a totally different part of society that frequents truck stop pancake houses at 1:00 in the morning. Third, it’s not a good idea to try to drive a small BMW on the interstate across Virginia at 2:00AM. I found myself alone and surrounded by more that 35 eighteen-wheelers and tandem trailers. These guys were on a mission and I was just in their way. These are not your “friendly, courteous truck drivers’ of the past. I would rather try to walk across the track during the Indy 500!

Porsche Club of America The Northeast Region

Porsche Club of America
The Northeast Region