March 2005 Newsletter
Visit DtRC on the web at: www.downtheroadcorvettes.org
Visit the Rocky Mountain Region NCCC at www.rmrnccc.org
Visit NCCC on the web at: www.corvettesnccc.org

2005 Down the Road Corvette Club Officers

From the Prez'

John Maxwell
President
Down the Road Corvettes

Misc. ramblings from the Editor:

A quick reminder - the debut of the C6-R is this Saturday (19th) at the 12 hours of Sebring.

Well, spring fever has hit.  Remember last year - several members got new cars, swapped cars, etc.  It was good to see Alan out for the rally run-through in the '78 Pace car he bought from the Arkos last year.  He must have got the important pieces put back together.  And just this week I hear that another member has bought an almost-new C5 convertible.  But I'm not telling who.  It may be at the rally run-through on Sunday.  It currently has Texas plates so I'd watch where I parked it if it were mine (and no it is not mine).  

Open track day was great.  It was a great afternoon to be at the track instead of at work.  Gorgeous weather.  I rode a couple of laps in the car with Dave.  Interesting track.  Dave took Cathy for a ride, and after a lap or two - she was telling him to go faster.  Look out for her at the autocross.

A couple of road trips coming up in April.  Information later in the newsletter.  For those that think they may want to autocross - there are two things you should be aware of.  One is the driver's school being hosted by Colorado Springs (article below).  The other is the Novice program.  I have a high level description of the Novice class in the Governor's report.  It is a great way to get started auto-crossing. 

Whatever your interests - there are plenty of events coming up - hope to see you there.
Nancy

Minutes of Past Meeting

Minutes from the meeting of 02-24-05

Meeting was called to order at 7:01 PM.  Introduction of guests and members were made. A quorum was present.  Minutes of last meeting were approved.

Treasurer's report given by Gail Krusen.  Motion was made and seconded and treasurer's report was approved.
Governor's report by Nancy Burritt -It was determined that the traveling  trophy was with Jackie at John Elway.
Membership committee report was given by Pat Barnes. New directories are out with corrections on labels.
Merchandise report - new catalogs are on the table
Museum report given by Tim Barnes - a new club- THE COLORADO CORVETTE CLUB - will hold its first meeting March 16 at Stevinson.
Competition report given by Joan. She has information and registrations for Bandimere. We need 5 registration to participate as a club.
No social committee report
Cathy Schultz provided treats, Thank you Cathy.

Old Business:
April Fool's Rally - 2 routes each one about 3 hrs.  (one for good weather and one for great weather).  Meeting to run the routes will be March 6th, and March 20.  Committee chairs were chosen and committee sign up papers are on the table

We need 50-70 door prizes - when getting donations ask for 2 business cards.

New Business: A motion was made and seconded to have a Poker Draw Car Show during registration for April Fool's Rally.  The fee will be $5.00 to go toward Tim's Challenge. Three trophies/prizes will be given. The Car Show will be over before the rally begins.

We will be holding two events at Mead Continental Divide Race Track.  A motion was made and seconded to write a check for $600.00 as a deposit on the track. The cost will be $30.00 per person per race. Requests for people to chair the events was made.

We had guests Steve and Alex, from Vette Specialties announce their Grand Opening April 16 near Park Meadows.

John from Full Fluff presented a description of Detail Special available to club members.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:35

Respectfully submitted
Judy Franco

Club News

April Birthdays: Dale Person & Janet Toal - 2nd; Frank Arko - 3rd; Allan Samson - 6th; Ron Franco - 19th; 

I don't know that a pre-meeting eating place has been picked yet.  Keep an eye on your email.  If someone wants to pick one - just pick one and send out an email.  First one wins.

Upcoming Events  

DtRC April Fool's Rally - Sunday April 3rd.

The rally is coming together very nicely.  A huge thank you to all the cars who came out for the run-through of the "great-weather" route.  Thirteen cars is tremendous - we've done other clubs' rallyes where they don't get that many for the actual event - much less club members running it ahead of time.  Your input was valued (we dropped some clues and changed some things, and thanks for catching the missing SOLs).  Also your answers were very enlightening.  From scanning the answer sheets I would guesstimate that Joan & Joe did excellent and probably got the most right, and if this was for real that the coveted trophy with the horse's rear on it would have gone to new members Dave & Wanda.  If you don't know what that award is - tune in at the rally awards ceremony on April 3rd and listen to Tim's explanation.  It is a tradition at our rally and is all in good fun (and much sought after).

Door Prizes - Patty Cavallaro and Nancy Keyser need to hear from you.  They need to get a count of where we are at - if you have door prizes for them please let one of them know.  You have all received email on this - but if you have questions call either one of them. The other committee heads are as follows - feel free to contact them if you have questions or can help in the planning.  There will be worker sign-up sheets at the next meeting.  Pat Barnes: goodie bags. Maria Wiss-Maxwell: checkpoint games.  Mike Malouf: tech & parking.  Registration: Judy Franco (w/Gail receiving the pre-registrations).  And Rally Chairs John Maxwell and Tim Barnes can answer any questions you may have.

The day of the rally registration starts at 9 a.m..  The rally will start at the Outback parking lot - by Colorado Mills.  It is at I-70 and Colfax.  Get off and go "east" on Colfax (cross back under the highway).  The Outback is behind the Holiday Inn.  Go "north" (left) between the Mountain View Inn (?) and the Holiday Inn.  You'll see it on the right.  First car out is at 10:00.

April 3rd - New Event - Regionally sanctioned Poker Hand Car Show - fund raiser

At the last meeting the club voted to hold a fund-raising event during registration for the April Fool's Rally.  Dave & Nancy Burritt will be the chairpersons for this event.  We will need some workers for this event also and will have a sign-up sheet at the meeting.  The entry fee is $5 per car.  NCCC members that enter and brought their Corvette will receive 3 points each (driver and "navigator").  DtRC members can (and are encouraged to) participate in this event.  Non-NCCC members can also participate.  The "places" will be determined by each "car" drawing a 5 card poker hand.  There will be a prize for 1st place and awards for 1st through at least 3rd.   Registration for this event will also begin at 9 a.m. and it will close at 9:45 a.m.  The top hands will be announced at the drivers meeting for the April Fool's Rally.

All proceeds from this event will go to Tim's Challenge.

Rally Run-through - remember - there is another run-through of the routes on Sunday.  Leaving the start point at 10 a.m..  If you've already done the main route, we'll send you out on the alternate route.  Please call John Maxwell or Nancy Burritt if you plan to attend so we can have route sheets for you.  Thanks.

Upcoming AutoCrosses:

April 17th - CWCC - Grand Junction - 2 low speed autocrosses

If the weather cooperates Dave & I are planning on going out for this event.  It is 2 races and as usual will be held at the Fruita High School.  No DtRC members attended the March race in Grand Junction - but several CSCC and a couple DCA members did.  So we've  got some catching up to do.  We'll be getting a hotel picked soon.  Let us know if you plan on going.  As it gets closer we'll email out the hotel choice and if several cars are going out decide on a meeting time and place to leave from.  The flyer is on the regional website - www.rmrnccc.org .

April 23rd - CSCC - Driver's School
April 24th - CSCC - Colorado Springs - Matching Times and Low Speed AutoCrosses

John has already let you know (in an email earlier this month) how worthwhile he thinks the driving school experience is.  I've never done it - but intend to this year.  Last year it didn't work out for CSCC to have the school.  We were glad to see it on the schedule this year.  The driver's school and the autocrosses are being held in a parking lot (I assume) at PPIR - which is south of Colorado Springs quite a bit.  Right now our plans are to head down Friday, and at a minimum I'll do the school on Saturday.  Then we'll race Sunday.  If anyone knows of a decent hotel in South Colorado Springs or Fountain (or whatever the town by PPIR is) let us know.  On Sunday there are two autocrosses.  A matching times event is where you try to get your times closest together (match them).  The winner has the least differential between two of their runs.  The other autocross will be the typical - fastest around the course wins.  They are accepting pre-registrations for these events at a lower cost than day of registration.  Check out the flyers on www.rmrnccc.org . We'll email out hotel, etc. info when we have it.

May 22nd - DtRC/DCA - Mead Colorado - 2 "low" speed road course Autocrosses

At the last meeting John volunteered to be one of the chairs of this event.  But he'll need lots of help.  I would imagine things would run real similar to the autocross last fall.  DCA is looking at borrowing some different timing equipment so that we can have 3 cars on the track at the same time.  As we get closer (my guess is after we get the rally under our belts) that there will be an organizational meeting (with DCA of course) and once we get all the pertinent details decided on - we'll get a flyer out.  So - there should be more info out shortly.  In the meantime - if you want to help with the planning - let John Maxwell know.  Or if you have any ideas or suggestions - contact him also.  It was an absolutely fantastic event last year.  The club had such great participation that expenses were covered - and we had lots of workers.  I know I keep saying it - but many hands make little work.  Without the great support from the club last year - I doubt we'd even be attempting it this year - much less a Spring and a Fall event.  Tim also gave a great "walk-thru" of the track at the open track day.  We'll see if he can give us a paper walk-thru at the April  meeting so that you know some of the things to watch for during the parade lap.

Mark your calendars - it is coming up soon.  Even if you don't plan to run, we'll need lots of helpers so come on out and have some fun.

See the NCCC events calendar at the end of this newsletter, on the club website ( www.downtheroadcorvettes.org ) or on the regional webiste - www.rmrnccc.org for events that are further out or that we don't have details on.  All regional NCCC events will have a flyer posted at least 70 days in advance for National Sanctions and 15 days in advance for Regional Sanctions.

Spearfish - Black Hills Corvette Classic - July 14-17

John Maxwell is heading this up.  He reports that at least 9 cars are interested so far.  Some of us have rooms at Super 8.  Rooms in Spearfish are pretty scarce.  Another place to stay is Deadwood.  It is about a 20 minute drive down for the events.  If you are even thinking about going the first thing to do is get a room somewhere (check the cancellation policy as they vary).  Some of us will check periodically to see if anything new opens up - and let you know if it does.

This is a great event as it isn't just shows.  In addition to a couple of shows, there are both drags and autocrosses.  Each is divided into morning and afternoon sessions (of which you can only do 1 of each) - so you aren't sitting around all day.  There is also entertainment.  I don't know if their website has the current info on it - but if it doesn't - check back.  The site is www.blackhillscorvetteclassic.com . The event starts Thursday afternoon and Sunday is a travel day.  

Past Events

St. Patrick's Day Parade -

Special Offer for DtRC Members

Mobile Auto Detail came to the meeting last month to offer a special offer for DtRC members.  They were offering a large discount on their "full fluff" detail.  They will come to you or you can take your car to their shop.  The full fluff includes: hand wash/dry; hand wax; seats/carpets shampooed (on request); clean and detail all dash boards/center consoles; clean all windows and mirrors; clean ash trays and remove unwanted debris; lights, mirrors  door jams detailed; wheels & tires cleaned and detailed; all chrome cleaned and polished.  The normal price of this is $100 - 150 depending on vehicle size.  The full-fluff offer to DtRC members is substantially discounted and is priced at $75. .  This offer is good for your other cars too, not just your Corvette.  You can contact the owners - John or Jeremi at (720) 620-2123 for more information.  Tell them you are with Down the Road Corvettes.

If anyone that was at the meeting has taken advantage of this offer and had them detail your vehicle drop the club an email and let us know what you thought.

Committee Updates

March is always a busy month for the club with the Rally Planning and Run-throughs.  As such, March mystery meals were the great route & food at the rally run-throughs.  If you have an idea for a mystery meal or any other kind of outing for future months - please contact the social committee.

Merchandise Report

The merchandise committee wanted me to pass along that the logo'd thongs ordered last month will be available for pick-up at the upcoming meeting.  Also - if you missed out on the first group - you can place your order then also.  I've heard suggestions that it is maybe time to have a DtRC merchandise fashion show.

 New sample merchandise is on order and will be available at the next meeting.  Check it out, and check out the catalog for cool new stuff.

Bandimere 

Joan Breher will be the club's Bandimere coordinator again this year.  You can get all the info on the Bandimere calendar on their website - www.bandimere.com .  It looks like test and techs start mid-April with some daytime ones on the 9th, 16th, 17th and 20th.  Wed. tech and tunes start on the 20th and run from 4-8:30.   The first club clashes are May 6th and 27th.

NCM Ambassador’s Report
 By Tim Barnes - National Corvette Museum Lifetime Member

A huge thank you to all who came out to help or play at the “Racing to Build” event. The event was held March 11^th at Continental Divide Racepark. It was an opportunity to take your Corvette out on the race track and really become acquainted with the track at whole different level. Twelve brave souls came out to play that afternoon and by 5:00 PM, there we several sets of shredded tires some huge grins and lots of weary bodies. I suspect that some people will now have second thoughts about heading to Elitch Gardens for fun. Thanks to the generosity of the participants, $130 was raised for the NCM Building Campaign.

 Up coming museum events include the C5/C6 Birthday Bash April 21^st through 23^rd and the ZR1/C4 Gathering May 12^th through 14^th.

 I will once again have raffle tickets for a 2006 C6 at the meeting that will be given way Labor Day. The tickets are $10 each.

Governor’s Report - 
By Nancy Burritt

The next Governor's meeting is April 2nd and is being hosted by TORCA (so will probably be in the Longmont area).  It is open to all NCCC members.  I'll be there - but if you are interested in attending let me know, and when I get the details I'll let you know.

So - according to the standing rules - there are 14 Recommended Guidelines for a Club Governor (that's me).  Number 11 is: At the start of each year, give their club a short history of NCCC, the National Convention, Blue Bars, the competition program, insurance coverage and other advantages of being a member of NCCC.

First the basics.  NCCC = National Council of Corvette Clubs.  NCCC was founded in 1959.  The purpose of  NCCC was (and is) to promote interest in Corvette ownership and operation, to publish information on the use and operation of the Corvette and to establish an organized effort to encourage others to participate in the enjoyment connected with the use and ownership of the Corvette!  You can find this and much more information about NCCC on their website - www.corvettesnccc.org .  NCCC is broken into regions.  DtRC is part of the Rocky Mountain Region.  It includes the states of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Utah.  The official publication of NCCC is Blue Bars.  It is published quarterly.  It will have reports from all the regions and other articles featuring various clubs and events.  A highlight for many NCCC members is the Annual Convention.  We went last year (Vegas) and it is party, party with low-speed, high-speed and drag racing thrown in.  This year it is in Minnesota.  We probably won't be going - but they always get a real good turnout.  When you pay dues to DtRC - part of those dues (about 1/2 for new members) go to NCCC.  Most of it to national, $5 per member to the region.  The major tangible benefit to the club is insurance coverage.  The insurance is through a company called K&K - who is also the insurer for many of the race tracks, etc.  It is one of the few companies that will agree to cover speed events like autocrosses and drag races.  For more information on the benefits of being an NCCC club, including a summary of the insurance coverage, visit the Why link on the NCCC website - http://www.corvettesnccc.org/BenefitsNCCC.html . 

I've covered the highlights with the exception of the Competition Program.  It deserves its own paragraph.  There is probably an official description someplace - but I'm going to wing it.  When you join NCCC you will get a membership number.  Ellouise Morrison of Colorado West Corvette Club (Grand Junction) is our Regional Membership Director.  You will always have that membership number.  Even if you decide not to rejoin - that number is not reissued (of course you can't use it for anything if you aren't a member).  The number will start out with our club designation - which is RM-150.  Ladies numbers will end in an "L".  Your membership number is the id under which any points you earn participating in sanctioned events are tracked.  You can tell if an event is sanctioned by looking at the flyer.  If it has a sanction number (either region or national) then points will be earned.  All new members receive a Competition Rule Book as part of the membership packet.  It is quite thick.  It covers the type of events and all the rules for hosting or participating in an event.  Many of the rules are safety rules and are necessary for insurance reasons.  And many, many pages are devoted to car classification.  Basically most cars are divided into Group 1 (Stock) and Group 2 (Modified) and within groups into classes by groupings of years.  Each region has a Regional Competition Director (RCD).  At the national governors meetings (held quarterly) the RCDs from all the regions meet to discuss rulebook clarifications requested by members.  The RCD also is in charge of collecting sanction requests & flyers, event results, signed waivers, etc. and keeping the regional points totals.  The top 10 points earners in each reason get patches, the top 3 get jackets.  It is divided into Mens and Ladies categories.  The rulebook discusses the points awarded for various places depending on the event.  Our RCD is Larry Morrison (you guessed it - CWCC).   If you have any questions on how modifications to affect your class - Larry is the guy to ask.

So - while there is a thick rule book - the competition program is just what it states.  It is a program where the various clubs hosts events (most common are autocrosses, car shows and rallys) and participants (and workers) earn points.  If you have never autocrossed, and if you are like me - you look at the cones and say - "there is no path through here".  For those of us with cone confusion, there is a Novice classification that MANY DtRC members took advantage of last year (and may continue to this year).  All novices compete against each other (men and ladies separate) regardless of car class.  Racing as a novice lets you (if you so desire) have an "instructor" in the car with you.  You can race up to 8 races as novice.  Then you have to switch to regular.  You can switch prior to 8 races if you want but once you switch you can't go back to novice.

All this is well and good - but other than not having to go out and find our own insurance - what does this mean to us.  This club currently has a lot of members that share my philosophy - when they put all that technology and power into a car it is meant to be driven.  And being able to drive it and hang out with others that feel the same is a great time.  NCCC puts together the structure that facilitates different clubs getting together and getting to know one another.  Clubs with the same interests as we have put on events and invite us to participate.  The points program is to encourage participation and interaction between the clubs.  Every year the governors get together and set up a regional schedule.  That way the events don't conflict with each other.  We also meet quarterly to keep in touch with the other clubs and share information.  

Next month I'll look at the list of my other 13 duties and see what else you might be interested in.  As always, if you have any questions on NCCC or the sanctioned events - just let me know.  If I don't know the answer I can find out for you.  
 

Meet your fellow club members

We'd love to hear how you came to join us, what your interests are, your favorite Corvette story, etc.  Newer members - you can go to the club website - www.downtheroadcorvettes.org and check out the newsletter archives.  I think I kicked this off in January of 2002 (but my memory may be faulty).  Anyway - go read about us, then maybe you'll feel comfortable telling us about you.  I hope so. 

Many thanks to Stan for sending in his and Janet's bio this month.

Stan and Janet Toal

I, Stan Toal am a native of Colorado and grew up in the Westminster area. I went to Ranum High School and graduated in 1982. I spent 1 year at CU-Boulder, finishing my Associates Degree in Architectural Drafting from Front Range Community College. I spent 3 years working as a Millwork Drafter, and have spent the last 17 years working in the mechanical seal industry. During this time I ran my own company, which I subsequently sold to a larger competitor whom I now work for as an Area Manager.

My wife Janet was born in Poughkeepsie, NY and moved to Boulder when she was 1. She moved to Tucson, AZ when she was 14 when IBM transferred her family there. She moved back to Denver area in 1990. Janet is the Human Resources clerk for Costco Wholesale at Park Meadows, she has been with Costco for 15 years. She is currently taking classes at Arapahoe Community College to get her degree in Interior Design; she is about ½ way through.

Janet and I meet in February of 2002. My sister and Janet’s mother worked together at Chatfield High School and had been trying to get us together for a couple of years. Finally we met, and hit it off immediately. We got married July 10, 2003 at the beautiful Grand Lake Lodge in Grand Lake, Colorado. We each sold our own houses, mine in Westminster and hers in Roxborough Park and built a new home in Castle Pines North so we would be closer to Janet’s work. The wedding and the house happened all at the same time so we where very busy in 2003. We love our home and share it with our dog Chaplin. Chappy is a 9 year old male Boxer and loves everyone (although when you first meet him he may bark quite a bit).

My dream as a child was to have a yellow corvette.  I was fortunate enough to be able to buy mine in December of 2001. Purifoy Chevrolet helped me with all the details and ordering. It was not supposed to come in until May but ended up coming in early in February. I looked for a Corvette Club to join on the internet and found DtRC. I sent an email, they said to come to their next meeting. I attended the next meeting and have enjoyed meeting all the DtRC clan, they are a nice group of people.

We keep very busy enjoying our family and friends and we do as much traveling as possible. Family is very important to Janet and I and we do lot with them, so scheduling DtRC events in can be hard, but we still manage to participate in a few events a year.

Please check the Regional Website - www.rmrnccc.org for the latest regional schedule.  If events are added or dates changed - it will be current there.  The regional website will also contain links to the event flyers as they become available.

Remember to check our website www.downtheroadcorvettes.org for even more events the club has been notified of and for events that may change (added/deleted) between newsletters.

DtRC Meetings are the 4^th Thursday of the month.  
There are no club meetings in November or December, except the annual Holiday Party.

Want to Advertise?
If you are a member of Down the Road Corvettes, you may place a For Sale or Wanted Ad for any Corvette related items in our newsletter for free. Submissions must be received via phone or E-mail to the editor no later than the 10^th of each month. 

Disclaimer: All prices listed here are not guaranteed.  You will need to confirm any and all prices with the selling party.

For Sale:
Set of four wheels off a 1996 corvette, very good condition complete with lug nuts and covers. Sold as set only $400.00.
Please call Bill or Cathy Schultz at 720-872-1259 or email CWING85B@AOL.com