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20 Years: Joseph Buttener 15 Years: Henry Krohn, Keith Welty 5 Years: Brenton Evans, Fred Dentel |
Shenandoah Membership Milestones, January 2020
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Primary Members–272 New member:
Tranfers out
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We had a great time in the western half of the region. We started the day with breakfast at Flow Porsche of Charlottesville. There was a 997 GT3 RS on display as well as the latest Porsche models. We then drove over to the Blue Ridge Food Bank to drop off our donations. The Blue Ridge Food Bank distributes food to other local food banks in the network, and actually had requests for more turkeys, which we were able to provide. Afterward we drove over to member Terry Vassalos' Tip Top Restaurant for lunch, provided by the Shenandoah Region. Shenandoah and First Settlers Regions joined together for another great event to support charity. We met at Euroclassics Porsche in Midlothian, VA on Saturday, November 23rd. Brian Faulkner of Euroclassics is always a gracious host for our events providing coffee and pastries.Members donated 1005 lbs. of turkey, over 1000 lbs. of canned goods and $700 in contributions. Feed More of Richmond had a refrigerated truck onsite at Euroclassics to collect the donations. Felica Sanders of Dream Vacations provided travel vouchers to the top five contributors. Felica read about our event on Facebook and wanted to do her part for those who donated and to support Feed More. At noon, members departed on a 19 mile driving tour to Fine Creek Brewing Company in Powhatan, VA. Fine Creek Brewing offered an outstanding lunch selection which each region provided to those members who made a donation. Many thanks to Kevin Leonard for organizing this event. The western half of the region contributed:
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Shenandoah Region PCA Turkeys in the Trunk 2019
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We had 11 cars and 16 members who met in Ruckersville, VA. We ventured over the mountain to Harrisonburg for a beautiful crisp fall morning driving tour. Many of those attending had not driven Rt. 33 West from Ruckersville over the Blue Ridge Mountains. We had some very enthusiastic participants who loved the drive! 
Fellow member Engelbert Muelhaupt commented This drive reminded me of the many drives I made through the Black Forest in the Bavarian Alps. 
Many members drove directly to Harrisonburg and met us in the City Hall parking lot for a car gathering before lunch. James Madison University students participated in the car show/gathering. At noon we all walked to lunch which took us through the Harrisonburg Farmers Market which was another terrific event. 
After lunch we drove to the MAAP facility on the north side of town. This was without question the highlight of the day to see some very unique and valuable Porsches. In the shop was the 2019 Porsche Parade Best in Class and Best in Show 1964 Porsche 356 SC. This car is owned by a Shenandoah Region member and was restored at the MAAP facility. MAAP is a non-profit organization which is affiliated with James Madison University. Each year they accept student apprentices (who must apply and be selected) to learn and work on restorations as well as motorsports. The focus of the program is Porsche! 
After viewing the MAAP facility, the Madison Motorsports club led a driving tour to West Virginia. Member Larry Markley shared this comment: As relative newcomers to the club, my wife Carmen and I weren't sure what to expect from the Fall Fling event. We were more than rewarded. The mix of cars - beyond just Porsches - was great, as was the interaction of owners and those from the adjacent farmers market. The nearby MAAP restoration facility we visited after lunch is a hidden gem. The cars there blew us away; we're still processing what we saw. Many thanks to Cole and Suanne for sharing. Capping the day was the 30-mile mountain drive into West Virginia. We enjoyed every curve. We'd do it all over again. 
If you are in Harrisonburg, it is worthwhile to stop by and visit MAAP. They are located at 1070 Virginia Avenue, Harrisonburg, VA 22802. |
Fall Fling with the Madison Automotive Apprentices, October 2019
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25 Years: Asa Graves 10 Years: Greg Glassner, Phill Noel, Patrick Tolan 5 Years: Hank Hubbard |
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Primary Members–272 New members:
Test Drive Member
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No Milestones for November |
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Primary Members–268 New members:
Transfers In
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We had our last autocross of the year this past Sunday. We had record attendance at about 60 racers competing. The Blue Ridge PCA Region joined us today, as well as a 6 driver team from UVA driving their Legends car. About half of the racers today were first timers.
Rick created a great course for us that had many different elements, two long straights, a sustained turn, a sharp hairpin, chicago box, and a turning slalom.
Now, what would be autocross without a good prank?
Video In this video you can see Dan Kuchenberg in his souped up Carrera-Boxster do a burnout launch, followed by Rick Ebinger in his gutted 914 with wing set to max downforce, followed by Dave Coon's Gigi which by a miracle survived a vacuum pump seizure at VIR which locked his rear wheels into a 360 spin and on top of that was driven all the way back home to Jonathan Newhall's for repair. Next up is Engelbert Muelhaupt who has a pure 1st place streak all year in the Boxster/Cayman class, and then ends with Jim and Sherry's 718 GTS doing a PDK Launch Control down the straight as my phone runs out of memory. Video Here is one of my runs. Video Here is a video of one of Engelberts runs. Video Here is one of Ray Schumin's runs. |
Dave Coon's Gigi
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20 Years: Mariana Hess 10 Years: Jason Wavell, Hamish Brookeman 5 Years: Paul Goossens, Michael Early, Mike Moorefield |
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Primary Members–268 New members:
Please verify and update your postal and email addresses so that we can stay in touch with you. Here are instructions on how to change your PCA member records or renew your PCA membership. |
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At my first Shenandoah Region Annual Picnic, one of the first and memorable things I heard was Randy Bell refer to the sky as having "a deep autumn blue." The weather again this year was fine. This years venue was at member Mark Sackson's Harkaway Farm. We had a large tent to shelter us from sun. 
Lunch was being prepared by the Bavarian Chef and turned out delicious. Dessert included peanut butter pie. As Jim Condon would say, "Its not just the cars; its the food." 
A couple members brought their brand new cars. Many Porsches from old to the very newest arrived. 
Prizes were raffled out by Membership Chair John Odden. We had a great time at the 2019 Annual Picnic and look forward to next year, which will be an Anniversary party. 
See the Photo Gallery by Jim Condon. |
Summer Picnic, August 2019
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15 Years: Tom Shafran, James Grace 10 Years: Kevin Spetz, Sean Haynes, Ian Harrison 5 Years: Cameron Grable, David Beach |
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Primary Members–270 New members:
Please verify and update your postal and email addresses so that we can stay in touch with you. Here are instructions on how to change your PCA member records or renew your PCA membership. |
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20 Years: Howard Faunce |
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Primary Members–267 New members:
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Saturday morning presented us a challenge. Besides the elephant in the room, this is a track with a reputation of being tough with the added component of weather. As I drove north out of Richmond to the Dominion Raceway, I was relieved to see the weather clearing and the conditions dry. The weather was now one less concern, but the challenge was on; how to build a safe event for the club, do something new and exciting and provide everyone a good time. We arrived and already had ideas on how to slow the group down in the trouble areas in order keep everyone safe, yet keep the speeds up. A track cross is unique to autocrosser's because you already have the track laid out. It is not a big square parking lot with lots of options, but a ribbon of road that is set and designed for a full course run over and over again for a set period of time. This isn't what this group historically does. We set up a large portion of the track rather than the complete track and we added a degree of control into the event to keep it safe and matching what an autocross does. That is the game. 
Photo by Engelbert Muelhaupt Many of us in our racing group came up the year before and track crossed with an event Dominion put on. It was interesting and allowed us to see the place not just on YouTube, but first hand. The walls were close. Certain sections had some paving issues, bumps and such, but it was a nice place. So we signed up to try it this year... and boy was it different than what we had done in the past for the RPM event. We stretched our start to begin about 600 feet into the front straight braking area. This gave us a great chance to use a very nice and straight part of the track to let participants open it up. This was different than other track crosses and allowed us to maximize some of the safest parts of the track. The middle of the course was just as the track lays out, no modifications, but as we approach the lower esses and finish, the speeds had to be chopped down as this is where the tricky part of the track presents itself. We put in a slowing gate right before the hard left. Another directional gate was added forcing people to the inner part of the turn and then into another four cone slalom. After this part, we allowed drivers to fully accelerate up the hill through the esses and out of the finish line. Most autocrosses run about 60 MPH, this however, was a bit faster. Most crossed the finish line around 80 MPH, a few of us hit 90- 95... in third gear. Fun stuff! 
Photos by Engelbert Muelhaupt We had 37 racers, and 19 of them were non-Porsches, or other cars. Many of our buddies who have not participated in RPM, but race with us in Staunton, did make the journey. A few of them who have run the full course said it was fun and challenging even with added cone obstacles. As the day ended, we split the top six times with three Porsches in the top six. An open wheeled Miata powered tube frame car pulled fastest time of the day, but Cam Abernethy pulled a nice second with the first car with doors across the line in 72.7 seconds. Eric Huggins in his true street car came in one second behind that for third place. We had Audi's, a Kia Stinger, a gaggle of Miatas, many 911's, Boxsters and Caymans. We had our only Mustang, a 2017 driven very well by Matthew Welch. Although he was the only one who slipped all day, but he recovered nicely. Matthew was only .1 seconds off of my 911. He drove that tank very well. One really interesting thing that happened was our 5th place through 12th place was in the range of .3 seconds on a 76 second course. It doesn't get much tighter than that. 
Photos by Engelbert Muelhaupt Many of our friends who did not make it have already acknowledged they will attend next year. I heard only positive remarks from the competitors and the Dominion Raceway staff. Dominion was very nice to us and they were great to work with. Trust me, that is rare and hard to find when putting together events. I would love to run there again in 2020. 
Photos by Engelbert Muelhaupt We will discuss improvements for next year. However, Dominion was a good option for us, no one had any safety issues and although I spent 3 hours designing two slaloms and a slowdown gate, it was time well spent to beat the Dominion Speedway reputation of at least one car in the wall! 
A special thanks to Erik and Nathan Boody who design and build our timing equipment. Erik also checks my ideas for safe and common sense track layouts that people can understand. We have been driving competitively a long time (racing 26 years, running PCA autocrosses 19 years) and I wouldn't want anyone else as a partner. Great job guys! Thanks to all those who stepped up to the challenge of this event. 
Photos by Engelbert Muelhaupt View Album Photos by Mike Ball View Album |
RPM Dominion Trackcross 2019
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The Shenandoah Region was looked upon favorably on Saturday, June 8th. Looking out of my Virginia Crossings Hotel window at 5:30 AM Saturday morning and seeing rain, I thought, seven months of planning for this event and it looks like it will be a wash out! I could not have been happier when the second car was parked in the corral parking at the Crossings Golf Club a little after 8 AM. The rain stopped for the day and we had an outstanding event. This year's event was held on the 18th fairway of the Crossings Golf Club. The golf club manager, Ryan Mohs, gave us the green light to park the cars on the fairway Friday afternoon at 4 PM despite several days of rain. We were good to go for our event on Saturday. All we needed was the weather to cooperate and we would have what was expected to be one of the finest RPM's in recent years. 
Photo by Chris Odden I want to thank all of you that traveled to the event Friday afternoon and Saturday morning in inclement conditions for your dedication and commitment to our annual event. Your dedication is what makes the Shenandoah Region the outstanding club it is. Additionally, I want to thank all of the First Settler's Region members who joined us. We had record attendance for each event of the weekend. The turnout was outstanding for a very concentrated day of Porsche focused fun and activities. Friday evening we opened the hospitality suite in the Virginia Crossings Hotel at 5 PM for a fantastic evening of socializing, gourmet sandwiches and Papa Johns Pizza. 
Photos by Engelbert Muelhaupt Saturday, the Porsches entered into the concours judging were positioned on the 18th fairway of the Crossings Golf Club. The corral cars were positioned adjacent to the fairway. Lunch was provided at the golf course pavilion by Smok*N*Pigz BBQ of Powhatan, VA. After lunch we had a driving tour led by Gary Hunter with assistance from Dan Graff through Hanover and Caroline Counties with Dominion Raceway as the destination. Also beginning after lunch was a track cross at Dominion Raceway in Spotsylvania County. This event at Dominion Raceway was unique in that we were able to conduct the timed competitive event on a road course rather than the traditional parking lot. Our track speedmeisters, Rick Ebinger and Erik Boody, did a commendable task of providing a safe and fun 95 mph top speed event with no issues! The driving tour group was able to observe the competition upon their arrival at the race track. 
Photos by Mike Ball We opened the hospitality suite Saturday before the Awards Banquet Dinner which was held at the Virginia Crossings Hotel. Our guest speaker at this year's dinner was Erik McIntosh from the Madison Automotive Apprentice Program in Harrisonburg, VA. MAAP is affiliated with James Madison University. The program's Executive Director is Cole Scrogham. Erik is an upcoming senior at JMU and provided our group with an outstanding overview of what MAAP does and how those in the apprentice program are enhancing their skills and resumes for future opportunities in the automotive engineering field. A focus for the MAAP program is the restoration of Porsche 356's. 
Photo by Mike Ball Again this year, we had one of our favorite fellow PCA members from Quebec, Canada drive down for our event. Jacques Leblanc and Nicole won the Euroclassics driving experience gift certificate this year for the best in class concours competition. Jacques and Nicole enjoy our event and love the southern hospitality that Virginia provides. We always look forward to having them join us each year. 
Concour ResultsClass Winners911/912/914 (1965-1977)John Ashford - 1971 911S, Irish Green Coupe 911 (1978-1989) Jacques Leblanc - 1987 911, Guards Red 964 & 963 Stephen Lord - 1994 911 (964) Speedster, Guards Red 996, 997, 991 Charlie Agee - 2012 911 S, Meteor Gray Boxster/Cayman Gregory Griffith - 2017 Cayman S, Black 924, 928, 944 & 968 George Michaels - 1991 928 GT, Coral Red Macan, Cayenne & Panamera Hank Weil - 2017 Macan GTS, Gulf Blue Click to View Photo Album by Engelbert Muelhaupt Click to View Photo Album by Mike Ball |
23rd Annual Richmond Porsche Meet
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45 Years: David Armentrout 30 Years: William "Paul" Overstreet 10 Years: Dick Pitman |
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Primary Members–271 New members:
No Transfers In or Out. Please verify and update your postal and email addresses so that we can stay in touch with you. Here are instructions on how to change your PCA member records or renew your PCA membership. |
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25 Years: Mark Francis 20 Years: Jack Enoch 15 Years: Brad Brady, Charlie Passut, Tony Farone, Andrew Donaldson 10 Years: Richard Bell |
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Primary Members–267 New members:
Transfers in:
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An intrepid band of adventurers from the Porsche Club of America's Shenandoah Region visited Palmyra, Columbia, the Alamo and Le Mans on a recent Saturday morning in spring. No, it wasn't the Ancient City of Palmyra on the Silk Road trade route in what is now Syria, the Republic of Columbia, the Alamo in Texas or Le Mans in France. 
Their trek took them over twisting country roads from the Historic Fluvanna County Courthouse in Palmyra, Virginia, to Columbia Virginia, and finally to the Alamo Drafthouse and Cinema in Charlottesville for a special early matinee showing of Steve McQueen's epic racing movie, "Le Mans." 
The route was organized Gary Hunter. Gary Hunter led the drive in his Porsche 996 C4S. Dan asked yours truly to drive the sweep vehicle and the main group was already headed out as I pulled up, unfashionably tardy, to the stately brick courthouse, which was built in 1831. 
After I signed the waiver, Dan hopped in and we headed off in pursuit over Stage Junction Road, passed the entrance to Schloss Graff and headed into the historic village of Columbia, which, until it was officially dissolved in 2016, had the distinction of being the smallest incorporated town in Virginia. Although short of residents, Columbia is long on history. It began as a Monacan Indian settlement and was known during Colonial times as "Point of Fork," as it sat at the confluence of the James and Rivanna rivers. During the Revolutionary War a detachment of the Queen's Rangers commanded by Col. John G. Simcoe were sent by British General Cornwallis to capture and confiscate the arsenal at Point of Fork commanded by Gen. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. The crafty Prussian ordered his troops to transport the arsenal's stores across the James and sink its heavy artillery in the river to be recovered later. Simcoe captured the arsenal but found it nearly empty. After the war, the community changed its name to "Columbia" and, as a major shipping point on the James River was narrowly edged out in voting to make it Virginia's Capital. 
From there, the Porsche convoy motored on toward Scottsville, another historic tobacco port on the James River. Scottsville was the largest port town along what was planned as the James River and Kanawha Canal, which would have linked the Atlantic with the Ohio River, had it been completed. Unfortunately, the Civil War and the rapid growth of railroads intervened. From there, the Porsche caravan motored into Charlottesville and was met at the Alamo Drafthouse and Cinema by other PCA members for lunch, beer and wine, and a special private viewing of "Le Mans" on the big screen. Many enthusiasts maintain this is the best movie ever made about auto racing, one that stars actor/racer McQueen and an assortment of Porsche 917s, and 908s, Ferrari 512s, and Lola T-70s. To attain authenticity, McQueen's own Porsche 908 was equipped with the large movie cameras of the day and entered, unofficially, in the 1970 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As soon as the race ended, filming began at the track and for a scheduled six-week shoot that stretched into five months. Legendary sports car and F-1 drivers Derek Bell, Jo Siffert, Masten Gregory, Mike Parks, David Piper, Jonathan Williams, Herbert Linge, Gerard Larrousse, Jean-Pierre Jabouille and others finished the 24 Hours and stayed around the track to drive in the film's racing scenes. Way over budget and with a variety of delays, "Le Mans was a failure at the box office and was panned by film critics as being too full of racing scenes and too short on plot and dialogue. For these reasons, however, the film achieved a cult status that remains almost 50 years after it was released. The PCA members and guests who watched it again on the big screen would probably agree with McQueen, who said, "Le Mans was the toughest picture I ever made, but it was worth it." 
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A Tour from Palmyra to our private "Le Mans" movie screening
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10 Years: Henry Haefele 5 Years: Tim Foster |
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Primary Members–262 New members: No new members for April.
Transfer out: Gregory Burns - Transferred to Palmetto Region, Myrtle Beach, SCPlease verify and update your postal and email addresses so that we can stay in touch with you. Here are instructions on how to change your PCA member records or renew your PCA membership. |
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Eighteen intrepid PCA members ranging in age from their teens to their 70s gathered with passengers in Gordonsville, Virginia on April 12 to explore the twisty and challenging back roads of Orange and Madison Counties in wildly changing weather conditions.
In addition to an assortment of Porsches ranging from 944s to Boxsters, Caymans and 911 air and water-cooled variants, a Saab Viggen, John Cooper Works Mini, a vintage MGB-GT, Mazda Miata and Hyundai Genesis answered the call and lined up in groups headed by Ausflugmeisters Dan Graff and Bates McLain. (Interesting fact: "Viggen" means Thunderbolt in Swedish and Saab used the name for cars and jet fighters.) Among the participants were Bill Blodgett, Lynne Taylor, Gregory Griffith, Hal and Cyndi Fredrickson, Gary Hunter, Englebert and Claudia Muelhaupt, Michael Murphy, John and Michelle Oden, Steve Upman, David and Mickie Ogburn, Julie McLain, Colin McLain, Jonathan Fields, and Meredith Richardson. After instructions the two groups lined up and were escorted through the problematic Route 15 and 33 traffic circle by an obliging town patrolman. We then headed north on one of my favorite roads, Route 231, from Gordonsville to Somerset, across the Rapidian River into Madison County and through Uno and beyond. 
(Interesting fact: back in the 1940s, a Richmond editorial writer proposed locating the
United Nations Organization (UNO) in Uno, Virginia. The diplomats thought otherwise.)
Between Somerset and Jacks Shop, Bates and Dan led their flocks along Tatum's School Road,
Locust Grove Church Road, Good Hope Church Road, and Carpenter's Mill Road and Lillards Ford Road.
The 20, 15 and 10 miles per hour road signs we encountered give you some idea of the radius of the curves along this route.
Then it was off over Spring Branch Road and Leon Road past the remnants of James City and Leon, before pulling onto busy Route 29.
(Interesting fact: James City was founded by the family of outlaws Jesse and Frank James.)
After the break, Bates and Dan led the revived and refreshed sojourners over the Hebron Valley Road to Haywood, Banco and Syria climbing into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains on Thunder Road with its challenging elevation changes and switchbacks. A heavy downpour and mist added to the challenges we faced in that stretch. Heading south into the town of Madison, we then veered southwesterly along Ruth Road and Thrift Road, back into the Blue Ridge foothills and more rain and challenging curves. With the rain and dark skies, these mountain roads take on the mood of a Wagnerian opera. I fully expected to round a bend and see Siegfried or Brunnhilde pop out from behind a rock. 
(Interesting fact: Madison County was settled by German ironworkers
who arrived on these shores as indentured servants. Freed from their
contractual obligations, they headed west and stopped when they found
the place that reminded them most of their homeland.)
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Gordonsville to Bavarian Chef Driving Tour
Whether or not I gained any hp out of this is certainly open —
especially since my efforts to document a before and after on the dyno
was a cluster you know what. However, I can definitely say that the
"sounds" are exactly what I was looking for (actually a bit better
than I had hoped), so that makes the whole endeavor totally worthwhile
from my point of view.
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45 Years: Dave Lasch 20 Years: Stephen Schmitz, Susan Audibert 10 Years: David Few
5 Years: |
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Primary Members–267 New members:
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15 Years: Scott Leopold 10 Years: Stephen Garstang
5 Years: |
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Primary Members–269 New members:
Transfer from Northern New Jersey Region:
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20 Years: Don Thompson 15 Years: Mark Cooke 10 Years: Michael Allebaugh |
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Primary Members–265 New members:
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20 Years: Terry Vassalos, Ron Perry, Jay Jessup
5 Years: |
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Primary Members–266 New member:
Transfer from Blue Ridge Region:
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NEWS ARCHIVE: Click on the years for earlier NEWS articles from 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012. Back issues of our printed news magazine, the "Heat Exchanger," from January 2003 through October 2011 and most web NEWS articles since 2006 are archived here.