August 2008 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

Next Meeting: August 28th, 7 PM Go Chevrolet - 7320 North Broadway near I25 and the Boulder Turnpike.

Guest Presenters - Limit of 2 presentations per meeting, please make arrangements with the President at least a day in advance to be placed on the agenda and to see if the limit has been reached for this month.

2008 Down the Road Corvette Club Officers

From your Prez

I looked at the calendar the other day and realized that summer is pretty much over. Where in the world did it go to?!?!? I know that my summer has been spent working and trying to clean up my Dad’s estate, but I sure hope that the rest of you have had a chance to get out there and enjoy all of the Corvette events that you could stand. The list of events has been long and varied which means there had to be many things for everyone.

With the end of summer comes the inevitable, the need to nominate new officers for the club and open the volunteer positions to the club. Now is the time for you to step up and try your hand at something that excites you. Supporting new ideas is what keep our club vital and fresh and the willingness of all of you to step in and try new things is why our club has always been successful.

On a different note, I received a postcard from Michelin in the mail the other day. Michelin is so excited about supplying the tires on the new ZR1 Corvette that they’ve come out with a full line of Pilot Sport 2 ZP (zero pressure) tires for all C5 and C6 Corvettes. On top of that, they are offering a special deal to the first 850 Corvette owners who buy a set of the new PS2ZP tires, a limited edition 2005 C6R model and a $500 travel discount card. If you own a C5 or C6 Corvette and have been thinking that a new set of tires is in order, now would be a really good time to pay a visit to your local Michelin dealer.  

Tim

Misc. ramblings from the Editor

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all have been having a good time.  I know after a hectic time leading up to co-hosting a family reunion, I've enjoyed sitting on my behind watching the Olympics these last couple of weeks.  Although, if I never see another beach volleyball match - it will be too soon.  They are getting rid of baseball and women's softball, so why not add some autocross to the schedule?  Or a little gran prix maybe - shouldn't take too much money for a course on city streets.  It should be as cheap to send a car overseas as it is to send a horse.  Equestrian was Dave's "favorite".  He didn't seem to mind the women's beach volleyball though - wonder why :)

I want to thank all who sent (or called) in items for the newsletter.  I appreciate it - and so do those who read this.

One nice thing about the Olympics being over is that Leno is back on.  And this week on Jay's Garage - he talks about his 2002 Z06 - not quite stock of course. After listening to a brief Cadillac commercial Jay will take you for ride in his yellow Z06. It is 12 minutes long - but watch it all the way through - it is truly a great tribute not only to the car, but to the owners and the Corvette community at large.  Also on that page is a video of Jay and Dick Guldstrand - dubbed by Jay as Mr. Corvette.

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/video_player.shtml?vid=526277

Have fun and stay loose,
Nancy B.

Minutes of Past Meeting
Down the Road Corvettes
Minutes of July 2008 Meeting

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS
Mike Pettiford from Go4It Racing school came out and spoke about some of the programs his school has to offer.

QUORUM
Quorum was present.

PREVIOUS MINUTES
The previous minutes were approved.

TREASURER'S REPORT
The treasurer gave her report. A motion was made and seconded to approve the treasurer's report.  Motion passed.

GOVERNOR'S REPORT
NCCC events are listed on the website.

SOCIAL COMMITTEE
The Social Committee has announced that the Club Christmas party will be at "The Old Neighborhood Restaurant" on December 5^th this year. September Mystery meal starts at the Clive Cussler Museum at 10 am on the 20^th of September. Everyone should let John M. know if they plan on going. October mystery meal will be done by Alex & Susan N.

Thanks go out to Frank & Phil for tonight's snacks.

NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
No new members this month.

AUTOCROSS DIRECTOR

DRAG RACE DIRECTOR.

MERCHANDISE COMMITTEE
Tonya had some great merchandise available at the table and catalogs to take any merchandise orders.

OLD BUSINESS
DtRC will not be having a Dealer Appreciation Show this year.

NEW BUSINESS
None

ADJOURN
Meeting was adjourned.

Submitted by
Pat Barnes - DtRC Secretary

Club News: 

Pre-Meeting Eating: Dinner before the meeting this month will be at Las Delicias at 5:30 p.m.

September Birthdays:  11 - Joan B.  And this was covered last month - but since his Bday is the same day as the meeting - don't forget to wish Roger L. a Happy Day at the meeting this month.

DtRC Hosted Events - Upcoming

DtRC at CSP II (Colorado State Patrol Track) - September 28

Frank and John are chairing our second race of the year at the Colorado State Patrol Track in Golden.  This will be our final autocross day of the season.  It is a Sunday this time.  It's a great spot to host a race and is a blast to drive.  The flyer and pre-registration form is on the Regional Website - www.rmrnccc.org - and there is a pre-registration discount.  I'm sure John and Frank will talk about it at the next couple of meetings - and will send out email when it gets closer as to what time they need helpers there, etc.

Upcoming Other Events
Remember a current schedule of NCCC events, access to flyers, event results and regional points standings can be found at www.rmrnccc.org .  

September is a slow month for regional NCCC events.  Remember our Clive Cussler event on the 20th- see the social committee section of this newsletter for details.   Our autocross is the only competition event in September.  But check out the October Calendar. It is packed.  The first weekend in October has a CSCC autocross on Saturday and you may have noticed that DCAs "Pueblo" event has become a TBD.  I have received word from our RCD that DCA has said they have lost the track for that day but are working on planning another event - to be announced sometime soon.  Then a last race over at Fruita, and the ever popular TORCA All Hallows Eve Gimmick Rally and Car show day.  Whew - do your good weather dance.

Zac's Legacy 8th Annual BlackHawk Blast Poker Run - September 13

We received a postcard for this even though we haven't attended the event in the last couple of years.  We had a great time last time we did it and as September is a slow month for NCCC events - depending on work demands - we are going to try to do this.  The website with the details is  http://zacslegacyfoundation.org/events.htm .

Remember to check out the region website - www.rmrnccc.org for all the upcoming regional events. Going out of state - check out www.corvettesnccc.org , scroll down almost to the bottom, click on the region you will be visiting, and see what is happening.  

Past Events

LaJunta AutoCrosses - August 4 & 5

This was a lightly attended event but I hear that those that went had a lot of track time and had a good time.  I'm sure Bill will give a readout at the meeting. 

Fruita AutoCrosses

John H. called in a report for this.  He said he had a tough time with the course but that Phil did real well.  You can find the results on the regional website.  John also wanted to pass along that Larry says that CWCC has the go-kart track for their June race next year.  That is usually the first Sunday in June.  So you have plenty of notice - mark your calendars.

CCC Kremlin Show

John H. also called to report on this show.  DtRC had 4 cars there - Dave & Wanda, Mike& Mary D, Mike K. and John H.  Mike K. took 3rd in C5 class. John reports his C6 took Best in Class (and then volunteered that he was the only on in the modified class) and he also took Best Engine Compartment.  Way to go John.  He apologizes if he missed any of the other trophy earners - they were all sitting in a cafe across the street because it was raining, and missed the beginning of the awards.  John reported that it is a very nice park and drive up there - and that they all had a good time. 

35th Annual Vette's on the Rockies
Submitted by Tim B.

I’ve got to hand it to LGCA. They did a bang up job on VOTR this year. It was the best it’s been in a long while. I think they’ve finally gotten the new venue in Breckenridge sorted out. This year’s events included the Funkana, a great Auto-X, a fashion show (which cost me some serious dollars), numerous drives around the area and of course, the Sunday show on Main Street in Frisco. Meals included a Thursday night buffet, the main dinner on Friday night and an ice cream social on Saturday night where the awards for the Auto-X and Funkana were given out. The accommodations at the resort were wonderful as well. It didn’t hurt any that the GrandSport Registry had made the event a national event and there were 31 GrandSports in attendance on Sunday. It was great. The Auto-X was held over at Keystone in the same lot that DCA has used for their events up there. The course was fantastic. It didn’t hurt any that I took home the first place trophy for the GrandSport class. However, I’d like to note that my time in the Skunk beat all other C4 Corvettes and all but a few other Corvettes there including all of the C6 Z06s! The old girl still has it!

For the show on Sunday, I believe I heard an official count of 523 Corvettes on Main Street proper. There were probably a hundred more on the side streets that just came up to look at all the cars. There was as always a dazzling array of beautiful Corvettes to look at including a new ZR1 and a GTR.

We had a great time visiting with old friends from all over the country and making new ones as well. In fact, Mike, Martha, Pat and I were sitting at a restaurant in Breckenridge and got to talking to the people at a table next to ours only to discover that they lived just across Colorado Blvd from us! I of course gave them a club card and invited them to come to a club meeting.

The biggest thrill to me was the opportunity to finally meet one of my heros, John Heinricy. John, as you might or might not know was the development engineer responsible for the GrandSport Corvette. In fact, John owns the serial number 1 GrandSport. I’ve also had two other vehicles that John developed, the Silverado SS pickup truck and of course, the CTS-V. Not only did I get time to talk to John about my love of his vehicles, but also got to listen as he talked about his next vehicle, the next CTS-V. I just love to converse with people who are excited about what they get to do for a living. In addition to being a design engineer for GM, John is also an avid Corvette racer having taken the SCCA T1 class championship numerous times in his C5 Z06. What a great person! I was so delighted when he autographed my Auto-X trophy!

All in all, hats off to LGCA. They put on an event well worth the time and money.

Tim’s Challenge update:
Submitted by Tim B.

Well, I have good news and bad news on Tim’s Challenge.

The good news is that there is $2,477.44 in the treasury thanks in most part to all of the hard work and dedication of members of this club.

Now, for the bad news. I have received resignations from 4 of the 9 members of the board of directors and officers. We have also failed to get enough votes to approve a set of by-laws for the corporation which means that we are still unable to file for 501c3 status with the IRS. A meeting of the board, officers and other interested parties also fell flat on it’s face with no one showing up for the meeting at all. In fact, of the 15 or so people invited to the meeting, I only even received regrets from three people and two of the three resigned at the same time. As of now, on the board remain John Maxwell, Mike Kelley and myself and of the officers, only Pat, the secretary and Suzanne, the treasurer remain. I think this must mean that we’ve taken a misstep somewhere along the line and we need to somehow refocus what we’ve been doing.  I think the single biggest challenge we face is coming up with a set of families to support that really touch move and inspire us. We can talk about the next steps at the club meeting. I still believe this is a worthwhile thing to do and I’m sure that we can all get our heads together to make this all it can be.

DtRC Club Bone-Head award – nominations open
I missed the last meeting - and the secretaries notes didn't say if the 'Bone Head Award' was passed on at the last meeting or not.  Continue reading - I think we are going to need to create a permanent award for the Schultz's.

Committee Updates

Social Committee

Mystery Meal - September 20th - Clive Cussler Museum

From John M. - please RSVP to him if you haven't yet done so.  Remember - you are invited to invite friends along so we hit the 30 number- they don't need to be Corvette Owners - they just need to RSVP and show up wth $5 per head.

Nancy K. and I have a mystery meal planned for Saturday September 20th to the Clive Cussler museum in Arvada.  I realize that we signed up for an August event, but the only time we could get the museum was in September. 

We will meet at 10:00 at the museum, 14959 W. 69th Avenue, Arvada CO 80007, 303-431-1388, which is just west of 69th and Indiana.  The cost of the museum is $5 per head and they'd like to see 30 people.  We should have no problem with this as a few other people have expressed interest in bringing friends along. 

We will leave the museum about 12:00 and drive a nice drive (30 mins) to lunch. 

Buffalo Bill Parade - From Deana:

We had a fun time in the Buffalo Bill Parade in Golden last month.  9 cars from our club alone.  Lots of kids, pets, people, and of course, horses!  We managed to dodge the drippings, albeit zigzagging down the street.  Mexican food for lunch afterwards was great.  We all needed lots of water.  Beautiful day for a parade. 

Christmas Party - December 5th
Mary Kay has managed to reserve the back room at The Old Neighborhood for 7:00 - December 5th.  This is a Friday night - she was not able to get a Saturday.  Further details will be coming as we get closer to the date.

Governor’s Report - 
By Nancy B.

There is quite a bit happening from a regional NCCC standpoint.  Here is a note I want to share from our Regional Executive - John Maxwell.  If anyone is interested in being a candidate for any of the positions he mentions below - feel free to contact John directly, or if you prefer - contact me and I can nominate you.  For those of you that will spot that our long time RCD has his position open - Larry M. is running for NCCC V.P. of Membership (national).  He will continue to be RMR-RCD until 12/31/08 - but will be handing over the reigns of that position to someone else come 1/1/09.  So if you, or anyone you know - either in our club or in any other Rocky Mountain Region Club is interested - please get you/them nominated.  The September Governor's meeting is currently scheduled 9/21 - so please get back to John by mid-September.

From John M. to the governors and officers of RMR-NCCC - 

50th Annual National Convention - August 7 - 14, 2009  - RMR - Colorado Springs, CO.

And a permanent reminder for the next year’s worth of newsletters.  Don't forget as you start making 2009 vacation plans - mark the following in your book. DtRC will be hosting the low-speed autocross at World Arena.  I don't have the dates handy, but can get them if you need them this soon.  Even if you can't join us for the whole week, we'll need lots of help the days of our events (it is over two days I believe).

For anyone that wants to get involved in the planning - even as a helper vs. a committee head - I believe the are looking for people.  For our club members - if you can help over the next year with some of the duties - please contact John M.  

NCCC RMR Events
Flyers for this falls events are appearing weekly on the regional website - www.rmrnccc.org - a copy of that calendar as it stands today is at the end of this newsletter.  For Flyer info and to get the latest and greatest calendar info - check back on the regional website often.

Drag Racing Report
Joan B.

Race Nights are:   Sep. 5 & 26. The gates open at 3p.m. Eliminations at 7p.m. Test & Tune nights are Wednesdays and start April 12.

Alex Nelson's Rocky Mountain Corvette has agreed to have a team we can race with this year. Thanks Alex.  Joan would love to have anyone who want to join them up at the track to come on up.   If anyone would like more info, or to join Joan up at the track - please let her know and she'll get you all the details.  .

Merchandise Report

Check out the table at the back of the room during the meetings to see what is new and to check out the catalogs.

NCM Ambassador’s Report
John H.

John called in a report - I hope I got this right - Editor.

2009 Caravan T-Shirts are now available - check out the museum website.  About 2000 people have already registered for the Caravan - so it should be a great turnout.

Dealer Brochures are now available for the 2009 Corvettes.

For the latest news and goings on at the museum go to http://www.corvettemuseum.com/ . 

And Finally

Bill & Ted's (aka Cathy's) Latest Excellent Adventure

For Sale:  2000 yellow coupe.

Less than 66500 miles, runs like new.  4 speed auto, performance rear end, Kooks headers, Corsa exaust system, Blackwing air intake system and ZO6 sway bars with metal end links.  $21950  303-805-5875, Phil

ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
2008 EVENTS CALENDAR

Sanction Key:
(S) or Sanctioned - National Sanctioned - points awarded per NCCC rulebook
(R) or Region-sanctioned - Events that are listed as Region Sanctioned are the same as non sanctioned events for any out of region entrants and no national points will be awarded. Region members will receive region competition points.
(NS) or Non-Sanctioned - No points awarded to any entrants.

NOTE*** - this is a snapshot from the regional calendar the day I put together the newsletter.  For up-to-date info and any revised flyers, please go to www.rmrnccc.org , click on the 2008 Events link on the left hand side of the page, and you will get an up-to-date calendar.  Flyers don’t change often – but they sometimes do.

 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.

2008 Committees: