June 24 – NJMP – BMW CCA Club Race
by mhulbrock
Photos by Brian Morgan


























by mhulbrock
Photos by Brian Morgan
by mhulbrock
Our second Tire Rack Street Survival school of the year will be held on Sunday, October 5th from 8:30 – 4:00 at Campgaw Ski Area in Mahwah.
Designed for drivers age 16-21, the school is open to anyone with a valid permit or license. It makes young drivers better drivers by a combination of classroom and behind the wheel simulations of emergency situations. Students are encouraged to use the car they normally drive.
by NJBMWCCA
by NJBMWCCA
by NJBMWCCA
by NJBMWCCA
by NJ BMW CCA
NJ Chapter 2023 Westlake School Donation
The New Jersey Chapter recently presented a check for $13,000 to the Westlake School of Westfield, NJ. This represented money raised from the club’s annual charity club race and driver school at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
The presentation took place at a meeting of the Union County Educational Services Commission. The club showed a photo retrospective of the past 25 years (compiled by Brian Morgan), during which the club donated in excess of $175,000 to Westlake to support the purchase of educational materials, computers, adaptive wheelchairs, outfitting a “model apartment” in the school and other activities.
This Special education school is a public elementary and high school within the Union County Educational Services Commission. Westlake provides hands-on educational and therapeutic services to children between the ages of 7-21 diagnosed with multiple disabilities and autism with a goal to develop sensory integration, functional academic, communication, daily living, and social skills and, where appropriate, work training.
Each year, the BMW racers and drivers welcome a group of Westlake students and administrators to watch the races at the event, also providing them track rides, give-aways and other activities. This is a special day for them which they treasure. The NJ Chapter and our event attendees are proud of the support we are able to provide, which is thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. This year we were thrilled to co-sponsor the race with the New York Chapter and to work with BMW of Manhattan, who attended the event and provided gifts for the students. We invite all club members to attend this year’s event on June 5-6 at Thunderbolt Raceway at NJMP and join in the fun.
by NJ BMW CCA
Hi Fellow Track Enthusiasts,
Well…we just wrapped up our first HPDE event for 2022, and I’d like to thank everyone who joined in. Most importantly, to the many students and the dedicated crew of instructors and volunteers that make such an event possible. I know it’s an old saying, “that it takes a village,” but it does, and all of you are part of that community.
I was also pleased that we had quite a few first timers, both young and older. I even had the opportunity to chat with many, and all expressed having a great time. Yes, a few had reserved expressions on their faces first thing in the morning. But everyone had cheerful faces after their first stint on track and glints in their eyes after taking rides with their instructors. I do believe we’ll be seeing many again.
The event also included our ITS (instructor training school) program, where all eight candidates faced the grueling challenge and are now qualified BMWCCA instructors. Many may not know this, but our BMW club has developed and set the highest standard for HPDE instruction. So I’d like to welcome the new graduates to our instructor corps and tell anyone considering an HPDE event you are in absolutely the best hands.
Indeed, the weather threw us quite a mix, from occasional light rain, some sun at times, to a good bit of chilly wind. Aside from that, we had a great weekend of on track fun. What more can you ask for?
Please keep tabs on the events ahead, and I look forward to seeing everyone again soon, and hopefully, many new faces. As I’ve said in the past, I assure you that you’ll have a great time.
Best Regards, Bill Van Ocker
BMW CCA NJ – Chief Instructor
by NJBMWCCA
Saturday, Oct 16 — Sunday, Oct 17, 2021
Do you want to get in one more event in 2020? Do you want to drive a track that is guaranteed to make you a better driver? Our Shenandoah Driver School is the answer! This event is becoming a favorite for those students who have taken the plunge to give the track a try. We will be running the traditional complement of three student run groups (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced). The Shenandoah Circuit is the newest track at Summit Point Raceway and is known for its interesting layout and technical challenges. The hallmark of the track is a dimensional replica of the famous carussel turn at the Nurburgring featuring 20 degree banking! Driving Shenandoah will make you a better driver on every other track you visit – almost every type of turn is on this track. Beyond great in-car and classroom instruction, we also try to have one of our instructors give a track walk at lunch. This gives students a different perspective on the track and yields additional driving tips that will improve your driving and fun.
This school is generally characterized by smaller run groups giving plenty of open track to all participants. Note also that this is the only school run by the NJ chapter that offers 2 days of skid pad training for all participants. If you truly want to improve your car control skills, skid pad training is a must.
Come on down for a great weekend and a truly fun track.
Note that open face helmets Snell2010 or newer will be accepted for this event.
$395 Registration Fee Till Aug 4, after Aug 4 till Sept 15 $425, after Sept 15 $450
by NJBMWCCA
Saturday, Jul 17 — Sunday, Jul 18, 2021
Geoff Atkinson Memorial Driver School and Club Race: Please come join us for the Fifth Annual Geoff Atkinson Memorial Driver School and Club Race. We are planning a special celebration of our friend Geoff Atkinson – please come out and make this an event to remember. Our annual combined Driver School and Club race at Summit Point Raceway has become the NJ Chapter’s second tradition (behind our June race/school). Summit Point Raceway is in the rolling hills of the northeast corner of West Virginia near Harper’s Ferry. While West Virginia sounds like a long drive, for many NJ members it is, in fact, not any further driving time than to Palmer or Watkins Glen. The School and the Club Race divide track time between student run groups in the School and Race run groups. So, when you’re not on the track or in the classroom, you can take time to watch the racing. Our Saturday night barbeque at the track features great food and the chance to relax, compare what you learned on the track and swap stories.
Now confirmed: We will have 3 student groups for this school! Come on out for plenty of open track and small run groups!
Please note also that we will allow open face helmets (Snell2010 or newer) for this event.
$500 Registration Fee if registered and paid by May 31, after May 31 $525 till June 30, after June 30 $550
by NJBMWCCA
Monday, Jun 7 — Tuesday, Jun 8, 2021
Please come join us for our traditional Driver School event at our annual June Club Race/Driver School to benefit the Westlake School to be held at our home track at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ. We will have our usual banquet, auction fundraiser and special giveaways. The event will be held on Thunderbolt Raceway, which is a 14 turn, 2.25 mile road course designed by the owners of VIR with help from the legendary Carroll Shelby. Since 2008 a number of professional racing series have held events at Thunderbolt Raceway. This is a perfect spectator event given the proximity of the track to the majority of our members, the excitement of Club Racing and the joy of the kids from the Westlake School who come as our guests. Take a personal day and come out to the track!
Driver School: We anticipate a full school for this event based on our success of past years. To accommodate the maximum number of students possible, there may be a greater range of driving skills than usual in each group. If you send a payment and we cannot accommodate you, you will receive a full refund (i.e., a cancellation fee will not be assessed). As always, acceptance preference is based upon the date your payment is received by the registrar. REGISTER EARLY TO SECURE YOUR PLACE IN THE SCHOOL! We will have a Friday evening banquet with door prizes and special aution items to benefit Westlake School in keeping with our tradition of a track-side dinner at summer schools.
BimmerWorld BMW CCA Club Racing School: Please note that we will NOT hold a club racing school at this event this year. Please look for announcements and registration instructions in the Roundel and from the NJ chapter Bulletin, website and chapter email blasts.
$525 Registration Fee for the Driver School If registered and paid by April 30, $565 if registerd after till May 24, after May 24 $585
by NJBMWCCA
The Annual NJ/DelVal/NY season opening April 16-17-18 Driver School.
Driver School: The regular driver school portion of the event will be on the weekend of April 17-18. No need to take 2 days off work to start the season. You have no excuse not to come on out, knock the rust off your driving and reinforce all the good things you learned last year. The Driver School portion of the event will have 3 student run groups so there will be ample track space for everyone. Note: Due to Covid restrictions from BMW CCA national office, this will be a lead-follow format. We are only able to accept students with previous on-track experience.
Friday track day: On Friday there will be 8 hours of track time for instructors who wish to get in some extra track time and for approved advanced Solo students. Solo students will only see the option for this registration if they are pre-approved (contact the Registrar). Instructors who are only driving on Friday and not instructing for the weekend must pay the student fee.
Introduction to the Track (Sunday only): Unfortunately, we are unable to hold this run group for this event because in-car instruction is not allowed per BMW CCA national office.
Registration Fees:
Sat-Sun Driver School students: $575 if registered by March 24; $599 if registered after March 24.
Friday Solo Students: $350
Friday Instructors (instructing Sat-Sun): $250
by NJBMWCCA
By Jamie Kavalieros
Summit Point – a lot of firsts The July 18th-19th Summit Point Driver School and Club Race was our first track event of the season. It is usually our third event. Many of the attendees were unaware that it almost didn’t happen. The problem was two-fold. West Virginia COVID cases were on the rise and we feared New Jersey would add WV to the list of states for 14-day quarantine. Luckily, WV was not added. The second obstacle hit us on the Monday before the event.
WV announced a ban on all group gatherings over 25 people. Somehow Summit Point was allowed to get special permission for track events. This was partly due to the amount of acres Summit Point encompasses and assurances that we would not congregate in any one area more than 25 people and individuals would remain in their paddock stall when not on track. This news came on the Tuesday before the event. We did not do in-car instruction at Summit. BMW CCA National guidelines would not allow instructors in student cars. Instead we did a Lead/Follow format of instruction, another first for us. We only had 2 student groups instead of the usual 3. Unfortunately, we did not allow any never-been-to-the-track students or even newish beginner students. Not more than 2 students were paired with an instructor and did follow-the-leader instruction. We added some new drills and exercises for the students to sharpen their skills.
Instructors are usually allowed to take passengers for rides. This was also not allowed unless it was a cohabitant of the instructor. I believe there were only 3 passengers out all weekend.
This was also the first Northeast region BMW CCA Club Race. It was apparent the racers were eager to get on track. The racer turnout for this event was at the maximum amount for this size track. The event was also designated a North American Challenge Race. This designation meant there would be 4 races. Three of the races would award 150% points and 1 at regular points.
The last first was my son. He was the only first-time student and the only student who had in-car instruction. The instructor was me, his father and cohabitant.
We still have one event on the calendar. The Shenandoah Driver School at Summit Point event, October 3-4. We will more than likely run the same lead/follow student format as the Summit Point July event.
by NJ BMW CCA
By Jamie Kavalieros
We concluded our 2019 season at Shenandoah Race Track in Summit Point West Virginia. This track is my personal favorite. It is a very technical track where a nimble momentum car can rival a higher horsepower and heavier car.
One of the other reasons I enjoy Shenandoah and going to the track is camping and hanging out with my track buddies. About a decade ago I started camping in my trailer at the track. There are a large number of drivers who do so. It ranges from guys in a tent to people who have a dedicated RV. I, like most of the guys, fall in the middle. I tow my enclosed car trailer that has a few comforts added: A/C, heat and electrical hookup with a bed strapped to the wall over the wheel well. It is home for the weekend. Along the way I have picked up a few strays. Greg was a tent guy but when the weather turned to heavy rain, I invited him to throw his sleeping bag on the floor of my trailer. Now he is a permanent fixture. Kevin is a friend who started coming back to the track about 5 years ago. He had 2 (now 3) children and to save a bit of money he stays in my trailer as well. There are many others that do the same: Dave, Bill, Mirril, Jim, Greg, Mark, Scott, Vin, Ron and more. As you can see the list has grown over the years and I am sure I forgot a few.
We started an email chain to see who was bringing what food as well as some post track refreshments a few years back. It started simple with who will bring breakfast, yogurt and pop-tarts, dinner burgers and dogs. Shenandoah was the place we started to cook a real meal. Buffalo wings, soup, penne pasta, ice cream, cake and much more. Over the years other groups formed and enjoyed camping. We cross over and share food, drink and stories. Many of the camping participants remark half the fun of going to the track is camping.
This year we decided to expand part of the experience to everyone at Shenandoah and had our first ever Pot Luck Dinner. The amount of food was incredible. There were 50+ participants. Stories were shared food was eaten and drinks were had. It was great to see new students listening to veteran drivers swapping their experiences and knowledge. The Pot Luck was a huge success and I hope to see you next Season at the track!
2020 Track Season Schedule:
by NJ BMW CCA
By Jeff White
For those of you who read this column you know that it generally recounts our just transpired track events and looks to the next round. I’ll do that briefly but then there is something else I want to discuss. So, our return as a support race to the NASCAR K&N series at Thunderbolt on Sep. 16-17 was a tremendous success – actual paying fans to watch us race – followed by a Sunday session with racing and a special driver school for Advanced Solo students. Look for Ross Karlin’s report in this issue. Our seasonending weekend driver school on the Shenandoah circuit at Summit Point Motorsports Park on Oct. 7-8 reinforced the fun and value of learning to drive this track. A day in the sun and, matching the rest of the season, a day in the wet. This is always the perfect track on which to end the year – plenty of interaction among the attendees and great times. If you haven’t experienced this track, you owe it to yourself to try next season.
Now, to the title above. Freude am Fahren is a phrase that BMW has used in its marketing materials for many years. While the translation is imperfect, let me use “Joy of Driving” for what I want to discuss. It is this joy that prompted each of us to take the plunge and join the Club. Whether it is the joy of feeling connected to a machine, the joy of driving up a rural winding road while the sunlight streams through the bright yellow and orange leaves of fall like a soft-focus Hallmark Channel movie, the joy of putting the top down on the convertible on a summer’s night and enjoying the warm air and the stars or the very basic joy of driving your family in a vehicle that you know will keep you safe and give you the capabilities to help avoid an accident. We all share and celebrate this joy.
There is no shortage of written words in which driving is nominally involved – think of Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon and countless others. However, these works are generally solitary journeys in which the driving is merely a means to an end. In some, the author is searching for America, as if it had somehow become lost (perhaps in Middle Earth with the Entwives), rather than admitting it is the author who is lost. Others are an existential journey to find one’s self by slowing down and actually talking with and listening to people met along the way (a worthy goal but not really about driving). Ross Bentley, Carl Lopez and Mark Donohue have each written (and, in some cases, continue to write) about how to become a better race driver but these works focus on the mechanics, physics, physiology and psychology of driving. In racing, the joy comes with winning not the driving per se. However, we are a club. We belong to a club because we enjoy doing things and conversing with other enthusiasts – this is a shared activity and the pleasure of these activities is enhanced by sharing with others (the “Hermit Club” never really caught on). What makes social media powerful is sharing your experience with others, sometimes over great distances, but what makes our club meaningful is that we share experiences together, in person, side by side. As Jeff Caldwell and JT Burkard wrote in the last issue, we join for the cars but we stay for the people.
This brings me to the full title above – Freude am Fahren mit Freunden: Joy of Driving with Friends. This is what we as a club are all about. Much of what I have written about over the years has been about driver schools. I attended my first driver school event as a spectator in June of 1999 at Lime Rock Park– the annual club race and driver school. I watched Ross Karlin, Gary Bossert and Don Salama battle on the race track and then walked around the paddock where Vic Lucariello saw me and said “Hey, let’s get you a helmet and go for a ride with an instructor.” Before I knew it, I was belted in next to Wade “Cold Trail” Wilson, taking corners at speeds I did not believe to be possible. Wade kept asking me if I was ok, because I wasn’t talking, and the truth was I was having so much fun and trying to absorb what was going on, I wasn’t able to speak. I got out of the car and had a grin that didn’t go away the rest of the day. Deb Kolar convinced me to stay for the BBQ; I won a shirt as a door prize. I knew immediately that this was something I wanted to do more of and these were the people I wanted to do it with. By August I was enrolled in the Summit Point school and then in September back at Lime Rock. I was hooked.
There is no doubt that there is joy in driving your car at the track as you challenge yourself and begin to fully appreciate how truly capable your BMW is. It is both rewarding and exhilarating as you improve the smoothness of your braking, master heel and toe down-shifting, trail brake as you hit the apex perfectly and get on the power as you unwind the wheel. Doing it turn after turn and lap after lap is not boring because there is always something to improve and something more to enjoy. Importantly however, this joy is magnified when you share it with others. Maybe it is when our dear friend Geoff Atkinson is sitting in the right seat at Shenandoah and says “there’s something I want you to try on this next turn” and then when you do it, you magically execute the turn better and in your E30 you pull away from the E36 M3 behind you to a chorus of “Yeah baby!”. Maybe it is when you’re at Lime Rock and Vic Sr. is in the right seat and guides you through taking the turn onto the main straight off the downhill without touching your brakes (that was a “pucker” moment!) and then whooping it up down the main straight. Maybe it is when Barry Stevens is taking some laps with you on Shenandoah in the Mini and you’re both laughing as the car goes exactly where it is pointed, and catches M4s in the turns. Maybe it is when you’re sitting in the paddock with your friends talking about a particular turn and you mention a little something that you do and then after the next run group that friend comes back equally thrilled that your suggestion worked. And maybe it is when you’re not driving at all but are sitting in the right seat helping a new student discover a whole new world and seeing that same grin that you had at your first school.
The joy that comes with driver schools comes in the quiet moments too. It’s when you leave the hotel with Mark Derienzo in a mini-caravan for the track and pass the manicured lawns and picture postcard New England colonial homes in northern Connecticut, pass through the wooden gates and over the bridge at Lime Rock where driver schools started in 1974 and then roll down the hill into the paddock and see the clouds still in the tops of the hills surrounding the track. You look around and everyone agrees this is going to be a great day. It’s when you drive the local roads in Watkins Glen then up to the track and get out of your car looking over Seneca Lake and think about all the great races and drivers who have been here before. So, in your momentary fantasy, you happen to be at a track or at the bar in the Seneca Lodge and meet Mario Andretti or Jackie Stewart, and you talk to them about driving the Glen and what F1 was really like back in the day. It’s when you get the chance at NJMP to sit in the paddock and talk to a first-time student who just happens to be a combat pilot, test pilot, and two-time pilot of the space shuttle and wanted to give driver schools a try now that he’s retired. It’s when you and Warren Brown leave the hotel in West Virginia, drive past the old hewn log homes in Middleway, through the rolling countryside where George Washington’s brother was a surveyor, past the small farms with sleeping cows and apple orchards and into the paddock at Summit Point remembering that Paul Newman raced SCCA here. Then, at the end of the day, after the barbeque (you shouldn’t have had that second helping of brisket), you walk back into the woods and enter the modern version of a Civil War encampment, pull up a chair under a tent with the campers and tell stories.
The joy of driving with friends (and family) comes off the track as well. If you ever have the chance to take delivery of your BMW in Munich, then do so. It is pure joy to climb into your car at the delivery center and start out on the roads across Germany. Whether you drive through medieval cities like Regensburg, past castles in the countryside, take laps on “the Ring” or find your way on the winding back roads of the Black Forest, you get the chance to understand the heritage behind your car and understand the passion of the engineers to build a machine that connects you to the full experience of driving. The joy also comes from climbing into your good friend Larry Engel’s M235ic on a cold, early morning in January, turning the car south and heading down I-95 past Baltimore harbor, around the beltway of Washington DC (while hoping that dysfunction is not contagious), through the grand old city of Richmond with its complicated role in US history, down through North Carolina and into the low country of swamps and palmetto palms of South Carolina. After a stop for dinner at an odd seafood restaurant (and a memorable waiter) across from the hotel, the morning brings sunshine and open road down through the pine trees of Georgia, past the new economy and glistening towers of Jacksonville then finally turning onto International Speedway Boulevard where the top comes down and we both feel alive with sunshine on our faces and the wind through our receding hair. We turn into Daytona, pass through the tunnel, marvel at the banking (how do cars not fall off?) and then greet Sharon and Jeff Caldwell (among others) in the paddock and find it to be completely normal to once again be among fellow club members a thousand miles from home together watching a 24-hour race. Sometimes the road is anything but joyous but when you are headed to an afternoon game Yankee Stadium with Ross Karlin, it’s the company and the occasion that matters and you count the little victory of avoiding traffic by clever use of streets in Manhattan. Similarly, the joy of the drive can be packing the dogs in the car with Trisha, the person who has shared and humored my automotive obsession with more support than I deserve, and heading north up the NY Thruway through the gentle mountains of Adirondack Park, realizing that sometimes a road trip includes water passage via ferry and then a drive into the White Mountains ending at a summer cabin of a friend overlooking Lake Champlain. Yes, joy can be either exhilarating or quiet and equally satisfying.
I am sure that each of you has your own magical memories of drives shared with friends and family. I am equally sure that the memory is all the more vivid because of who it was shared with. The point is that we don’t need existential journeys to find ourselves; we are blessed with a group of like-minded friends and family who are on the journey with us. We don’t care about political, religious, occupational or any other affiliation, we are here to share the Joy of Driving with each other.
This is my final article as the Driver School Chair – Jamie Kavalieros is taking over the reins next year and will provide much needed fresh vision to our programs. You will still see me at the track and I will stay involved with our instructor training program. If our editor needs some content and I have something worth writing about, then perhaps another submission is in the future. Let me close with words I used at the end of each driver’s meeting: be smooth, be safe, have fun and embrace Freude am Fahren mit Freunden.
See you at the track,
Jeff White
by NJ BMW CCA
By Ross Karlin and Jeff White
In June and July the NJ Chapter holds two of its longest tenure events: the June driver school and club race to benefit Westlake School and the July driver school and club race (now the Geoff Atkinson Memorial Driver School and Club Race). While both events were tremendous fun, the recurring theme of this season could be “Mastering the rain line”.
The June event is now in its 22nd year and the 20th anniversary of being a benefit event for Westlake School. The driver school portion of the event was down on registrations this year and so we ran only 2 student run groups. The students and instructors did an admirable job of managing the variable skill levels in each group but the event organizer was unable to manage the weather. As the schedule rolled into the late afternoon, lightning in the area forced cars off the track. No sooner than we had decided to stop for the day, the skies opened up and everyone made a dash for the Officer’s Club for the evening banquet.
Monday’s rain meant Tuesday’s schedule had to be modified to give the racers their time while still maintaining the school. Everyone was understanding and made the best of a difficult arrangement. Many thanks to the school volunteers who lined up at lunch to provide cars for the Westlake parade laps.
We chose a new method to raise donation funds for Westlake this year. Rather than relying on a single large sponsor we turned to our members and other small business to use a crowd-funding approach: The Kid’s Koalition. 16 members, friends and businesses stepped up to help and contributed over $4,300. We were also fortunate this year to have excellent support for our Monday evening banquet auction with a watch provided by Hamilton Jewelers, race-used body work from BimmerWorld, and a race car rental from new racer Tyler Pappas of Tyspeed Automotive. Silent auction items were provided by Turner Motorsports and Cora Kiceniuk. Door prize give-aways came from Circle BMW, VAC Motorsports, Turner, BimmerWorld, Bridgestone and the Chapter. Thanks to our hobbled but still enthusiastic auctioneer Mo Karamat, the auction donations combined with garage rentals from April upped our total raise to almost $7,000!
As for the races, the first race on Monday afternoon saw Todd Brown take an early lead in his C-Mod car, and he never looked back, taking the checkered flag with no one else in sight. Coming along next was Jeffrey Bruce (CM), Asher Hyman (CM), and Robert Solomon (BM). The rest of the field included seven IP cars, 4 IS cars, and a variety of other classes. The end of day race on Monday afternoon had to be postponed as the rain clouds moved in, and reports of lightning nearby required bringing in the corner workers. So, lightning at Lightning Raceway shut down the track!
Tuesday morning’s practice then became the first of three races for the day. A blown engine gave up all its fluids under the bridge, causing several cars to spin off, and ultimately bringing out the red flag and ending the race. The second race of the day was able to be run to completion, with the three CM cars of Jeffrey Bruce, Asher Hyman, and Robert Mager taking the checker for the top three. The students and staff from Westlake arrived, enjoyed lunch and then took their pace laps courtesy of our students and instructors. Their smiles lit up the day. The feature race lived up to expectations, seeing several close battles among different classes, right up to the checkered flag. The overall winner was Jeffery Bruce (CM), followed by Asher Hyman (CM) and Robert Solomon (BM), and rookie Vinh Chau (GTS2).
The Westlake students participated in the trophy ceremony, enthusiastically thanking all the club members for a truly exciting and memorable day and went home with their own event shirts and gift bags from VAC.
In July we celebrated the 19th anniversary of racing at Summit Point and the 4th Annual Geoff Atkinson Memorial Driver School and Club Race. Geoff must have been smiling on us as we had a full driver school with 3 student run groups and 47 club racers! Everyone agreed that this was the largest turnout of racers we have ever had at Summit Point.
The one thing Geoff could not help us with was the weather; once again rain played havoc with the schedule. Saturday was forecast to have only a chance of rain but at lunch the skies darkened, the wind got fierce and the rain came down in buckets. By the time it stopped, we were behind schedule. A little gerrymandering and we managed to complete both the third set of school run groups and get in racer qualifying and the race. The race grid was a welcome sight with 45 cars taking the green flag.
This time the pre-race activities focused on the radar maps. More rain was coming…. but when? When the cars came to grid, you could tell who was careful and who was hopeful: dry tires or rain tires??
Once the race started, the pace was fast, although those on rain tires had to dial it back a notch so as not to heat up or chunk away their tread. But, at about two-thirds through the race, the rain came, a few drops at first, then steady. Several drivers on dry tires had the sense to call it a day and exited the track. Of course, some others on dry tires (this author included) stayed out and skated around until the checker flew for Todd Brown, followed by Vernon McClure, Bob Perritt, and Jerry Kaufman.
No sooner than school cars were back on track after the race, the skies really opened up again. It became clear that we were not going to resume and so we had to cancel the final sessions for the students and instructors. Fortunately, our friends from Jordan Springs Market were ready with our BBQ and set up in one of the classrooms. This was a first for us but the food was great and everyone managed to find dry places to eat between the classrooms and the picnic tables. By the time the BBQ was finished, so was the rain. We had a larger than usual number of motorhomes and campers this year so Saturday night became Camp Summit in the wooded portion of the paddock. Pop-ups, camp chairs, beverages of all sorts and recounted stories – this is what track events are really all about.
Tuesday began much better – school sessions went off without a hitch and the early race had 42 cars take the grid with a fast pace starting to spread out the cars, when a fullcourse yellow brought out the pace car to assist towing a car off the track. Once the race leader took the green flag again, there was a mix of fast cars and slower lapped traffic, all jockeying for position and corners. This created some of the best, tightest racing of the weekend as the field sorted itself out. Once again Todd Brown took the checker, followed by Mark Lounsbury and Vernon McClure. The driver school continued to run smoothly and then after lunch, it was time for the feature race.
Thirty-seven cars took the green flag, with Todd Brown pulling out a comfortable lead, which he did not relinquish despite another stint behind the pace car for a full-course yellow and car cleanup. He took the checker with a 10 second lead, followed by a close battle for second and third position, where Mark Lounsbury edged out Vernon McClure at the start/finish line.
Class winners included Jerry Kaufman (IP), Charles Harding (HP), Peter Kerekgyarto (IS), Vinh Chau (GTS2), Vasil Vykhopen (GTS3), Steve Liadis (HP), Patrick Harris (Spec E46), Keith Primozic (DM), Tyler Pappas (JP), John Sanders (JS), Michael Saul (Spec E36), and Bob Gilberg (Spec E30). The third set of driver school run groups went well but the rain gods were not finished with us. After a 30 minute torrential downpour (there were white caps in the water in the paddock) we were left with a flooded track that was not safe to drive on. Our weekend was over.
We have two events remaining this season. On Sep 16-17 we have 2 days of club racing with the Sep 16 portion being run as a support series for the NASCAR K&N race at NJMP Thunderbolt. This is a terrific, fan-friendly spectator event so come one down, watch your favorite club racers, watch the big engine cars from NARRA and then see the future of NASCAR with the K&N drivers. On the 17th club racers will share track time with our Advanced Solo students and instructors. This is the second time we are running a Solo student day and we are looking for a good turnout. Six hours of track time at a price that cannot be beat. If you believe you qualify as a Solo student and want to attend, please contact us.
We finish the season on Oct. 7-8 on the Shenandoah circuit at Summit Point. We will say it again, if you drive Shenandoah it will make you a better driver on every track you visit. This is also the only event we run with skid pad for all students on both days. It is the perfect event to finish out the season.
We’ll see you at the track.
by NJ BMW CCA
By Jeff White
The 2017 driving season began with a very special 4-part, 3-day event at NJMP Thunderbolt on the weekend of Mar 31 – April 2. In an effort to both increase participation and reduce financial risk for everyone, we teamed up with our friends in the DelVal Chapter to make this a joint event. We then received a welcome email from the national office informing us that our event had been selected to be part of the Bridgestone BMW CCA 2017 HPDE Tour! More on that later.
So, what made this event so special? Well, last fall some deranged person decided it would be a great idea to start the season with the most logistically difficult event we’ve run since O’fest: 1) our annual Instructor Training School, 2) a new category of Advanced Solo students (aka Group S), 3) a standard driver school and 4) the return of our Introduction to the Track group. In the best of all possible situations this event would require smooth, incident-free running for three days so just to add a further level of uncertainty, it was being held at the time of year when the weather is the least predictable. Tell me again whose idea this was…
Think back to the weather we had in March. The month started with temps in the 70’s (break out the mojitos!) was back to the 20’s-30’s by mid-month and then back up to 60 the week before the event. We had no idea what to expect. The plan for Friday was that the new Advanced Solo group would have the track for 6 hours with 4 sessions of the Instructor Training School taking the remaining 2 hours. The Advanced Solo group is relatively new to BMW CCA events. It was conceived of by Genesee Valley and has been implemented by GVC, Patroon and Boston Chapters. This group is for students who have been signed off as solo drivers on several driver schools. GVC recognized that there was a population of students who did not want to, or weren’t ready to commit to, become instructors or club racers but did want something more from driver schools than the typical advanced run group provides. Running in this group is by invitation only and requires the student to have been signed off solo on multiple occasions, have very good situational awareness and be courteous. Instructors also run in this group so closing speeds can be fast and passing in corners is both allowed and expected as a way to keep the group running smoothly. Students in this group have the benefit of a group of Mentors who are available to go out with the student and provide input on refinements the student can work on. There are also classroom debriefing sessions in which students meet to discuss what they are working on and provide observations on how each other is doing. We are grateful that David Gelardi and Al Dimisko came down from Patroon chapter to help us get this program off the ground and instill in the students the mindset that each time you go out on track you should have a specific goal to work on and have a way to measure your progress against that goal. With 6 hours of track time scheduled, this should have been a driver’s dream.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas. Friday started off cold and rainy. The 12 ITS candidates and mentors got to meet each other and then the candidates began their classroom instruction. The Advanced Solo students and instructors who actually showed up took the track with appropriate caution. By mid-morning, the rain had lifted, the ITS candidates had their first on-track session and we had hopes for usable day. Those hopes were dashed all too soon as the rain and wind returned and became progressively worse during the day. By late afternoon, the conditions had deteriorated to the point where all the corners were filled with water, there was water running across the track in several places and drivers were literally navigating just to stay on the track. Meaningful learning had stopped and the ITS groups were not able to conduct the exercises they needed to for the school to progress. We had no choice but to end the day early – Saturday’s schedule now had to be revised and the weekend was looking to be a scramble.
We awoke on Saturday to cold temperatures and gray skies but the rain was receding and hopes were rising. All the student run groups were full, which speaks to the wisdom of holding this as a joint event and on the weekend, and we added something new for this year: the ITS candidates would be running in the advanced student groups as the candidates completed their incar exercises. Also of note, of the 28 students in the Beginner run group, over 20 were either new to the track or new to the NJ and DelVal Chapters. We were happy to have them. Fortunately, the weather improved all day, the run groups were incident free and we finished the day with a terrific banquet at the Officer’s Club.
Sunday was the final piece of our 4-part puzzle as we welcomed 20 students in our Introduction to the Track run group. The clouds parted, the sun came out, temperatures rose; this is what a driver school is all about. Four of our newly minted instructors were immediately put to work with a first-time student. The first timers had their own classroom sessions and run group and, this year, Victor Abdy from DelVal organized a lunch for the Intro students so we could gather in the classroom and become better friends. The regular driver school students ran smoothly and the advanced students were happy to have a small run group with the graduation of several instructor candidates. By the time the final checker was shown, we had finished a great weekend.
I want to again thank Bridgestone for their support. Chris Welty, an experienced racer and all-around great track day guy, along with his staff spent two days dispensing advice at their truck, talking with students in the classroom, handing out shirts and other goodies and providing tire mounting and balancing. They brought along a very “trick” device borrowed from their Indy car program that allowed you to determine the accuracy of your tire gauge – turns out my well-worn gauge is still pretty good. Chris also gave us some prizes to help raise donations for Westlake. Bridgestone’s cash contribution will greatly lessen the financial burden of this school and keeps us on sound footing for the season. We cannot say thank you enough for their sponsorship.
Let me return to the theme of the headline for this article: teamwork. Pulling off a three-day event with as many overlapping parts as this one required the efforts of a large number of volunteers. Scott Reiman, Mike Dion and Lisa Mellot coordinated efforts from DelVal. Blake Smith, Geoff Ehrman and Ross Karlin managed the ITS logistics (screening candidates, recruiting mentors, updating and printing materials, buying a new projector, etc.), Warren Brown, Dave Somma and their crew of Tech workers took care of Tech inspections on 4 different days, the aforementioned Dave Gelardi and Al Dimisko came down and helped us lay the foundation for the Advanced Solo group, Tom Fitzgerald handled classroom sessions for all the regular driver school students while Lou D’Angeli stepped up and took care of classroom for the Intro students, Jamie Kavalieros and Barry Stevens took care of a highly complex registration process (including garage rentals) and instructor-student assignments and finally our corps of instructors did whatever was asked of them to keep all the students on track while still learning. Please remember that these events don’t happen without a large and dedicated group of volunteers.
This was an event when we celebrated the “new”: 8 new instructors with 4 more on the horizon, a new student run group and 40+ new students. We look forward to seeing them all at future events. As a reminder, our next event is the June 19-20 charity driver school and club race at Lightning to benefit Westlake School. This is a premier event for Club Racing so we anticipate a full field; we will have the usual 3 student run groups and a Monday banquet. Come on down, enjoy a great time and let the kids bring a smile to your face.
by colin
The New Jersey Chapter will host a Tire Rack Street Survival School on Sunday, June, 29th at Campgaw Reservation ski area in Mahwah, NJ.
Tire Rack Street Survival is a program designed for drivers age 16-21 with a valid learners permit or license. It combines behind-the-wheel sessions that simulate real world emergencies with classroom instruction to reinforce the lessons. Trained coaches ride along with students during the driving sessions.
Tire Rack Street Survival teaches lessons that most students don’t get in traditional driver education courses. At the end of the one-day school, students will gain skills needed to anticipate dangerous situations on the road and learn how to best control their vehicle to avoid trouble in unexpected situations.
Students are encouraged to use the car they normally drive for this school. The session begins at 8:30 am and ends by 4:00 pm. Students are expected to stay for the entire session. A pizza lunch and drinks are provided.
by NJ BMW CCA
By Jeff White
If you happened to read my submission in the last Bulletin or read the email blasts from the Chapter announcing September events, you know that the NJ Chapter participated in a unique driving event on Sep. 16-17. We were the support racing series for the NASCAR K&N race at NJMP Thunderbolt and we held a driver school for advanced solo drivers at the same event. The event was a huge success with every driver remarking how much fun and how relaxed the atmosphere was despite the large spectator turnout.
We started Friday morning with a 3 hour unstructured driver school for advanced solo students and instructors. With a lighter than expected turnout, everyone had plenty of open track to hone their skills and experiment with new driving lines. The unstructured format allowed participants time to discuss technique among other students and instructors in the paddock and then return to the track to put suggestions to the test. In the afternoon sessions, Club Racers had the track for warm-up, qualifying and then the first sprint race. In that race, Will Vanjonack sprinted to the lead and then ran away from everyone and eventually lapped the field! Lou D’Angelli and newcomer Eric Magnussen filled out the podium.
Interspersed between the club racing sessions, the K&N drivers took their practice sessions. The tremendous talent of these young racers (the drivers ranged in age from 16 – 23), none of whom had ever driven Thunderbolt before, was rapidly apparent. During the afternoon sessions each team would go out, run a series of laps and then return to their garage for further suspension tuning. The cars were clearly a handful to drive as the drivers worked to learn braking and turn in points while also managing how the cars turned in vs. oversteered. As a measure of how quickly they improved, their initial laps began about 1:35 per lap and by the end of the afternoon, the fastest drivers had shaved 10 seconds off that lap time and were turning laps at or better than Will Vanjonack’s fastest lap!
Saturday morning started with the driver school participants taking to the track for an initial hour of time and then they gave way to racing for the remainder of the day. Once again club racers alternated time with K&N racers. In the morning sprint race Will Vanjonack again was the overall winner but he had some closer competition from Mark Lounsbury and Jeff Bruce finishing second and third. In the afternoon feature race, Will made it a clean sweep followed by Jeff Bruce and Eric Magnussen. This simple report of the race results does not provide an adequate description of the day’s activities. During the course of Saturday we had several club members join us in the car corral area as spectators. The general attendance throughout the day grew steadily. NJMP arranged for BMX cyclists to put on a stunt show, monster truck rides for kids and a BBQ buffet with the purchase of a VIP ticket. Spectators walked thoughout the paddock and club racers were happy to oblige and allow parents and kids to take photos and have the kids sit in their race cars. There is nothing better than the joy of a young race fan getting a chance to see a “real race car” up close. Race fans were also enthusiastic and careful observers of our races – proving once again that a true fan just likes good racing regardless of who is driving. Special thanks to Tony Salloum and VAC Motorsports for providing event shirts and track-side support and to Retail Performance Company for sponsorship.
The day finished with a fan walk in pit lane with the K&N cars and drivers and then an exciting near two-hour race. An interesting aspect of the K&N series is that there are no pit stops. At the half-way point, there is a full course double yellow flag and all cars come into the pits to refuel. Cars exit the pits in race order behind the pace car and then the race resumes to the checkered flag. This was true road course racing with plenty of close passing and clean driving. Keep your eye on these young racers, we will see them soon in NASCAR weekends.
What started as a leap of faith to try something new (think of Indiana Jones stepping out onto the stone bridge in the Last Crusade) ended as a rousing success with every participant hoping we can repeat the event in 2017. Stay tuned!!
We closed out the 2016 driving season at our now traditional event on the Shenandoah Circuit at Summit Point Motorsports Park. This was the 11th year for us at Shenandoah (how time flies!). With each year, the word spreads that Shenandoah is truly a terrific driver’s track and the number of people who say that it is their favorite track grows. Saturday was rainy and so speeds were low and everyone learned car control both on the track and on the skid pad. On Sunday, the sun came out, the track dried out and everyone got to see what driving Shenandoah was really all about. I have said it before and I will say it again to anyone who will listen, Shenandoah will make you a better driver on any track you visit. The patience and attention to good technique that it demands translates to any venue. We also want to give a special thanks to our skid pad instructors (Yani Avrahami, Rod Hahn and Mike Saul) and to classroom instructor Gerry Chan who, quite literally, went the extra mile and gave track walks on both Saturday and Sunday. If you really want to learn how to read a track, you must take one of Gerry’s walks.
Let me close out this year by once again thanking all of the people who make our driver schools and club races a success: Jamie Kavalieros as Registrar and keeper of the helmets, Barry Stevens as Chief Instructor and all our corps of instructors, Warren Brown as Chief of Tech and our Tech workers who come out in the dark of night and the dawn of early morning, rain or shine to keep everyone safe, Doug Feigel, Mark Mallory and Ron Gemeinhardt as pit out workers and Ross Karlin as our Club Racing Chair. None of our events would be possible without the hard work and dedication of all our volunteers. As I write this, we are in the final stages of setting our 2017 track dates with NJMP and Summit Point. Expect a full announcement in the Winter Bulletin and on the chapter website.
One final reminder, if you are looking for a holiday gift idea, remember that Snell 2005 helmets will no longer be accepted next season.
Have a great off-season and we’ll see you at the track next April.
by Rich Altman
By Jeff White
In June, the chapter held its annual Driver School and Club Race to benefit the Westlake School. This year we welcomed Flemington BMW as our primary event sponsor. This year’s event was held on Lightning Raceway and was well supported by both driver school and club racer participants. Sixty-eight driver school students and 42 instructors were spread among three student run groups so that everyone had plenty of open track. Thirty-three club racers took the track on Monday for the first race with the second qualifying race on Tuesday morning followed by the feature race on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks to Flemington BMW for providing the i8 pace car for both days as well as plenty of water to keep everyone hydrated.
On Monday evening we held our banquet and charity auction in the Officer’s Club at Thunderbolt. Close to $3,000 was raised through silent auctions with prizes including an i8 RC car (Bridgewater BMW), Watkins Glen race tickets (DelVal chapter) and team shirts (Turner Motorsport) and regular auctions, led by master auctioneer Mo Karamat, of items including “slightly used” race car body work (from Jerry Kaufman’s Daytona car and from Turner Motorsports), an entry to a future Jeffapalooza event including coaching from James Clay, a child’s bike (Morristown BMW) and an adult bicycle (Flemington BMW). Door prizes for participants included watches, shirts, umbrellas, hats, car care products and gift certificates. We want to thank all our sponsors: Flemington BMW, Bridgewater BMW, Morristown BMW, Circle BMW, VAC Motorsports, Turner Motorsport, Bimmer- World and TireRack.
On Tuesday, we marked the highlight of the event when the students and staff of Westlake School visited. On their arrival, everyone was presented with a shirt and gift bag from Flemington BMW. Students and staff were treated to parade laps on the track in a colorful and multi-marque set of participant cars and then the students enjoyed watching the spirited feature race. See Brian Morgan’s article in the Roundel for a full race report. The students then helped out with the trophy presentations before heading back home.
Thanks to everyone who came out to make this a great event and thanks also to our race stewards (Barry Kaplan, Bruce Smith and Larry Fletcher), Tech workers and pit out workers. Without our volunteers none of this would be possible.
In July, we held the 3rd Annual Geoff Atkinson Memorial Driver School and Club Race at Summit Point Motorsports Park on the Main Circuit. For those of you who may not have known Geoff, he was an instructor, ITS mentor, club racer and all-around great guy who contributed much to the NJ chapter and we take this event as a way to celebrate all he brought to us. This was a sold-out event with 69 driver school students, 40 instructors and 32 club racers. All participants and volunteers were challenged by the heat and humidity of the weekend. In fact, driver school students were asked to run their A/C during their track time to help keep both students and instructors cooled down! Despite the challenges, all the school sessions and all 3 races were incident-free. Our race stewards (Bruce Lummis, Todd Massagee and Larry Fletcher) made sure the racers were well looked after. Once again, look for a full race report from Brian Morgan in the Roundel.
On Saturday evening we held our traditional track-side BBQ buffet including a very nice Kolsch beer from a local brewery (Escutcheon in Winchester, VA). Thanks to on-site payments from a number of BBQ guests we were able to raise an additional $300 for Westlake. Special thanks also go to VAC Motorsports for their sponsorship of the event.
As this issue of the Bulletin hits your mailbox we will be very close to our special event at NJMP Thunderbolt. On Friday and Saturday Sep. 16-17, the NJ Chapter will be the host of a special advanced driver school and Club Race in support of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race. This is the first time NASCR has come to NJMP and they asked us to participate! The driver school is open to solo advanced driver school students and instructors only. There will be 3 hours of track time on Friday and an additional hour on Saturday. The registration price also includes a VIP ticket that provides a special viewing area and BBQ buffet during the day on Saturday. The club racing portion will feature a warm-up, qualifying and a single sprint race on Friday afternoon and then warm-up, a qualifying race on Saturday morning and then the feature race in the afternoon just before the NASCAR race. This is a tremendous opportunity for Club Racing: two days of racing at a professional race series event. This is the chance to showcase Club Racing to an audience that may not be familiar with what we do: sports car racing that has cars in different classes on the track. For other fans, this is a chance to see where current racers such as Will Turner, Bill Auberlen, James Clay, Jeff Segal and our own Jerry Kaufman started. For our participants, we get to see the up and coming NASCAR racers of the future, and maybe teach them a thing or two about road course racing. We are also planning a special car corral for club member spectators – be sure to watch for announcements on the website and in chapter email blasts. This will be a unique event.
We wrap-up the season on Oct. 8-9 on the Shenandoah Circuit at Summit Point. Shenandoah is a small and fun event. A great time of year to be in West Virginia, small run groups, a paddock where everyone is close, skid pad for two days, a track walk and, most importantly, a chance to practice virtually every type of turn you will ever encounter on a race track. Driving Shenandoah will make you a better driver on every other track you visit. Come on down.
Registration for both the Thunderbolt event and Shenandoah is open on Motorsportreg.com, just click on the logo on the chapter website home page.
We’ll see you at the track.