Club Happenings – Fall 2019: Whack Your Turkey Rally

by NJ BMW CCA

By Jeff White

It was a cold and rainy morning on the last Sunday in November when an intrepid group of 52 club members, friends and family gathered in Flemington to run the NJ Chapter’s annual Whack Your Turkey rally. Once again, the rally was being run as a charity event to benefit NORWESCAP, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping low income families in northwest New Jersey through a variety of services including a food bank and nutrition assistance.

First time Rallymasters Tim Farnsworth and Rob Chrzanowski decided that having run as participants for many years, it was time to sit on the other side of the scorer’s table and be the fiendish clue-masters. The rally route began at the Flemington circle and sent us through a combination of winding back roads searching for clues connected by stretches of higher speed country roads where drivers and navigators could catch their breath and just drive.

We enjoyed views of Flemington, surrounding farms, Stanton, up to Quakertown and then around Clinton. It is likely that this route set a new NJ Chapter record for the most single lane bridges crossed in a single drive – some of which were beautiful, old iron bridges. We finished at the Clinton Station Diner where early arrivals filled the antique rail car dining area with the overflow crowd in the main dining room.

When all the scores were tallied (and pleas for alternate answers denied), the class winners were announced. In the Competition Class, Andy and Liz Potechko edged out the runner-up team of Neil Gambony and Ross Karlin out of a field of 11 teams. Their prize was a pair of watches. In Family Class, Joaquim Noronha and family took first place out of a field of 7 teams. Their prize was a 2-year extension to their BMW CCA membership. However, no one went home empty handed as door prizes were available for everyone courtesy of Chapter sponsors and excess Chapter inventory. Most importantly, we raised in excess of $600 for NORWESCAP to provide food assistance for those in need during this holiday season.

If you didn’t make it this year, plan to come next season. It is a great way to see scenic rural roads in NJ that you are likely not to have driven, you can bring the kids and it supports a great cause.

President’s Corner – Winter 2019

by Neil Gambony

By Neil Gambony

Welcome to 2019. I’m happy to report that we are heading into the year with only a few minor changes from last year. Yes, we will be holding our usual Driver Schools/Club Races, autocrosses, rallies and the Street Survival Schools. We will also be holding the Spring Social. Vice-President Paul Ngai has come up with a year’s worth of programs; he will be making announcements about them as the details are finalized.

There are some minor changes on the Board of Directors, one them is Jeff Caldwell has stepped down from his Member-at-Large position to run for the North Atlantic Region Vice President’s position. The good news is he has won the spot. I am looking forward to Jeff representing New Jersey as well as the other Chapters in our region on the BMW CCA Board.

Mark Hulbrock has stepped up to take over the vacant position of Member-at-Large. Some of you may know Mark from our Driver Schools; he has been an Instructor for several years. He brings to the Board his experience of website design and development; I am expecting to see some changes on the website in the future. Mark will also be giving us more exposure on social media; we could always use a few more members who share the same passion we have for BMWs.

Another change to our Board, Vic Lucariello Jr. who has been our Social Chairperson, has stepped down due to commitments with his employment. Vic has graciously committed to the Chapter to finish organizing the Spring Social which will be held on March 30th at the Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit, NJ. If anyone is interested in taking on the position of Social Chairperson and would like to know what the responsibilities are, please contact me, my e-mail address is at the end of this column.

One pleasant point of business that carries over from last year involves the Whack Your Turkey Rally. Through the generosity of the participants and the Club kicking in a few more dollars, we were able to contribute one thousand dollars to the Food Bank of NORWESCAP. NORWESCAP is the Northwest New Jersey Community Action Program. One of their programs is the food bank which distributes over 2 million pounds of food to charitable organizations in Hunterdon, Warren, and Sussex Counties. Many thanks go to our Co-Rallymasters, Jeff White, Trisha Camp, Doug Feigel and Sherrie Natko on the success of the Whack Your Turkey Rally.

On the National level, an event to look forward to later in the year is Oktoberfest. Last year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 2002, this year we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the forming of the BMW CCA. The date for O’Fest will be October 15th through the 19th.

The BMW CCA has promised that the event will be nothing less than spectacular and it will be held in Greenville, South Carolina. That puts it right near the BMW Spartanburg factory, the new BMW CCA Headquarters in Greer and the BMW CCA Foundation which is also located in Greer. There will be more information coming out about the event or you can go to the BMW CCA website and find the information there.

Something I have finally done this winter was upgrading my ride. I sold my old half German car, a Chrysler PT Cruiser. Yes, the PT Cruiser was made by Chrysler when they were in cahoots with Daimler; I think we all know how that turned out. Now the Cruiser was a great car, had plenty of space inside to lug everything you need to the track, the only problem was it was not a car to drive on the track.

My search began when I saw an ad for a MINI in a local stuff for sale publication that was in my budget. I had read Melissa Cunningham’s story in the Roundel a while back how a group of several hundred Minis congregated to the opening day of Watkins Glen International in the spring where they also took a tour of several of the vineyards in the region surrounding Watkins Glen. I thought I would like to get in on the MINI fun or maxi fun as what it sounded more like, I responded to the ad for the MINI. This wouldn’t have been the first MINI in the family; my younger brother has several MINI although they were made by BMC, not BMW.

As I’m writing this story, I’m beginning to find out what “Initial Ramblings” author JT Burkard goes through when purchasing cars; this is a classic example of “you can’t make this stuff up.” I called the number and got the owner of the MINI. The car was available; however he was out of town at the moment. As it turned out his return coincided with my having to go out of town.

Not wanting to miss out while I was out of town, I had asked my older brother (I have 4 brothers) to call and check it out. The response he got when he called was the car was in a repair shop, apparently with a mechanic who not in a hurry to repair it.

When the next edition of the publication was out where I had originally seen the ad for the car, he had raised the price several hundred dollars obviously trying to recoup upon the expense of getting it repaired, yet was not able to show the car since it was still with the mechanic being repaired. A follow-up call a week or so later, the owner decided after the expense of the repair he was going to hold on to the car but would call me if he decided to put it up for sale again.

So if you are still reading this and wondering what I ended up buying, I decided to go in a different direction. Realizing that I had purchased 3 325iXs in the past, I wanted to go back to having an all-wheel drive car again. I made a deal with the owner, Don, of a local store I frequent often for an E92 328Xi with an automatic that he had bought for his son to use while he attended college. Now that Don’s son was done with school and had joined the Marines, he had decided to sell the car. Don’s son had decided to get a car that didn’t require as much maintenance and didn’t have RFTs (run flat tires). He didn’t like the idea of not having a spare if there was a problem late at night. The tires are something I’ll have to deal with when they wear out.

Now this is where I get to make a shameless plug for the Tire Rack Street Survival School for teenage drivers since we are planning two for this year. I had encouraged Don to enroll his son in the program a few years back and he was more than eager to do so. So my car has completed the program, or more appropriately, Don’s son is a graduate of the program. I expect to see Don’s daughter there when she is eligible.

I’ve only been driving the car a short while but can tell that monumental advancements in technology have been made in the 20 or so years from when the iX was developed. The one thing that I have mastered using in the car this winter is the seat heater, everything else I am still learning about.

I enjoy the simplicity of the E30 iX, a car that I am able to do much of the maintenance and repair work on by myself; I’ll have to see how much of the E92 I can do by myself and what additional tools I will need to purchase. The one thing that I have noticed is that both the iX, one of which I still have, and the Xi are black, a coincidence?

Neil

neilgambony@njbmwcca.org

President’s Corner – Summer 2018

by Neil Gambony

By Neil Gambony

One of the events that our Chapter does every year that you haven’t heard much about lately has been the Tire Rack Street Survival (TRSS) School program. For those of you unfamiliar with the Street Survival program, it’s the car control school for drivers 16-21 years of age. Yes, we put it on the schedule, lately two a year, when registration opens for it, it gets listed on the Street Survival website and in about a weeks’ time we have 32 students and just as many more on a waitlist. The word is on the street about this program and it is selling itself. Yes, the pun was intended.

The program is funded through the BMW CCA Foundation which is a 501 (3) (C) corporation which allows children of non-Club members to attend. The Foundation has had the Tire Rack as their main sponsor since 2006 which has helped bring the program to BMW CCA Chapters, the SCCA, the Porsche Club of America and several other motorsports organizations. I want to give you some information about the Foundation but want to cover something of more significance first.

The TRSS for the NJ Chapter has been organized by none other than former Chapter President Larry Engel since 2009. Larry took over the reins of the TRSS from past President David Finch who had spearheaded the program since its inception in 2005. Congratulations are in order to Larry who has been honored by the Foundation for the year 2017 with the Tire Rack Street Survival Circle of Excellence Award in the category of “Organization Volunteer/Instructor of the Year, BMW Car Club of America”. Larry is currently in the organizational stages of the Chapter’s 23rd TRSS School to be held in September.

Larry spends a lot of time fine-tuning the Schools; each one is a little different from the previous one either through an idea that he has or from a directive from the Driving Events coordinator of the Foundation. He is always the first one at the gate in the morning and is the last one to leave making it a very long day for him, not mentioning any of the other time he spends beforehand with assigning students with instructors and staff with assignments. He even makes it to the course a few days beforehand to mark the pavement with chalk.

Now before I go any further, I must also recognize the myriad of volunteers from not only our Chapter but from adjoining Chapters, the men and women who tirelessly sign up for either instructing or running the course exercises so they can run efficiently. For that you have my deepest gratitude.

Now about the Foundation. It was formed in 2002 by the BMW CCA. It currently has 3 initiatives; the first is the Street Survival School program. They reached the milestone of their 1000th school in October 2017 and have educated close to 23,000 students. The second initiative is for their Library; Archive and Museum. The Foundation has both BMW-related and BMW CCA information to be kept safe for the future. It is also accessible to members. Do you have an older project that you are working on that you may need some information on? There may be information in the Archive that can help. The Museum currently has on display the ICON exhibit of the 2002, currently 28 vehicles, each with their own unique background story. They will be on display there until January 2019. Their third initiative is the Conservation and Preservation Program. There are currently 50,000 pieces in their possession, all in different stages of condition, and each as equally important.

The Foundation’s Museum and Archive is located in Greer, South Carolina; directly next door to the BMW Performance Center and across the street from the BMW plant. They are open to the public and to Club members for a nominal access fee which helps to keep them going. Since they are a 501(3) (C) corporation, any additional donation would be tax deductible. You can find out more about the Foundation at www.bmwccafoundation.org.

An upcoming NJ BMW CCA event will be right in the area of the factory, the Foundation and the Performance center; this is going to be a one-day M School at the BMW Performance Center on Saturday October 27. The Performance Center has been making arrangements for BMW CCA Chapters to use their facility at one half of their normal rate providing the Club fills the school for the day. You will get to drive several of the BMW M cars they have available there including the new M5. The cost for the School is $750 which includes a lunch and some giveaway items at the end of the day although I doubt any of them will be the M cars used at the School.

Arrangements have been made to view the Foundation’s Museum on Friday evening as well as a dinner at the Blue Ridge Brewing Company on Saturday night; these events are not inclusive of the registration cost. Information on registering for the School can be found at www.motorsport.reg under the BMW Performance Center category. You can also find hotel information there. Should this event be a success, we will definitely try to repeat it next year.

Another event you should mark your calendars for this year is the Whack Your Turkey (WYT) Rally; traditionally held the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This year the date for the Rally is Sunday November 18th. The WYT Rally is intended to be something the whole family can enjoy. There is a starting point where we congregate, hopefully in a parking lot close to where you could have coffee and donuts before heading out on about a 3 hour ride that ends somewhere for lunch.

I had the honor of being the Rallymeister last year, setting up the course on some of my favorite roads in central NJ. Being a contractor and not working in the same place all the time I get to travel the back roads where I happen to stumble upon some terrific roads either for scenery or the challenge of the road itself. It also helps if there are great landmarks that can be used for clues. It took a small team to put the event together and I am grateful to those that volunteered to help me especially with the scoring. The biggest reward for me was receiving thanks from participants afterwards telling me how much they enjoyed the rally.

This year’s Rally will once again benefit the food bank of NORWESCAP (Northwest NJ Community Action Partnership); they distribute 2 million pounds of food annually to over 120 pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, senior and child care centers in Hunterdon, Sussex, and Warren counties. Last year the Chapter donated $1000 to them and helped to provide 1400 pounds of food. Thanks to all the participants who gave generously for this cause last year. Information about the Rally will be on the Website soon as well as being sent in an e-blast to you.

It’s the time of year again when we are getting ready for the election of Club officers, which is held at the December meeting in conjunction with the Pinewood Derby. If you have the time and desire to help in the organizing of the Club, please consider running for a position. The positions available are: President, Vice- President, Secretary, Treasurer, Driving Events Chairperson, Social Chairperson, and 2 Member-at-Large spots. If you have any questions regarding the duties of each positon please contact me and I will you give a description of what is involved. Should you want to run for a position please contact the Club’s Secretary David Allaway at david@allaway.us and indicate what position you are running for.

Regards to all.

Neil

neilgambony@njbmwcca.org

President’s Corner – Winter 2018

by Neil Gambony

By Neil Gambony

I’m baaack! Or as the late great 20th century philosopher Yogi Berra once said, it’s like déjà vu all over again. For those who joined the Club in the last 10 years and don’t know what I am referring to, I previously served as NJ Chapter President for 3 years, 2006-2008. I have still been around since then serving on the Board as a Member-at-Large and more recently as Driving Events Chairman for the last 6 years.

For a little background, I bought my first BMW, a 1985 325e in 1991 and joined the club in 1995. I think my biggest regret was that I didn’t join the Club sooner! I currently have a 1988 325 iX as well as a 1987 IS that I use for our driver’s schools. I attended my first driving school in 1979, I’m sorry to say it wasn’t with the BMW CCA; rather it was with the Jim Russell School in Mt Tremblant, Canada using Formula Ford cars. I was pretty certain that I was going to get a full-time ride with either Williams, Tyrrell, Ferrari, or Penske at the time. To make a long story short, life got in the way of my driving career so I decided to start attending the BMW CCA driver schools in 1996. You might be able to find me there now checking your wrist band as you pull out of pit lane.

Now before I get into what’s going on in the Club, I must first thank my predecessor Jeff Caldwell for his five-year commitment to the Club. Jeff joined the Club when I was President many years ago and it didn’t take long for him to decide where he wanted to go with us. I have to say I admire his tenacity; he let us know his thoughts about what we should be doing without sugar coating it. Five continuous years, by the way, is a record for the Club by any president, one I’m sure that will stand for a very, very long time. Jeff is not going away, he is just stepping back from the top spot and will still be around as a Member at Large.

Another Jeff I need to thank is Jeff White. Jeff has served as our Driver School Chairman for the last 11 years. As it happens to be, I had appointed him as Driver School Chairman in 2007. Jeff is stepping down from that position and has transitioned over to be the Driving Events Chairman. He is the main reason that the Driver Schools have run like a well-oiled machine the last 11 years. Jeff had also spent a lot of time orchestrating the driver schools at Oktoberfest in 2015.

Now it seems that fate has brought me back to the Presidency to appoint our new Driver School Chairman, Jamie Kavalieros. Jamie has served under Jeff as Registrar for our Driver Schools the last 9 years. Jamie is one of only 4 Club members who have won the NJ BMW CCA Club Championship Trophy 4 times, a feat he was able to accomplish with his autocrossing skills. In addition to having been the Registrar for our driver schools, Jamie is the skid pad instructor who had either you or one of your children holding their hands straight up while driving around the skid pad at our Street Survival Schools. Club member Mark Mallory will now be taking over the position of Driver School Registrar.

Some other Board changes – Paul Ngai has moved from Business Manager back to Vice-President. Paul had served previously as VP for both Larry Engel and Jeff Caldwell. Moving into the position of Business Manager is Matt Baratz. Matt was instrumental in starting the VDC Tour, now in its 6th year. It’s one of our events that fills up quickly and we use the proceeds from it to make a donation to the BMW CCA Foundation. Those are the major changes in personnel on the Board for 2018. I’m fortunate enough that the other Board members have remained in their prospective positions.

I would be remiss not to give a shout out to Vic Lucariello Sr., our Technical Advisor who is no longer in NJ but is just an e-mail away. You can keep up with Vic through his Philes’ Forum in the Bulletin. Vic has been contributing his column to the Bulletin for over 30 years now, which could be another record for the Club!

So what’s different now than when I last served as President? Communication is the main thing; the Bulletin now is a quarterly publication. You will only get to hear from me 4 times this year unless we get a chance to speak at one of our Club events which I hope to touch upon further in this column. We now use a very effective tool known as the e-blast; we can send out up-to-the- minute information regarding events. The important thing with this is you need to provide an e-mail address in which you can receive the e-blast. You should have provided an e-mail address when you joined the BMW CCA. If you need to update your e- mail address you may do so through the National BMW CCA office at www.bmwcca.org; we still have our own website with features like the Events Calendar and the Forum, which I find useful for either buying or selling parts or cars. You can also look for us on Facebook at New Jersey Chapter BMW Car Club of America.

We have many events already in the works for this year. There are 4 Driver Schools scheduled along with 2 of them holding Club Races: 1 at NJMP and 1 at Summit Point. There are 6 Autocrosses scheduled with the possibility of 1 or 2 more. For our rally enthusiasts, we are looking forward to once again joining the Northern NJ Chapter of the SCCA for a spring rally along with our annual Whack Your Turkey Rally in November. Have a teenage driver? There are 2 Street Survival being scheduled as I write this.

For our non-driving Events, something new we are trying this year is the Winter Social. Social Chairman Vic Lucariello Jr has put together an event at the Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit NJ to be held on March 10th. It’s intended to be a more casual event without any schedule of activities. You can find out more about it elsewhere in the Bulletin. Another event happening on March 24th is the VDC (Vehicle Distribution Center) Tour. This is where BMW prepares their cars before being shipped to their dealerships. It’s always been a no camera event; they always have something of interest we get to see first.

Chartering new territory for me as President is having to inform you of the passing of a fellow Club member. Albert Drugos, or as we more affectionately referred to him, Big Al, passed away in early January. Big Al joined the Club in June of 1995; during his time of membership he served the Chapter as Vice-President for 2004 and 05 and then went on to serve as Social Chairman from 2006 through 2013. Al had an intimidating presence but once I got to know him I realized that his best interests were for the Club. He was well-traveled and had many connections that he used to help make our events great, either putting together a Club meeting or Banquet.

Al participated in the Driver School program where he drove his E30 M3 as often as he could. He was an integral part of the program working both the Tech Inspection line and Pit Out. I was fortunate enough to work with him there where he taught me the fine art of pulling cars off the track safely with the tow truck. Although he hadn’t been able to make it to the track the last several years, his presence was surely missed. Godspeed Big Al.

Neil

neilgambony@njbmwcca.org

Initial Ramblings – Winter 2017: An Unlikely Result

by JT Burkard

As with every Whack Your Turkey Rally, we begin our preparation the night before. I find the clipboard, make sure the mechanical pencil is in working order, fuel and clean the car, and check out the directions to the start location. Well it took a while before I found either of the clipboards. The one is black plastic. The other is a cheaper brown colored hardboard style. Both were MIA. After an exhausting search with helicopters, bloodhounds, and a professional tracker on horseback, the later of the two was found, in the trunk of the E21. I guess it’s true, it’s always in the last place I left it. The pencil was still attached. It still worked and had refills in case we run low. Next was looking at the start location. I Google it to get a visual so I have an idea where we are going and write the address down for the Bimmer Barn on highway 202 in Branchburg (note this detail for a little later). For whatever reason, I forego the filling of the car. Procrastination? Lazy? I don’t know.

The next morning we get up, amazingly on time. We get ready and head out of the house. We stop on the Parkway to fill our vintage 320i because of my lack of petrol attention the night before. 5 minutes wasted. As we cross the Driscoll bridge going north on the Parkway Sandy says “Don’t forget we have to get off here” in reference to the other year I wasn’t paying attention and we had to go to the next exit, u-turn and head back to get onto 287. I said “no I remember, we are not going to screw up this time.” Famous last words? You have no idea…

As we travel up the road I figure we would get to the start at 9:15am, which is typical for us on arrival time, well, actually 9:30 is more like it. We exit and get onto RT 22 then 202. At the split we get onto 206. We go down 206 for approximately 9 miles and find another BMW shop that wasn’t Bimmer Barn. I said to Sandy “Um, can you double check the directions? We are not where we are supposed to be.” Sandy looks at the address I wrote down which was 999 RT 206, Branchburg. Something was wrong. We are not in Branchburg but possibly Hillsborough. I actually said to her “You must have put in the wrong directions. We are way off.” She insisted she had everything correct from what I gave her and was getting mad at me for blaming her. We pull off the road and she looked up the address on our club’s website. 999 RT 202… wait… 202? We had 206, correction, I wrote 206! And I was blaming her when it was my fault. ARGH! Now it’s around 9:40, and we are WAY out of the way, and I have an angry wife.

We plug in the new and correct address and hurry through the back roads to cut the straightest path to the start point. The entire time we were saying this was a disaster and we are probably not going to make the rally. There was a moment where we were just going to find a diner, have breakfast, and head home. We did, however, arrive at Bimmer Barn at 10:15, and hour and 15 minutes late. The lot was empty and no one was there. Darn! We turn around and park in the driveway in search for the nearest diner so we can at least feast our troubles away. Then there was a knock on the window. It’s Rallymaster Dave! They were waiting for us after all inside the building. It’s a good thing we didn’t just pull out. We get our instructions, laugh at our misfortune and off we go. We were quite thankful they waited for us.

At this point, we decided that the rally was going to be a bust so we ran it for the scenery and to get lunch with our fellow club members at the end. And perhaps some redemption from my directional screw up. Getting lost to the start point is never a good sign. With zero pressure on us we just laid back and started to grab clues and run the route. After the first page was complete we said to each other “We are actually doing pretty decent, wouldn’t it be crazy if we actually won?” Highly doubtful.

We continue on and missed a clue or two. No big deal. I told Sandy I wasn’t going back because it won’t make that much of a difference. I was more concerned about time. I think we turned around for only one clue since it was only a half mile section, and we got it. As we filled the pages, it looked like we were, dare I say, confidently optimistic? The best thing about running the rally so late was we didn’t see another car from the club. We were alone on this journey, which I think actually helped. Towards the end we just drove the last couple miles to make up for the time we were about to lose and if we see any clues along the way, we will grab them on the go.

We arrived at the Niks Wunderbar German Restaurant on RT 22 in Readington Twp. I dropped Sandy off at the door so she can run in so we don’t lose any further time. We were 5 minutes late as it was. I park our trusty E21 and join her. With cheers from our other members, and an hour late to the party, we find some seats and order lunch. Within 30 minutes the winners were announced. I hear “With 5 minutes late and 11 wrong, Team Burkard 3rd Place” – What? You are kidding me right? We thought we did well but honestly didn’t think we were going to be anywhere near a podium finish. 3rd place, WOW! Perhaps this is going to be our new strategy. Show up late, and win! I guess that was a perfect end to an unperfect start. Very unexpected.

If you have never done one of our rallies, I encourage you to try one. It will be three hours of fun for you and a friend/spouse in the Competition class or fun for the whole family in the Family class. The route we ran this time around was fantastic. The back roads of Somerset and Hunterdon counties are filled with streams, ponds, lakes, farms, plus many historic locations and buildings. It is truly picturesque. You can’t get a better day in your BMW at legal speeds than doing one of our Chapter’s rallies. Don’t think about it, just do it.

And if I have learned something from this experience, don’t blame your spouse for your mishandling of information. It may result in a silent ride home, or perhaps a 3rd place finish. Until our next adventure, stay Bavarian my friends.

jtburkard.blogspot.com

Send comments and suggestions to jtburkard@comcast.net

Club Happenings – Fall 2016: NJ BMW CCA Championship Series

by Neil Gambony

While conversing with a new member at the NJ BMW CCA Banquet this past March, I was asked what the NJ BMW CCA Championship Cup Series awards were about since we were there to honor our top three finishers. To the best of my knowledge I explained what they were about and then after giving it some thought, the light bulb (incandescent, of course) went on as I realized that there may be many other members who are unaware of what the Champion Cup Series is about.

Before explaining what it is all about, I’d like to start with a brief history of the Champ Series or the Championship Cup Series as it more officially known as. The series started in January of 1977. To put it into perspective, the series has been around since the American introduction of the 320i, the original 3 Series, The Eagles were warning us about “Life in the Fast Lane”, Jimmy Carter was POTUS and Carter Fratt was the Chapter’s President. January of 2017 will mark the 40th anniversary of the series for us. [Where has the time gone? JF]

So, what kind of stuff were we doing 40 years ago? Apparently, we were pretty industrious and adventurous with 12 events throughout the year, one a month. On the schedule for the year were 5 autocrosses, 3 rallies, an ice trial, a gymkhana, an economy run and a Concours d’Elegance. Your best 8 of 12 events were counted for Cup points.

Only 19 NJ BMW CCA members have had their names engraved on the Championship Cup. That is one of the awards of the series that you get to hold until the following year, something like the Stanley Cup only much, much smaller. Jeff Davis was the first Champion and he won it twice. Other 2 time winners are Larry Engel and Doug Feigel. The 3 time winners are Don Salama, Alex Fadeev, our current Cup holder and Judy Davis, who is the only woman to have her name on the Cup. Four members have won the Cup 4 times, Jim LaForge, Elihu Savad, James Kavalieros and Mario Sousa who has the distinction of winning 4 years in row, 1994-97. One-time winners are Stan Greenspan, Dean Christie, Andy Korinis, Dave Fitting, Scott Weiner, Ed Walters, Pete Revendis, and Mark Mallory.

Now back to the current day events of the Championship Cup Series, we have several autocrosses; an autocross consists of driving your car through a challenging course of cones set up in an empty parking lot. It’s a lot of fun while learning car control. The rallies we have been running lately are Fun or Gimmick rallies; you are given a set of directions to follow while answering questions from landmarks along the way. They’re fun for the whole family. We also hold a Pinewood Derby, similar to the Scouts’ Derby, another family event. Points are awarded by the finishing order of each event and are tallied throughout the year. You can participate in any event of the Series without having to participate in all them. Information about any of the Series events are posted on the website, the newsletter or in the e-blasts preceding any of the events.

I would like to thank Brian Morgan, the Club’s unofficial historian, for providing me with the information regarding the beginnings of the Championship Cup Series.

Now I just need to find out from Brian when the Club stopped giving the Champion a case of beer to drink out of the Cup!

Club Happenings – Fall 2016: Whack Your Turkey Ralley to Benefit NORWESCAP

by Neil Gambony

The Annual NJ BMW CCA Whack Your Turkey Rally will be held on Sunday November 20th. This year our rally masters, David Allaway and Deborah Kolar, announced they will be starting the Rally from the Bimmer Barn/Vicari Motors located at 999 US Highway 202 North in Branchburg NJ 08876.

New for this year, all proceeds of the Rally will benefit NORWESCAP (www.norwescap.org). Among the many programs of NORWESCAP is their food bank that helps in the distribution of more than 2 million pounds of food annually to over 120 pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers, and on-site feeding programs in Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon Counties. The entry fee is $25 dollars per car. In addition, participants can bring non-perishable food items such as: canned tuna, beef stew, macaroni and cheese mix, peanut butter, 100% juice, unsweetened cereal, oatmeal, canned fruit, canned vegetables, tomato sauce, pasta products, and water, etc. Any additional donations of cash or checks are also appreciated.

Registration will open at 8:30 am with a drivers’ meeting at 9:00 am, cars to leave shortly thereafter. No special equipment will be needed other than a clipboard and some pens or pencils and the attitude to have some fun!

For those of you who have never attended a rally, the format is that each car is given a set of driving instructions with question/ clues to be answered over the route in a set amount of time. The drive is through scenic parts of NJ on back roads and ends at a restaurant where everyone can review the answers. Not to worry, the directions are designed so you should not get lost.

There will be 2 classes of competition: Driver/Navigator – 2 people in the car and Family/Fun for cars with more than 2 people. Only cars in the Driver/Navigator class are eligible for NJBMW CCA Championship points. As always, children are welcome to attend however they will need a minor waiver form signed by a parent or guardian. The form can be downloaded in advance from the NJ BMW Chapter website in the Forms subsection. You can register by sending an e-mail to: rallymaster@njbmwcca.org with WYT in the subject line. Although pre-registering is not required, it will help in having the finish point staffed sufficiently. Please include your name as well as the other participants on your team and what class you are competing in along with an e-mail address should you need to be contacted. Be sure to have your BMW Club membership card with you.

Thanks, we look forward to seeing you there.