October 9 & 10 have been circled on my racing calendar all year because that's when we hold our annual "Porsches at the Point" event at Infineon Raceway(Sears Point) which is put on by the Porsche Racing Club or PRC in conjunction with NASA.  Masuo Robinson and the people of the PRC always put on a great event but it's made even better by the hard work of Ken Huey and the generosity of Art at Autopoint Motors who donate cash prizes for 944 drivers.

Nine drivers showed up saturday including a few faces we haven't seen in awhile. Aubie Schmidt took time out from his growing family to bring his pumpkin orange 924S to the fight for the first time this year, as well as Dan Lofgren who could only stay for saturday's race because of birthday plans. Dan was not aware that he was having a surprise birthday party that included his parents who flew all the way from Maine to attend, as well as Rick Lofgren and David Saliba who left the track minutes after Dan to get to the party first! The word is Dan was very surprised and delighted! Greg Brandau has moved to a new region but made the trip north to race with us one more time as well. The regular crew rounded out the field including Cameron, Ken, Jerry,  and me. Steve Lewis' father was in town from the east coast to watch his son try and beat perrenial favorite Rick and was treated to some great racing.

Saturday practice and qualifying showed a very fast track and that everyone has stepped up their  game. Both Rick and Steve were hovering around the track record and qualified in that order followed by me(Ron), Jerry, and Cameron separated by just a couple of tenths. Aubie, Greg, Dan and Ken rounded out the field for the green flag.

Saturday's Race

Rick took off like a rabbit being chased by hungry coyotes but his escape wasn't going to be easy! Steve hung on his bumper with inches separating them lap after lap until Steve's car suddenly quit, coming to rest online in the braking zone for turn 7. Turns out the wiring to the ignition switch came unplugged.

Jerry and I went side by side on the start but he got to turn 3 ahead of me and we got inline and left everyone else behind.

Jerry pulled out a pretty good sized gap and I settled in for a few laps just waiting. My chance came when I noticed he was having trouble getting down to the apexes. He turned the front wheels more but the car had other ideas. I put my head down and ran as hard as I could, clawing back the gap until we were door to door again. Catching Jerry and passing him are two different things however as I was made VERY aware of shortly! Door handle to door handle turn after turn, neither one of us blinking, giving just enough room to stay on track but nothing more!

I could see my wife jumping up and down in the grandstands cheering and not wanting her to have a heart attack, I decided enough was enough and made a "make it or crash" move that paid off and took over what turned out to be second place.

Jerry dogged me to the flag followed by Cameron and everybody else. My second place finish payed $125 cash which made it all the sweeter!

Sunday's Race

Sunday BOTH of Steve's parents were in attendance as well as his wife and kids so he was obligated to give them a good show, which he did in grand style!  The race between Rick and Steve was from all accounts the best in awhile.  PRC drivers from other classes on track with us said it was fun watching them go at it.  Rick led from pole but couldn't shake Steve, who seemed more determined to make up for his DNF of saturday.  From the moment we lined up on grid, they weren't separated by more than few feet!  The few glimpses we had of them on track seemed more like a case of road rage than racing, one trying to take the bumper of the other off in an effort to settle some score!

Steve finally was able to do what most can't; pass Rick during a race.  The action wasn't over however as Rick doesn't give up.  Pushing hard, Rick had two uncharacteristic off track excursions which settled the matter for good.  Steve's family apparently was the missing factor saturday but with their help, he brought home the win and $150 for his troubles.

My race with Jerry settled into the same pattern as saturday with him pulling out a lead that I slowly ate away at until we were in fighting distance again late in the race. This time would finish differently.

With the laps winding down I tried a banzai move into turn 7 which may have still been under a local yellow by the way. I tried to outbrake him and locked up the back tires as usual but this time the car went sideways fast and I wasn't able to catch it!  Sideways, all I saw was Jerry's passenger door as it loomed very quickly! The last thing I want is to hit a friends car so I aimed for the wall instead. I missed the wall and thought I had missed everything as well. I got the car going again and set off, cutting into the gap but not enough time was left to catch Jerry and I settled in for fourth which paid me another $75. Back in the pits a red stripe down Jerry’s white bumper showed we I got closer to him than I thought!

All in all I had a great time. I got to see a few friends I haven't seen in awhile and and also got to meet Steve's family. I saw Dan in a dress suit, which was jarring, I spent time with Aubie and Greg and hope to see them again in the future.  I was able to race and get comfortable at a track that I find intimidating and bettered my previous best time by 5 seconds! I also went home with money in my pockets and a smile on my face that is still here as I write 4 days later!

I'd like to thank Ken, who's hard work we appreciate and without whom it would be just another race weekend. Also thanks to Art and guys at Autopoint Motors for the great running race cars and also the cash prizes!

Ron Dale