The 2011 944-Spec CASH race at the “Porsches at the Point” was full of unusual tricks and plenty of treats over the Halloween weekend of October 29-30.

The strange weekend of trick or treat started Friday afternoon.
Trick: Aubie decided to drive his race car from his house to a gas station just one block away.  He was pulled over by the police for not having current registration tags and had his car impounded.
Treat: Friday night at the Foxx “Mothership” with steak, wine, beer and fresh sashimi caught by Charlie Buzzetti from his fishing expedition.

Saturday Morning:

Trick: The #95 Thunderbolt car decided it did not want to start, the engine would crank but not turn over or when it did start a slight increase in gas would kill it.

Treat: In typical 944-Spec fashion the car was swarmed with fellow 944-Spec racers, one with fuel pump relay replacements, one attaching a spark and fuel injection electrical tester, one attaching a fuel pressure gauge to the end of the fuel rail, one checking on the speed reference sensor and one in the back checking the fuel pump, the rest just have to step back because there was no more room.  Long story short, the problem turned out to be a fuse which was “spooky” because a fuse should be binary.  A replacement fuse was installed and Thunderbolt started right up.

Qualifying saw 2009 944-Spec National champion Charlie Buzzetti take pole with a 1:57.096 edging Steve Lewis by just .005 seconds!

By Steve Lewis

Porsches at the Point is always our favorite NorCal race but this year was especially promising with a big turnout and several fast SoCal racers joining the fun.  I knew we were in for a battle when I showed up Friday and saw Charlie B. and Big Dog (Jim Foxx) testing.

Friday night was a reunion for the group and the SoCal guys redeemed themselves with beer, wine, steak, and some of the best fish I’ve ever eaten (Charlie caught it himself).  Of course this was all a veiled attempt to lull us into a sense of calm so they could dominate the racing.

Saturday morning, Charlie was fast out of the gate in practice while I took it easy feeling out my newly overhauled trans (I swapped a rebuilt LSD and short 5th into one of my spare trans) and Weltmeister rear sway bar purchased from Big Dog.  The bar made for some exciting laps as I overshot the setup and had massive oversteer.  Rick warmed up on old tires to get the feel back after a long time out of the car and carefully run in his new engine but still managed 3rd.

By qualifying, I had adjusted the rear bar and improved my setup but not quite enough as Charlie just nabbed the pole with a 1:57.096 to my 1:57.101.  Rick filled out the top 3 as the only other driver in the 57’s (1:57.777).

Saturday Race:

Treat: Did not expect to see Aubie after his car was impounded but he got up early, went to the DMV department inside a AAA office (which was open Saturday), paid for his registration and late fees, went to the police department to take care of the release forms and fines, got his car out of impound, missed practice and qualifying but made it to the race!

Trick: All the sessions were behind schedule that Saturday afternoon, Charlie and Jim Foxx were a little laxed in getting into their cars and onto grid.  I was surprised when the grid workers were waving us off the gird and onto the track that I did not see Charlie and Jim in front of me.

by Charlie Buzzetti

My story should be a great one Ken. A perfect example of why not to be late for grid. ;-)

I was way too lax about the schedule and could not conceive that they would be able to make up any time since they were stated as running 20 minutes behind.  I started in 10 or 11th position and made multiple passes to get to fourth by T6 on the 2nd lap. I was challenging Ron Dale for 3rd position on the inside of T7 and cut the corner too close and went over the top of the large apex berm at the exit of T7. This caused the passenger side ball joint to snap at the pin. My race ended there after I got the car way off the track surface so I would not affect the continuing race.

by Steve Lewis

Luckily for us, Charlie left his watch at home and missed gridding up for the race along with Big Dog.  That put me on pole with Rick alongside and Ron in 3rd.  Charlie and Big Dog made it out towards the back of the pack.  I chose the inside position for the start and went with a 3rd gear speed.  Rick and I got about equal starts but he held his position enough to gain the inside of 2 and then beat me up the hill to 3A.  I made a half hearted attempt in 4 but he had me by then.  Ron was threatening from behind so I tucked in behind Rick and we pulled away for a couple of laps before the fighting really commenced.  We spent several laps going door to door in just about every corner.  As usual, we raced clean with no paint swapping even though you couldn’t get a sheet of paper between us.

I managed to get the lead in T11 and cross the line in front on lap 7 but Rick had a better run and we went up the hill side by side.  We stayed side by side through 2, 3, 3A, 4, 5, and 6!  As we exited the Carousel, I still had Rick on my inside into 7 and he was pulling me into the brake zone.  As we braked hard for 7, we both saw the double yellows come out but it was too close to call who the leader was.  We came around the turn and the natural setup favors the outside car so I was lucky enough to get the position and finish the race under caution as the winner.  I don’t know if the marshals reverted to the previous lap or took the yellow finishing order but I was lucky to have both covered. 

Unfortunately the yellows involved some of our 944 racers.  Jim R. and Jerry got together after Jerry spun in 2 and both cars were damaged in the front, Jim’s taking the worst of it including a small fire.  Both men were OK.  Charlie had retired earlier after a broken ball joint, possibly from being a bit curb aggressive.

From the camera of Jim Richmond's #512 car before contact with Jerry's #552

Saturday race finish had Steve #72, Rick #23, Ron #130, Jim Foxx #16 and Greg #95 in the Top Five.

Good Trick: Watching Steve Lewis using his truck with a chain pulling out the bumpers and straightening the front end.

By Steve Lewis

The 944 Spec way is to help our fellow racers so everyone got to work on the damaged cars immediately.  Using my truck, we pulled much of the damage out of both cars.  Jerry’s was still drivable with no vitals damaged.  Jim wasn’t so lucky with oil cooler damage, a split radiator, and some fire damage.

Treat: Let them eat cake!

Chef Christian of Krumbscakes.com created a special 944-Spec cake for our race and celebration.  It looked great and was delicious!

Jim's friend Katie liked how NorCal has dessert before dinner with the 944-Spec cake.   Katie was also impressed by the free and tasty NASA BBQ dinner with BBQ ribs and chicken besides the usual hamburgers, hot links, hot dogs served in SoCal.   Wine, drinks and racing videos round out the Saturday evening.

Sunday Morning

It was unfortunate Jim Richmond and Jerry's car had contact Saturday.  Steve did a great job straightening both cars.  Jim's motor seems fine but after a fire it's safer to park the car until a detail inspection can be done and all affected hoses and wiring changed out.   Jerry was able to run with a clever improvised hood strap because his hood latch broke.  I known Jim Richmond for quite some time now and appreciate he made the effort to haul his car from San Diego to attend our race.  I know Jim Richmond is a good driver and had no reservations offering him my car to race on Sunday.

Trick: during qualifying Jim Foxx went off in Turn 10.  For those not familiar with Infineon raceway, Turn 10 is a high speed right hander with very little run off before the tire wall on the left and a concrete wall on the right.  It's not a turn to make a mistake on.   Foxx spun coming out of Turn 10, hit the tire wall on the left, bounced back out and collected Greg in the #95 car.

After qualifying the entire 944-Spec squad converged on the #95 Thunderbolt car and worked on it.  If this was Saturday then I would spend the time trying to repair it for Sunday but this was Sunday and the race was only a couple of hours away.  Base on the relative damage of the cars, Greg and I felt time would be better spend repairing the Foxx Racing #16 car.

by Steve Lewis

Sunday morning I was feeling over confident from my race win and slept in through practice.  Charlie and Big Dog both managed very impressive 1:56.xx laps in the cool morning air.  In qualifying, I was able to turn the tables and take the pole at 1:58.155 with Rick second and Charlie 3rd.  Qualifying had some action that we never want when Big Dog got wide in perilous turn 10, clipped the tire wall, and shot back across in front of Greg who couldn’t miss him.  They collided with Greg’s front end to Big Dog’s right rear, Greg’s car getting the worst of it. 

Again the truck came out and the straightening began.  We managed to get Greg’s car mostly pulled out but oil cooler and radiator damage made us call it quits with little time until the race.  Big Dog was able to continue as the damage wasn’t severe to his car.  To his credit, he offered Greg his car but Greg declined.

Sunday race from the Grandstands

Greg, Katie, Charlie's wife Lori and myself watched the 944-Spec race from the grandstands.  If you thought Greg and I would be bummed watching instead of being in the race you would be wrong.  We were treated to a incredible race with amazing battles through out the field.

Rick got out into the lead with Steve and Charlie right behind.   With Steve defending against Charlie, it allow Rick to put a little gap.  That gap could have easily vanished if Rick backs off just a little and he would be passed in a blink of a eye if he makes a mistake.

Ron in 4th keeps in striking range.

Jim Richmond in the #89 car defending against Jerry in the #552

Jim Richmond and Jerry's battle has the unintended consequences of allowing Jim Foxx to get by in the #16 and Aubie in the #79 to close the gap.

Dan Lofgren in the #4 waiting to capitalize on any mistakes.

It was a hard fought race.  Jerry had to exit the battle because his homemade hood straps were coming loose.   Ron was off his pace towards the end of the race with possible mechanical issues allowing Foxx to get by to claim 4th.   Rick, Steve and Charlie finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd with Steve and Charlie just  0.214 and 0.494 seconds behind Rick respectively.   That's close racing!!!

Sunday Race from behind the dash

by Steve Lewis

Sunday’s race was no less exciting than the previous day.  Charlie managed to grid on time so I knew it would be tight.  I chose the outside pole spot this time and held position on Rick going up the hill into 2 but blew my chance when my foot slipped off the brake pedal on the approach and I had to recover which cost me just enough time to let Rick through.  The rest of the race was an exercise in defensive driving with Rick a car length or two in front of me and Charlie 6” off my back bumper most of the race.  I had a lunge or two at Rick but Charlie was there to take me down so I had to be conservative.  Charlie got next to me several times but I was able to hold him off and we finished with Rick first, me second, and Charlie third.  We all ran our fast lap on the last lap with Charlie taking fastest lap at 1:57.367.  The gap from first to third was less than half a second at the line.

Thanks to Ken Huey and all of our sponsors for putting on a great event with cash prizes.  Thanks especially to Art at Autopoint Motors and Clark & Linda at Apex Performance for their support!

by Ron Dale

I started fourth behind Steve, Rick, and Charlie in that order and prepared for a great race. What a thrill it was to watch those three go at it, side by side by side, lap after lap. I was treated to a racer’s clinic, watching three of the best give all they had and still race clean as 944 racer’s are known for.  I tried in vain to keep up and did for awhile but lost a wheel bearing and had to slow down and into the clutches of Jim, who probably would have caught me anyway. I am proud of my fifth place finish however and have to say this weekend has been the highlight of my racing career so far!!

Wrap-up and Treats Aplenty

Thanks to all the racers, friends and family that were able to attend and thanks to our sponsors.

Art Butradee of AutoPoint Motors: We can't thank Art enough for his support of 944-Spec.  Not only for his generous CASH prize donations but for working on our cars and billing us at what has to be less than real shop hours.   Rick Lofgren drop his car off at AutoPoint with a used, oil starved seized engine a couple of weeks ago and picked up his car on Friday evening that won 2nd on Saturday and 1st on Sunday.   All of us running AutoPoint engines can attest to the rebuild quality.

Clark and Linda Hamerly of ApexPerformance.net: Thank-you so much for offering discounts to all 944-Spec racers and donating ESS fire systems to the 944-Spec Nationals and this race.  Your support is very much appreciated.

Norman and Susan of Team Safety Driving School: Thank-you for your cash contribution.

Krumbscakes.com: Thank-you Chef Christian for the incredible 944-Spec cake and donating a $150 gift certificate.

Toyo Tires: Thank-you for your support of NASA and 944-Spec.

Hawk Performance: Hawks Blue is pretty much the standard brake pads of 944-Spec.

The 944-Spec race at the "Porsches at the Point" was envisioned as a fun race with prizes for everyone regardless of finishing position.

Congratulations to:

Steve Lewis:  A 1st place trophy for Saturday and a 2nd place trophy for Sunday, $275 in cash, $250 in Toyo and $75 in Hawks contingencies.

Rick Lofgren: A 2nd place place trophy for Saturday, 1st place trophy for Sunday, $275 in cash, $250 in Toyo and $75 in Hawks contingencies.

Ron Dale: 3rd place trophy Saturday, 5th place trophy Sunday, $150 in cash, $100 Toyo, random drawing winner of the ESS fire system donated by ApexPerformance.net valued at $413.

Jim Foxx: two 4th place trophies, $155 in cash, $100 Toyo.

Charles Buzzetti:  3rd place trophy Sunday, $100 in cash, $75 Toyo, $35 BestBuy giftcards, ToyStory 3 xbox360 video game.

Greg Brandeau:  5th place trophy Saturday, $50 cash, $25 Toyo.

Aubie Schmidt:  $100 cash courtesy of Team Safety Driving School.

Dan Lofgren:  $150 Krumbscakes.com gift certificate.

Jerry Whitteridge:  $50 American Express gift card.

Jim Richmond:  $50 BestBuy gift card.

Ken Huey: $50 BestBuy gift card.

All the 944-Spec racers were presented with a bottle of wine and a special 944-Spec medal for non-trophy winners.

Ron Dale besides the winner of the ESS fire system was also the random drawing winner of a special edition Pixar Cars 2 "triptych" poster.   Ron noticed how Steve's kids were looking at it and decided to give it to them.

Thanks to NASA NorCal and Masuo, Gary of the PRC for another fun season.  Thanks to David Saliba for talking pictures of our events.  This is NorCal 944-Spec's sixth season and car to car contact is extremely rare.  You can count such incidents on a couple of fingers, it is disappointing we statistically double that number in just one weekend.  Thankfully nobody was hurt and the two cars that couldn't race Sunday are repairable.  I'm proud of how our guys rally together to repair the cars.   This is the friendliest race class on the planet!