Carreras
News
July-August
2013
**CARRERAS FIESTA
-- AUGUST 17 – CARMEL
**2013 PAN AM --
WIDE OPEN TO MORE ENTRIES
**COYOTE CONVOY --
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
**PAN AM REUNION
TOUR -- FEBRUARY 2014
**CHIHUAHUA
EXPRESS, APRIL 3-6, 2014
**REPORT: PAN AM
CARS AT ROAD AMERICA
**CLASSIFIEDS –
SPECIAL HOUSE FOR SALE IN MEXICO
**CONTACT
INFORMATION
**CARRERAS FIESTA
-- AUGUST 17 – CARMEL
Y’all come to the 7th annual CARRERAS FIESTA at the
Monterey Historics. Last year we had
over 100 in attendance, plus some very nice cars on
display.
The event will return to the well-known Baja Cantina on Carmel
Road, a couple of miles east of the village.
It will begin at 5:30 and a Mexican buffet will be served 6:30-7:30. Tickets for the dinner are $25 before the
event and $30 at the door. All proceeds
go to Los Amigos de Lupita Hernandez, the charity that supports the Mexican
nurse who lost both her legs in a Pan Am accident several years
ago.
Our host for the event is Bill Hemmer, a Pan Am veteran, Porsche
fan, and gracious fellow, who has produced the fiesta annually. Bill
also invites all Pan Am folks who will be in the area on Tuesday, Aug. 13 to
attend the “Concours on the Avenues,” a display of cars on the streets of Carmel
and visit with him in the office of Exclusive Realty (SW corner of San Carlos
and 7th Ave) from 10-12, and then from 12-4 in the office of
Peninsula Realty in Carmel (Ocean Ave. and Monte Verde, in the Court of the
Golden Bough). Bill is a real estate
broker and developer in the Carmel-Monterey-Salinas
area.
Posters for both the Fiesta and the Concours are attached to this
newsletter. See you there!
**2013 PAN AM --
WIDE OPEN TO MORE ENTRIES
It’s late in the season, but the Pan Am is wide open for more
entries. Get that Original Pan Am car
out of the garage and tuned up for the event Oct. 25-31. You have still have time to make
it.
At last report, only 79 of 100 slots were filled. So the Organizers need more entries, even
more Porsche 911s and ’65-66 Mustangs.
Go to
www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx to fill out the official entry form. Need help and advice? Email or call
me.
**COYOTE CONVOY –
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Getting down to Mexico is a lot easier, safer, and more fun if you
hook up with the Coyote Convoy. This
year the convoy will get together on Friday, Oct. 18 in Laredo and cross the
border early the next morning. It will
motor 560 miles down to San Miguel de Allende, spend two nights, and then
continue on to Veracruz on Monday, Oct. 21.
Registration and tech open the next morning in the convention center at
10:00 AM.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU OR YOUR SUPPORT CREW INTEND TO
PARTICIPATE IN THE CONVOY.
Anyone is invited to join the convoy. Even race spectators might consider taking
their daily driver, sports car, or RV down to Laredo to join the convoy to
Veracruz and then follow the race back to
Zacatecas.
San Miguel de Allende, located 180 miles north of Mexico City, has
become a world-class tourist destination over the past decade. It’s a well-preserved, safe Spanish-Mexican
colonial city with over 10,000 U.S., Canadian, and European residents. Excellent restaurants, boutique hotels,
numerous historic churches, and cobblestone streets are a perfect setting for a
weekend stay.
On Sunday, the Pan Am race cars will be on display in the main
square. Last year, they attracted over a
thousand spectators.
**PAN AM REUNION
TOUR – FEBRUARY 2014
Attention Pan Am veterans and supporters. Too busy or too pooped to enter the Pan Am
again, but would like to see some of the cities and sites along the route with
old Carrera buddies? Want to show your
spouse, children, or special friend some of these special places? Care
to drive the route with time to stop and check out sites you could only wave at
when racing? Sign up for this very
unique tour.
Potential rookies may simply want to check out the race route in
central Mexico before spending the money to build a car and jump into unknown
territory.
How about escaping the
winter cold next February and coming down for a guided tour of most of the
cities along the traditional Pan Am route:
Oaxaca, Queretaro, Morelia, Aguascalientes, and
Zacatecas?
If we get commitments from a dozen or so vets, we can organize a
first-class, week-long tour. We will
charter a luxury bus (flight attendants, bathrooms, and cocktails). Some participants might want to pilot a
rental car for the trip or drive their own
automobile.
As most of you know, the winters in Mexico are mild, and now with a
modern highway system, it is much easier to drive from city to city along the
historic Pan Am route. In addition to
seeing some of the sites, ample time will be reserved each evening for dinner
and telling Pan Am tales.
Let me know if you are interested and I will start a special email
list. This will be a deluxe tour, so
will be priced accordingly.
**REPORT: PAN AM
CARS AT ROAD AMERICA
As readers of CARRERAS NEWS may remember, we attempted to organize
a run group of Pan Am cars for “The Hawk with Brian Redman,” a huge vintage
event, at Road America, July 18-21.
Unfortunately, I issued the invitation too late in the season and most
racers had other plans and commitments.
Regardless, several Pan Am cars showed up for the event, and a couple of
Pan Am vets were there racing other vintage cars. We will try again next
year.
I
was able to visit the track in Elkhart Lake, WI on Thursday (a special practice
day) and Friday (the regular practice day), so I was able to meet some old Pan
Am friends or see their cars on the track:
John Daniels (’65 Sunbeam Tiger), Clyde Morter in the “Lucky Taco” (’54
Olds), and Najeeb Khan (‘64 Ginetta G4R).
Sadly, I was not able to hook up with David Hinton, John Schantz (’53
Corvette) and a few others who were there.
Of special interest was the ’54 Lincoln sedan in Pan Am livery
driven by Lorie-Ann Fisher, who was out there racing with a horde of smaller,
faster cars. In the final race on
Sunday—in pouring rain—so many cars dropped out of that race group that the
Lincoln, solid on those deeply-treaded tires, finished third, proving again that
sometimes, indeed, a tortoise can beat the hare.
Of special note, too, was the beautiful ’58 Scarab of Bob Sirna,
driven gamely by Tony DeLorenzo.
Ignition problems in Sunday’s rain forced the Scarab out of the final
race -- in this case it became one of the hares that lost to the big
Lincoln.
The fastest lap of the weekend around the 4.2 miles track was
racked up by a Benetton B197 – 128 MPH.
My other favorite was the red ’65 Cheeta. It not only looked fast; it
was.
Next year let’s triple the number of Pan Am cars at this great
event. OK?
**CLASSIFIEDS –
SPECIAL HOUSE IN MEXICO FOR SALE
Spectacular home
in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Only
two years young. Three-car garage and many nice Carrera memories. Great garden, pool, and views of the city and
the setting sun. Check it out on
Sotheby’s web site
http://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/sales/detail/180-l-1978-4000043390/prolongacion-la-quinta-ojo-de-agua-san-miguel-de-allende-gu-37777
Yes, that’s my
house. A change in our families -- our
first grandchildren – is forcing a major change in our life style. Sadly, our beautiful place in SMA is now up
for sale.
Let me know if you
have questions about it. I do not think
there’s another one like it in Mexico.
**CONTACT
INFORMATION
Gerie Bledsoe
U.S. and Canadian
Coordinator
La Carrera Panamericana and Chihuahua
Express
Phone (224) 999-7292
(Chicago)
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