I suppose we shouldn't presume Kas's comments to be an official
pronouncement on his part, but it does sound like Portland might have some
potential in a bid to be the host city for the 2009 Kastner Cup. Since Bill
Babcock has an obvious connection with the local Convention & Visitors
Bureau, not to mention that he's essentially retired, I think nominating him
for the position of Event Chair would make perfect sense to get the ball
rolling. This is a crucial role, especially if one is to believe that Joe
Alexander will be declining such opportunities for a while - or so I thought
I heard Jan to suggest last Sunday at the Glen.
Of course, I'd be delighted to assist Bill in any way I can; however I may
need all the time I can muster just to make sure I have a car finished for
the event. Given that the track is all of a 7 minute tow from my shop, I'm
thinking I wouldn't have too many excuses for not being there.
And unlike the Glen, the prospects for hurricane-induced weather events are
pretty slim in September for this area, in fact it would be tough to pick a
better time of the year to be in the NW. Now that I think about it, the
picture of Uncle Jack in his polyester leisure suit that someone posted a
few weeks back was taken at a balmy Saturday night party at the September
CRC event a couple of years ago.
So what say, do I hear a second for my nomination of Billy B. to lead the
charge for PDX 2009?
DT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kas Kastner" <kaskas@cox.net>
To: <Chasgee@aol.com>; "Bill Babcock" <Billb@bnj.com>
Cc: <fot@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Fot] Our weekend at the Glen
> Portland is a great city, great track an a neat place to have a good time.
> ---- Bill Babcock <Billb@bnj.com> wrote:
>
> =============
> As Jeff pointed out, it's Labor Day, not Memorial day. I get those two
> confused all the time.
>
> Portland International Raceway is an interesting track from a
> technical standpoint, and the CRC is a good race. The track was
> repaved last year and some corners were changed a bit. You won't find
> better pavement anywhere. It's easy to run large-scale races there.
>
> PIR is right on the MAX line (rapid transit trains), so significant
> others are not stuck at the track--they can go into Portland with
> minimal effort, and Portland is one of the most accessible cities in
> the US. Very compact--you can walk anywhere in downtown. Having been
> pretty much all over the world and especially all over North America I
> assert that Portland has restaurants, street food, taverns and
> specialty food (like artiisan bread, great bakeries, etc) to rival or
> surpass any city, including places like Paris, New York City and San
> Francisco. You simply can't find better beer, and our Pinot's stack up
> to the best.
>
> SOVREN is very strict about racing classifications for it's members,
> but more flexible for outsiders. I'm sure I can work with them to
> ensure that anyone that wants to come can race. I'm also pretty sure I
> can get an all-triumph race. The CRC has plenty of track time--it runs
> Friday through Monday with Thursday usually available as an
> inexpensive test and tune day through the Lotus Club. You can wear
> yourself and your car out at the CRC.
>
> The All British Field Meet runs the same weekend in the same venue
> (yes, there are sometimes some space problems but we can overflow to
> the Pro Pits which are nicer for camping anyway). They have car shows,
> autojumbles, and a big vendor area. It's a well-attended show that
> draws from car clubs all over the coast. There is a short on-track
> autocross that's kind of a PIA, but I'd like to set up a better and
> longer running autocross in the propit area--we've done that before.
>
> I think PIR is kind of ideal as a west coast venue for the Kastner
> Cup. Seattle (Pacific Raceways) is too far from other facilities--it's
> in Kent, Washington--and the major race is the Northwest Historics,
> which is a pretty crowded event. The Portland Historics is an HMSA
> event, and they're hard to work with on car classifications.
> Thunderhill is a wonderful track, but it's east of nowhere. Sears
> (Infinion) is fabulous and wonderful Sonoma is close by, but the only
> likely event is the CSRG Charity Challenge and it's often filled. CSRG
> is an excellent organization, but they might be a bit tough on car
> classification. I'm not sure any of the SCCA cars would be allowed to
> run. Laguna is too restricted--they don't have many dates anymore.
> We'd all need sand filters for Willows.
>
> The only limitation at PIR is noise--you'd all need mufflers.
>
> It's not too early to start planning. How do we get this going?
>
>
> On Sep 9, 2008, at 8:35 PM, Chasgee@aol.com wrote:
>
>> Bill,
>>
>> Funny you should mention those two venues, because I was discussing
>> this with some So Cal brethren and we came to the same conclusions.
>> It is the West coast's turn again and I think Portland would be
>> fantastic. Let me know if I can help organize this.
>>
>> Chuck Gee
>> Blacksmith Racing
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Bill Babcock <Billb@bnj.com>
>> To: Henry Frye <henry@henryfrye.com>
>> Cc: fot@autox.team.net
>> Sent: Tue, 9 Sep 2008 11:55 am
>> Subject: Re: [Fot] Our weekend at the Glen
>>
>> I'm thinking it's time for the left coast. Maybe Thunderhill? It's a
>> hell of a track, though the surrounding facilities suck. Portland
>> would be great, the Columbia River Classic is the weekend before
>> this SVRA race (Memorial day weekend), and it's a high-track time
>> event. Most folks are sick of racing by the time the Monday races
>> roll around. it also encompasses the All British Field Meet which a
>> lot of Triumph folks attend as well.
>>
>> I know I could get SOVREN to roll out the red carpet for FOT since I
>> helped to give this race a boost a few years ago. The Saturday at-
>> track party is legenday, an opportunity to get out your vintage
>> duds, and I can commit to a pretty cool FOT party at Casa Babcock.
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