Was that a quick summer!

In this Arrow publication you will see the results of our region’s member survey we sent out last May 2024. 24 members and co-members completed the survey. The response rate was 21% of our 112 members and co members. The results are not statistically significant. They are interesting.

I want to thank all who took part in in the 16th All-Euro Car Show. It was an enormous success. We were able to contribute $3000 to the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Disease.

Just yesterday we met with the team that worked on the Car Show to review opportunities for improving the show.

Closing out September will be a drive to a car show in Harlowton, a breakfast group, and an invite to a Grape Stomp with the Mini Cooper group. In October we will resume our breakfast (Porsches & Pancakes) at the Laurel Golf Course.

We were not able to have our new members party this year in the fall. We will combine the new member recognition with our holiday party December 15, 2024. We have reserved a room at the Scared Grounds Coffee House from 4-7. There will be more information to come on the party. It will be a bring your own dish to share with BYOB. It should be fun with plenty of parking for those who drive Porsche SUVs. You never know the day could be a heat wave and we all could drive our “summer cars” that day.

Thank you for your participation and feedback. Jack

July 2,2024

HPDE: I HAVE BEEN SUCH A FOOL

I have owned my 98 Boxster for 17 years. I’ve been a PCA member for the same amount of time. I have lived in five regions including the Absaroka region.

Over the years I’ve heard about High Performance Drivers Education (HPDE). I thought HPDE was about car racing like Rennsport. I didn’t want the risk. Why would I want to race my car!  You’ve seen the ads for Porsches “never been tracked”. I thought there must be something wrong with tracking your car.

This past year, I heard from a few of our members that they had been to the HPDE Lewistown and it was great. No one died at the HPDE.

I decided I would go for it, albeit with a lot of reservations and questions.

1. Will my 98 Boxster stay together!
2. Will the other participants with faster 911s just laugh at my 26-year-old base Boxster?
3. Will I die driving with all those super fast cars. I’ve been to Rennsport and Road American and I’ve observed the spin outs!
4. Will I die!

I figured I’m retired, the house is paid for, Patty will be financially comfortable, so I registered for the Lewistown HPDE, sponsored by our Big Sky region friends (June 29^th & 30^th.) My plan was I would trailer the Boxster with my RV because taking the RV and the Boxster on my trailer would give me the option of canceling the trip without a lot of penalties.

I bought a helmet, bled the Boxster’s brakes (twice), loaded the Boxster on the trailer and was ready to drive up to Lewistown on Friday the 28^th.

Friday was a little windy with wind gusts up to 60 miles an hour. Not the best forecast for a high-profile RV transiting thru the Judith Gap. The weather forecast said the winds would slow down around 6:00 PM, so I waited all day for the wind to calm down. Around 5:00,  I headed out with the plan to drive to Lewistown via Roundup.

The wind was strong on King Ave and the RV was thrown all over the place. I decided to fuel up at the Town Pump at King and Shiloh, and wait for the wind to slow down.  I waited for almost two hours. My compatriots on this journey Duane House, Dan Gramins and Doug Oakes were on their way to Lewistown and we’re demanding updates on my progress.

I decided to go home and wait out the wind overnight. I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t for Doug, Dwayne, and Dan already in Lewistown, and their encouragement me, I would have just bagged out of the whole adventure.

On Saturday, I slept in. I missed the 8:30 meeting, so I would not be able to drive on the track until Sunday. I arrived around 10:00, Doug, Dwayne and Dan had met their instructors and had the drive of their lifetime. They were all smiles.

What I observed on Saturday was that HPDE was not a race for fastest time or best car. HPDE was there so every Porsche and non-Porsche owner would learn to enjoy experiencing the true capabilities of their car. There were some awesome cars, PCA members, and other drivers who were there to learn about their cars and their capabilities to drive fast and safe.

On Sunday I got time to drive with an instructor. I was in the student group. There would be two Boxster’s in our group, myself, and Duane. Duane was driving with his instructor.

Was I too old to be doing this? Was my car too old to do this?  I told my instructor I was scared! We started off. My instructor Jim drove my car first. I was surprised what my 26-year-old Boxster could do on those curves. I don’t know how fast Jim got the Boxster going because I was too focused on the track and the turns. I do know it was faster than I had ever driven it!

When it was my turn to drive, Jim kept me comfortable and confident. What an experience! I don’t think I drove faster than the Montana speed limit, but I did it on curves.

My point in all this is I will be back to Lewistown HPDE. The instructors, participants and families were there to have fun. We were there to learn how to drive our cars safely and to the learn the car’s capabilities. My 26-year-old Boxster and it’s old driver had 22 miles of fun on that track that day.

The PCA Lewistown HPDE is an awesome event located in our backyard. The next event comes up at the end of August let’s go and have fun. If you haven’t gone to HPDE in Lewistown, you are missing out on an opportunity of a lifetime as a Porsche owner. I’m 80% sure that I will be in Lewistown at the end of August for HPDE.

There’s nothing to be afraid of. It isn’t a race. It’s a group of highly professional people willing to share their knowledge and driving skills.

April has really started out with a lot of driving. Patty and I missed all our club’s drives this month. Instead, I had the adventure of driving from Molt, MT to Bedford NH. The trip was for us to see our family. There is a long and convoluted story about why I drove to New Hampshire. I can fill anybody who is interested in that story at our breakfast Porsches & Pancakes on Saturday, May 11^th. BTW, Patty chose to fly back and forth.

Just a little trivia on my 2400-mile trip to New Hampshire, I saw three Porsches; two Macans and one Cayenne.

It sounds like I missed a great time at the Porsche & Pancake breakfast and then on the drive after breakfast, April 13th. From the pictures, it looks like 11 cars and about 16 members participated in the drive to Roundup. I hear the visit to the studios was great. I want to thank Fred Magers for planning that drive.

It also looks like everyone had a great time driving to Chico Hot Springs on April 20^th. From the pictures it looks like we had ten cars and 14 members on that drive.

May 11^th is Porsches & Pancakes at the Laurel Golf Course at 9:00 AM.

The after-breakfast drive will be a drive to Joliet and then crossover to Columbus. From Columbus we would avoid the highway. We would drive the back roads (Frontage Road) back to the Laurel Golf Course.

Saturday, May 18^th our plan is to drive from Greybull, WY to Burgess Junction. The drive will start at 9:00 AM at 360 Office Solutions, 3676 Pierce Parkway, near Costco and Zoo Drive. More information to come on this trip.

The highlight of May is the opening of the Beartooth Highway. The drive will be on Memorial Day May 27^th. More information will come and hopefully it won’t snow that day.

In June, we have a couple of ideas for drives. One idea is to drive to Martinsdale, MT to go to the Charles Bair Museum and have a picnic lunch nearby. This would be a two-hour drive about 120 miles one way. Another suggested drive would be to Cody, WY and visit the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody.

I’ll survey the group at the May breakfast and see what folks want to do. June is also High-Performance Drivers Education (HPDE) in Lewistown, MT. The HPDE is on June 29th and 30^th. Registration is online starting May 1^st.

I hope to see everyone for breakfast on May 11^th.

Spring seems to be coming, but this is Montana. I can’t be naive, wishful thinking! There have been days in February, I wished the Boxster was not in hibernation.

I want to thank Francie and Jim Hasbrouck for hosting the potato party on short notice. Originally, scheduled at Burke’s, COVID hit our house, so we had to move the event. I heard from quarantine that it was a great event.

We have three new members to welcome. Thomas and Kim Troop from Billings (Cayenne) and Bill Nevius from Red Lodge (Cayman S). Hopefully we will meet them at our breakfast on March 9^th at the Laurel Golf Club at 9 AM.

A couple of our members have asked that I confirm dates for a few upcoming events. Saturday, April 20^th will be our first official driving event. It’s been suggested that we take a day trip to Chico Hot Springs, have lunch in the tavern and head home.

We also have a drive planned for the opening of the Beartooth Pass in May. The pass opens on Friday (May 24th). We have the drive on the event calendar tentatively scheduled on Sunday (May 26^th). We would meet in Billings, and drive up the pass, have lunch in Red Lodge and return home.  I have been wondering if the drive should be the Sunday or Monday, Memorial Day.

There are pros and cons to both days. Traffic on the pass may be a bigger issue on Sunday. I would like to hear back on any preferences.

On the topic of preferences, I have been thinking about how we can get feedback from all of you. We are a group of 70-plus primary members, 46 co-members and 8 juniors. I recently contacted Jim Hemig, Marketing Director, PCA National. Jim has shared with me examples of surveys other regions have used. My goal is to edit one of the surveys and have it sent out to members in the next month.

High Performance Drivers Education (HPDE) is tentatively scheduled for the last full weekend in June and August. The Big Sky Region will be confirming the dates in the coming weeks. Michael Handelman, President of the Big Sky Region will let us know the confirmed date.

In April, I would like to try having a short drive after our Porches and Pancake Breakfasts. To accomplish a drive, we will have to meet all insurance requirements for PCA. We would start from our breakfast site and return to the breakfast site. Any ideas where we would go?

That’s about it for now. Get ready for spring! See you Saturday, March 9^th ,9 AM at the Laurel Golf Course.

Jack