Hail from
the Chief
by Kelly Armstrong
We had our September meeting at Taco John's in Rexburg and
there were 39 people there. This was a good turnout as Taco
John's was (and is) one of our sponsors for the Wild West Vette
Fest. We decided to have our next meeting at the Chinese
Evergreen, which is the new Chinese restaurant in the mini-mall
across the street from Grand Teton Mall on 17th street. The time
will be 7:00 p.m. on October 18th.
Some of our club members went to Seattle to their show and the club won the
Club Participation Award and other trophy's (see listing below). Then others
went to Elko to the Gambler's Run and also won the Club Participation award
along with other awards. This is a pretty good turnout for our club going
in two different directions.
At the September meeting we talked about a Christmas party at the Relay
Station in St. Anthony and we have the party scheduled for the
8th of December. We will give you more information about a menu
at a later date. And we will confirm the time, also.
We will have a meeting at Scotty's on Thursday, the
5th of October. This may be the last meeting this year depending
on the weather.
I have already been snowmobiling this year, on September 23. There was about
20 inches of snow in Dubois, Wyoming and it was great. Our days of driving
the cars are limited, so have fun every day that you are able to drive.
Save The Wave!!!!
| Wanda Pincock | 3 |
| Wendy Farmer | 6 |
| Wanda Hughes | 12 |
| Frank Smith | 14 |
| Jeff Staffon | 22 |
| ReaAnn Denny | 25 |
| Lynn Davis | 30 |
Thank You!
And Peach Days
By Steve and Karen Hansen
We want to let the organizers of this year's Wild West Vette Fest know how
nice it was to see so many of you again. As most of the "old timers" know,
we haven't been too active in club events for a couple of years now. Life
has a way of throwing you some real curves sometimes and it seems like we've
had a few thrown our way during the last little while. Coming up to Yellowstone
and being made to feel so welcome as a member of the club was so appreciated.
We really do appreciate the friendships that we have made in the club over
the years. The event was great!
We attended the Peach Days show in Brigham City, Utah on September 9. They
had over 800 cars registered this year. It was the largest Peach Days show
ever. They had a good turnout of Vettes. Our little '57 received first place
in the pre-68 class as well as receiving the "Peach Queen" award for the
show!
If you've never participated in that event, you've missed a good time. The
entire community turns out for all kinds of activities parades, food,
carnival rides -- your name it! Since it is a one-day event, it is easy to
participate in the activities and get back home the same day. It might be
a fun club excursion sometime. We've sure enjoyed it over the years.
The Snake Has Been Bitten in Texas
By Frank Smith
The battle of the GTS class came down to the strength of wills, and the works
Corvette team won its first-ever American Le Mans Series race, courtesy of
Ron Fellow and Andy Pilgram. "The snake has been bitten in Texas!" yelled
Fellows after the race.
It was the Canadian who emerged from the cockpit of the Corvette at the end
of the first stint and required medical treatment due to the extreme heat
conditions. Pilgrim took over the driving for a stint and a half and Justin
Bell, who completed two laps in qualifying, was on hand to take over the
car for the final run if needed. Fellows, however, the man who chose the
Corvette program over GM's Cadillac prototype team, was not to be denied
and took the wheel again to run to the finish.
Things were not very rosy in the Team Oreca Viper garage, where Karl Wendlinger
also nearly collapsed after his first stint. Third gear had packed up on
the Viper, the temperature was enormous, and Wendlinger's body temperature
had raised to 104 degrees F. Beretta, too, drove for one-and-a-half stints
before Wendlinger climbed back in to finish the race three laps behind the
Corvette.
"I completed the race and felt fine," said Wendlinger. "I could go dancing
now. The outside temperature dropped a little, and even a few degrees makes
a big difference."
Full details are on the web at
Http://www.c5motorsports.com
an Idaho produced website.
Snakebite II
Going into the last race of the year, the Manufacturer's Championship in
the Super Grand Sports Class was down to the wire with Chevrolet and Dodge
both holding an opportunity to win the Championship if either could find
their way to victory circle. This battle is one that has become very heated
over the past couple of years as Dodge and Chevrolet have been fighting it
out in the American Le Mans Series, with Corvette recently taking their first
win over the Vipers. Chevrolet scored another victory over Dodge when the
Sunoco Powell Motorsport Corvette driven by Devon Powell and Doug Goad won
the race over the Team Amick Grant-A-Wish Foundation Dodge Vipers that placed
second and third.
The win was the second win of the year for Corvette, and for the Sunoco /
Powell Motorsport Corvette. In the ten- race season, the Corvettes won the
first and last race, and were able to bring the championship home in part
due to strong support from four teams running the full season in Corvettes
(Powell, First Racing, Phoenix American Motorsports, and Planet Earth
Motorsports).
In qualifying, it looked like it might have been the Phoenix American Motorsports
#37 Corvette taking the win for GM as they qualified on the pole with John
Heinricy at the wheel. On the 71st lap however, the Phoenix American Corvette
lost control and hit the #43 Corvette. The accident was one of the more scary
accidents of the year for Motorola Cup as the #37 Corvette launched up into
the air, the left side tires scraping along the drivers door of the #43 machine,
as the car flew over top of the #43 machine. When the right rear tire of
#37 landed, it came down on #43's windshield. Both drivers [Stu Hayner in
#37 and Joe Nonnamaker in #43] were unhurt, but both Corvettes were taken
out of the race.
The #22 First Racing Corvette also had its far share of being out front in
the four-hour race but was involved in a wreck with a lower class car that
took the Corvette's oil cooler out.
This left GM with just one Corvette left to win the Championship, but that
was all that was needed as the #11 Sunoco Corvette took the win.
"This was a rough year for us," said Goad. "Devon and I have won Motorola
Cup championships for the past two years, and we're not used to a season
where we won only two of the ten races. But if we had to pick which one to
win, the one that gives Chevrolet the championship would be it."
Team Amick brought their cars home to a second and third place finish. The
team already had the Team and Driver's Championship wrapped up, but were
gunning to bring home Dodge the Manufacturer's Championship.
"I'm very proud of how well David (Amick) has done this year," said driver
Joe Varde. "For a first-year road racer, he's adapted and learned better
than any rookie I've ever driven with. And it was David who made it possible
for Team Amick to have the right package of cars, crew and drivers to win
the Motorola Cup."
"I don't feel bad about finishing second," added Amick. "If it weren't for
Joe, I wouldn't even have been second, so this has been a great season, and
one which Team Amick hopes to use to build for our future."
Varde took the Driver's Championship by two points over Amick, but only because
of a pole that Varde got at the second race of the year at Sebring, where
Varde qualified second, and the pole winner got disqualified. If it had not
been for that pole that they had not planned on getting, Amick and Varde
would both be champions.
Sea Food, Friends, and Corvettes
By Linda Moore
On Saturday, September 2, five cars left Idaho Falls for our annual adventure.
This year we toured the coast of Oregon and ate sea food, saw the sea lion
cave, ate sea food, took pictures of the hay stack rocks at Cannon Beach
and all the other sites that make Oregon famous, and ate sea food!!
We toured Fort Clatsop National Monument. That is where Lewis and Clark wintered
after reaching the Pacific Ocean. After staying the night in Astoria, we
crossed the awesome Columbia River into Washington.
Onward through the Olympic National Park to Port Angeles where we caught
the Ferry to Victoria. We stayed two nights in that delightful city, and
I think all of us would agree it wasn't long enough. There was so much to
see, do, and eat. We boarded the Ferry to sail through the San Juan Islands
and on to our next adventure, the Corvette Marque Club of Seattle Car Show.
For this being their first show, it was packed full of events and fun. Wanda
and Mike Pincock came back with several awards and we got the "Club
Participation" award. (Trish and Dick Bargman received 2nd in
their division, Richard and Debbie Morris got 2nd in their division,
Bev and Brian Novak got 2nd in their division. Mike and Wanda
Pincock received the sponsor trophy, 1st in the driving event,
and "longest distance traveled" trophy.)
Bev and Brian met us in Seattle for the weekend show. Bud and Betty missed
the show for a trip through Canada before heading for home. As first time
"tripers", I hope they had fun. Bud can eat with the best of us and I'm sure
glad Betty let me carry the leather purse she bought! Rich asked me just
the other day where Betty's purse was.
It was 10 full, fun packed days. Any one
who hasn't been on an annual trip with us is really missing a lot. Next year
we are going down through Santa Fe area. Marv and Mary Kay Bennett are planning
that one. Think about going.
Excerpts
From 1990 Newsletter
As a last hurrah for the season, the Club spent a Sunday evening at the famed
Lost Horizon restaurant at the base of Fred's Mountain near
Targhee Ski Resort.
"Dinner out" doesn't do justice to the experience of eating at the Lost
Horizon! Owned and operated by Chuck Erwin, brother to the astronaut,
dinner includes ten courses and takes 3-1/2 hours to complete. Reservations
are required and they will only serve 16 people at any one evening.
Featuring exotic foods from around the world, dinner centers on oriental
cooking and is truly an experience. Chopsticks are the only utensils provided
and you have to leave your shoes at the door. The guest book indicates visitors
from the world over. Guests are free to roam the building, which doubles
as the Erwin's home, and look at the array of artifacts and photographs gathered
from a 20-year career in the U. S. Air Force.
Sam and Janet Miller put the trip together. The group caravanned (seven
Corvettes) and encountered snow at Canyon Creek! The event was considered
such a success that another one is planned for the next summer.