Year End Awards Banquet
By Licia Shultz

Come and enjoy an evening with friends. Our club is celebrating  its 60th anniversary!

Price is the same as last year, $40. Doors open at 5:30 for a social hour.

To sign up and pay via PayPal, Debit or Credit Cards click here on the EESCC Year End Awards Banquet Registration Form link.

Last day of registration is October 31!

I ‘d like people to know who the committee people are that make this party happen. We are a small group of folks, Jamie Black, Bert Jacobson, Mary Richardson, Nadine and Mike Comicia and myself. We always have room for more, so if you are interested in working on the End of the Year Banquet, just let us know.

We don’t know what the trophies are going to be this year, that’s done by Tim & Peggy Steck. They do this in secret . We will be as surprised as you are!

Yes, there will be games. So if you are reading this now, Do You Gotta is going to be one of them so start jamming stuff in your pockets and purses now!

Yes, there is a bar.  There will be tasty Hors D’oeuvres for the social hour. The dinner will of course be great and there will be plenty of desserts.

The IROC winner will be announced, that’s always a lot of fun. Jeff Childers gets the credit for putting together that amusing video. John Schmidt is making a poster for the winner.

As you can see it takes a village. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

To sign up and pay via PayPal, Debit or Credit Cards click here on the EESCC Year End Awards Banquet Registration Form link.

Last day of registration is October 31!

What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been

By David Lumbra

I used a Grateful Dead reference because as I am writing this, traffic is backing up to my driveway for the Country Fair. Way back in 1988 when Rindy and I first came to Larison Rock with our 2 kids, who were 7 and 4 years old, Nolan Scheid and I were standing at the start for the first run group ever to go up the hill. He and I were deciding who would be first. I let him take “Fang” up first. I still remember my first run to this day. It was exciting but not very fast. 2:35.790. My gas pedal was loose and I forgot to mention that to Rindy. It fell off on her run and she claims it slowed her down! Fast forward to 1998 and both Rindy and I are hovering in the 2:02 to 2:03 range but could never quite get over the 2-minute hump.

This year my son Evan decided to give the old hill a go for the first time. We spent a lot of time going over the hill on Friday. I was pointing out my line and showed him all the turn-in points, apexes and such. Well, it didn’t take him long to get the hang of Larison. On his second run on Saturday, he got a 2:02.547. I managed a 2:02.518. on Saturday. The M-Technic was running awesome. The new tires were great; the suspension changes we made worked and the gearing was right for a change. I was working the finish as usual when Evan made his Sunday morning runs and we were shocked when he flew by at 1:57.088 on his last run. As his dad, I couldn’t have been prouder. As a car builder, I was happy. As Evan’s competitor, I was worried. So, the good news is I finally built a 2-minute car. The bad news is, I didn’t do it yet.

At the lunch break I heard from at least 18 of my friends” You really have your work cut out for you now, Dave”. Thanks for piling on a little pressure. My wife supported me like always. Andrew Hafner shook my hand and told me not to go out and get all crazy. I assured him I wouldn’t. Now, I can run 2:02s without leaving my comfort zone. But, to get under 2, I was going to have to push that comfort envelope like I never have. Aaron Thien loaned me his camera and mount for the occasion. I was encouraged by Jim Daniels how to use the Kumho tires to their best advantage. I went for it and when I got to the top pits, I knew it was a good run because I was shaking so bad I couldn’t turn off the camera by myself. Marc Johnson gave me my time slip and told me I was getting a pin like he was wearing. It said 119.144. I admit it, I started to cry. The elephant was finally off my back.

I want to thank Evan for pushing me out of the comfort zone I was stuck in. If there were tires this good 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have had to wait this long to break 2 minutes. Brad Moffett filled in for me at the trophy presentation because I was still emotional from the run. He handed me my run card to save. That was cool! Typical Dave move was to leave the card in my back pocket and toss my jeans in the hamper. You guessed it, the run card couldn’t survive the washing machine and is now pocket lint. Bummer! I have the memory, if not the card and can’t wait for next year. My new goal is to bring the “Streetfighter” back and break 2 minutes with it. No 2002 has ever gone that fast and I want to give it a shot. Thanks Bonnie and Jim for all your hard work.

This Larison was extra special. It would have been a perfect result if my buddy Bruce was still with us to witness it, but I think he was watching anyway. Evan and I were talking about him while setting up the hill and I could feel his presence. No one was more fun to pick on than Bruce. He and I always set up the hill together. On Saturday after all runs were completed, we would move the cones and corner signs off the road and set them up again on Sunday morning. I always made a point to toss one of them down deep in the ditch. Sunday morning, Bruce would always jump back in the truck cursing the SOB who did that to him. For several years, he had no idea it was me. One year I was sitting there laughing while he was in the ditch fishing out the sign and he noticed it. He looked me right in the eye and said “F#@* You Lumbra” He knew!