Event Report

when AONE’s Don, Tom Lesko, requested that every club Director organize an event for 2008, this was an opportunity I could not miss: the Vintage Race Festival at NHMS held on May 16-18.

In past years, AONE has held a gathering for club members during the Saturday races and this year I was on the roster to host. So I packed everything the night before, including my Alfa. Realizing that I wasn’t participating in this race, I felt a little sad because I knew it was going to be a great event. I took the Alfa with me because, on the next Monday and Tuesday, I was going to be an instructor for a lesser car club (as Dave puts it)—the Germanic product that has four rings in the grille.

Having arrived there early, I quickly found a spot near Turn 12 at the very end of the infield parking garage area and proceeded to set up shop. Putting up the canopy proved to be a real challenge in the blowing wind. The flag marshal on Turn 12 had his laugh for the day just watching me wrestle with bungee cords to hold the canopy down in the wind. Once completed, the Alfa Romeo flag was hoisted (while singing the Italian National Anthem—the one I hear after Formula One races whenever a Ferrari wins) and I took a photo as a memento.

I then found Bob Brady (Delaware Valley AROC President and fellow racer) in the garages having breakfast, and he told me that the rest of the Alfisti racers were further down in the other set of garages. So I hopped on my Segway PT [shameless commercial plug by the author, who works for Segway—Ed.] and found Mike Lawton, Nick Fonte, and Eliot Shanabrook getting their macchine ready.

With the encouragement of those four, I was persuaded to move my Alfa hosting suite to their garages. All I could think of was the whole hour I had spent setting up the canopy, which then got dismantled in less than three minutes. The Alfa flag was hoisted now by the garages (the National Anthem played again in my head) and the table with snacks and soft drinks made ready. The shop was set up once again.

The day was bright and sunny—perfect weather for the Alfa: dry and yet cool for the engine. The Alfisti participating in this event were Eliot in his navy blue GTV, Bob in his cobalt blue GTV, Mike in his yellow Giulietta Spider, and Nick with a red Spider (not working, so he used Mike’s Giulietta). They were all in action and the pace was simply F-A-S-T. Using the chicane/chicane configuration, they were up against all kinds of makes: Mini, Mustang, Volvo, MG, Datsun. It was nice to see these cars all mixed together. And it was a great race for spectators to watch!

At the end of the day, Eliot, Bob, Nick, and Mike all said to me, "You have to be here with us next year!" That got me thinking. Message to Signore Tom: I think you are going to have to find another AONE host next year.

Saturday was a beautiful day at NHMS—something that’s been all too infrequent at this event for the past five years. My thanks to Nick Fonte for going along with my late decision to race, and getting us to the track. After practicing our head gasket installation skills on Friday and declaring the other patient dead (bent exhaust valves, cracked piston), we decided to race the Giulietta Spider in two groups on Saturday. I would go with Group 2 (with other "smaller" cars) and Nick would battle it out with the two-liter guys and the American iron in Group 3. Then there was a brief moment of panic because my helmet went for an unintended ride in a Jabro (the dude inadvertently packed up and went home with it), but race we finally did.

Race 1 for both of us was an adventure, with a set of used-up and blistering Kumhos on the car. Lots of sliding and lots of extra steering were necessary! I dropped one place from my starting position (5th to 6th).

So for the second race I started 6th. With a newer set of tires, things were better, which I could tell on the warm-up lap. I managed to get a pretty good start by following the big-motor Kurtis through the field and came out of the South Chicane in 5th. Several cars set their anchors in Turn 3, so going up the hill I was beside the Kurtis for 2nd. That wouldn’t stick, but I managed to follow him around for a few laps before he retired, leaving me alone in 2nd. I wasn’t going to catch Joe Ware’s Mini once I was clear of the Kurtis, since I knew we run about the same lap times and he had about a 30-second lead. So 2nd out of 13 it was, which felt pretty good.

The only other bit of real excitement came when the Triumph GT6 (one of the anchored yachts from Turn 3) came motoring by on the front straight, only to loop right in front of me in Turn 1. I locked them up and prayed, and he spun the way I hoped, so all was good. Whew! What is it with spinning silver British cars in front of me? I’m going to start seeing them in my sleep!

It was a fun day of racing, and the only thing better than racing is racing with friends. Next year, maybe we’ll see a few more Alfas—they seem to do pretty well!

I don’t have much to say other than that I drove like hell until I saw the checker, then drove a little harder whenever the Datsun showed up in the mirrors. To bad more AONErs didn’t show up—I think the four of us put on a pretty good show!

After driving with the SCCA for years, I find running vintage relaxing and refreshing. The venue and people are laidback and there’s plenty of track time. The racing is very competitive and the drivers are responsible (for the most part). And, most of all, it’s a trip to see these older Alfas doing what they were meant to do!

In addition to the photos, be sure to check out the video clips below!—Ed.

(Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view,
and then use your browser's Back button)

	The Alfa Romeo canopy all set up before the operation was moved into the garage
	Nick and Mike at work in the Alfa garage with the banner proudly waving
	Eliot’s #28 GTV looks aggressive and purposeful
	Bob Brady’s #29 GTV in front of Scuderia Alfa Romeo and in the garage
	Vintage Formula race cars getting ready for their heat
	Bob Brady (left) and Eliot Shanabrook caught during a reflective moment between races
	Nick Fonte (left) puts some finishing touches on Mike’s Giulietta as Bob looks on
	Here's a shot of Nick driving Mike's Giulietta, duking it out with something five times his size!
	This photo of Eliot in front of a lesser car graced the home page of the NHMS web site for a while!