Schattenbaum Spring Dinner Social – Saturday April 20th
Good afternoon All!
I hope all of you had a nice holiday for those who celebrate Easter and Happy April Fool’s Day!
Our first dinner event of the year is coming up, so dust off your Porsche, come on down to South Jersey and spend a fun evening with your fellow Schattenbaumers!
I hope everyone is well and as excited as I am for the spring season! Our next event will be at the Simeone Museum on Saturday April 6, 2024 for their Demo day, which includes bringing out their Porsche 917! Demo days are a regular occurrence at the Simeone, but it is rare that the 917 comes out and is driven around! It is part of the presentation of the Homologation of STOCK cars/RACE cars that the museum will be presenting that day and I highly recommend attending . You will be able to see the car up close and take great photos. We we will have reserved parking so we can park all of our cars together as well as access to the full museum. Since there is a limited amount of parking, I will need to give the museum an idea of how many cars and people to expect, so I will need you to respond to nkatsikis@comcast.net and let me know if you plan to attend and how many are in your party by Friday, March 29th. Please let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to seeing you there!
Coming to your first Driver Education event can be pretty intimidating. You’re excited, but really anxious. You’re wondering how both you and your car will perform. It’s going to turn out great, but you don’t know that yet. Your friends on the Schattenbaum DE track team put this doc together to give you a check list so you can relax knowing that you’re covering the bases. You’re not going to forget the important things – if you read this!
First things first. You need to register for the event. Point your web browser to Motorsportreg.com. Once you’re on this site, you might as well set up an account because you’re going to want to do this more than once.
Click the button to find nearby events, then search for events hosted by Schattenbaum. For our upcoming event in March, you’ll see this link…
Fill in the form and you’re registered. Make sure to click the buttons that tell us you’re a club member. And be honest. If you’ve never been on a track before, then say so. You don’t want to end up being assigned to the wrong run group. All of our events are held at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP).
Our events are usually two days long, either Saturday/Sunday or Thursday/Friday. Most who attend will come for both days, but you’re welcome to sign up for just one. Some recommend that if you’re doing just one day to come on the first day so you don’t feel behind everyone else when you show up on the second day. But decide based on what works for you.
A couple of weeks before the event
We want to make sure all of the cars on the track at a Schattenbaum event are safe, so we require that your car undergo a tech inspection before you come to the track. You can find thecurrent2024techinspectionformatthislink. Afteryou’veregisteredfortheevent, you’ll get an email from our registrar Jon Schepps with further details and a reminder that you need to have your car inspected.
This tech inspection should be quite routine for a recent model Porsche. They’re track ready, but it’s important to make sure wearables like your brake pads are adequate. The tech inspection needs to be done by someone who can vouch that your car is ready to be driven on a racetrack. Mike Bono from our club will be doing a free tech inspection for club members who are coming to our upcoming March event. Watch for an e-mail announcement. If that’s not convenient, take the form with you to wherever you take your car for maintenance. Hold onto the completed (and signed) form and bring it with you when you come to the track.
The second thing to do before the event is decide if you want to buy a helmet. You can rent a helmet at NJMP, and if you take this route, you should call ahead of time to check on availability and cost. Otherwise, you’ll need to borrow or buy a helmet. You’re probably going to track driving a lot, so go ahead and buy a helmet! Make sure to buy one from a shop where you can try it on. If you opt to borrow a helmet, make sure it has a certification sticker of Snell 2015 or Snell 2020. Older or uncertified helmets are not permitted.
You also need to decide how you want to put numbers on your car. Every car that goes onto the track during a DE has to have large, visible numbers that identify the vehicle. These usually go on the doors on both sides and need to be large enough to be visible from a distance. These numbers help us know who’s who and identify cars on the track that have a problem. You can order numbers on-line or use some form of easily removed, contrasting tape (like painters’ tape). You will be assigned a number to use when you register.
Finally, figure out if you want to spend a night in Millville. If so, make a hotel reservation at one of the many hotels in Millville or nearby in Vineland. Unless you live close, we recommend getting a room in the area. Driving on a track can be really tiring and having that extra time for sleep is a good idea.
Getting to the Event
Okay, now it’s time to drive to the track. Remember to bring your helmet and tech form! You might want to bring some snacks and extra water to drink too. The general store and vending machines at the track sell assorted beverages. Make sure you wear long pants. That’s not usually a problem to remember in the winter, but you have to wear long pants when driving on the track.
Once you’re on the road. NJMP is easy to find… just tell you driving app to direct you to NJMP. As you drive into the facility, you’ll come to a gateway where you sign in. Just tell the host that you’re with Schattenbaum and sign the form.
Now’s comes the hard part. NJMP has two tracks, and you need to decide which one to head for. You’ll come to a tee in the road… Should I go left or right? Do I take door number 1, door number 2 or door number 3? Most of our events are on the Thunderbolt track, so in that case (as in March) take a left after you sign in.
Follow the obvious path at this point and you’ll come to an overpass that take you over the Thuderbolt track. Once you see the bridge, you know you’re on the right path. Hit a dirt road? Go back and turn the other way.
As you pass over the overpass, you will get the full panorama of the Thunderbolt facility. A viewing tower, the classroom, tech inspection area, and garages are to the left, with the General Store oK to the right (where you pick up a helmet if you’ve rented one). Park your car where it looks sensible and remove loose things from the car that you won’t want flying around when out on the track.
At the track
Okay, you’re here. Now what?
First, head to the classroom located near the base of the tower shown in this picture. The classroom is at the end of the long building that holds the garages. Go inside the classroom and sign in at the registration table. You’ll get a wristband that identifies your run group, which is the Green group if you’re new to the track. Now’s a good time to make sure you have a copy of the schedule on your phone. You got a link to the schedule when you received an e-mail from the registrar.
Next, put your assigned numbers on the outside of your car and then head to the tech inspection area. That will be in the garage entrance nearest to the classroom/registration location. Have your signed, completed tech inspection form and helmet in the car with you. We’re not going to do another full inspection. We’re just going to take one last look at your brake pads, check that your helmet qualifies (if you’re bringing one), remind you to get loose junk out of your car before heading onto the track, and collect that tech form. Don’t forget to bring it with you. Your car will get a windshield sticker that is needed for you to be allowed on the track.
After getting your car inspected, head back to your parking spot. A drivers’ meeting starts at 8:30 am sharp. You’ll want to make sure to attend and listen carefully. You’ll get instructions about where to enter and exit the track, a review of the flags, and any special day-of-event announcements. During the drivers’ meeting, instructors for the event meet separately and get matched to students. Your instructor will come to look for you right after the drivers’ meeting. If they can’t find you, they will meet up with you in the parking area or find you when you’re lining up for your first track session.
After the driver’s meeting, drivers in the Green run group have a classroom session at 9 am. Don’t miss this. The classroom instructor will go over what will be happening over the day. These are important details, like where to line up for entering the track and where to go to exit the track. Yes, you’ll have an instructor with you, but it’s good for you to know what’s happening as well! The classroom instructor might also go over the layout of the track, but most of that won’t make much sense until you’ve been out there yourself and driven the course. The second scheduled classroom session will be much more interesting!
The rest of the day takes care of itself. You’ll have more sessions of driving, relying on your instructor to help. Between sessions, walk around. Look at the cars. Talk with the drivers!
Our annual favorite, the Lobster Run, was another success! The event sold out, and this year, thanks to Rob and Kim Lerman, we had two tour groups again.
The south group was rather large, but we all arrived at Bar Anticipation in time for a delicious lunch! A massive downpour close to the shore didn’t dampen our spirits and once at the restaurant, guests enjoyed a drink on the club with their choice of entrees and a good time was had by all!
If you missed this fun event, it will be held again next year, make sure to sign up early. Thanks to all who participated, it’s the people that make our social events fun and entertaining!
Our next social will be the annual Oktoberfest, details will follow. And don’t miss out on the “big” one, the Holiday Banquet on December 2nd, a great way to close out a year that was filled with many great activities, hope to see you all soon!
Jon has been a PCA member since 1991 and has served in several Schattenbaum executive board positions over the years. He is currently the track registrar, responsible for maintaining the online registration process for all our Drivers Education events.
I became a member with PCA Schattenbaum in 2015, when a Club member invited me down to a DE. I thought it looked like a blast, driving around the track as fast as I could, with no police and radar traps…what could be better?!
Not really certain where my love for Porsches began, but after graduating from college in 1977, and getting my first full time job with a public accounting firm, I bought my first day driver, a 1976 BMW 2002. Soon after, I bought a 1976 911S with a credit card, as my sunny day car. I drove that thing all over America, from Key West, to LA, to San Fran and Yosemite, to Oregon, and back. Marriage, kids, and becoming a CPA in 1982 was a “fun car” detour, until 2014 when a Club member suggested it was time for a fun car again, a Carrera S. Everyone in the group at the track warned me of the slippery slope, that became a spec Boxster and trailer, and a Macan. Then I circled back around to using a single car, a 2007 Cayman S.
The common thread through this journey has been working as a practicing CPA, and having an accounting office in Flemington for years, so I thought I would like to be helpful and give back a bit, with a stint as Schattenbaum treasurer. As a member, its all about paying this fun forward and keeping the spirit alive, so I’m happy to join in and help.