The Club's March event got our members very excited early on when it was announced.
We contacted the Palm Springs Corvette Club about participating in their Charity Auto-x and
they were extremely gracious and really rolled out the red carpet for us.
Anthony Matranga put in countless hours of work setting us up at the Fantasy Springs Resort,
arranging our lunch and dinner, as well as setting up a great cruise and many other fun activities.
This was also going to be a great joint event with the Arizona Club.
We had the makings of a huge event, till Mother Nature decided to step in and make things difficult
for some of our Members. Despite the torrential rains that hit much of So Cal, the weather in Indio was
really nice with some big clouds and blue skies and the 20 + members that came out were treated to
a GREAT event !
The Staff at Fantasy Springs gave us great rates on a very busy weekend in Palm Springs.
They have a great resort with everything from bowling to slot machines.
20 of the 33 Vipers that were registered for the event came out to a really nice morning.
We pre- registered our cars, got our #'s on and got ready to head over to face off with the
Corvettes.
I can't wait to see the pictures/video that Aaron puts together. He does a Great Job.
We gathered around for a quick drivers meeting and last minute instructions.
Then we loaded up and took a short ride over to the Fairgrounds
for the Corvette vs Viper Auto-x
Drew and Tiffany
Eddie and Michelle
Nino was making sure we were all in order
Scott
Dave and Melissa
Ben
Ron, Ron, Linda and Patsy
Laura and Demoe
Spencer, Eddie, Michelle and Raj
Tom and Bruce
Juan was getting rid of the rain tires
The event got started with the National Anthem
As much as this was a battle between the Vipers and Corvettes, it was also a charity event for the
ALS Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club. No matter which team got the best time, the
Winners would be all who participated for these great Charities.
Ken and Lena were ready to roll
Dave and Melissa
Demoe and Laura
Dana was Aaron's designated driver
Eddie
Patsy and Ron
Derek
Nino
The VooDoo ! Stephanie and Glenn
Spencer and Raj
Tom
Linda and Ron
Melissa and Dave
Luke
Ken
Laura and Demoe
Tiffany and Drew
Laura and Scott
Patsy and Ron
Michelle and Eddie
This was one fast driver....rumor was that he was a 4 time SCCA Auto-x Champion
We took one parade lap
Corvettes taking reconnaissance video
No matter who you were rooting for, it was REALLY cool seeing the Vettes and Vipers
rolling through the checkered flags
Tiffany got her job down as navigator through the maze of cones
Laura
Patsy
Michelle. The Ladies were all smils now, but the game faces were getting ready for a tough battle.
Jack in his supercharged Corvette. He was pumped and ready. We had SOOO much
Fun with him all day long. What a great guy.
He was smiling because he designed and set up the course. I think they might have had
a bit of an advantage over us.
Pretty cool seeing Vettes and Vipers side by side
Another great Corvette smile as we got ready to hit the course
The cameras and videos were poised and ready
Our starter, Shawn Hyman, did a great job keeping the line moving through.
Weez gave all the Viper drivers last minute instructions before sending them out.
She tried really hard to throw us off our game, but Demoe wasn't buying it.....he followed my instructions
to "Bring his Race Face ! "
You can see Jack's grin right through his helmet. Anthony warned us about the really fast guy in
the black Corvette since he always wins with fastest time.
Laura was having fun
Dan out on the course
Here comes Jack !
Drew
Scott
Eddie
It was actually pretty exciting as the cars made their passes and they announced the times
With each pass, the times kept dropping. The Corvette drivers kept laying down really fast times
But as the morning wore on, the Vipers started to learn the course and the battle was on
Looks to me like this was a 2 second penalty for hitting a cone......in the staging area !
Weez wanted in on the action and give it her all to take down the Vipers
Cathy and Ace did their part to intimidate the Corvettes
Aaron was pumped and ready
As our allotted time came to a close, the top drivers were giving it their all to get the fastest time
for their respective teams.
Here comes Jack !
On Ben's last pass, he took the lead with a 41.197 !!!
As everyone climbed out of their cars, it was nothing but great big SMILES. What a great
time.
Ben's nemesis, was determined to get the fastest lap.
But it was too late, we already wore the First Place smiles
The results................... after we come back from more smiling faces
Shawn and Weez Hyman. Thank you both for all the work and hospitality extended to all of us !
You guys are a Class act !
Cher and Luke
Ron, Patsy and Nino
Derek, Laura, Roland, Raj and Spencer
And now....back to the results !
BEN KAWATA sets the fastest time with his 41.197 pass and takes home the Individual trophy !
Great job Ben !!!!
Now the anticipation for the Team awards.............
and the Winner of the 2012 Corvette vs Viper Auto-x challenge benefitting ALS and the Boys & Girls Club is.
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Team Viper !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The agreed scoring for this event was to take the top 5 times from each side.....fastest aggregate time wins
Our top five driver/times: Ben 41.197 Dan 42.373 Drew 42.705 Juan 43.466 Anthony 43.608
GREAT JOB Guys !!!!
Everyone who came out and participated in the event had a great time and we look forward to
defending our title at next year's Auto-x Charity Challenge
We all went to a great lunch at Las Casuelas and had planned to take a cruise up the mountain,
but the dark clouds and rain were already up there and we didn't want to take any chances
so we settled back into the reserved parking back at the hotel and rested before our dinner
Dan and Cathy
Laura and Scott
Lena and Ken
Michelle and Eddie
Becky and Juan
Glenn and Stephanie
Spencer and Raj
Melanie and Greg
Dave and Melissa
Wanda and Anthony
After dinner, we wanted to show our appreciation to the great members and officers of
the Palm Springs Corvette Club and presented them with an etched vase and of course
some Vipers for each of their members so that they would remember us !!!
Randy is the President of the Palm Springs Corvette Club and I really appreciated all of his help
in putting this together.
It was really nice to have the ALS people and the Boys & Girls club people join us for the dinner as well.
We woke up to beautiful weather on Sunday morning.
But I think Raj might have been seen skinny dipping in the Resort Pool so Law Enforcement came. : )
I tried my best to talk the Officer out of his light bar, but he wasn't quite willing to give it up.
All in all it was a great trip and we will do this event again next year for sure.
A huge Thank You to Anthony Matranga for all his time and effort on this event !!!
On behalf of the entire Southern California Viper Club, We applaud and send a very Special Thank You
to all the members of the Palm Springs Corvette Club for being so great to work with on this event.
We have a ton of RESPECT for all the work and time you ALL put into this to raise money for some great Charities
like the ALS Foundation and the Boys & Girls Club.