April 2 track event Sebring International Raceway

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18 NSXs came for a day filled with high-speed laps at the historic 12-hour 3.7 mile 17-turn course at Sebring International Raceway!  The weather was sunny and warm, typical of Florida in early April.  The only thing that delayed the start was a late ambulance (they must have forgotten to set their clocks ahead!).

The event started with tech inspection at our new headquarters hotel the Inn on the Lakes.  It was a beautiful sight.  NSXs, Porsches, RX-7's, and Miatas were the most popular cars.  There was the rare new yellow 2000 Type R, a rare blue 97-T owned by Stanley Lane (who's son owns a 94 red/black!).  John Carmickle visited us from Chicago in his rental Escort.  We had NSXs from as far away as Washington DC as John Shore made the trip via auto-train again in 2000.  Thanks to Bob Fournier, Brian Rasche, and Aaron Weiss for organizing and running the tech line.  Deborah and Vince Howard and yours truly manned the registration table for our SIXTY-FOUR entrants!

McKayhotel.jpg (418448 bytes)hoteltech1.jpg (426828 bytes) Scott McKay and Heather from Tampa/St. Petersburg

tech2.jpg (398349 bytes)yellowR.jpg (421121 bytes) L: tech inspection line  R: the new 99 Type R

Landahotel.jpg (411986 bytes)NSXhotel1.jpg (408519 bytes) Nelson from Miami cleaning his black NSX

GriecoPike.jpg (424824 bytes) L to R:  John Grieco (a new Floridian), John Carmickle, and Barry Pike

Weiss911.jpg (418141 bytes) Aaron Weiss has new wheels...a Porsche 911

Mikbeb.jpg (428647 bytes) Shim Mikbeb needs help from Tom Mullane to fasten his videocamera

After tech inspection, 36 of us sat down for an excellent dinner hosted by Chicanes.  We feasted on prime rib, chicken, and pan-fried grouper.  A drivers meeting and education session followed in the conference center complete with in-car video of the track and introductory high-speed driving tapes.  After several participants went shopping at Walmart for that all-important long-sleeved shirt it was time to hit the sack and lose ONE HOUR of sleep before 6am wake-up.

The day dawned clear and cool.  Sunrise was gorgeous over the new pits at Sebring.  The old pits were completely torn down and rebuilt.  Now they feature full garage areas and a pit lane for parking cars.  Our group filled up all the slots.

sunrise1.jpg (403480 bytes)sunrise2.jpg (399281 bytes)pits1.jpg (392472 bytes) sunrise in the new pit area at Sebring

DriversMtg (2).jpg (21909 bytes) drivers meeting at 8am

lineup1.jpg (417314 bytes) Nelson Landa from Miami and his black 91

lineup2.jpg (409103 bytes) John Butz and his 92 white

Johnson1.jpg (421203 bytes) Stacie and Jim Johnson from Brandon

lineup3.jpg (408739 bytes)Vince Howard and Francie Deganahl ready to go

straight1.jpg (391296 bytes)straight2.jpg (387825 bytes) cars on the front straight

group11.jpg (419527 bytes)group9.jpg (389904 bytes)group1.jpg (407367 bytes)WSCgroup.jpg (408022 bytes) group shots to send to Acura!

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During the lunch hour our photographer took pictures of our group of 15 NSXs in formation over the checkered start-finish line, site of the 12 hour race just 2 weeks ago.  We must have left the cars out there for 30 minutes to enjoy the view!

Everybody had a great time.  I expect a bunch of new members to join our group as future events will require NSXCA Florida chapter membership.  Drivers realized that our track events are an excellent way to improve their skills and drive their cars to their true potential.  For some it was the first investment in the driver, not the car!

Thanks to Tom Hardy, the officials and corner workers at Sebring, and Elinor Orman for helping with the arrangements.

We look forward to our next event on Sunday May 21st, 2000 at the 12-hour course.  Registration material will be available within a week on our website.

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written by Wei-Shen Chin                                 (photo by Vector Trust)