Glad to hear you have the tires squared away, you're going to have a great time at this event. See ya there!:lateral:

Event Sponsors
 

We have many Great Sponsors for this event
Wilwood - Braking Challenge
Nitto - Autocross Sponsor
QA1 Motorsports - Road Rally Sponsor
Route 66 Motorsports - Car Show Sponsor
Carbon Kustoms - Karting Event Sponsor

This will be a great day for all people involved :thumbsup:

I'll be there, for sure, but the car is another question. Still have to do final assembly of basically the whole car (although GM A-bodies aren't overly complicated and any missing parts can be easily had from The Parts Place, Inc., which is just down the street from me. Big thing is the delays on receiving all the high performance parts - still waiting on my AFX spindles (3 months now), Lee steering box, Hydratech Hydroboost, and Ricks Stainless tank. My EFI 565 should be finished next week, and the Strange S60 is being assembled this week. So, if all goes well, I'll have it all together by the 4th of July, however, I think the schedule has too many potential snares that would keep me from being ready for the Heidt's event in time, so at this point I won't be registering as a participant.

Where are you located? If The Parts Place is down the street from you we have to practically be neighbors. Can't wait to see your car. Not enough A-bodies out there.

I'm just north of Wasco - technically I'm a resident of Campton Hills. I think I've seen your car at the Country Car Show a year or two ago - can't wait to see it after you finish the latest mods from the RS. Your '66 hardtop was one of the inspirations that got me going towards a PT build over a stock restoration on my '70.

Heidts Performance Car Challenge welcomes new participants
 

Heidts Hot Rod & Muscle Car Parts is proud to announce that Mary Pozzi and James Shipka will both be competing at the Heidts Performance Car Challenge July 15-17 in Joliet, IL at Autobahn Country Club!

James and Mary recently shared seat time in the OPTIMA Batteries One Lap Camaro at the 2011 One Lap of America. After 3900 gruelling miles, this team of accomplished drivers walked away as 2011 Vintage American Class Champions.

James and Mary will compete head to head and alongside the rest of the competitors at the Heidts Performance Car Challenge for a coveted OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational berth. James will be driving the first generation Camaro known as the OPTIMA One Lap Camaro. Mary will be competing in her beloved, but recently revamped, second generation Camaro. Don’t miss your chance to run with two of the pro-touring worlds most popular drivers and cars.

This event features a full schedule of high horsepower fun including:
Heidts Hot Rod & Muscle car Parts shop tour and luncheon
QA1 Road Rally
Rt 66 Car Show
Heidts Road Course Challenge
Carbon Kustoms Karting Enduro
Nitto Autocross Challenge
Wilwood Braking Challenge
Strange Engineering Awards Banquet

The event is all about the experience, so whether you are an experienced or novice driver, we would love to see you at the Heidts Performance Car Challenge. Heidts is offering a $40.00 discount to all participants who sign up before June 20th. For Information visit www.heidtsperformancecarchallenge.com

If you're nervous, don't be...
 

Hey crew - we've heard from a few folks out there that some of you might be a little nervous about coming out to play because you feel you're inexperienced or that your car may not be competitive. Let me be the first to reassure you that you are welcome and we will do everything we can to make you comfortable. These events are designed to allow everyone to have fun and our emphasis is on getting folks out to participate, not the overall competition.

Sure, the clock is running on every lap, but nobody has any expectations. You're going to earn a ton of respect from us and all the participants if this is your first event. This is the perfect type of event to learn what an apex is and to try that heel/toe braking technique. There are no professional drivers here, and we'll even put you in a run group that fits your speed and style.

I can't emphasize enough how much fun it is to be able to run your car as fast as you feel comfortable. The feeling you get when you exit the turn at the the exact spot you envisioned and then roll onto the throttle down the straight is unbelievable. Shaving a half second off your last lap time on the autocross makes your chest swell with pride. Having spectators come over and shake your hand when you pull into the paddock area after a session makes it all worthwhile.

And, how many people are going to show up at work on Monday and say "I just did a 1:20.3 lap at Autobahn yesterday and Mary Pozzi helped me shave a full second off my autocross time!" You'll be hanging out with some of the industries highest profile names and companies, not to mention having more fun with your car than a barrel of monkeys! For around $350, you can have an entire weekend of a lifetime! Sign up at http://www.heidtsperformancecarchallenge.com

If you're nervous, don't be...
 

Hey crew - we've heard from a few folks out there that some of you might be a little nervous about coming out to play because you feel you're inexperienced or that your car may not be competitive. Let me be the first to reassure you that you are welcome and we will do everything we can to make you comfortable. These events are designed to allow everyone to have fun and our emphasis is on getting folks out to participate, not the overall competition.

Sure, the clock is running on every lap, but nobody has any expectations. You're going to earn a ton of respect from us and all the participants if this is your first event. This is the perfect type of event to learn what an apex is and to try that heel/toe braking technique. There are no professional drivers here, and we'll even put you in a run group that fits your speed and style.

I can't emphasize enough how much fun it is to be able to run your car as fast as you feel comfortable. The feeling you get when you exit the turn at the the exact spot you envisioned and then roll onto the throttle down the straight is unbelievable. Shaving a half second off your last lap time on the autocross makes your chest swell with pride. Having spectators come over and shake your hand when you pull into the paddock area after a session makes it all worthwhile.

And, how many people are going to show up at work on Monday and say "I just did a 1:20.3 lap at Autobahn yesterday and Mary Pozzi helped me shave a full second off my autocross time!" You'll be hanging out with some of the industries highest profile names and companies, not to mention having more fun with your car than a barrel of monkeys! For around $350, you can have an entire weekend of a lifetime! Sign up at http://www.heidtsperformancecarchallenge.com

This is going to be a great event! I had the opportunity to make a whole five laps at Autobahn during this years One Lap of America and can say from personal experience that it is a great facility and the track that we will be running on is perfect no matter what your level of experience. It's definately a track that gives you the opportunity to improve as you run it - there are no really complicated combinations, the visibility is great and there is plenty of room to run. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to run there again.

Now... on to other business...

Since this is going to be the first time that Mary and I have an opportunity to play head to head I think that a little wager is in order... "Loser" (lower placing overall for the weekend) has to run the wet skid pad during OLoA next year... and has to wash the other one's car. Unless you win the whole thing - which would prove that you should run the wet skid pad because you are so good.

After a couple years of reading about how much fun these driving events are! I went to my first event last year. The mid west muscle car challenge. The event was put on by Jimi and FM3 marketing. Not knowing what to expect, I was amazed at how professionally it was run. They broke us down into groups based on experience (I was in the no clue group), and walked us through everything that we needed to know. When you hear or read about people saying how much fun they had at one of these events, multiply that by 10 for 1st timers. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for week. Yeah, I was nervous at the thought of "competing", but I quickly found out that everyone wasn't watching me blow the corner they were all just having a good time. I met four or five other newbs, and a bunch of really nice people. If your tired of sitting in a lawn chair and talking about cars, you really ought to come out and drive. I was blown away by how well my car really performed, because I hadn't ever gotten the chance to push it safely on the street. Anyway, i just wanted to say that even though taking that first step was kinda scary, it was one of the most fun and gratifying things I've ever done:thumbsup: