Hi Troy, We're currently a five cat family. Two live ones and three (yes, this is yet another hobby out of control) large, mostly iron ones from Coventry.
Your PM note mentioned having a hobby of collecting hobbies! I, too, have always been afflicted with such activity. If I'd not learned to be a car nut, I'd probably have been content to be seriously into photography. I can't imagine having clean fingernails all the time, however.
My out of control investing hobby at least turned into a positive cash flow event early enough to fund some of the other negative cash flow hobbies! One inexpensive hobby is watching cats and kids. I wasn't raised around cats but had the joy of being introduced to Pearlie Mae as a bachelor. She lived with me for sixteen years and taught me to well appreciate what the Furry version of Felines were about.
Next came Bud (short for Buttermilk) - pretty much in charge of Mouse Patrol for a quarter mile radius from our house. Bud cruised the neighborhood and ravine keeping all rodents in line. He added new meaning to the "Put some glide in your stride." phrase. Bud never moved fast. He was a long lean cat with markings like an American Cougar. Had the longest tail I've ever seen on a cat. He lived with us for 11 years and died young of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (incurable).
Now there's two female siblings living with us. These girls are about 4 years old now. Dazi Mae (named for her great aunt Pearl) and Callie Elizabeth (don't ask!) give us nearly constant entertainment as they pull off their shenanagans. Callie is a "short tail cat" who was injured as a kitten and had her tail bobbed when she was sheltered at the Humane Society. Dazi and Callie were the last of their litter to be adopted, so we took them both.
Dazi's pretty serious about keeping up Uncle Bud's work on Mouse Patrol, but she never had adequate training from him. Since Bud died the girls have pulled in their range quite a bit. Apparently Bud's scent marking of his territory protected the girls as well. There's more cats in the area that we'd never seen before Bud died. There's also a momma fox that has taken up residence in the ravine nearby. She littered this spring and since then our cats have curtailed activity in that area.
Anyway, the BRG 1953 Jaguar OTS is hitting the race track this weekend at Elkhart Lake for the first time this year. It's the Brian Redman International Challenge at Road America
roadamerica.com
and is one of the largest such events for vintage and historic race cars in the country. I've not raced in two years (triple diskectomy and fusion on my neck last year) so am really in urgent need of an adrenalin rush! I'll also take my '61 Mk II Jag Saloon up even though it doesn't go racing. I have put about 10,000 miles on this nice old car since restoring it about three years ago. The third Cat is my wife's freshly restored 1986 XJ6. With only 40,000 original miles on it, work was mostly on the exterior to remove the Salt Cancer of northern Rust Belt driving.
There will be 450 to 500 cars there for competition this weekend, so anyone in the Mid-West that's interested in cars from the '50s, '60s and '70s (plus other assorted years) should try to make it to the Automotive Love-In!
This is no ordinary car show. For those who've not attended a vintage car race, it's a kinetic museum of automotive lust. We car nuts need to do something besides drive our pretty cars in a 4th of July parade once a year! Vintage racing lets us restore our favorite sports or muscle car to top notch condition so we can go run the snot out of it on the race track! Then we get to restore it again for the next race!!! Perpetual Motion! Like the movie "Ground Hog Day", but more fun!
It's amateur racing at its best. Competition is excellent and drivers are quite talented. Only after one has driven a modern automobile on a race track can one appreciate what a handful most vintage sportscars can be! Many times we are driving as much with the brakes in mind as with the throttle. My old Jag is good for several hot laps before the brakes start to go away. I have to maintain a pace that will still have me stopping at the end of the race. Go faster and then I don't finish well. Like the old Jag ads from the '50s claimed
"Grace, Space and Pace!"
if you exceed the "Pace" part for very long, you end up in the Kitty Litter!!
Here's the link to our "Leaping Cats Racing" pages.
execpc.com
There's pictures of all sorts of race cars from the last decade of vintage racing and some good links to other competition oriented sites.
I started to read this thread back when it first was formed, but must have either lost the link or thought it had died. Thanks, Troy, for bringing me back in from the cold!
Getting a room near Elkhart Lake, WI for this weekend's race might be difficult this late, but, believe me, if any of you are serious about your passion for cars and/or competitive driving, this Vintage Race weekend is the "Woodstock" of automobiles. Anything you ever lusted after will be there - and in many colors.
If you can't make this weekend, there's always the Vintage Fall Festival in September. Temps are cool, Trees have color and there's always Bratwurst cooking on the grill!
Anyone attending this coming weekend should look for my car between corners 5 and 14 in the paddock. My car number for the weekend is #38. I'm parking with a bunch of other Jaguar friends; Larry Ligas is here from Florida driving his '64 E-type Coupe (on steroids), David Hinton is also here driving his '52 XK 120 Coupe (also on steroids) and long time race friend Edgar Boles will be here from Ohio driving his beautiful baby blue '59 XK 150 Coupe. We'll be parked with the folks from Terry's Jaguar from Benton, IL. They bring up their black stealth E-type Roadster to show just how fast a well prepared cat can run. So, look for the Terry's Jaguar trailer and a bunch of Kitties and chances are you'll find me.
My group, #2, goes out early on Sunday, so be there early. On Saturday I'm on the track twice. Once at 9:30 AM and again at 3:45 PM.
Road America is one of the prettiest race courses in the country. It's also celebrating 50 years of racing this year (although the first three years were on the streets of Elkhart Lake). By far the best "track food" of any race track I've found. Then it's off to the lake for "cool down laps" and to Siebkins for the car show and great food. Or maybe the auction at the Osthoff will be more your style. It hardly matters, we're all there for the same reason.....
WE'RE ALL CAR NUTS!!!
:-)
Best regards, Tom |
