Volume 17 Issue 6 June 2007 Page 2 SOS to all... Upcoming Events. Autocrossing. Page 3 Putnam Park Event. Page 4 Spring Break. Page 5 Drive Down Under. Page 6 New Driving Venue. Summer Driving Tips. Classifieds. Page 7 Club sponsors. What’s Inside The Official Newsletter of the Indy Miata Club The Road Less Traveled.... by John Shaub, President Hello Miata Fans. May is just a memory and what a great month it was. After hot dry July like weather all month we finally got some rain on the one day nobody wanted it, race day for the Indy 500. Marsha & I made a full four day week- end out of the Memorial holiday weekend starting with Carb day (that’s carburetion day for you rookies). The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is full of tradition and Carb Day is one of them. Everybody knows the race cars haven’t had carburetors in half a decade, but I love the fact that they still call it that. We had a full crew of 8 people in from St Louis staying with us to enjoy the 500 and the holiday weekend. Some were rookies, some seasoned veterans. The rain on race day didn’t ruin our spirits, it actually gave us a chance to take in the race from a different view point for the restart of the race. We started out on the outside of turn one for the initial part of the race, then watched the last 45 laps from the start/finish line in Tower Terrace. We sat in the seats up against the rail looking down on victory circle. Why anyone would leave those seats and the race is a mystery to me. Oh well, it worked out great for us. May was a fantastic month of great top down Miata weather and club events. The first one of the month was the spring break Smokey Mountain Getaway put on by Steve Crouse. I didn’t attend, but from what I’ve heard they had a great turnout and a fantastic time. See page 4 for a report and some pictures. The next event of the month was our Putnam Park Raceway get together. We had a dozen cars or so show up on a beautiful cloudless day to check out some hot laps on the track. Putnam was in full swing, and we were told there were over 220 race cars there that day. A very special thanks goes out to Shane Benson of AIM Tuning for having the NASA officials change their schedule so the Indy Miata club could go out and run our cars at lunch. We all showed up not knowing that there had been a change in the schedule, but Shane came to the rescue and really bailed us out. Thank you, Shane! We had a great surprise of three new member cars show up to this event for their indoctrination to our club. See the article on page 3 about their experience. The last event of the month was our Indy 500 Mingle at the famous Mug & Bun restaurant. Again, about 12 cars showed up for this one. My worries about the lack of parking were not even an issue as there was plenty of parking for everyone. If you have never been to the Mug & Bun, you have to go, if nothing else but to just try their home made root beer. I’m not a big fan of root beer, I prefer the type made from hops and barley, but I have to admit, it was delicious. Until next time, keep the shiny side up!
The Road Less Traveled....by John Shaub, President
Hello Miata Fans. May is just a memory and what a great month it was.After hot dry July like weather all month we finally got some rain on the one day
nobody wanted it, race day for the Indy 500. Marsha & I made a full four day week-end out of the Memorial holiday weekend starting with Carb day (that’s carburetion day for you rookies). The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is full of tradition and Carb Day is one of them. Everybody knows the race cars haven’t had carburetors in half a decade, but I love the fact that they still call it that. We had a full crew of 8 people in from St Louis staying with us to enjoy the 500 and the holiday weekend. Some were rookies, some seasoned veterans. The rain on race day didn’t ruin our spirits, it actually gave us a chance to take in the race from a different view point for the restart of the race. We started out on the outside of turn one for the initial part of the race, then watched the last 45 laps from the start/finish line in Tower Terrace. We sat in the seats up against the rail looking down on victory circle. Why anyone would leave those seats and the race is a mystery to me. Oh well, it worked out great for us.
May was a fantastic month of great top down Miata weather and club events. The first one of the month was the spring break Smokey Mountain Getaway put on by Steve Crouse. I didn’t attend, but from what I’ve heard they had a great turnout and a fantastic time. See page 4 for a report and some pictures.
The next event of the month was our Putnam Park Raceway get together. We had a dozen cars or so show up on a beautiful cloudless day to check out some hot laps on the track. Putnam was in full swing, and we were told there were over 220 race cars there that day. A very special thanks goes out to Shane Benson of AIM Tuning for having the NASA officials change their schedule so the Indy Miata club could go out and run our cars at lunch. We all showed up not knowing that there had been a change in the schedule, but Shane came to the rescue and really bailed us out. Thank you, Shane! We had a great surprise of three new member cars show up to this event for their indoctrination to our club. See the article on page 3 about their experience.
The last event of the month was our Indy 500 Mingle at the famous Mug & Bun restaurant. Again, about 12 cars showed up for this one. My worries about the lack of parking were not even an issue as there was plenty of parking for everyone. If you have never been to the Mug & Bun, you have to go, if nothing else but to just try their home made root beer. I’m not a big fan of root beer, I prefer the type made from hops and barley, but I have to admit, it was delicious.
Until next time, keep the shiny side up!
In July of 2004 it became clear to me that our daughter was growing up and we would soon have that empty nest. She was going to be a high school senior and no longer wanted to be seen with her parents. I am sure you have all experienced this! Actually, it had been a long 17 years since Nancy and I had really had time to do what "we" wanted to do instead of going to a Volleyball, Basketball or Softball game to watch our daughter play. Although we have enjoyed every moment with our daughter (don' tget me wrong), we had finally arrived at a time when we could begin to spend time together again as a couple. I passed a cute little sports car sitting at a car dealership and took Nancy to see it. We both fell in love with this 1996 Miata M-edition Starlight Mica Blue. It happened to be Nancy's birthday and we decided to buy it. It had about 60,000 miles on it then and we just turned 100,000 this spring. Buting the car has been the best decision we ever made! Who knew such a little car could bring such joy into our relationship and hearts.
We started to feel like teenagers again. I got to looking around out on the web and realized that there are hundreds of Miata followers and there was a Indy Miata Club. The more I read about my little car the more I liked it. We went to a mingle and have gone to almost every rally since. We have slayed the Dragon 5 times and we drive her almost every night during the good weather months. We love to zoom-zoom to relieve the daily stress of life. Someday we would love to be able to buy a new Miata and travel west for a couple of weeks to see the sights. Life is too short not to enjoy it.
Steve Crouse, guess what! Tou're tagged to ell your story in August,
2 Open Road June 2007
Indy MiataClub Officers
The Open Road is published monthly for the mem-bers of the Indy Miata Club. The Indy Miata Club assumes no liability for any information contained herein, or injury or damage resulting from use of this information. The ideas, opinions, maintenance or modification tips expressed are to be used at the reader’s discretion. Individual contributors and/or the editors express no approval, authentication, or endorsement. Thank you.
A new edtion to the club calendar is the West Baden Hotel & French Lick Casino Rally, presented by Roger Burrill and Bob Wiley. This will be an all day 120 mile rally that will start in Martinsville at 9:00 a.m. on July 21. They will take you through scenic towns like Nashville, Story and Williams and end up at the West Baden Hotel near French Lick. Please plan on joining them for this beautiful and highly historic rally. If you wish to make reservations at either the West Baden Hotel or French Lick Casino, please contact them directly regarding package information.
More details on exact meeting location times etc. will be on the event page of the club website. Register online for an early bird discount of only $5.00! There will be a nice cash prize for one participant (maybe two prizes, depending on the final number of antendees).
The Brickyard 400 Mingle will be held at the Mug 'n Bun in Speedway on July 28. Again, check the website for more information.
Steve and Kathy Crouse are holding their Poker Run on August 11. See page 4 for more information.
Sadly, there are no club events on tap for September. Got a favorite drive-in or road to drive? Host a mingle, it's easy! Contact John Schaub to place an event on our calendar or have any questions about hosting an event.
The Bluegrass Miata Club is hosting the 8th annual Midwest Miata Gathering this year. Scheduled for September 7-9, main activities will be held at Tom Sawyer State Park with a kick off dinner Friday night at Churchhill Downs. Registration is available at http://www.miatagathering.com/main.html.
Events For July and Beyond
Tag, you're it!
The Burrills- Teens At Heart!
Open Road 3June 2007
by Thomas Stone
One said “You couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face!” while another remarked “What a great time!”, and the third one said, “This day has been fantastic!”.
These were remarks made by the three newest members of the Indy Miata Club after our first experience with the club. Your newest members are Tom and Sandy Stone, David and Carolyn Stewart, and Rick Rebuck, all who live in Elwood, a community in the northwest corner of Madison County, twenty miles north of Noblesville on Highway 37. I (Tom) purchased my red ’99 four years ago and was the only Miata in town until Rick hopped into the Miata experience last fall with his red ’97. David became the third Miata owner in Elwood in early April of this year with his purchase of a ’99 Anniversary Edition. These three have formed their own unofficial Miata group in town and hope to have many enjoyable driving experiences with their cars and with the Indy Miata Club.
The Putnam Park event was our first event, and all of us had a great time, including our wives, who really went along “just for the ride”. The wives were not expecting too much, but were surprised by how enjoyable the day was.
We pulled in Putnam Park right behind our president, John Schaub. It was John whom I had contacted earlier in the week to get some first-hand information about the event. John and his wife Marsha and the other members there were super hosts to us newcomers, and the weather was perfect for our first club outing. We were blessed with the friendliness of the club members, and new club shirts and car decals added to the sense of belonging to the group.
With the help of Shane Benson, everyone was able to get their cars onto the road course for several laps, pushing the limits set on us by the NASA officials. I suspect that Shane did go slightly faster than 30 mph in some of those turns!
Following the laps around the track, John lead five other Miatas on the back roads to Mooresville and lunch at Gray’s Cafeteria. At that point, the cavalcade broke up as folks headed home in different directions.
On behalf of your new Elwood contingent, we certainly want you to know that we had a great time, due in a large part by the gracious club members whom we had a chance to meet. Thank you for having such a club and permitting us to become a part of it!
New Elwood members - Left to right: Carolyn and David Stewart, Tom and Sandy Stone, Bill and Rick Rebuck.
Right: Cars and members in the parking area.
First Club Event Couldn't Have Been Better!
Above: Miatas line up in the hot pits at Putnam Park waiting to enter the track.
4 Open Road June 2007
Miata Spring Break In The SmokiesWe've led groups on week-long Spring trips to the Smokies & the Dragon before, but this year was a ground-swell of
enthusiasm. Instead of our usual four to six Miatas, we had 22 Miatas at one time or another during our week at Deal's Gap / Tapoco and our northern jaunt to the area around Little Switzerland. In addition to the core group from Missouri / Illinois / Indiana, we also had additional friends from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Tennessee join in on the fun. I know that well over half were neophytes to the Dragon, but it won't be their last time! How did our group end up so far-flung? I guess word gets around when there is fun to be had!
Sara won't allow me all the room I'd need in the newsletter to give a complete accounting of everything we did, so let me try to summarize.
First, LOTS of ROADS! Tail of the Dragon (several times); Cherohala Skyway; Wayah Road; Rt. 28; Blue Ridge Parkway; NC-228A (we call it the Dragonette), and many more.
LOTS of WATERFALLS: Bridal Veil, Dry Falls, Bald River, Crabtree Falls, Linville Falls, and a couple of others that elude me.
A train ride up the Nantahala Gorge. LOTS of group meals, with lots of laughter. LOTS of wrong turns, and getting lost a couple of times.
That may cover some of it, but you will have to ask the others who went along what were their high points. Then try to stop them from talking!
Kathy and I want to thank all our fellow Miata travelers for helping make the trip so enjoyable. Maybe we will do it again sometime?
by Steve Crouse
At the Gap, there be dragons and here's proof!
Roger and Nancy with members of the Gateway Miata Club at lunch.
Miatas slowly follow a tanker truck through Deal's Gap.
PK met Vince, the Crash Test Dummy, on the trip!
Miatas on a run through the Tail of the Dragon.
Open Road 5June 2007
The Drive.......Mark Saturday, June 23 on your calendar to take Bob Wiley's The Drive Down Under!
We will begin our day in the BIG LOTS parking lot in Bloomington. It is just behind Burger King on SR 48. Take SR 37 to Bloomington, exit west on SR 48. You will see Burger King and a Big Lots sign on the right around 1 mile from 37. Go directly behind Burger King in the Big Lots lot. Arrive by 9:00 to 9:30. Cars will head out at will, around 9:30 to 9:45. (if you plan on eating at BK, I'd arrive a bit sooner.)
This will be a "drive at your own leisure" type run. You can caravan if you like with other cars or go on your own. If you have FRS radios, bring them, it helps to keep groups together or point out interesting things along the way. Try to arrive for lunch with the group around 12:30. Some may arrive before others and can tour the Amish shops, hotel and grounds. This fun run and exploration rally will include nice driving roads and an optional tour of Blue Springs Caverns.
For the tour of the Caverns, you will walk underground to a boat, and ride through the cave in a boat. So there is minimal walking, but some. This part of the Rally will be an "option" for those wanting to do it after lunch. I can get a group rate if we have at least 15 people. (10.00 instead of $14.00 per person) It will be cool underground, so you might want to bring a jacket! More information can be found at their website: http://www.bluespringcaverns.com/.
I need to know well ahead of time that we have at least 15 going to the Cave so I can call and get the rate. Their web site is http://www.bluespringcaverns.com (The most they can take in a one hour period is 32 people according to the web site.)
As for the Gasthof Amish Village, there is shopping, a hotel and pool if anyone might wish to stay overnight. They offer buggy rides of the area and demonstrations on craft work. The restaurant is in a historic barn built by Amish carpenters. They have a web site which is http://www.gasthofamishvillage.com/.
If you wish to stay, overnight reservations are your responsibility. This is just an option. The group will be eating a buffet lunch at the Village. Hopefully we can get a group rate for this also.
The drive will be on nice, curvy, southern Indiana roads and maybe some "off the beaten path" roads with a possible covered bridge or two! The new French Lick Casino, hotel and West Baden are not far away from where we'll be, so optional choices are there.
Please sign up online if you are going, and email me at [email protected] if you want to be included in the cave tour.
....Down Under
Open Road 6June 2007
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More zoom-zoom than ever....
You are proud of your car. Let us help you to keep your Miata looking great. We offer services ranging from a "Wash and Vac" to a "Full Service Detail". Most importantly, we'll also give you guidance on how easy it is to keep your Miata looking great after it leaves our shop.
We invite you to stop by, take a tour of our shop, and let’s just talk about your car. Remember. Indy Miata Club members receive a 10% discount.
Cleaning Indiana, one car at a time!
Jim Schliebner4265 West 96th Street - Indianapolis, IN
317-514-2659http://www.jimmybuffit.com
Thank you to all of the Indy Miata Club Sponsors.
2007 Scheduled EventsJune 16 - Formula 1 Downtown CruiseJune 23 - The Drive Down Under
July 28 - Brickyard 400 Mingle
August 11 - Poker Run 1
October 6 - Putnam Park DriveOctober 27 - Madison Madness
November - Hidden Drives IV
December - Holiday Party
Indy Miata Club members pause for a group photo at the Putnam Park event.
