Thunder at Stillwater II

[A26B]

THUNDER AT STILLWATER II

OK, been working on this event and it's coming together. The date has changed because its football season in Oklahoma and Stillwater loves its Cowboys. There are 3 OSU home games in Stillwater during September. There are no hotel deals when OSU plays at home.
Here we go on the details at present....

Registration: ZR1NetRegistry Regional Event. I will be setting up registration & pymts through the registry website with Ron & Mom's blessing.

Sign-in: Thursday, 1500~1800, 10Sep09. Stillwater, Stillwater Plaza Hotel

Hallett Road Course: Friday, 0900~1700, 11Sep09. http://www.hallettracing.net/ Hallett, OK abt 35 miles from Stillwater. Bring your helmet! Glen Breitung has graciously offered his services for ride-along instruction. Track is all ours for the day. Registration cost will be dependent on the number of cars, so the more registrants, the cheaper it will be. Example, 40 registrants = abt $100ea. A real bargain for a full day of track time.

Tulsa Drag Strip: Saturday, 1000~1700, 12Sep09. http://www.tulsaracewaypark.com/ Abt 80 miles from Stillwater. We will be merging in with a Chevy Fest event, so only Chevrolet cars will be there. The track is still working on planning as to whether Sat will be formal racing or more of a test & tune day. Either way, we can stage & run on our own or compete if desired. The good thing is... no track rental, pay at the track, no reservations required. Cost & rules will be forthcoming. I understand the rules will be "lenient" regarding roll bars/cages.

VIP Assembly: Saturday, 1900~whenever, 12Sep09. Will be held at Mercury Marine plant in Stillwater. VIP contact & confirmation is in progress and will be published later. This will be in Mercury's auditorium. Objective is to hold a reunion, recognize & honor persons who played a role in the ZR-1 & LT5 development & accomplishments. Afterwards, it will be open question & answer with story telling for as long as they are willing. Bring your HOTB books!

Autocross Solo: Sunday, 1000~1500, 13Sep09. Event will be SCCA sponsored and held at the Mercury Marine Plant in Stillwater. Cost (if any) & rules will be forthcoming.

Photographs & Video: Plans are to have a photographer at the various events to take pictures of the event, your cars on the track, pits or scenic background (like maybe Mercury Marine) A CD of the collection can then be purchased by everyone or maybe just your personal shots. I would like to have a quality video DVD of the VIP discussion included because I have no doubt there will be a lot of valuable knowledge shared. Cost & products will be forthcoming.

Lodging: http://www.stillwaterplaza.com/index.php A block of 40 rooms is reserved at the Stillwater Plaza Hotel. King & dbl queen rooms are available, Cost is $81.18/day with all fees included.

Banquets & Dinners: The general impression I've gotten is that most folks think the cost is too high & the quality & fare generally leaves something to be desired. As such, there won't be any offered as part of the event agenda. Stillwater has some great & famous eating places. Hideaway Pizza, Eskimo Joes, and many others. Good steak, barbeque, mexican & good old American fare available.

Souvenirs & Memorabilia: Hats, T-shirts, sweatshirts, banners & such are in the works.

This will be a great homecoming event with performance driving events for everyone available. I've been thinking about a KOTH award on the order of a tri-fecta. Whoever posts the lowest total comprised from the lowest time in all 3 events wins! Only rule is....no changes to the car for events. Run drag slicks & skinnies, you gotta run them on the road course & auto cross too! You get the idea. What do you think about this? Fun?

BTW, I do have a special surprise that will remain a secret until the event. You won't be disappointed! Just be sure to attend.

Post replies here with your thoughts and especially if you plan to attend and the events you want to participate in. If you know owners of the new ZR1, please invite them to attend. That group is very new & small and probably doesn't have a gathering yet. It's a heck of a car and would be fun to watch on the track events. There is already one member who has a ZR1 and will be attending.

[AtsZR1]

Jerry my friend, I AM IN. I have made a reservation at the Stillwater Plaza. Looking forward to it...let me know when to register. Thanks,

Henry

[JThomas]

Sounds like a great event Jerry. Thanks for organizing. I will be finishing up the 15th Anniversary Caravan with the National Corvette Museum the previous week, in the Z06.

Now I'm going to have to return to Michigan, grab the beast and head south, again!

[cvette]

We're there dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jerry, how well is the hotel set up for a truck & trailer?

[A26B]

It's good Jeff. There is Truck & RV parking and there are 24 hr restaurants around the parking lot, so it's well lit.

Thanks for the update Jerry, I'll see what I can do.

[gbrtng]

Regarding Hallett:

Those of you who have done high speed driving school instructing, or even participated in an HPDE event, please PM me. I'd like to do an informal class lecture on track procedures for those who have never been on a road course, and we'll need some experienced in-car instructors too. The most important part is to keep your car in one piece ... in addition to having a good time, that is.

[4DSZR1]

The more I think about this event the more its becoming a need and not a want

[A26B]

I have a question to put to everyone who even remotely plans to attend Thunder at Stillwater II.

What is your opinion regarding extending an invitation to the ZR1 (no dash) owners?

that group is very small at present, with no gatherings or events. We are both offspring of the same parent with similar names. They don't have any "family gatherings" to attend yet. Plus, I can tell you from personal track experience (riding) it's a HELLUVA machine.

This is "our" event, so I'll respect the opinion of the members here. Thanks for your replies.