Cal Club Autocross Forums

I am looking to expand the historical section of our web site and interested in stories and/or info on CSCC history. More specifically, the people involved in the region who made it what it is today; the how, when, and why the organization of the region; and how each of the clubs came to be. My only request is to be specific about names (people/groups) and dates. I would like to edit all this together and posted on the site by the end of this year, though that date is flexible. Send any and all stories to me by clicking on the envelope icon next to this message.

Leonard, maybe Art Rinner? Tom Berry? Steve Eguina? Any thoughts from the vets?

Dan Shaw wrote:Leonard, maybe Art Rinner? Tom Berry? Steve Eguina? Any thoughts from the vets?

Going to have to go older than that. Try contacting the Lynches. A lot of the old guard GRA guys. Maybe Irish for No $. Jardines for sure. Art can give you SCNAX history (Southern California Nissan AutoX club!), bleeds into San Diego too.

Jay W

I'd like to help but us old guys have memory issues.....

I'd like to help but us old guys have memory issues.....

Oh, wait. I already posted that didn't I?

I fixed the title for you:
Call for Stories/Info on the History of CalClub SCCA Autocross

Might as well start with the most recent history.

RE SCNAX: I've emailed Art minutes after Leonard posted. I haven't heard back from him. Hopefully he will reach out to Leonard.

Art always called Will an honorary SCNAX member, due to his being involved in SCNAX founding. (If memory serves me, I think they worked at the same company at the time too) He may be able to provide some background if Art does not chime in.

Resources:
John Fendel
George and JoAnne Lynch
Brian Robertson is not old, but has good friendships with the GRA old guard.
Bob and Gayle Jardine
Tom Berry is not old, but he's been doing this for a very longtime
Robert Puertas is a relative youngster, but he grew up in the region with a dad that was an important part of our history

We should add John Ward to the resource list. He is on the forum and I have his phone number.

As a side note John and his family spent many years running the Lone Pine event. Something about a black VW that should get the conversation started.

Bob, your Tiger might have gotten John's attention. Something about tires?

David

Rick Brown wrote:I'd like to help but us old guys have memory issues.....

Oh, wait. I already posted that didn't I?

LOL!

Leonard: I remember the Jardines wrote a really cool story about how they met & things they did w/ Cal Club a while back. Maybe ask Maggie or Gayle (one of them posted it, forgot who, but the story was awesome).

I think it's time to get alcohol involved in this process. Just need someone to commit to being Designated Recorder.

Kurt Rahn wrote:I think it's time to get alcohol involved in this process. Just need someone to commit to being Designated Recorder.

im so down for some cal club drunk history!

Rick Brown wrote:I'd like to help but us old guys have memory issues.....

I remember you Rick. Does that make me too young to tell some stories? Like one about John Ward

Larry Frankenstein wrote:

Rick Brown wrote:I'd like to help but us old guys have memory issues.....

I remember you Rick. Does that make me too young to tell some stories? Like one about John Ward

Spill the beans Larry.

Never trust a pinto driver.

George Schilling wrote:

Larry Frankenstein wrote:

Rick Brown wrote:I'd like to help but us old guys have memory issues.....

I remember you Rick. Does that make me too young to tell some stories? Like one about John Ward

Spill the beans Larry.

I've been waiting for John Ward to chime in some. Has he been around here lately?

Larry Frankenstein wrote: I've been waiting for John Ward to chime in some. Has he been around here lately?

Not since November of last year.

Havn`t been on lately, dealing with advanced stage 4 cancer with my wife, plus a few other issues......

Good to hear from you Larry !
Don`t have the VW anymore, replaced it with two black Porsches.
I heard that the VW was stolen and stripped. (Some guys REALLY take Tech seriously)
I would love to contribute to the history......like heading into the first turn at a Champ event, forgeting to fasten my seat belt and falling out of the seat.
Alot of stories about Ms. Van Arsdale, Gayle Jardine taking TTOD @ Lone Pine in a German Car.
Hand me another Scotch, and I got a dozen more

John Ward wrote:Alot of stories about Ms. Van Arsdale,

Hmm, maybe 3 or 4 people on here who know who that is!


Sorry to hear about your wife, wishing for the best.

John Ward wrote:Havn`t been on lately, dealing with advanced stage 4 cancer with my wife, plus a few other issues......

Good to hear from you Larry !
Don`t have the VW anymore, replaced it with two black Porsches.
I heard that the VW was stolen and stripped. (Some guys REALLY take Tech seriously)
I would love to contribute to the history......like heading into the first turn at a Champ event, forgeting to fasten my seat belt and falling out of the seat.
Alot of stories about Ms. Van Arsdale, Gayle Jardine taking TTOD @ Lone Pine in a German Car.
Hand me another Scotch, and I got a dozen more

Hi John, long time eh? Glad you're still around. First my best wishes to your Mrs.

I sure loved me some Ms. Van Arsdale

I had the passenger seat come loose while Grant Byers was driving my MGB up at Shafter – woo hoo

I’ll put up the Lone Pine story as I recall it – that was a lot of sakis ago. Then you can correct or fill in where my brain cells were damaged or otherwise impaired.

George Schilling wrote:

Larry Frankenstein wrote:

Rick Brown wrote:I'd like to help but us old guys have memory issues.....

I remember you Rick. Does that make me too young to tell some stories? Like one about John Ward

Spill the beans Larry.

Spilling – what an appropriate way to set this up, as John might recall.

This would be the early 80s. I was driving probably my first or second Lone Pine in my Tooti-Fruity MGB (my first LP was in Paul Shiosaki’s Capri). I believe this happened on the Saturday on my second or third run of the day. I had just sailed through the 180 turn at the north end of the course and got on the squirrels heading back toward the runway intersection when I inexplicably was headed north again without having turned the wheel nearly that much. The very rapid panoramic view of Mt. Whitney and the surrounding area was beautiful BTW. Once the Owens River Valley dust settled over my once “immaculate” MGB, and ME, I started back toward the pits and noticed a black VW Bug parked, which belonged to the infamous John Ward. I came to find out that John’s Bug had spilled its oil all over the course just ahead of me. That evening at the awards dinner my number was called for a door prize. The prize was a large economy sized bag of diatomaceous earth. If memory serves me that “prize” had been donated by the very same John Ward. I still am semi-suspicious about whether the drawing of that door prize was rigged. The bag of d-earth sat on the patio of the apartment I shared with Darren Young for years.

If John has more detail to add, or any confession he wishes to get off his conscious, I/we would love to know.

I remember it well......
I was anouncing in Curly`s RV. Gail was driving the VW, and I saw the trail of oil mist coming from the rear end of the car.
By looking at it, I knew the drain plug had come out of the sump. So, I had Gail RED FLAGGED !
She did what she was supposed to do, and came to a quick stop. We radioed a course worker to run over to her and tell her to shut the motor off NOW.
We towed the VW back into the pits, put in a new plug, filled it up with 50w, and Gail got the rerun, and won her class.
Fun times @ Lone Pine !!!

Don't forget Chris O'donnell and Bill Martin.

In that I took a nearly 40 year sabbatical, from 1967 to 2004, my memories are from the time before SCCA/CSCC. The avents were called Slaloms and an HP Sprite ruled the day. The Shelby Slalom snakes and the Gulstrand Corvette very seldom beat rhe dark maroon/red Bugeye of some young kid named Eliott. We held events at the Sears parking lot in Pomona, Hollywood Park, the terraced parking lots of Hollywood Bowl, Adam's in Riverside (I never drove there) and Riverside Raceway.

Don Salyers wrote:In that I took a nearly 40 year sabbatical, from 1967 to 2004, my memories are from the time before SCCA/CSCC. The avents were called Slaloms and an HP Sprite ruled the day. The Shelby Slalom snakes and the Gulstrand Corvette very seldom beat rhe dark maroon/red Bugeye of some young kid named Eliott. We held events at the Sears parking lot in Pomona, Hollywood Park, the terraced parking lots of Hollywood Bowl, Adam's in Riverside (I never drove there) and Riverside Raceway.

Plus Cypress College, Saddleback College, the Shelby parking lot, College of the Canyons, and Cal Poly Pomona. And of course Lion Country Safari (Verizon Amphitheater). All of those lots except Lion Country would not be SCCA legal these days due to size and obstacles.

Jayson Woodruff wrote: Art can give you SCNAX history (Southern California Nissan AutoX club!), bleeds into San Diego too. Jay W

Actually SCNAX = Southern California National AutoX Club