A few brave members of the club made the trip to Buttonwillow Raceway on May 14th and 15th to attend the British Extravaganza Vintage Car races and their associated British Car Show.
Members Steve Magoffin and Flavio Montoro decided to drive their Big Healeys, along with Terry Morgan in his Jensen Healey and me in my newest Sprite. Flavio decided to leave on Friday afternoon from Russ Thompson’s shop, where his Healey was being repaired, followed by his wife Patty in their “BJ9”, which turned out to be a blessing.
Terry and his buddy, Richard Longo, met Steve and I at the Denny’s near Magic Mountain Saturday morning and we drove up the 5 Fwy to the racetrack before it got too hot. The weather had been in the 80’s but decided to climb into the 100’s for the weekend. Terry’s buddy Jim Biles met us at the event in his beautiful TR4 and we enjoyed watching member Tom Colby race his Sprite, as well as Las Vegas members Denie and Shelley Hiestand race their Lancia and Fiat X1-9 respectively in the small-bore race where Denie won first overall. During the day I ran into member Charlie Hart and his wife who came up to enjoy the races and have a great Basque dinner at “Woolgrower’s” in Bakersfield.
The main race of the day was the All-British Race where Tom finished 4th after passing several cars due to problems in qualifying and winning the “Hard Charger” trophy and Moss gift certificate. After the race we all enjoyed a great BBQ dinner and a few alcoholic drinks before driving to the Hotel in Bakersfield where we relaxed trying to recover from the day’s heat.
After having a great breakfast at “Cracker Barrel”, Flavio, Steve and I drove back to the raceway on Sunday morning for the conclusion of the Car Show and the lunchtime laps around the track. It was Flavio and Steve’s first time on a racetrack and they enjoyed the experience even though at a reduced speed.
The Car Show awards were handed out with Terry winning the best Healey with his Jensen Healey and me winning the Best Sprite. Flavio also won a nice blanket for use on cooler days.
We decided due to the heat, that we would drive straight back, and it was a good thing we did as Flavio’s car broke down just before the Grapevine and his wife was able to stay with him in their air-conditioned car until the tow truck arrived.
Overall, it was a great weekend experience and hopefully it will not be as hot next year; and with the races on the Mother’s Day weekend, more members can join in.