Pony Express December 2018 CRMC P.O. Box Charlotte, NC Christmas for Kids by Brett Smith

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1 CRMC P.O. Box Charlotte, NC Christmas for Kids by Brett Smith The year may be coming to an end, but that doesn t mean there is nothing fun to do with your ride. Every year in the middle of November, there is a car show at the Hendrick Motorsports complex to benefit the Shriner s Hospital. This year, the show was Saturday the 17th. This show always has a huge turnout and this year was no exception. The weather was nice and sunny and warm for November. One of my favorite things about this show is the wide array of cars that attend. It is not the same cars you usually see at regional shows in the area all year. I would say that it does tend to lean towards GM products due to the nature of where it is held but that is a shame. The show is open to all makes, foreign and domestic plus there is the charity aspect so plan to attend next year. There are plenty of awards for Ford, Mopar and the European brands as well. It just happens to be held at the Hendrick complex. Continued on page 2

2 Continued from page Waxhaw July 4th Parade Photo Courtesy of Tom Chervenak Page 2

3 Americarna By Brett Smith The Saturday after Thanksgiving is always another great annual automotive event. Former NASCAR crew chief Ray Evernham hosts a show at the Ingersoll Rand complex in Davidson every year. The show is hosted under his Americarna branded events. This year, it was raining Saturday so the show was delayed one day and it was held on the Sunday after Thanksgiving instead. This show benefits Ignite, which is a charity for adults with Autism or Asperger s Syndrome. This show normally has cars in attendance and there are some high-end rides that show up from far away. There usually is a current or former NASCAR star there. This year current series champion Joey Logano was on site to pick some awards. Denny Hamlin also made a donation to the event and picked some awards. This show is also open to all makes and models, foreign and domestic. There are usually some extremely rare 60s muscle cars in attendance and this year was no exception. Continued on page 4 Page 3

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5 Blue Mustang Takeover By Michael Shorkey Michael Shorkey and Mark Hunter s Kona Blues posing with the Dragon at the end of the run. It must be time to take a drive! There are many things that will get a Mustanger s heart pumping: setting a personal best elapsed time on the track, getting the Best in Show award for your pampered pony, but to really get it pumping nothing beats a great twisty, windy road! That was the whole point of the annual Blue Mustang Registry Stampede, held in Knoxville, TN. This was the 4th annual event and it was obvious the group has learned how to put on a good stampede. The accommodations were excellent, the weather decided to cooperate and the roads chosen by the organizers were excellent. One of the short-comings of CRMC is we don t give our members many driving events. We have our Driving School, which is well respected and does very well, drawing entrants from much of the Eastern seaboard. We participate in many car shows to exhibit our ponies in their polished perfection. Other than our wine cruises we don t really host any driving events. Though we may take a twisty road or two, they are nothing like the challenges presented during Blue Mustang Registry Stampede held this past May First up was Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For those not familiar with this venue, this was an active community when the park was created in 1934, with churches, a grist mill and many, many small farms. It is especially noted for black bear sightings, and in that it did not disappoint I just wish it would have raised its head more than once. That was a gentle opener for Friday s Act II, the world renowned Tail of the Dragon. For those not familiar with the Tail, it is considered one of the toughest technical drives in the world. It is a mecca for motorcyclists and car enthusiasts. Located on US 129 at Deals Gap, NC, the Dragon straddles the NC/TN line, with most of the turns coming on the TN side. How many twists? 318 in only an 11 mile stretch! To make it even more difficult, there are ZERO guardrails. Posted speed? 35. And crossing the double-yellow line is an absolute NO-NO, because there is almost always on-coming traffic. Before we get to Saturday s final challenge, an observation about the organization BMR put into these drives. Each drive drew more cars than the one before, with 32 on Thursday, 38 on Friday and 46 on Saturday. How did they keep everyone together? FRS (family radio system) radios! The experienced hands had plenty on hand to loan one to virtually every driver. So the pack leaders didn t run off and leave the rest wondering which way they went. There s a lesson there. Our final run was on the Devil s Triangle. This a nifty series of roads just north of Knoxville that covers nearly 30 miles. In some places, this run is even tougher than the Dragon, like the switchbacks so sharp that the right rear tire was barely rotating. Not only a hairpin, but on a 10% grade to boot. So Mark and I will be looking forward to next year s run. For those who have an interest, they do not limit the drive to strictly blue Mustangs. All colors and car makes, are welcome. Best of all, this is occurring basically in our back yard. Some of the participants came from REALLY long distances, like Houston, TX and not one, but two cars from Toronto, ON. The long distance winner this year came from Wausau, WI (933 miles), making our measly 250 miles seem like nothing. Continued on page 6 Page 5

6 Michael Shorkey and Mark Hunter s Kona Blues posing with the Dragon at the end of the run. The bear however was not so impressed. Less than 100 feet off the road, our parade only merited a single glance. It even impressed the turkeys. The tom put on a display of his own Eleanor, seen at Cars for the Stars in Gatlinburg, TN Forty-six Mustangs, all double-parked in a row at a TVA dam. Yes, that s Mark Hunter at the left. That s what a full array of Mustangs looks like The views, however, were the most impressive of all. Page 6

7 CRMC Officers President Mark Hunter Vice President Michael Shorkey Secretary Tami Brown Treasurer Steve Hartung Regional Director Mike Williams Past President Mark Young BOD at Large Dave Barrett Phil Brooks Joe DelCasino Jim Olenik Jim Olejarczyk CRMC is a Regional Club of Mustang Club of America CRMC Charter Date August 24, 1978 The Power of the Pony by Brett Smith Another year of fun with cars is almost behind us. The good news is there are already a ton of fun things on the calendar for next year. Not the least of which is the 55 th Anniversary party alongside the Mustang Owner s Museum Grand opening. Speaking of the museum, hopefully everyone is on the list they have, but if not, the temporary museum is closing permanently December 22 nd so they can prepare for the grand opening. Also some good news. Charlotte Cars & Coffee has moved to a new location that is in much better shape than the previous location. The date is still the first Saturday of the month but the event is now at Whitehall Park Drive. I plan to check it out the first weekend in January. The second Saturday of every month RK Motors has their monthly meet N Greet Cruise in. They provide lunch and give away some awards and raffle prizes monthly. It is always a good time and FREE. The last Saturday of the month Streetside Classics has their cruise in. They have coffee and some breakfast treats and a TON of cars to check out. Once a year they turn the event into an actual show and give out awards as well. After attending both days of AutoFair for both events a year every year since 1996 (aside from 2 years), I believe I am about finished with this event. They are making it too difficult to attend and the Speedway needs us a lot more than we need them. I figure I have attended 76 DAYS of AutoFair (19 4 days a year) and it has progressively gotten worse pretty much every year. Now they are wanting to charge me to bring a car so they can charge someone else to come look at it. That s a good business model if you can get it I suppose. Charging people to look at something that belongs to someone else. But that still leaves the FOA show, Gate City Triad, our show, Foxtoberfest, the CRMC driving school and the other events I featured in this month s Pony Tales so there is plenty of stuff on the horizon for Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours! Page 7