February 2019
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Iniezione The newsletter of the NorthWest Alfa Romeo Club February, 2019 Twists and Turns, Waterfalls and Wonderful Cars! Good times on the New Year’s Day Anti-Football Drive hanks, Fred, for a great drive! me in my bright white new I was new, the 4C even newer, only a few 4C; many would have T months old, when I decided to partake in a drive said, 'just follow the little through the country with the Alfa club of the NW. white Alfa'. We got the route five minutes before going on the So they did. road. Not knowing the route and having no navigator on For a while. board, I was left with the “follow the person in front of Or less. you” dilemma/procedure. Now, not everyone had an "Honey, where’s that Alfa, so it was hard to know who to follow. white Alfa you were sup- Again, this was/is posed to follow?” Cars the Alfa group, not the following me soon evapo- Toyota or Ford group rated, along with the frost on the road. going for a car cruise. Some may have re-appeared miles Think speed and well- later, but how would I know? There handling vehicles; this were so many other vehicles taking was the fastest cruise part in this early day drive. I’ve ever been on! Being a back roads driver I was fa- Think about struggling miliar with many of these roads. I had (but only slightly) to so many flashbacks of the simi- keep up with the person lar scenery I was flying by, in front of you. when I was here last? We left at 8:30 AM, no-one on any Who cares... just step on it! road, which was so pleasant. At many Keeping focused, I never lost intersections the driver in front of me my way, still smart enough to may not have had any turn indicators let a fellow Alfisti slip in front on, but would take off as fast they ar- me as we were leaving rived. Snoqualmie Falls en route to I had to go, too, or be left behind. Tacoma. Nice museum in Ta- I am sure many tried to keep up with coma, 5 levels deep. What a fun day, I keep telling everyone, because In this issue… * Tulip Rallye ...…..…………... p 8 it was so true! Beats a day at the track; I’ve done * New Year’s Day Drive .... pp 1, 4 * Garden Tour ……………...… p 9 that too. * President’s Column .............. p 2 * Concorso Italiano …….…….. p 9 Thanks, Fred! * Race Prep at Prova …...…… p 3 * Alfa News …………………… p 9 - Mark Greengo * TSD Rallying Overview ….....p 3 * AROC Mid-Year Retreat .… p 10 * Selling Your Car/Authentic * A Star-Gazing Road Trip … p 11 hat to do on New Year’s Day? I don’t Advice …………....…….pp 5, 6 * Calendar ……….......……... p 12 watch football and like to drive, so hitting * Alfas at Imola …………..….. p 6 W this event was right up my alley. Two * Pasta Cook-Off …..…...….….p 7 Next club events… friends of mine in the club assured me that showing * Driving School/HPDE …. …...p 7 * Prova Motorsports …..….Feb 12 up sans Alfa Romeo would be okay, and I’d only * Citroen Spring Drive …...……p 8 * Pasta Sauce Cook-Off . Feb 17 receive mild ridicule concerning my ride. Plus, not * FEN Italian Car Show …....... p 8 * Driving School/HPDE …. Mar 10 a club member, so total (continued on page 4) President’s Column By Fred Russell There is Happiness in Both Old and New Heading into the rest of the s I write this I’ve just finished enjoying one of the 19 year we have other good cent cheeseburgers from the 65th Birthday celebra- things that came from the A tion of Dick’s Drive-In. The first location opened on board meeting. The new club NE 45th between the University District and Wallingford logo that’s used on the news- neighborhood. Though I’m not old enough to remember the letter and website… we have first year… I did start going there as a kid in 1968. stickers for you to put on your As a second grader at Lake City Elementary, I would sneak car. I’ll have them at every off the playfield during lunch time and walk the short block event, so ask for a few when over to Dick’s Lake City location, where my lunch money was you see me. exactly enough for a hamburger, small fries and a small root There are lots of events in 2019 starting with our Feb meet- beer. Ten years later, when I bought my first Alfa Romeo, ing at Prova Motorsports where they’ll share tips on setting up within an hour of getting the keys I was in that same place your car and mindset for driving schools and lapping events. buying a few cheeseburgers and a chocolate shake. Ahh, the As the year goes along we are planning at least 4 days at the fun memories of being a kid. track with Skills Schools and HPDE events. These events Another NW favorite from that era was the TV show from teach safety, awareness, vehicle handling and give you that the city dump with J.P.Patches. For 2 hours each morning, chance to hone your skills in a safe environment. With the J.P. would talk to his Patches Pals, as we were known, about number of distracted drivers on the road, every second everything in the world. He’d show cartoons, laugh with counts and all your skills will help you avoid a collision. It al- guests like Gertrude, Ketchikan the Animal Man, Boris S. so helps you enjoy the capabilities of your car! Wort and many others. When you think of how off balance I February also has the annual pasta sauce competition at am these days (focused on cars and Alfa Romeos in particu- Fred and Kathy’s in the Olympia area. This is always a great lar), think of how far off I’d be if it hadn’t been for J.P. Patch- event with wonderful tastes at a fantastic location! As the es. Locals can remember J.P. by visiting his and Gertrude’s year goes on there are drives, shows, parties, rallyes, BBQ statues in the Fremont neighborhood whenever we want. I and another of Debi’s ever-popular Garden Tours. This year was there as they unveiled this great bronze display and en- it’s early in the season, closer to mid May. joyed seeing the smiling clown faces. We all wore our red Ever the philanthropic club, our board agreed that our dona- noses that day. tions of excess proceeds from the auction tables at the Festa Now, it seems, our State Legislature is considering the ad- or other events will all go to local causes. Places like Seattle dition of a Patches Pal license plate; the announcement Milk Fund, America’s Car Museum, local Technical Schools should be any time now. I know I’ll be get- focused on automotive topics, etc. It’s ting one. Heck, if I put it in a Dick’s Drive- great to know that we can combine friend- In frame, I’ll have most of my good child- ships, cars, playing and generosity, and the hood memories in one place! benefits can be far reaching. We had a great start to 2019 with our Some money is being re-invested into New Years Day Anti-Football Drive. With a items we need for driving schools and track wonderful number of people (over half driv- events: reflective vests, new cones, im- ing their Alfas), good weather and nice roads - that is how proved radios, banners and more. It also helps cover the every year should start. Thank you to each of you who made costs of drive set up and printing route guides. Also, check it out to share the day! out the new lists for services and suppliers for both older and We followed this with a club board meeting. We have a new Alfas under the Resources area at nwalfaclub.com great leadership team and thanks to our meeting host (Prova Lastly, I want to thank Shane Capper at Rairdon’s Alfa Ro- Motorsports) and their efforts, we cranked through the agen- meo of Kirkland. He has been happy to support our club and da items making directional decisions and plans for our club. members in the past but now is working with us to enroll new I can vouch for the fact that this group is impassioned about Alfa buyers into the NWARC for their first year. It’s a win for making sure we keep building the club and making it the best him, his customers and us. They buy a car and immediately it can be. We don’t exactly measure this result other than by get introduced to our family of Alfisti and the many events we seeing people at events and hearing feedback from all of you. enjoy with our cars. Thanks, Shane! Let’s do like we always If our January meeting is any measure (see page 5) there do… welcome all new members and make them feel right at were plenty of people gathered, lots of good questions asked home. and plenty of info shared. Thanks, Shannon! - Fred Russell Iniezione page 2 February 2019 Next Club Meetings Board Members President Fred Russell February 12 Track Prep at Prova Motorsports (425) 308-6621 [email protected] he February club meeting returns to Vice President Prova Motorsports for a Track Day David James double header.