Charlotte Auto Show

Friday night at the Auto Show? Sure!

There is a city in North Carolina named Charlotte. 

Charlotte has an Auto Show. 

There were new cars, and not so new cars on display. 

Here's the scoop!

New car wise, I didn't take a lot of photos, I guess mostly because I got interested in looking at the window stickers and being amazed at prices. $91,000 for a new F-150 of some kind or another. There was a big Ford Expedition Max for $94,000. 

RTR Ford Bronco, only $108,000. 

Lancia Stratos Stradale, one of the most epic Rally cars of all time. 

There were several police cars on display from various years, so here's a 1967 Ford Galaxie 500 from the Mecklenburg County County Police.

Old cars? They had some!

You might want to keep this one on the drag strip!

Off road camping in your Porsche? Sure. 

Lamborghini racecar? Yes please. 

Any NASCAR stuff in Charlotte NC? Yep!

Anybody famous drive this racecar? 

Yes! Jimmie Johnson, Simon Pagenaud, Kamui Kobayashi, and Mike Rockenfeller.
2022 IMSA Cadillac DPi

Ferrari SUV

New Ferrari

Final year of the Jaguar F-Type. I like the British Racing Green, but could do without the stripe. 

Fun stuff for kids? Yep!

For the 2nd year in a row, the WIENER MOBILE!

Vegas Baby! Formula 1 Three Races to Go!

The two McLaren drivers are currently 1st and 2nd with only three races to go. Who will win? NMS rooting for McLaren at the 2023 Miami race. 

The Formula 1 season has only three races to go, and they are back-to-back-to-back starting this Saturday night in Las Vegas. While every other race of the season is held on a Sunday, I guess the allure of the night time lights of the Las Vegas strip was the entertainment factor they were looking for with a night race in Nevada. After this weekend, the cars, drivers, and crews head for the final races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. With the race on Saturday instead of Sunday, that means that practice in Vegas starts on Thursday night (in the USA) so you can check your ESPN and ESPN+ listings for times if you don't have the F1 TV app. 

Four time defending champ Max Verstappen is in 3rd place. 
Can he make it five in a row?

Sure, there have been a few other triple-headers like this, but what makes these last races more dramatic is that we still don't know who will win the drivers championship. There are three drivers still in the hunt, so it will come down to one of these three:

The starting grid on race day at Miami in 2023. Man, I don't know how they race those cars with so many people on the track!

1: Lando Norris is currently leading, and has been on a good run lately, so the easiest betting money is that he'll be able to continue and win the whole thing, and make 2025 his first World Championship. Lando drives for McLaren, and the team has already wiped out the other teams and taken the Constructors title. He's ahead of the 2nd place driver by only 24 points. Since a Grand Prix victory is worth 25 points, it isn't over yet. 

2:  Oscar Piastri has led most of the season, and drives for McLaren just like Lando Norris. This has made the title race even more dramatic, with two teammates in the same car fighting the other for points at every race. Oscar had a few races that didn't go so well, but he's well within range of taking his first F1 title as well. Waiting to see these last races and how they race against each other should be a great fight. 

3: Max Verstappen is a bit further behind in 3rd, but as the four time defending champion, I'm not ruling him out of anything until it's mathematically impossible. Max drives for the Red Bull team, and has had some great victories this year, but overall has been out performed by the McLaren team. If anyone can come from behind and rack up the points in three races with the pressure on, it's Max. He's 48 points out of first, so he probably needs some wins combined with McLaren not finishing to win his fifth title this year. Since one of the final three races adds a sprint race, there are 83 drivers points still up for grabs, so it could happen. 

November Autocross Report #2

The Autocross Battle of Speed at Hickory Motor Speedway!

In the final autocross event of the year for the Porsche Club, we headed up to Hickory Motor Speedway for the first time, and had a blast running a course laid out on the short oval AND the paved infield area. This was the club's first event at this location, and since the Carolinas Region covers the central chunk of NC and northern SC, if I had to bet I'd say we'll be back here again in 2026. OK, well, if I really had to bet, I guess I'd go to Las Vegas and catch a show along the way, but that's not important right now. 

If you're not familiar with Hickory Motor Speedway, you can find a lot of old NASCAR videos on YouTube, because even though it's under a half mile, it used to host NASCAR races. I saw one clip from the 1960s back when this track was just dirt! Here's a quick history lesson on the "World's Most Famous Short Track." 

HICKORY MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Darren and I lined up next to an Aston Martin SUV!

This event was sponsored by Foreign Cars Europa, so thanks to them for their support, because we had our largest field of drivers of the season. Cars ranged from Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Porsche, Camaros, Mustangs, Miatas and etc. to pick-up trucks! Oh hey, there was even a mini-van, and a fast Jeep Cherokee that placed in the top 10! That's one big advantage of autocross events, pretty much any car can run, and you don't have to have much more safety gear than a helmet and a seat belt. Throw in the chance to drive on a historic NASCAR track, and away you go! When the dust settled on Saturday, 70 different drivers had competed!

Competitors parking and vehicles on display from Foreign Cars Europa.

For NMS, this event also brought out the most competitors in our class of the year, with a total of five drivers. That may not sound like much, but before this event the largest turnout had been only two. NMS managed to take the win and make it 6 wins in 6 events this year, so that was pretty fun to be honest. Surely some NASCAR/INDY/F1 team needs an old guy to drive one of their racecars next year for a gazillion dollars!  Heck, I'll drive for HALF a gazillion!

Also in my class, my fellow student from York Tech Darren Connell co-drove and took a great 3rd in class, and 44th out of 70 in his first autocross event. The NMS squad is happy to name Darren the NMS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR and we hope to see him doing some more driving soon. He dropped a lot of time during his four runs on track and finished ahead of a lot of people. 

Not my car, but another Ruby Red Metallic Porsche Cayman in my run group!

In the big picture, the official results also see the NMS #4 Cayman as the 2nd fastest Porsche out of 25 drivers on the day, and 8th fastest out of all 70 drivers. My goal is always to get in the top 10 of the Porsche cars, so 2nd was very nice to see, and my best place of 2025. 

Awards presentations

I think the local sponsors, the Porsche Club, and all the participants had a great time, and hope to return to Hickory Motor Speedway next year too. The challenge of driving around the cones on a BANKED oval, as well as the flat infield was a different challenge than the normal autocross on a big flat parking lot. It was also fun to be connected to a historic track and to see our largest turnout of the year. 

1st in class trophy! 

Here's my fastest run, a 44.904: Bob #4

Darren's fastest run, a 49.702:  Darren #47

I Just Taught George Washington How to Drive!

It may be hard to believe, but our first President, George Washington, NEVER drove a car! That's just crazy, right?

You'd think that a guy who was smart enough to start our country, lead the Army, run a large plantation, chop down cherry trees, and make whiskey would have been able to drive a car, but, NOPE!

One day this fact about George kind of hit me, and mostly I think it would be cool to show him a modern car, and then teach him how to drive. Here's how I think it would go. 

NMS: Good morning Mr. President, are you ready to learn to drive the car?

GW: Car? Drive? I can drive a carriage and ride a horse with the best of them young man.

NMS: Oh come on George, didn't you read my email about being from the future and teaching you to drive today? Martha said this would be a good time, now that the troops are settled down for the winter. 

GW: Email? Curious. But you say Martha is behind this? Well, OK, then what do I need to do? 

NMS: Well sir, what I have here is basically a carriage from the future, and...

GW: Look now, you seem to be a nice youngster, but there's no horses hitched up you dolt! 

NMS: Ah, ok, let me explain something else. Trust me, this is a "magic" carriage that doesn't need horses. You see, it runs on gas with an internal combustion engine and...well, that's not important right now. Let me show you where the driver sits. 

GW: Say, this is a very comfortable seat! And it appears that the carriage is glass enclosed, I suppose that would be nice when it's raining!

NMS: You've got it sir, smart as a tack! I knew you'd catch on quick. 

GW: OK then, if there's no horses, how do we go? I suppose you have some magic oxen to pull your magic carriage?

NMS: Magic oxen, good one Mr. President! Here's how we make it move. Put your foot on that pedal down there, put the key in here...and then turn the key to the right. 

(car starts)

GW: GREAT THUNDER! This carriage sounds like musket fire! Take cover!

NMS: No no no, everything is ok, that is just the mechanical horses ready to pull the carriage. Now if you're ready, we'll move this lever from P to D. 

GW: What is the significance of P and D? Are we going to visit the PeeDee river in the South Carolina Colony?

Hey, time travel is tough, but I still think George Washington would enjoy driving!

November Autocross Report #1

3rd Fastest Porsche on the day!

Michelin Proving Grounds in South Carolina was once again the home of a Porsche Club of America autocross, and NMS was there! Well, being there beats being square, if you believe the old "Be there or be square" saying. If you aren't square, does that mean you're round? How about conical? Trapezoidal? Is trapezoidal a word? Whatever!

Drivers meeting covers safety topics like the red flag. I got to wave the red flag on course while working. You can't argue with safety!

After the October event was cancelled, this event was shaping up to be the final event of the year, BUT THEN,  the club pulled a rabbit out of their hat and scheduled another November autocross! Even better, it's at a new location, the Hickory Motor Speedway! Believe it or not, it is located in .....(DRUM ROLL)...... HICKORY North Carolina! What a coincidence! Look for November Autocross Report #2 in about a week! 

NMS #77 and run group 2 lined up for the afternoon session. 

Back at Michelin (AKA the "Black Lake") we had great weather for a fall day; mostly cloudy, low in the morning of low 60s, and high in the 70s! Compared to autocrossing in the rain, sleet, summer heat, this was awesome! Everyone got 5 runs on course in the morning, free pizza for lunch (I mean, FREE PIZZA FOR LUCNH!) and 5 more runs in the afternoon!

Waiting to start. 14 acres of asphalt is BIG! Great weather too!

At the end of the day, NMS finished first in a class of only two, 10th overall out of all 31 drivers, and a best of the year 3rd out of all 18 Porsches! While I'm happy with that performance, I have to tell you that there were some truly fast drivers out there that beat my time, so hats off to the two Porsche 911s, two Corvettes, Honda S2000, two Miatas, and a Tesla that beat me! While some of those cars have way more horsepower than me, and more "race prep" modifications, they all still take good drivers to come out on top. 

The "Chicago Box" cone formation, with a few cones removed in the afternoon. This made it pretty much a straight shot through this element, on to the slalom in the background, and then the finish line. 

During my 10 drives I managed to smack a few cones, slide/spin once, and drop time during the day. My best run was on the next-to-last ninth run with traction control turned off, and lower than normal tire pressures. Maybe next time I'll try higher pressures too. Hey, the good news is that we only have to wait until this Saturday for the next event! Here's a video of my fastest run: 

FAST RUN VIDEO

Wax On, Wax Off. Paint the... Garage!

Julie did a great job on the corners and trim. Get ready to say goodbye to yellow walls!

NMS-North has been in their South Carolina Headquarters for two years now, and so far we've upgraded the lighting in the garage and added new tool cabinets, so its time to do something about the yellow walls. Oh I don't personally hate the color yellow, but it is far from my favorite! OK, I don't like it. So, we painted it very plain white. 

Be safe with those ladders. 

Plain white should make working in the garage better, with things looking brighter and a LOT less yellow! We removed the few light switches and electrical outlet covers so that we could roll as much as possible. 

I think this is after the first coat. The second coat went on the next day and covered things up nicely. 

I had a few days off from school this fall, so this created a great window of opportunity to get the work done and also avoid the heat of summer. Add one coat of new paint on the ceiling and two coats on the walls and BAM...WE HAVE A WHITE GARAGE! I'm thinking I might trademark the phrase "YELLOW GARAGE BE GONE."

Painting around the water heater back there was the most challenging part. 

We moved almost everything into the driveway for the two painting days, back in at night, and shoved the heaviest storage tubs into the center of the garage to work around them. Maybe a professional painter would have emptied the room, and then used a spray gun to do it way faster, but we got it done with a plain old roller on a long handle and brushes. Since it's just a garage, we used a a minimal amount of drop cloths. Hey, those new paint splatters on the floor are creativity in action! Modern art for everyday living! Groovy baby!

The paint man at Home Depot suggested outdoor paint for the garage, since it is not heated or cooled. 

NMS used the Behr Exterior Satin Enamel paint from Home Depot, so thanks for their 10% discount for military. By using the same paint on the ceiling and walls, we didn't have to worry about cutting in the corners or using painters tape. Plus, remember our new motto from this project: "It's only a garage." 

Day two, the walls look better than day one! Two coats covered up the yellow with no problems. 

Even the second time around it wasn't fun painting around the water heater. Oh make no mistake, I can do some painting, but when we moved here we hired some professionals to paint the interior of the house. 

Working on the ceiling was fun too, getting around the lights. The ceiling only needed one coat since it was white in the first place. 

This is a huge 18 inch or so paint tray. I tried a roller that large, but it was just too big and bulky for me, so back to the standard size roller. 

Here we are at the end of day two, so we put everything back in and parked the cars. The next step will be to add some car related flags, posters, and other stuff on the walls. 

NMS on Track at Carolina Motorsports Park!

I told you that November would be busy, and it is SO BUSY that Brian kicked it off on October 31st! We just couldn't pack a month's worth of NMS activities into just 30 days! That was the Friday of a 3 day NASA Southeast track weekend at Carolina Motorsports Park. Here at NMS-North, we behaved ourselves and went to school on Friday, and hit the track on Saturday and Sunday. 

Brian with the NMS #86, temporarily as #186 for the weekend.
Painters tape has many uses!

In addition to the NMS drivers and the NMS #86 350Z, our friends Kyle and Adam were also driving their Nissan 350Z cars in the Time Trials all weekend, and we have to report they turned in faster times than the NMS team. We suspect that they found faster times by only driving what race engineers refer to as "downhill, with a tailwind, and no brakes" so it's either that or they are just faster drivers. 

Three silver Nissan 350Zs and a ruby red Porsche Cayman. One of these things is not like the other.

Here at NMS-North, my times were the slowest of the group, and a good 3 seconds off my previous best, so let's say that I got in a lot of practice, had a good time, and drove flawlessly. Except for when I didn't drive flawlessly. Let's talk about that!

Part of HPDE 3 is some classroom sessions to keep everyone on the same page. 

Being a HPDE 3 level driver, I was working on improving my technique during 7 sessions over the two days, and by reviewing the data, analyzing the track sector times, screening my in-car video, I can now confirm that I went off the track twice! My first error was going wide after the Carolina Motorsports Park "kink" at about 109mph, hitting the deep curbing, and then got thrown across the track onto the grass for a long slide before coming to a stop. Good news: I did NOT hit the tire wall or damage the car! Some drivers refer to this as "pushing the limits" or "running out of talent." 

Some of us drive our car to CMP, others bring it in a nice rig like this!

Mistake #2 on a later session was after the kink, and braking too late going into turn 11. This time I just went straight where the pavement turned left, and went a few car lengths off the asphalt. Again, no damage, just lack of talent! In both cases I continued when it was safe, drove into the pits, and had a discussion with the safety steward to make sure I knew what the problem was. In both cases he also checked out the four corners of car for damage, and sent me on my way. Hey, if you learn from your mistakes, that's supposed to be a good thing, right?

I'm going with "More Cow Bell" on this one!

One other fun part of this weekend was a HPDE 3 only exercise, where drivers perform specific drills during a 20 minute session. On Saturday, our drill was to drive a complete lap staying left of center of the pavement, and then on the next lap staying to the right of center. Repeat to the end of the session. This forced you to get way off the racing line in many places, and it also made me realize that there's a lot more pavement out there than what I usually use! 

Four of the six Porsche 944s in one of the race classes. 

Sunday's drill was similar to Saturday, but with the added factor of doing it side-by-side with another driver! I paired up with a fellow HPDE 3 guy in a BMW, and we completed the 20 minutes smoothly, although we were not going at full pace. This drill was pretty straight forward and emphasized awareness of where you are on track, and where the other driver is on track. This is a fun part of driving in level 3 and our combined sessions with 3 and 4 together, when you can pass other cars at any point on track. That's a big deal, because in HPDE 1 and 2 you can only pass on a few long straights. I'm all for safety, so once drivers get into 3 and 4 they should be able to handle this. 

Here's Brian going into the last corner and driving by on the home straight. 

This was my 4th track weekend of the year, and with NMS-South, Kyle, and Adam at CMP also, was the most fun all year.  

This Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport was in my driving group. Scientists would describe it as "fast!"