I hope you've saved Saturday, June 19, to spend with your Z friends because John and Natalie Black have arranged for full day of automotive activities for you.  If you like old sports cars and/or racing, this is the drive for you.  The Blacks have planned a back road cruise to Mid-Ohio, arriving in time for lunch and the Qualifying Races of the Vintage Grand Prix!  We’ll be at the premier road course in this area, enjoying some very special eye candy.  

Here’s the way that John describes the day.  There’s a wave of nostalgia sweeping America’s younger generation and it’s a lot more than recycled hairstyles, sampled music and forgotten fashions. It’s an appreciation for the attitudes and sensibilities of a previous generation. It’s called “old school,” and it's on display June 19th in a major way at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course during the Sprint Vintage Grand Prix.

The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association and its members bring old-school racing to one of the sport’s old-school tracks for good memories, good times and good racing. They put 50 years of racing history in motion once again, with hundreds of vintage racing machines on display and on the track at Mid-Ohio.

With 10 SVRA group races and lots of special feature events, there’s plenty of action to go with the admiration. Each year a featured marque headlines the ever-popular Concours d’Elegance and allows fans of all ages to appreciate and to judge vintage cars in several categories. It's an old-school love-fest. The featured marque for the 2004 event is Jaguar, but we're going anyway!

Logistics

The drive will start at the new Waffle House on the south side of Rt 18, just west of I-71.  Breakfast is from 9:00 AM till 10:00, when we’ll promptly leave for a back road jaunt to Lexington, home of Mid Ohio Sports Car Course.  If you show after 10, you’ll only smell Z exhaust, waffles and bacon!  We’ll enjoy some lunch at the track, followed by an afternoon of race qualifying.  Admission is $20.00 for each of us, payable at the door.  The track is only 5 minutes from I-71, halfway between Columbus and Cleveland, and should be easy for all to return at will.  The group dinner will be at 6:00 pm at Bucks Bar and Grill, 192 E Main Street in Lexington (419.884.2825).

Here's the standard boilerplate for the June Drive.  Please join us for all day or just the part that's convenient for you.  Bring along all the Zs that you can find.  Dress appropriately for the temperature because we drive regardless of weather.  Don't forget sunscreen and sun glasses if it's bright.  Have a full tank of gas to start the drive.  Bring your Talkabouts tuned to channel 7,0.  Be sure the camera has batteries or film.  Remember your tank-of gas donation for Make A Wish.  The N OH Zs are now responsible for $4829.26 overall!  Please help the Weathermeister by focusing on good weather for the June Drive.  Bright sunshine and 80 degrees would be just perfect!  

Many thanks to the Blacks for planning our June driving adventure.  We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday, the 19^th, driving some more miles together and watching those vintage sports cars race around Mid-Ohio!