derBayerische November/December 2021 - 14

N C C
V O L U N T E E R
S P O T L
new BMW I have ever purchased.
Since then, I have fallen into a pattern
of buying used models from friends
that I know have given them good
care.
After six years of driving the red
(Above) I drove many One Lap of America events around the country with
Neil Simon in Neil's supercharged M Coupe.
2002s with dual Weber carbs. At
least my 320i could hold its own in
the Novice group. The next spring I
volunteered my wife and myself to
work a corner station for the club's
two-day May driver school. It was a
frustrating weekend for me because I
wanted to be out on the track driving.
When I signed up for the next driver
school, my wife asked, " Why? You've
already done one. " But I was hooked.
Soon I was doing every school the
Chapter offered.
Less than a year after joining the
Chapter, I was asked to take over the
neglected Treasurer's position. Using
a stack of unopened bank statements
I was able to create a checkbook
register, balance statement, and yearto-date
profit and loss statement.
I continued as Treasurer for about
four years, all without computer aids.
Attending monthly board meetings
had me involved in all aspects of the
Chapter's activities. Most of these
meetings took place in members'
homes from Fairfax to Baltimore and
many beers were consumed by all in
those days.
In the mid-80s it had been a
long time since the Chapter had run
an autocross event. Kay Heatherly
and another fellow established a
shoestring autocross program on a
small parking lot behind Landover
Mall. Timing was done by a handheld
stop watch. As the program
grew, the Chapter re-joined the
Metropolitan Council of Sports Car
Clubs which had a series of " champi14
onship "
events for both autocrosses
and rallies.
I was the Chapter's
Council Rep. We started hosting an
annual championship event using
lots at Fort Meade/NSA, the Capital
Centre in Landover, University of
Maryland, and Rosecroft Raceway.
I also designed our classing rules
that were used for several years.
Some of our regular events were at
Baltimore's Memorial Stadium and I
conducted an autocross school
there. I'll never forget the timed event
that followed the morning school -
my son Brian, who only had his
learner's permit, beat me for the
fastest time of the day!
In 1984 the E30 3 Series was
brought to the US market, first as the
4-cylinder 318i, then as an emissions-compliant
2.7-liter 6-cylinder
325e. The rest of the world was getting
a more powerful 323i and then
the 325i (2.5-liter). Several club
members brought these models in
through the " gray market " . In 1986 I
was preparing to do the same when
BMW NA announced that the 325i
would be sold in the US starting in
1987. In December 1986 I ordered a
performance-oriented 325is in
Cinnabar red, and in April 1987 the
family traveled to Munich for factory
delivery. We enjoyed several days of
driving it in southern Germany and
Austria. After a year I helped my
friend Dwight Derr install aftermarket
springs and shocks. Not only was it
a great daily driver, it could hold its
own on the track. That was the last
325is I totaled it when hydroplaning
at a high rate of speed on I-70 crossing
South Mountain on the way to a
driver school at Nelson Ledges in
Ohio. Hitting a tree head on, the
original equipment belts prevented
any injury. A couple of weeks later I
found another '87 325is in a Roundel
ad. It was black and only 4 miles
away from my home. That black car
continued my love affair with this
model. I eventually sold it to a club
member friend who also used it for
her driver schools. Then I purchased
a black E30 M3 from Greg Johnson
which I kept for 11 years and sold to
a club member for $1,000 less than I
had paid. That was just before the
value started skyrocketing on this
model. My daily driver had become
a '96 328is, a car that only saw the
track a couple of days because of the
M3. But with snow tires it took me
on three ski trips to Le Massif in
northeast Quebec. The M3 was
replaced by an Estoril blue '99 M
Coupe purchased from Adam Roy in
2006. Hard for me to believe that was
15 years ago. This year, I took it to
the Z-series Car Club of America's Zfest
in Greenville, South Carolina.
That event mostly involved very brisk
driving on twisty mountain roads.
I G H T
My daily driver today is a 2004 330Ci
that I bought from John Hartge eight
years ago. It has carried me from
Virginia to O'fest and to the famous
car week in Monterey, California
twice now.
Speaking of the BMW Club's
Oktoberfest, I attended my first in
1988 held near Rochester, New York.
A good number of National Capital
members were in attendance and we
managed to win the trophy for the
best performance by a chapter in the
competitive events. The following
year Brian (still with a learners' permit)
and I drove to O'fest in Keystone,
Colorado. In all I have attended 23
O'fests, and that has given me the
opportunity to drive and instruct on a
big variety of tracks, see much of our
country, and meet members from
other chapters who have become
good friends.
I've even brought
home trophies from O'fest autocrosses,
rallies and photo contests. Never
entered a Concours d'Elegance
though. I might be prejudiced, but I
consider the 1996 Oktoberfest hosted
by the National Capital Chapter to be
the best.
It was organized and
administered by our chapter, unlike
today when they are planned by the
National club office. It was perhaps
the last to make a profit, it hosted the
first Club Race, it had a midweek
dinner inside DC's historic Corcoran
Art Gallery, it had our own craft ale
sold only at the host Sheraton Tysons
Corner, and the event treasurer (me!)
won a Z3 in the annual raffle drawing
(Below) My '96 328is in Summit Point's Carousel turn.
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