The Villages - March 2022 - 19

Above: Board Members of The Villages Motor Racing Fan Club stand with the clubs's Hall of Fame trophy.
Another great outing was the Living Legends 29th Annual
Awards Banquet in Daytona Beach - a very big deal, notes
Chris. Various racing legends have been honored at this event,
and were inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame. Chris
recalls his experiences attending the banquet.
" I got to see such old-time stars, Donnie Allison, Red
Farmer, and Danny 'Chocolate' Meyers. "
In mid-March, the group will attend National Parts Depot.
The family-owned business started out providing mail-order
services of restorative automotive parts for classic American
cars. After many years of success, the business has since
expanded into three additional branches in North Carolina,
Michigan, and California. It's not the retail aspect that's the
main attraction for the group, however. It's the
tremendous collection of classic cars.
" That's what you wanna see, " Chris says.
One of the best aspects about the club though,
is that it doesn't end here. The club doesn't just
go to see racing legends in person; they bring the
legends to you. Over the years, the Motorcycle
Racing Fan Club has hosted a variety of
speakers to at their meetings and talk about their
experiences.
" That's a big part of the club-arranging
guest speakers, " Chris said. On some occasions
even, the speakers have brought their own vintage
race cars.
" We had Bill Watson this past month and he
was the staff photographer for the Indy 500 for
48 years. " Chris recalled. " When he came, he
brought a Nascar pace truck 50th anniversary
to the meeting. " Other speakers the club hosted
in the past were Karl Eckhardt and Ed Rensi,
former CEO of McDonald's USA and owner of
Team Rensi Motorsports.
Arguably, the true fountain of youth isn't just limited to
Florida, but anywhere in the world. How is that? The answer
for Chris and his fellow club members is simple: To do what
you love doing. Racing legend Red Farmer is a perfect example
of this. At 90 years young Red is still racing. " When I called
him four weeks ago, he says to me 'I just came in from the
garage. I'm putting a new transmission in my race car,' " Chris
said. With this in mind, if you appreciate cars in any way,
if the sound of an engine revving excites you, The Villages
Motor Sports Fan Club may be that fountain; they are always
looking for new members.
" You know what I see with a lot of these guys (who are)
into racing, " Chris reflects. " They stay young. They have such
a positive attitude that they stay young. "
John Angiolo and club president Chris Bleistein with Michael Hinde,
new Motor Racing Fan Club's Hall of Fame inductee.
MAGAZINE
19

The Villages - March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Villages - March 2022