Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 20, for what promises to be the best Northwest track event of the sea­son. Seattle International Raceway will be the site of the Sports Car Open, a multi-club track day co-sponsored by Yokohama, Bridgestone, Michelin and Puget Sound Tire.

The idea for an all clubs’track event began last fall based on the success of a similar event held in Portland each year. Not about to be outdone by the ducks down south, Joe Stubblefield and a group of local club sports car enthusiasts began the planning for our first annual Sports Car Open at SIR. The main objective, besides having another chance for a great day at the track, was to provide a format for the tire manufacturers to put their tires on local enthusiasts’ cars.

Joe received a positive reception with the tire manufacturers and the event soon began to gather steam. At this time, all three of the major tire makers will have various sets of tires and wheels that will be available for many of the popular car makes that are invited to this event. Yes, this means you can run a track event, at least par­ tially, on someone else’s tires!

The format for the day will basically be open track, with participants put into one of five run groups. We ask that all participants have previous track experience at SIR or verifiable expe­ rience with another track or school. At the end of the day, Bridgestone will be sponsoring a grand finale B-B-Q, where we can all swap lies about the exploits of the day.

As a special feature, the ProFor­ mance Driving School of Vancouver, B.C., and the Piteressi School of High Performance Driving of Portland will have professional instructors available for the fine tuning your driving skills. Other local aftermarket vendors and various local dealers will have pro­ ducts/ cars on display. Joe and crew are in the process of lining up some incredible door prizes like: free sets of tires, a driving school package at the ProFormance school, and more.

Registration for this event will be limited, it is important to register early. We ask that all participants have their vehicles teched before the event at Puget Sound Tire. After you register you will be contacted to set a conve­ nient time for the tech inspection. Cost for the event will be $25 per driver, $40 for two drivers in the same car. If you want to observe the fun, go for a few demonstration rides, and join in the Bridgestone B-B-Q, the cost will be $10.

Mark the date, fill out the registra­ tion, and mail it in today!

–Denny Organ

This article was originally published in the May 1989 edition of Zundfolge