February 2020 REmarks

How many days until spring?

Traveling to the SCCA National Convention a few weeks ago and enjoying some pleasant temperatures really got me excited for the new season — except I had to return to cold gray Chicago. At least we have a few exciting indoor things to do this month.

First up is the Chicago Auto Show February 8-17, 2020 at McCormick Place. It was at the Chicago Auto Show in 1994 that I signed up for The Learning Curve autocross school. I miss that the region no longer has a booth at the auto show. It was a great opportunity to meet new automotive enthusiasts and get them interested in our events. If you plan on going this year, you might think to wear something club related, I certainly plan to.

Then on February 15th, we have our annual Checkered Flag Party at Lake Forest Ferrari. Enjoy the sights and sounds (i.e. a live band) while enjoying a dinner with friends among the various models of Ferrari’s and other cars on display. There is still time to sign up for this unique event.

And finally, there’s the Race and Performance Expo at the Schaumburg Convention Center on February 21-23. New this year is an added show date on Friday that is open only to the trade. It will be open to the public on Saturday and Sunday. It’s a miniature version of the PRI show in Indianapolis, but still a great way to get out of the house and do some “race car things” inside. We’ll have a booth and a few cars on display there. If you have time to help at the display (includes free expo ticket), please call Claire Ball at 815-679-6780

Looking forward to outside events? Our road racing event dates have been on the website for just over a month now and any day we expect to release event dates for evening Track Day events at Autobahn Country Club and Track Night in America events at Blackhawk Farms. Autocross dates at Rt 66 Raceway and Joliet should be announced by the end of the month. Your best bet for keeping track of all of our region events is to bookmark the calendar page on the website. This page will contain all of our upcoming events for the year. This is the page you want to bookmark for easy access (hint hint!)

We also expect to see at least 3 TrackSprint events at Autobahn Country Club this summer. This exciting blend of autocross timing on a race track proved to be very popular last year. Representatives from other SCCA regions expressed interest in the event format at the presentation I made on it at the SCCA National Convention. Look for a detailed article on this topic later this month on the website.

But back to the present. Cold. Gray. Snow. Ugh. Spring can’t come soon enough!

See you at the track!

Erik Vandermey
Regional Executive, Chicago Region SCCA