I would like to share with you my favorite pastime of Vintage Auto Racing.  Vintage racing has become very popular in the last few years.  It is racing, but it is all about the cars and not about the drivers or where you finish in the race.  No points or trophys are awarded for where you finish.  I have vintage raced at places like the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca (the largest vintage race in the US), the Wine Country Classic at Sears Point in Sonoma, the Coronado Classic in San Diego and at many other tracks around California and Arizona. I drive a 1964 Lotus 23B, which is a sports/racing car. It was  designed and built specifically as a race car and was never a road car.  Only about 130 Lotus 23s were ever made by the Lotus factory in England.  It has a 4 cyl. Lotus twin cam engine that puts out about 180 hp. The car only weighs 1100 lbs. which means that it has a power to weight ratio better than a Dodge Viper. It is required to use the original type Dunlop tires that are made to be skinny and hard like the original tires were back in 1964 when the car was first raced. This means driving the Lotus is a challenge.  It also is a thrill and lots of fun!

Vintage racing is all about the cars, not about who finishes first. Meaning, it isn't racing as most people know it.  There are no points, no championships and no money to be won. This type of racing exists only to get the old race cars out of the garages, barns, back yards, etc. and get them out on the track where everyone can still enjoy them.  Also, I should say that this is about road racing on a paved surface. It isn't oval racing or dirt racing, it is more of the European type of road racing. We don't actually race on the roads any more but on prepared race tracks that mimic natural roads.  I love vintage racing because I have been a car nut all my life and all the cars that I have been reading about in car magazines since I was in high school in 1964 are out there racing and I get to race alongside some of them. It is a great thrill and I have the best seat in the house. Many of these cars are very rare and valuable. Some cost millions of dollars. So, we like to go fast and try to beat the other guy but we must keep our driving within our own and our cars abilities. If you go off the road trying to go too fast, the organizers will talk to you about slowing down. If you continue doing this they will send you home. If you hit another car and cause damage to your car or the other car and it is your fault, you will go home and will stay home for more than a year. No one is going on to race at Indy from the Vintage scene so there is no reason to go crazy and hurt yourself or your car or another car for that matter. When I am not on the track racing, I love to cruise the pits, look at the other competitors cars and get to know the owners. There are some great stories connected to these old cars.

Here is a link to my first race at Laguna Seca with the Lotus.  It was at the SCCA vintage race honoring Lotus.  My car was pretty fast for the group so I was able to pass pretty easily.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6_LwMGJHYo
 

If you would like to see me racing, the closest place from Orange County is the Coronado Classic in San Diego.  The race is actually held on the runways of the Naval Air Station North Island which is on the island of Coronado.  Your ticket gets you into the race as well as into the pits where you can get up close to the cars and talk to the drivers and ask any questions you have.  Also, there are displays of military equipment and a park where many car clubs bring their wonderful new and old cars.  It is a great family weekend and is only a little over an hour away from Orange County. 

The Coronado Classic 2005 was great fun.  I did have a couple of difficulties but I finished 6th overall out of about 23 cars  in my race and only about 150 yards behind a close fight for 2nd through 5th.  During the Friday practice, I noted that the car was going faster than it should so I stopped and discovered the cause was a broken throttle spring allowing the throttle to stay open a little.  I got it fixed and went back out to finish the session.  Then on Sunday morning in the warm up, I was heading into a turn at full throttle and when I let off the gas, it kept going at full throttle.  I got on the brakes and quickly reached up and shut down the engine by turning off the switches for the ignition and fuel pump.  Still I was going pretty fast so I stayed on the brakes and managed to only hit a cone on the side of the track.  There was minor body damage from the cone but worst of all, I flat spotted my front tires.  That is, I wore off a big area of tread on one spot on both front tires because I locked them up.  This ment that I couldn't race without getting some front tires that were round.  Luckily one of my competitors had an extra set of tires and wheels and he lent them to me for the race.  Racing guys are the best!   It was great fun.  Hope to see you down there in San Diego Next year.  I'll post the race date for 2006 here when I  have it.

Here is the racing schedule for 2006:

Wine Country Classic at Sears Point in Sonoma, Ca.       June 2 - 4    The Wine Country was great fun.  Merle and I got there and our friend Don Anderson had saved us a place next to him.  This was great as we normally are wondering around looking for a place to park our rig.  We got through registration and tech smoothly and then went to Santa Rosa to visit my son and his wife.  We stayed with them for the weekend.  The weather was about perfect.  It was pretty warm on Sat. but Sun. had a nice breeze.  I found a new friend (Nick Smith) to race with on Sat. but his engine was making noise and smoke so he wisely decided to sit Sun. out.  But, on Sun. I had a nice Brabham to race with until something broke and he had to retire.  My car ran great the whole weekend and my recent repair of the rear main seal worked perfectly (no leaking).  A good time was had by all.  My son came to the races both on Sat. and Sun. and took some great pictures.  I will add a couple here.
 

Monterey Pre-Historics at Laguna Seca, Ca. (Near Monterey)     August 12 - 13  We had a great race this year.  The car ran perfectly and due partly to the newly resurfaced race course, I set my fastest lap time to date on the course with Dunlop M-series tires on the car.  It was a 1min. 47.8 sec.  I even had some rousing battles with people who normally run off and leave me behind.  I also managed to finish ahead of my good friend Skip Quain who has been finishing ahead of me as of late.  All in all a good weekend.

The Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca, Ca.                    

August 17 - 20   We left the car and trailer up at Laguna Seca in the week between the Pre Historics and the Historics and everything was in order when we got back up there.  We got the car teched on Thursday and then had a party at the track with lot's of good food put on by Toyota.  On Fri. We had one qualifing session in the afternoon and I did well equaling my fast time from last week.  Everything was going well.  On Saturday, we did not race so I was in the pits talking to people about my Lotus and their racing endeavers.  Thank you, to all of you who stopped by to say hello.  It was good seeing you.  Even Walt Cox who has my old Elva stopped by to say hello.  My son and daughter-in-law came by to visit for the day and kept me company and then we went out to dinner at the end of the day.  Sunday was our big race day and I had some plans for going faster in the morning warmup.  Unfortunately, the weather was a little cold and damp (mist from the marine layer) and the track was too slippery to try anything too crazy.  At the start of the race, I got a good start and was behind a King Cobra and then was passed by Starr Cooke in his Corvair powered Bobsy in turn 5.  I noted that Star was braking early for things so I passed him going into turn 11, he passed me back going down the straight and then I passed him into turn 2.  I then pulled out a little breathing room for the next four or so laps.  Then Starr started catching me.  I could not hold him off and he passed me in turn 10 and then I pretty much stayed with him until the finish.  It is always great to have someone else to race with and measure yourself by so it was a fun race.  And again, I came back with the car and myself in one piece so I achieved my #1 goal.  I also lowered my fastest lap time at the track to a 1 min. 46.8 sec.  Who says competition isn't good for progress?

Coronado Classic Speed Festival, North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego     October 6 - 8  I have been accepted for the Coronado Classic so make sure and come by if you are down that way.  We got down to the races at the base as they say and had a lot of fun.  We came in third on Sat. and 5th on Sun.  The car ran great the whole weekend and the weather was wonderful as always.  This was the last race on my motor as it has been in the car for 4 years and some 20 race weekends. Over the winter we will have it refreshed for the next few years. 

We finally got the motor back and in the car.  I went up to Monterey for a day of testing.  The little motor and the car in general ran great and I had a lot of fun.  It was just a test day so there was no racing which was missed.  I am looking forward to going to my first race at the Wine Country Classic at Sears Point in Sonoma.

The races for 2007 are as follows:

The Wine Country Classic May 1 - 3,  We went to Sonoma.  Elaine accompanied me on the trip as my regular pit crew couldn't make it.  While at the track, we visited my son, Wil, and daughter-in-law, Jennifer, who live in Santa Rosa and my son acted at my pit crew and photographer.  The weekend was great as we were able to go up on Thursday and participate in practices on Friday.  We were also able to get the trailer and pits set up on Thursday so our weekend went smoothly.  Along with a fresh engine, I also got a new set of tires and in the Sat. race, I set my fastest lap on Dunlaps ever at the track.  I went around in 1 min. 57.6 sec.  I also kept up with my friend Don Anderson in his Bobsy Porsche.  I have never been able to do this before.  On Sun. I actually was ahead of Don for 4 laps before he passed me.  I was a great weekend and I got to spend lots of time with my son.  He also took some great pictures which I will add here.
 

The Monterey Historics  Aug 16 - 19.  I have been accepted to the Historics and will look forward to seeing you if you came up there.  We had a great time at the Historics.  The weather was great and there were many many beautiful cars as usual.  There was an accident at the front of the pack at the start of our race and I slowed down with my hand in the air trying to make sure I didn't hit anyone and no-one hit me.  Then I thought there would be yellow flags out but there weren't and I got passed by 3 cars before I realized we were still racing.  After that, we had a few laps behind the pace car and then came in to stop until the damaged cars were pulled in.  The restart was good and I passed a couple of cars.  Then I got stuck behind a fellow in a 23 that had a lot more horse power than I did.  He could get away on the straights but I was all over him in the corners.  I was also trying to keep a car called the Dailu behind me.  He had a big V-8 engine and would pass me between turn 11 and the start finish and then I would pass him back going into turn 2!!  After about 5 laps, I passed the 23 going into turn 11 but was passed right back.  I was also passed by the Dailu and as both of these cars were going through turn 1, the 23 dropped a wheel off and spun big time.  I was right behind waiting for him to choose a direction so I could get by which I finally did.  My lap times came down from 1:48s and 1:49s to 1:46s for my last two laps.  These were the fastest laps I've ever turned at Laguna Seca on Dunlop tires.  Hopefully if you were up there, you stopped and said hi.  I wasn't around the trailer for a bit Sat. morning as I was leading tours of the paddock for the guests.  

Coronado Speed Festival  Oct. 5 - 7  I have been accepted for the Coronado event so I hope to see you there.  We had a great time at Coronado.  The car ran great and I used some old tires for Sat. so I had a lot of fun racing with two other guys, one in an Elva Porsche and then the next day with new tires, I got to run with Star Cook and Jay Embry for the whole race.  This race is on www.youtube.com, just search for Don Stark. The weather was great and we had a good time at the Admirals party, the party at Don Andersons and the awards ceremony onboard the USS Ronald Reagan. 

The racing dates for 2008 are as follows:
Wine Country Classic at Sears Point  May 31-June1  I have been accepted for the Wine Country race so I will see you there. 
I attended the Wine Country Races and had what was about my best racing weekend ever.  First, the weather was incredible with a nice high of 69 deg., sunny with a nice cool breeze.  Secondly, the car ran great all weekend, all we had to do was check the fluids, add gas,  make sure the wheels wouldn't fall off and set the tire pressures.  I think I added about 1/3 qt. oil the whole weekend just to make sure it wouldn't run out.  Third, both the Sat. and Sun. races were a lot of fun.  I raced with Don Anderson and his Bobsy Porsche on Sat. and Skip Quain and his Lotus 23 on Sun.  Of the 10 lap Sun. race, I got lap times into the low1:57s for about six laps.  This is the fastest I have ever been around Sears Point.  Then, to top it all off, my son Wil and his wife Jen had their first child and my first grandson on Sun. June 1.  I even got to go by the hospital after the races and see little Benjamin Raymond Stark while he was only 12 hours old.  So, it couldn't have been any better!

Pre Historics  Historics.  Aug. 14th to 17th  This year, the Historics are running a special celebration of the Formula Juniors and because of this, my group will not be invited so I'll miss it this year.  Hope to see you next year.
Coronado Race  Sep. 26 to Sep. 28
We had a great race at Coronado.  The car ran perfect and the weather was wonderful.  If you are near San Diego in the fall, make a point to come by and see the racing.

Here is the race in 2007 from Coronado.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9hVM1YtcS4  And here is the 2008 race from Coronado.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM7zXmJMdAc

I have cut back my racing in 2008 & 2009 but managed to make it to the Wine Country and Coronado.  Again the car ran great and while at the Wine Country race, my grandson Benjamin was born and I got to get by the hospital and hold him when he was only 12 hours old.
Here is a link to the wine country race from 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vMXCsw6vdI  and here is the race from 2008.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeeBGqg4Is4

In 2009, I have raced at a HMSA race at Thunderhill which is off the 5 fwy 1 hr. north of Sacramento.  It was a great weekend and I had a great time with the car.  I hadn't been to Thunderhill before with the Lotus so I was learning all the time.

I will be attending the Wine Country Classic race at Infineon Raceway/Sears Point in Sonoma, Ca.  It will be the weekend of May 29th & 30th.  Hope to see you there.  I will get to see Ben again on almost his 1st birthday.  The Wine Country Classic was a wonderful weekend.  not only did I get to see Ben for 3 days straight and celebrate his first birthday, but the racing was about as perfect as it could get.  The weather was mild and sunny, the cars were beautiful, the people were a delight and I did well in the race.  To see the race from the car, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6YevQvyctM  You can see here that I was working pretty hard  (moving the steering wheel a lot in the corners means I am catching the car when it starts to slide) to go fast and I finished up 7th overall on Sunday which is about 5 places ahead of where I normally finish.  I also finished ahead of some competitors that I normally finish behind.  The car ran perfectly with no problems.  I will be missing the Monterey Historics due to budgetary considerations but am looking forward to attending the race at Coronado. 

I also hope to attend the race at Coronado again this year but I am not positive it will be held.  I am crossing my fingers hoping it will come off.  Right now it is looking good.

Enjoy watching from onboard my car.

This is my first race car.  It's a Lola T440 FFord.  I raced it with the SCCA for 9 years.  It was a great little car to learn about racing with.  It has a 1600cc Ford engine that put out about 105 hp but the whole car only weighed about 950 lbs.  The Lola's power to weight ratio is like a street car that has 350 hp., so it went pretty well.  It also ran on racing slicks which gave it a lot of grip so it cornered extremely well.  It was like a big go kart and was more a car that you put on than got into.  When I was in it, I could just move my arms and my feet, the rest of me was strapped in place.  The top of the bodywork, just above the #12 on the side is 24 in. above the ground and my backside was only about 1 3/4 in. off the ground.  I could actually reach the shifter without taking my hands off the steering wheel.  The shifter was very short and only moved about 2 in. from gear to gear.   It had a non syncro Hewland gearbox so you had to learn to heal and toe for downshifting.  The SCCA is all about race results so every race you drove all out to try to finish as close to the front as possible.  It was lots of fun and a great challenge.

Then a friend of mine invited me to come up to the Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca Raceway.  I went to the race and saw that all the cars that I had been reading about since I got interested in racing in high school were there.  They were all beautifully restored and made great sounds when zooming around the track.  I was hooked, I had to be a part of what was going on.  I decided then to look for a car that was eligible for vintage racing.

What I found was a beautiful little Elva Mk6.  It was beautifully restored and had a great racing history.  It came in second in it's first race to a Ferrari Testarossa at Brands Hatch in England and then won it's class at the Nurburgring 1000k race in Germany.  It also won a regional championship with the San Francisco Region of the SCCA.  It was the first of only 28 MK6s made.  It was a fun car to drive and allowed me to race with cars like the Ferrari Testarossas, Maserati Birdcages, 200S & 300S, Jaguar D and C types, Lotus 11s,  Listers and many other great cars.  I also got to race against the likes of Pete Lovely who is an ex F1 driver and goes way back in racing on the west coast and throughout the US since sports car racing got started.  The only problem with the Elva was it only had a 1100cc 110 hp Climax engine.  I wanted something a little more challenging to me as a driver.  So I finally found my Lotus 23B and I am having lots of fun with it.

Here I am in the Elva surrounded by beautiful old race cars.  I managed to stay ahead of the big black car to my left in the picture for 4 laps even though he had a big Chevy V8 in his Lister.  A matter of handling vs power.  Sears Point is a very winding track that rewards handling.

Here is a race at the Monterey Historics from onboard the Elva.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u6wARM5MTk

The quickest car I have is a 125cc Shifter GoKart.  I use it for practice as it cost very little to run as compared to my Lotus.  It is ridiculously fast on a short course.  With a 125cc two stroke Honda motor from a dirt bike and the attached 6 speed transmission it will go over 100 mph!  When I sit in the kart, my feet are in front of the front wheels and my backside is only about 1 in. off the tarmac.  It feels like you are going about 200 mph.  The kart will pull over 2 G in the corners so it feels as though it is trying to throw you out.  You are just sitting in the seat with no belts so you have to stay back in the seat or it might be thrown out.  Also, you have to wear a rib protection belt or you could easily break or separate a rib.  Many people have done this on their first time out without a protective belt.   My local go kart track is Moran Raceway in Beaumont Ca.  This course is 1 mile long and has 17 turns.  It has an 851 ft. straight where the kart reaches about 85 mph.  If you are interested, go to www.moranraceway.com and play the video of Rocky Moran Jr. taking a lap in a 125shifter.  Once you finish the straight, you are incredibly  busy for the rest of the lap.  The little kart is a real race car.  I can only stand about 50 laps or so before I am worn out and cannot hold up my head properly!  It is great fun and good practice.
 
 

As well as all the 4 wheeled vehicles I love, I have always had a love of motorcycles.  I learned to ride on a friends Honda in highschool and then rode borrowed bikes in college.  Then I didn't ride for many years while I raised the family.  Eventually though, motorcycles came back into my life and my friend Uwe told me about his uncle who was selling a Yamaha FJ1100 for $2,000.  I really didn't know what it was but for that price I had to have it.  As it turns out, I have owned the FJ for 20 years.  It is a nice combination of attributes that makes it do just about everything well so there is no reason to upgrade to something more modern.  Elaine likes to ride on the back of the bike and our second date was on the FJ.  It has now gotten to be a vintage bike and it is as clean as it was when I got it.  Whenever I take it somewhere with other riders around I always get nice comments about it.

When I first moved to Portola Hills about 16 years ago, I had a chance to get a little Honda XL250.  It was a lot of fun to ride and I managed to get somewhat used to riding in the dirt and slipping and sliding around.  But then I ran out of space to store the bike and sent it to my brother Ray in Arizona.  Just recently, I noted that a friend down the street had a dirt bike and I wondered what he was doing with it.  As it turns out, he has a dual purpose bike.  This is essentially a dirt bike with lights & speedometer and is legal on the street.  He & his friends were going up to the fire roads in the Cleveland National Forest in the Santa Ana mountains right behind our house.  I had to get into this so I found a very nice used Suzuki DRZ400S with only 1,200 mi.  I have been going up with Dave and his friends for most of this year and have ridden many of the mountain roads.  They are flat and steep in places and they are smooth and rocky in others but it is always fun to ride.  You can also see forever if you stop to notice.  Otherwise, the riding takes all of your concentration as 90 or 180 degree corners come up out of no where and if you miss a corner, you could go over 2,000 ft. down the side of the mountain!!  It is amazing how the bikes soak up the majority of bumps on the road and seem to show no damage.  I guess when you have a machine that is made to operate in these areas, they do a great job.  I have fallen off of my bike on two occasion.  Both at slow speed and over the handlebars.  This has slowed me down a little but I still have lots of fun.  The bike got a little scratched on the plastic but otherwise was unharmed.  Below are some pictures of my Honda, and the Suzuki and views from the top of Santiago Peak, as well as my riding buddies.