ANOTHER VICTORY LAP FOR THE CORONADO SPEED FESTIVAL
This Year’s Fleet Week Marquee Event Was A Winner

2009 PHOTOS: Check out this year's photos at the following links - http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/ and http://justacargal.blogspot.com/

The San Diego Fleet Week Foundation is proud to wrap up another successful weekend of the Coronado Speed Festival!

One of the main purposes of this annual event is to honor and celebrate the men and women of the military. This was accomplished by offering free attendance for active duty military and their dependents. Additionally, the general public was welcomed onto the base for a weekend of racing for the only open house offered by the Navy on the West Coast. Spectators entered the venue through a grand entrance of military static displays, and were greeted by over 240 cars on the tarmac, a “live” runway on Naval Air Station North Island.

Media Day

On Friday September 25th, the naval base was open to all media and military to get a special sneak peek into the weekend’s events. The Speed Festival drivers took military service men and women for rides around the track so they could experience first-hand the extreme speed and the care and precision that it takes to operate these vehicles.

Racing For Our Heroes, a non-profit organization supporting the recovery and rehabilitation of disabled, wounded, and amputee war zone Veterans, also participated in the events on Media Day. Jason Carter, the organization’s founder, commented about his experience. “Everyone that participated had a wonderful time and appreciated the rides from the Speed Fest drivers. It is a unique opportunity to ride in a race car and it is a memory that will last forever for all those who participated.”

An Event With A Purpose

The mission of this event has made a lasting impression on everyone who took part in it. Perhaps the most notable part of the whole weekend was the tremendous feeling of gratitude among everyone - spectators, race participants; basically all who ventured onto the naval base. Racers were proud to offer their cars for this purpose, fans were pleased to get a closer look at the classic automotive makes and everyone appreciative that the event was held in support of the military. Cody Nelson, Event Manager, San Diego Fleet Week Foundation, noted, “We had an overwhelming response from military attendees. Not only did the event honor them, but they also got to experience the thrill of riding in a race car.”

Experiencing the track generated a buzz that kept everyone in high spirits. Phil Capon, the Director of Race Operations of The Historic Motor Sports Association (HMSA), drove one of the pace cars in between races throughout the weekend. He said that a memorable part of the event was giving a ride to a lady that no longer had the use of her legs and was in a wheel chair. She stated that "being in that chair really stunk" and wanted to get her adrenaline going. She chose the Mini Cooper S pace car, which was one of many cars provided by Brecht Mini/BMW. And, by the time they were through the first corner the woman already had a big smile on her face the force generated by the turns made her hair clip fly off and hit the car door. The faster Phil drove the more she seemed to enjoy the ride.

Another memorable moment from the weekend came from a Speed Festival driver, Jon Jordan. On Saturday afternoon a Navy Helicopter pilot, his two boys and a Marine were walking through the paddock when they approached Jon’s car. He asked if they wanted to sit in his car and they didn’t hesitate. The Marine asked Jon about a photo of a fallen Army soldier on his trailer. They got to talking and Jon asked him if he was a sailor. He responded, "No sir, I'm a Marine. I just returned from Iraq 48 hours ago." Their conversation became a bit emotional after that. He wanted to know about his fallen friend, and Jon made sure to express to the Marine that what he was doing for our country is appreciated.

Jon offered him the opportunity to come back the following day and go through the engine start-up procedure and start the engine. The Marine’s eyes and face lit up. Jon said that he believes in giving back to these men and women. They are doing something that many of us could never do...and have never been asked to do.

Jon and many other drivers and volunteers come from great distances to participate in every portion of the weekend to show their respect to our military service men and women and let them know that they are appreciated. It is moments like this that define the purpose of the Coronado Speed Festival and the San Diego Fleet Week Foundation.

All attendees got to enjoy a ride of some sort. Mercedes AMG brought out their high performance vehicles and created a mini race course for event attendees to enjoy. “My daughter saw that you could test drive a Mercedes AMG and made me turn around to go back and get her driver’s license.”

General Motors also created a test drive course and had several 2010 Camaros to test drive. “You wouldn’t believe how fun this car was until you got in it. The controls made me feel like I‘m in the cockpit of an airplane” said an enthusiastic event attendee.

On the track & In the pits

Spectators took a step back in time as they witnessed cars roar through the finish line. Separated into nine classes, the race cars battled it out for the win. The first place drivers and their cars are listed below:

Race 1 – 1952 – 1959 Sports and Production cars: Joseph Di Loreto, #33 1961 Dolphi

Race 2 – 1953 – 1966 Production cars under 2000cc: Noel Park, #58 1958 Chevrolet C

Race 3 – 1962 – 1972 Sports Racing and Formula Cars under 2000cc: John Delane, #9 1965 Brabham BT18

Race 4 – 1969 – 1980 Sports Racing and Formula Cars under 2000cc: Dan Marvin, #69 1976 March 76B

Race 5 – 1959 – 1966 Production cars: Tom Brecht, #126 1968 BMW 2002

Race 6 – 1965 – 1988 FIA Manufacturer Championship Cars: Chuck McConnell, #46 1980 Lola Frissb

Race 7 – 1962 – 1966 Productions cars over 2500cc: Jeff Kline, #4 1964 Ginetta G4

Race 8 – 1966-1972 Historic Trans-AM: Craig Jackson, #3 1969 AMC Javelin

Race 9 – Historic NASCAR: Tom Klauer, #48 2004 Chevrolet Camaro

About The Coronado Speed Festival

The Coronado Speed Festival is Fleet Week San Diego’s marquee event. The event features fast-paced, thrilling auto racing and exhibitions for car enthusiasts of all ages at one of the most distinctive race track locations - Naval Air Station North Island, the birthplace of Naval Aviation. Nowhere else can you see a variety of cars racing on a live runway used by the U.S. Navy.

This is the only Navy Open House on the West Coast. Naval Base Coronado is home to over 20,000 active duty military and over 4,000 civilian employees. The general public only gets a glimpse of the daily activities happening at the base. This is San Diego’s opportunity to interact with the young men and women who defend our freedom. Climb aboard and tour an active Navy ship berthed at NASNI, visit command displays, watch flyovers and see military vehicles in action. This event is free for active duty military and their dependents. For more information please go to www.fleetweeksandiego.org/coronadospeedfestival.

The Coronado Speed Festival is produced by San Diego Fleet Week Foundation and hosted by the Naval Base Coronado and the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Program (MWR) which benefits military personnel and their families. They in turn provide positive support for the active duty military community and their families through Quality of Life Programs including single Sailor Recreation Centers, Fitness and Aquatic Facilities and the Base Theater Free Movies.

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FOR INFORMATION ABOUT ALL OF THE EVENTS, PLEASE VISIT WWW.FLEETWEEKSANDIEGO.ORG