If you were in Seattle over the Fourth of July weekend and thought the record high temperatures in the NW were hot, the 356 competition on the track at nearby Pacific Raceways in Kent was scorching. I may be somewhat 356 biased, but these drivers put on the most competitive showing in every race throughout the three days of racing that are devoted to some very serious vintage and historic racing for all classes of cars, including a debut by IMSA cars this year. SOVREN also changed the format for the better this year because it allowed more track time for racing…two additional races for five total race heats for all groups. Instead of each morning of the three days being devoted to practice and qualifying, qualifying was held on Friday morning for each separate class of competitors and then the races began on Friday afternoon. Saturday and Sunday followed with races in the mornings and afternoons, with early morning "open warm up" sessions for any cars that wanted that warm up time, regardless of classification.

I’m not sure what these 356 guys were out to prove this year, but they seemed more tenaciously aggressive than some of the previous years. Perhaps they just wanted to show everyone that 356 race guys have the most fun of any racers! I also think that the two additional morning races fed their competitive spirits and made each race more exciting than the previous session. Lap times got progressively quicker over the five races. Drivers waged see-saw battles in every race that had tight lead changes and continuous dicing for third and fourth positions, too. And, all eleven 356s in the group clearly dominated the field of 32-37 cars. Out of the five race heats for this Historic Small Bore class, the top three finishers were always 356s. In four of the five races, the top six were 356s. The interlopers in the top ten places were an Elva, a Triumph, an Alfa, and a Mini. In the fifth and fastest race of the weekend for the group, the top five finishers were 356s.

As the days got warmer in the afternoons, the track got more slippery. And, as one race session slipped into the next, so slipped some of the cars. In Race 3, Mark Aker, #24 in a ’56 Speedster, tried a high line in turn 8 while he pursued Arthur Conner in #91, a ’61 S90 Roadster, and #49, Skip Winfree in a ’60 Roadster. Aker’s high line at three abreast in Turn 8, affectionately know as "Little Indy", resulted in some off road rally driving for Aker in his Speedster. Taking a page out of Sebastien Loeb’s book, he kept his foot on the throttle and managed to skillfully negotiate the last half of the turn in the gravel and jumped back onto the paved surface trailing a dust plume to stay in the fray behind Conner and Winfree to finish third. Aker’s off road adventure followed a similar incident in Little Indy during Race 1 on Friday. In that race, Jeff Rogers, #157, in a ’62 356 Coupe, got too high and went into the gravel, with Jim Loveall in his #43 ’64 C open car deftly dodging getting tangled up with the coupe as they both travelled the wayward gravel path on the outside radius of the turn. Without trading paint, the two got back onto the track to finish the race unscathed. With "Little Indy" in full view of the grandstand, the crowd witnessed some very exciting racing and skillful recoveries. Ron Federspiel in his #36 ’64 C coupe added to the excitement when he spun onto the infield pavement exiting the same turn late in Race 3. He managed to miss the cones and barrels, and got the coupe straightened out after a tire smoking skidding slide to a stop. He re-entered the track and finished the race in good shape.

Arthur Conner and Leonard Turnbeaugh constantly dueled it out of for the 1-2 positions in four of the five races. Skip Winfree in the #49 ’60 roadster pulled out a victory from Conner in the initial race on Friday, by the narrow margin of .249 seconds, with Aker in his #24 ’56 Speedster following five seconds back in the number three spot. Winfree’s best lap in that race was a 1:43.6, but by Race 5, he’d cut his time to 1:41.2 Turnbeaugh suffered a loose plug wire and slipped from 2nd to 12th over the duration of the race. Winfree, Aker, and Loveall battled the rest of the weekend for the 3, 4, and 5 spots, but first and second positions were between Conner in the #91 ‘61 Roadster and Turnbeaugh in his "original owner of 44 years" #149 Convertible D. Conner finished first in races 2, 3 and 5. Turnbeaugh took race 4, with Winfree the victor in Race 1, as mentioned earlier. With Turnbeaugh on the pole in the final race on Sunday, he had a door to door duel with Conner. However, on the final lap, Turnbeaugh went too deep into Turn 3, and needed the escape road to recover. Conner flew by and took the checkered. Both Turnbeaugh and Conner alternated fastest laps throughout the weekend in the five races. They consistently covered the 2.25 mile course in 1:40-1:42 lap times, and their best lap times in Race 5 were a mere four hundredths of a second apart.

Paul Christensen competed in his #48 ’56 Speedster in Group 1 for Vintage Small Bore and Selected Historic cars. He finished third in race 1, with Doug Trimble first in the #157 ’62 coupe he and Jeff Rogers shared. Trimble’s best lap in the race was a 1:48. Paul moved to a second place finish in Race 2 on Saturday, with his best lap time of the day at 1:51. Ted Rogers, debuted his #19 ’57 Speedster in this same group. Normally at the wheel of his B coupe, it was nice to see this little beauty on the track after such a long time in preparation. The hardtop equipped Speedster was fourth in that same race, with Ted turning a 1:52.

Although some of the usual 356 participants were absent, there were some very unique Porsche vintage cars that were on debut and being sorted out. Specifically, the rare 1965 904-6 of Cameron Healy and the 1955 Devin Speedster belonging to Gregory Campbell. Both have unique histories and Cameron will have the 904 and his 908 at the Monterey Historics in August. Healy enjoyed lots of track time this weekend as he competed in his 1953 Pooper and also his 904. The 904-6 ran in the Big Bore Group and Cameron deftly dodged the big bore behemoth Mustangs and Corvettes. He was smooth and swift in the corners, while the Mustangs seemed to lumber and lunge to stay on line. He ran in the 1:39s as he readied the car for Monterey.

Campbell had spent many hours preparing the Devin Speedster for its debut. His diligent efforts paid off handsomely as the Devin ran consistently strong and very quick with Campbell at the wheel. It has a unique history as a Devin bodied Speedster, with an actual chassis number of 80356, hence his car number of 356 for the race. He turned consistent "best lap times" in his group, clocking 1:38 lap times for the course. Cameron Healy was close on his heels in his #55 ’53 Pooper in the same group and he was consistently running 1:39s in the Pooper.

The 356 Group Northwest corral had a variety of cars over the three days. There were A, B, and C models present, both open and closed models. Many thanks to Eric Lee who coordinated our Car Corral passes.

SOVREN and the SOVREN Guild, along with all the volunteers, put together another incredible weekend of historic races. The format change that added two more races for each group provided more excitement for drivers and spectators alike. Not only did they benefit, but Children’s Hospital’s Uncompensated Care Program received a significant contribution, as the benefitting charity. Thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors that make this event one of the largest contributors to Children’s Hospital…..over six million dollars raised in the last twenty years of cooperative efforts by SOVREN and the SOVREN Guild.