Flyin' Miata : Open House 2005

Friday started off with a track day at the Grand Junction Motor Speedway. It's a kart track that is big enough for running Miatas but is a real test of brakes. With 15-odd corners packed in under a mile, there's no room to relax. Other than one mishap early in the day, everything went smoothly and everyone stayed on the track. Some track novices came away more comfortable with their cars, some more experienced drivers battled hard for top spot.
The times
2004 times - many of these cars have been upgraded over the past year so they're not directly comparable.

Once the brake dust had settled, the Miata fans descended on the Sonic for a free dinner. This was a good opportunity to check out the various cars, tell stories of daring and talent on the track and do all the things that car nuts do when surrounded by cars. A highlight of the evening was when a bright pink Miata rolled up and joined the group.

Saturday morning saw 50 Miatas lining up for the parade in the Palisade Peach Festival. The Miatas are a big part of this parade and it's always fun for those in the cars and the spectators. After the parade, a couple of groups split off for some local tours. One went over the Grand Mesa, the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. They climbed up above 10,800' and down again, enjoying the drop in temperatures and the twisty roads. The other tour group went to a fantastic sprint car museum and then through the Colorado National Monument for some leg-shaking views.

Meanwhile, Jeremy taught a couple of ECU tuning classes while Bill and Keith were at the FM shop where visitors could check out the latest FM toys including a couple of secret prototypes. Turbo and supercharger kits mounted on engines, cars with butterfly braces up in the air and lots of test rides.

Saturday night was the banquet, with awards for track performances and a few toys for everyone. The speeches were short to everyone's relief.
On Sunday morning, a couple of dozen cars headed out to Gateway for a great meal at the end of a memorable road. People heading off to southern destinations continued on their way and others gradually headed off home. It was a fun weekend.

2005 Open House pictures

The Open House trackday is about to begin. The track is nestled up under the Bookcliff mountains.
The driver's meeting. Were they paying attention?
Group F prepares to go out.
A couple of our volunteers, Janel Rinderle and Bill Johnson. Without the help of all of our volunteers, the Open House wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun for us or our visitors! Besides Bill and Janel, we had John and Anita Caldwell, Barb Johnson, Dick and Carole Johnson, Bill and Wilma Jones and Bob Jasper.
Mark “ Blues” Blusiewicz gives his Miata a workout. According to other drivers, he uses math to give him an edge on track. He will not elaborate.
Janel Rinderle under the tutelage of Teri Cardell. She managed to cut 4 seconds off her time over the course of the day.
Jeremy hustles his turbocharged 94R through turn 1. This is one of the photos taken by the professional photographers at the track. If you were on the track and didn't attend the banquet, you can still buy the photos of your car in action. Contact us.
Turn 1 was not always so kind to Jeremy. The track apparently uses mud traps instead of sand traps and it did a great job at stopping the runaway Miata. Turn 1 was renamed "the Ferber straight" in his honor.
Fastest time of the day was Keith in his Seven.
Skip was the fastest Miata, although there are a lot of non-factory parts on this beast. The most obvious are the fluorescent orange wheels. (Richard Milewski photo)
Ride along with Bill in a collection of fast Miatas on FM TV.
Chris Woods is running hard in this shot.
Jeremy had borrowed these wheels. There was a cleanup ahead for him. (Richard Milewski photo)
On Friday night, Miatas descended upon the local Sonic for a free dinner.
Miatas (and a couple of interlopers) were stacked up three deep in spots at the Sonic.
50 Miatas entered the peach festival parade. (Richard Milewski photo)
Another view of the parade (Michael Whitehouse photo)
After the parade, one group headed over the Grand Mesa for a memorable drive. (Richard Milewski photo)
Back at FM World Headquarters, various parts were laid out for investigation.
Some pretty well-known cars were sitting around in the FM shop. (Richard Milewski photo)
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