Our 2020 DE season is almost at a close with only our November 7th event still remaining. This DE season will be one to remember – our events were held without students, no in-car instructing and no Pit In/Pit Out assignments. Our events were for solo drivers only yet we still had a very successful season. Even though we lost our April and May LRP events, we were able to add two June LRP events to replace those events. Everyone cooperated with the rules while at the track: 6’ social distancing, wearing a mask, and limiting interaction by signing the waivers electronically.


We held our annual fall DE event at Watkins Glen in early October. For a lot of our drivers, this was the first time at this track in 2020 since we had our event in June cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic. We had nice weather for both days, which always makes an event better. It was one short year ago, at our 2019 WGI event in October, that Spencer Cox attended his last CVR DE. Sadly, shortly after that event he lost his battle with cancer. Spencer knew his time left was short but he, along with wife Denise, made the trek up to the Glen to see his friend Todd drive his third track in one day and I truly believe to say his final goodbyes to many of his track friends. He is missed dearly by all of us and will be remembered for what he did for our Club and our DE program throughout the years.
On October 27th, Monticello Motor Club, along with Todd Pajonas, held a Spencer Cox Memorial Track Day event. It was very generous of Ari and his team at MMC to donate a track day for this event. The original date was scheduled for April but like everything else, those plans were cancelled due to the pandemic. Everyone that attended the fundraiser received a Spencer Cox Memorial t-shirt and got to drive the MMC course. For those who were there, it was a great event. The collection of beautiful cars was a sight to see.


Looking towards the next season, we are still planning on holding our Winter Car Control Clinic for all levels of drivers. If you want to have some fun, look for this event to take place late Feb/early March. It is always a fun and educational event for all participants. We are working with LRP on what we can and cannot do, not knowing what the State requirements and limits will be on how many people can be in a building. The Winter Clinic is not limited to just Porsches – we have had VW’s, BMW’s, a Tesla, and lots of Macans and Cayennes.

We are all hoping that by next summer we will see some improvements with the Covid situation and that we can safely get students and instructors back in the car again. The participation of beginner drivers is the future growth and sustainability of any DE program. While some clubs are putting students and instructors together in a car, we are still hearing hesitation from both students and instructors on being in close proximity with someone that might not have been as careful as they have been trying to be. Without a crystal ball, there is no way of saying what we will be dealing with when our season starts back up in April 2021. We can only hope for the best.
Stay safe.
Dave