I started volunteering as a Course Marshal for the San Francisco region of the Sports Car Club of America in 1997.  I marshaled club and regional events and even a NASCAR event.  It was the Course Marshal's job to respond to incidents on the course when needed.  Mostly it was restacking tires and picking up debris and fluid spills.  Sometimes we would call in cars that pit to the tower.  But the best part was going out on the course in the work truck, like we were racing ourselves, and riding in the pace cars.  Also sometimes after hours, when the crew was camping somewhere on course, we could sneak a lap or two, even counter-course, in our own cars.  My Dad had a 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo that I eventually owned that he let me chase rabbits on the course with. 

It was at the Monterey Historics where I met Vic Edelbrock and his daughters.  Ever since I have secretly held on to a dream of working for Edelbrock.  I was privileged to meet him again at the 2008 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, NV.  It was 10 years later, and we had both aged!  I also fell in love with the Dodge Viper at one of the races at then Laguna Seca Raceway.  It is at the top of my want-to-own of unaffordable cars list.  You can see in one of the photos below, that the sponsor of the Monterey Historics was Daimler Chrysler.  I find it interesting that little did I know, I would eventually work for Daimler as an intro to my career in the automotive industry.