The Pit

Our annual Summer Fest gathering went off without a hitch. This laid back event, meant to create a more family oriented atmosphere, was well attended and yes folks… there was finally sunshine in the forecast!

A total of 25 Vipers made their visit to Lamb’s Farm which has served as our backdrop for this gathering for years. Our location was right on the lake and we had tents and a pavilion setup for everyone’s comfort.

The day started well for some, but construction on 294 served a challenge for a good number of our members who arrived later than they wished. Folks began to arrive in numbers at around 11:00am. As they arrived they were guided into position on the lawn around the lake to create a great photo opportunity.

The morning started out with practice on the bean bag game in preparation for the competition after lunch. Music played in the background as members got comfortable and polished up their cars. Some folks went for a walk to check out the facility while others lounged around under the shade enjoying the cool breeze. Not a bad start to the day.

Lunch was served at noon, and as is customary we were treated to a great grilled buffet. By this time everyone was here, so the judging began on the cars. A select group of judges were chosen to make the hard decisions (Alex Ristanovic, Denise Braun, and Kim Peterson).

Cars were broken up by their generation (1-4). The judging isn’t done based on solely on cleanliness, we like to drive our cars... Instead, the criteria was based on overall general prep of the car, how many miles were on it, what year it was, how fanatical the owner seemed, and the types of club involvement/usage it sees (cruises, racing, meetings, etc…). The generation-1 cars were the first in line, and it only got harder to judge as we went up the chain.

The afternoon moved ahead with good music and good company. The car judging was complete and shortly thereafter the bean bag champion was crowned (somehow it's always someone who never played the game before or figured they didn't have a chance...).

At around 2:30pm we gathered around for the car show awards and the presentation of the jackpot to the bean bag winner. The car show winners are listed below, congratulations to all the great cars that won. And big congratulations to Lyle Dunahoo! He won the beanbag competition and walked away with a 4 foot check with his name on it and a $200 cash award!

After awards, members lounged around a bit and slowly began to depart. This was a great event because it had something for the whole family and created a good reason to get together at a unique place. Being only a few hours out of the day, it was a great mid-day event packed with a lot of different fun for everyone. Thanks to the over 2 dozen Vipers and 70 people in attendance!

1st – Nancy Friend

1st - Walt Murphy
2nd – Rob Salus
3rd – Dave Pinder

1st – Matt Pablecas
2nd – Gus Pablecas
3rd – Dieter Fahrenbach

1st – Rick Manfredonia
2nd – Gary Grube
3rd – Seth Palatnik

President’s Choice - Howie Frank
Long Distance - Larry Catcott
High Mileage - Steve Hill

Cars very much invaded Roanoke this weekend when 100 show cars filed the lot at our favorite car Chrysler dealership – Roanoke Motor Company. The event as always was lots of fun and while this particular event was not run by our club, we always do a little something special for our Viper owners…

The day had a fantastic forecast with plenty of sun and temps in the high 80’s. Vipers came in good numbers from great distances, we had about 22 Vipers total. The Vipers, being the largest attending group once again, had their own little area of the lot. Members arrived and parker their cars in a “U” shape in one corner of the lot. The club setup a couple large tents in the center of the “U” so that members could lounge near their cars and stay out of the sun.

It was a relaxing day, though not without a slight recourse… The Mopar Club (who ran this event) unfortunately received some bad news when their catering van owner broke his leg the morning of the event – no vending would be available! To be sure they had food for the large crowd, a bbq was setup so at least there were hot dogs for the hungry crowds. The IL club, not being one to do anything average, borrowed a van from our buddy John Gastman and did a pizza run. A huge stack of pizzas were ordered for all Viper Club members compliments of the club. But it wasn’t over, shortly after lunch, the van was once again borrowed to go grab 40 sundaes for the gang. A good surprise for everyone!

The show ran until 3:00pm, the awards segment was ready to begin, but a little plan was in store which had been in the works for months. Our President, knowing that his wife (and our club Secretary) Kristina loved the convertible Chrysler Crossfire SRT, had been looking for a new one to buy her since the beginning of the year. John Gastman found a RARE 1 of less than 50 built their last year, in exactly the form they wanted. The car had been housed for months awaiting this date – it was meant as an anniversary present.

The plan was executed – In front of the whole group that congregated for awards, the shinny Crossfire was brought out and parked in the center of the group of over 160 people. The car was presented as a raffle car to everyone at the show. The crowd gasped in delight. But little did everyone know that the raffle was rigged so that Kristina would be the winner...

The buildup began, the DJ announced “1 of 50 built, the only new Crossfire SRT available in the US, supercharged, 330 HP, navigation, etc…”. The crowd was pumped and Kristina was freaking out merely at the chance to win. Needless to say after the buildup was done, the number was announced, and a scream could be heard from the Viper area of the crowd! You guessed it, somehow Kristina was the winner. But as she approached the mic, the DJ informed her that that she didn’t “win” the car… Her breathing stopped for a second, but then he followed it up with “Happy Anniversary from your husband”. She turned and realized what had happened and the tears began to flow as for the next couple minutes she was truly speechless from the shock. A convertible Crossfire SRT was truly a car she wanted.

The whole club was in on this (many of them for months!), the crowd cheered and our club secretary stood with tears of joy staring at her new summer fun car. Alex Ristanovic got on the mic and thanked everyone for going along with it. It was a touching moment that went off perfectly.

Then it was finally award time! The Vipers really brought home the gold. The results are below for both the Class awards and top 30 cars. It was a great and we had a great turnout. Cars began to disband shortly after awards. A few members stuck around and then went together for a well earned dinner together. Thanks to all for attending and supporting Roanoke Motor Company!

1st Place - Alex Ristanovic
2008 Viper SRT-10

2nd Place - Gus Pablecas
2006 Viper SRT-10

3rd Place - Scott Miller
2008 Viper SRT-10